When we talk about school behaviour policies, the conversation often begins with important questions about calm classrooms, orderly corridors, and ensuring learning can take place. In recent research we considered another question: what happens when we invite students themselves into that conversation?
Lessons from listening to young people
We brought together a focus group of eight volunteer Year 9 students from a mainstream secondary school in the East of England. Participation was open to the whole year group and students were selected on the basis of age and willingness to participate. We asked them not simply to comment on existing rules or answer a questionnaire, but to work collaboratively to design an ideal school behaviour policy.
What emerged was a thoughtful, balanced and practical set of ideas that speak directly to the realities of school life, demonstrating a level of insight, maturity, and nuance that challenges many assumptions about adolescents’ perspectives and concerns. Their reflections provide valuable insight into how behaviour systems are experienced day-to-day — and how they might work even better.
The power of clarity and consistency
Clarity and consistency featured heavily in the students’ conversations. Many students felt they were navigating complex and sometimes inconsistent rule systems, with expectations varying widely between teachers. They spoke about being punished for rules they had never been explicitly taught and breaking rules accidentally because the system was too intricate.
Students mentioned examples of favouritism, uneven implementation of the rules across classrooms, and instances where teachers themselves modelled behaviours that they would punish in students. They questioned why teachers are not expected to follow the same behaviour codes, for example around clothing, jewellery, and hair.
What students proposed instead was:
- simple, memorable rules
- consistent expectations across lessons
- teachers who explained their classroom approach clearly at the start of the year.
In the students’ view, clarity reduces conflict and helps students self-regulate more effectively, reflecting a broader desire for schools to feel safe and predictable. Inconsistent enforcement undermined trust in the system, whereas predictability would make school feel calmer and more just.
Students spoke positively about teachers who set out their expectations early, explain the rationale behind rules, and apply rules consistently. From their perspective, clear, simple, memorable rules and consistent expectations across lessons all support self-regulation because students know where they stand. When behaviour systems feel fair and predictable, young people are more likely to engage with them.
Seeing behaviour through a wellbeing lens
Another strong theme was the connection between behaviour and wellbeing. Students questioned sanctions that ignored context, such as being punished for lateness due to genuine transport issues, and they were frustrated when victims of bullying were moved instead of the perpetrators. Students also highlighted issues of safety, particularly when sanctions unintentionally created new risks, such as being without a phone on the journey home.
They also highlighted that responses to racism can be weak or inconsistent (Joseph-Salisbury, 2020). They wanted accessible pastoral support, emotionally safe environments, and adults who could make compassionate decisions rather than unreflective, bureaucratic ones. Their reflections remind us that behaviour policies work best when they operate alongside strong pastoral systems and informed professional judgement (Bomber, 2020).
Policies that grow with young people
Students were perceptive about the way school cultures and social norms evolve, and felt that behaviour policies should adapt to each new generation. They questioned policies that felt designed for students from years gone by. For example, some students argued that behaviour policies often reflected the expectations of previous generations rather than the realities of contemporary adolescence, particularly in relation to appearance, self-expression, and the interpretation of behaviour incidents.
Students felt that regular policy reviews involving students would help ensure policies remain relevant and responsive. This perspective aligns closely with good practice in education more broadly: systems remain effective when they are reviewed, revisited, and refined. Students’ insights highlight the value of seeing behaviour policies as living documents rather than static rulebooks.
Dignity, respect and relationships
Across the discussion, students consistently returned to the importance of dignity. They described how public reprimands can feel exposing, dismissive, and humiliating, and instead valued private, respectful conversations about behaviour. They felt strongly that students should have the opportunity to correct teachers respectfully if a teacher makes an error during a lesson. They noted that certain uniform rules fail to acknowledge religious and cultural practices and argued for behaviour policies that are more culturally sensitive.
Students were also frustrated that their voices were rarely included in policy development, and argued for meaningful student participation in the development and review of behaviour policies including anonymous surveys used to gather honest feedback. This focus on status, respect, and meaningful participation mirrors well-established research showing that adolescents are particularly sensitive to issues of fairness, autonomy, and social standing (Yeager et al., 2018; Yeager et al., 2017).
