Leicestershire school's new rules for pupils include 'no pen holding' when listening

A Leicestershire school has barred pupils from holding pens while listening to teachers in lessons. Dominic Lane, head teacher at Lutterworth College, has introduced the move in a bid to prevent "low-level distraction" in the classroom.

Mr Lane said he implemented the rule as part of a series of policies designed to ensure students concentrated in lessons. The new policies, defined by the acronym SNAP, were announced to parents in a school newsletter and a now-deleted Facebook post. They also include students needing to have appropriate "posture" in the classroom, instead of "swinging on a chair".

In an article in the newsletter announcing the policies, Mr Lane said he believed they would be "minimum behaviour expectations that families would expect we're asking of students". LeicestershireLive asked Mr Lane what sanctions pupils would face if they did not comply with the new rules, but he declined to comment.

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Detailing the full list of instructions, the head of the secondary school and sixth form college, in Bitteswell Road, Lutterworth, said "low-level distraction'" in classrooms added to students' "cognitive load", which "[reduced students'] ability to concentrate" and therefore limited their learning.

Mr Lane said in the newsletter article, which was addressed to parents and carers: "This week students have been having assemblies led by Mr Parry-Shovlin. The theme of these assemblies has been cognitive load. Cognitive load builds on the idea that our working memory has a limited capacity. Therefore, overloading our working memory reduces the effectiveness of teaching. We will all have experienced being distracted by something in our environment, that then means we miss what is happening around us.

"For students to have the best lessons, we need to maximise the time that students have with the expert adults in the classroom. Lesson visits demonstrate that we have few cases of low-level disruption. However, there is evidence of low-level distraction. These distractions add cognitive load - reduce a student's ability to concentrate - and therefore limits their learning. Assemblies this week have introduced a framework for students to prevent this distraction.

"When a member of staff wants to deliver a key piece of information they will signal verbally and/or orally for students to focus." He said the signal would require students to follow four rules, covered by the acronym SNAP:

• S - Silent. Students need to ensure they are not communicating when others are.

• N - Nothing in their hands. Students need to have their pens down as they should be listening to instructions/explanations.

• A - Attentive. Students should be focussed on whoever is speaking.

• P - Posture. Students need to present in a way that demonstrates they're ready to learn e.g. not swinging on a chair.

Mr Lane said: "I anticipate that students would then complete a piece of work that will check their understanding and allow for deliberate practice to rehearse the learning. This strategy is for moments where a teacher is giving an important explanation and therefore important for students to learn and understand.

"I don't believe any of these four things are unreasonable or unattainable for students in our school. In many ways, I think they'd be minimum behaviour expectations that families would expect we're asking of students. Reasonable adjustments will always be considered for students whose needs necessitate them. It is also a move away from what students shouldn't be doing, but a framework for students to know and understand what they should be doing. I trust families will support us in our drive for continued improvement."

LeicestershireLive also contacted The Laurels Academies Trust, of which the college is part, for a comment but had not received one at the time of publication.

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