A wave of pupil protests that has taken headteachers by surprise in schools across England and Wales has disparate causes but is being spread via social media, experts have said.
The protests, which are being organised and shared on social media platforms such as TikTok and Snapchat, are often about strict uniform codes and rules restricting the use of toilets. Headteachers are particularly concerned because some protests have been supported by parents.
The disruptive behaviour, which has resulted in large numbers of pupils being given fixed-term exclusions and the involvement of the police in some cases, has been linked to a reported increase in challenging behaviour in schools since the disruption caused by the pandemic and lockdown.
Tom Bennett, the author of Running the Room: The Teacher’s Guide to Behaviour, and an adviser to the Department for Education, said however that he did not consider the protests to be genuine and there was no evidence of any link to lockdown or Covid restrictions. It was “mostly yobbish behaviour and disorder, jacked up by the kudos of filming it and putting it on TikTok”.
“It’s copycat behaviour,” he said, “with more in common with fashions and fads than a more complex cultural phenomenon or expression of protest. Schools should take a firm line on this, and warn students that if they participate they will experience a serious consequence.”