Learning from mistakes
Importantly, students did not argue for the removal of rules or boundaries. Rather, they wanted behaviour systems that were clear, fair, consistently applied, and capable of recognising positive change. They valued clear explanations for sanctions, opportunities to reset, and recognition when behaviour improves. They appreciated systems that emphasised improvement rather than focusing on poor behaviour.
They argued for explanations behind sanctions, opportunities to reset behaviour points, acknowledgement of progress, and second chances other than in cases involving serious harm. This aligns closely with developmental evidence showing that young people are more motivated when they believe change is possible (Dweck, 1986; Yeager et al., 2018). Behaviour systems that emphasise learning, reflection and second chances support both accountability and growth.
Restorative approaches in practice
Students were thoughtful in their views on consequences. Many felt that traditional punitive measures, such as detentions or isolations, rarely changed behaviour in meaningful ways. Instead, they expressed support for restorative approaches that help students understand impact, repair relationships, and move forward. They stressed the importance of access to behaviour mentors and opportunities to talk through problems with a trusted adult.
They highlighted the importance of adults taking discrimination seriously, while also allowing room for learning and education where harm has occurred without malicious intent. Students consistently emphasised that support, dialogue and guidance were more effective than exclusion, isolation, or humiliation. Their responses underline the idea that restorative practices build skills such as empathy, accountability, and conflict resolution that sanctions alone rarely develop (Clarke, 2013).
Shared responsibility and belonging
Importantly, students did not shy away from responsibility. They spoke positively about students contributing to a safe, respectful school environment and recognised the role they play in upholding shared expectations, for example by reporting bullying, respecting property, and maintaining punctuality. They also highlighted the need for confidential routes for reporting concerns, recognising the social pressures that can make speaking up difficult. When students feel genuinely involved in shaping school norms and expectations, they are more likely to take ownership of them. The young people in this project consistently emphasised both rights and responsibilities, recognising their own role in creating a safe and respectful school community.
Listening strengthens schools
This work challenges the idea that listening to student voice weakens adult authority. In fact, the opposite appears true. By drawing on students’ lived experience, schools can strengthen the clarity, fairness, and credibility of their behaviour systems.
This small project suggests that young people are far from disengaged from conversations about behaviour. When given the opportunity, they offer insights that are nuanced, compassionate, practical, and grounded in a desire for schools to be respectful, safe, and purposeful places to learn.
For educators, the message is an encouraging one: student voice is a powerful resource (Cook-Sather, 2002; Simmons et al., 2015). Listening carefully does not mean lowering expectations or relinquishing adult authority. It means designing systems that work with young people and in doing so, creating conditions where behaviour policies are not only followed, but understood and trusted.
You can read more about Adam and Simon’s research, including the full behaviour policy that the students co-constructed, in their published journal article, ‘What Factors do Year 9 Students Prioritise When Talking About School Behaviour Policies?’.
References
Bomber, L. (2020). Know me to teach me: Differentiated discipline for those recovering from adverse childhood experiences. Worth Publishing.
Clarke, P. (2013). The restorative classroom: Using restorative approaches to foster effective learning. Educational Psychology in Practice, 29(1), 98–99. https://doi.org/10.1080/02667363.2012.759424
Cook-Sather, A. (2002). Authorizing students’ perspectives: Toward trust, dialogue, and change in education. Educational Researcher, 31(4), 3–14.
Dweck, C. (1986). Motivational processes affecting learning. American Psychologist, 41, 1040–1049.
Henderson, A., & Ungar, S. (2025). What Factors do Year 9 Students Prioritise When Talking About School Behaviour Policies?. Educational Psychology Research and Practice, 11(2), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.15123/89fx-mg45
Joseph-Salisbury, R. (2020). Race and racism in English secondary schools. Runnymede Trust. Retrieved from https://www.runnymedetrust.org/publications/race-and-racism-in-secondary-schools
Simmons, C., Graham, A., & Thomas, N. (2015). Imagining an ideal school for wellbeing: Locating student voice. Journal of Educational Change, 16(2), 129–144.
Yeager, D. S., Hirschi, Q., & Josephs, R. A. (2017). Testosterone enhances sensitivity to respectful language. Manuscript submitted for publication.
Yeager, D. S., Dahl, R. E., & Dweck, C. S. (2018). Why interventions to influence adolescent behaviour often fail but could succeed. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 13(1), 101–122.
