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Ross Morrison McGill founded @TeacherToolkit in 2007, and today, he is one of the ‘most followed educators’on social media in the world. In 2015, he was nominated as one of the ‘500 Most Influential People in Britain’ by The Sunday Times as a result of…
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What happens if students ignore the small rules that make schools work — and why does it matter?
A lack of clarity when enforcing small rules, such as wearing jackets inside the school building, weakens overall behaviour management and classroom authority. This leads to greater challenges for teachers when students start to spot the weak links in the chain …
The small things matter
On my recent teacher training travels walking through the corridors of a school, I observed a teacher ask a student to remove their jacket inside the building. The student removed their jacket over their shoulders, but continued to wear the jacket above their elbows. As they moved away from the teacher along the corridor, they lifted the jacket back onto their shoulders and continued walking!
Classroom discipline is built on clear expectations, but when teachers fail to follow through on small rules, such as asking students to ‘take off their jackets’, students quickly learn that compliance is optional.
If one rule is ignored, others soon follow.
Available research shows that predictable routines and firm boundaries create a structured environment where students feel safe and are more likely to engage in learning. When teachers enforce expectations haphazardly, students test the limits, leading to more disruption and greater workload for all staff.
The problem is this: if you do what’s needed and I don’t, I am undermining you next door — and that’s how any small problem starts to grow.
The power of coherence
All school staff must commit to enforcing rules with clarity. Of course, consistency matters — but I approach this ambition with caution. Why? Because consistency is always hard to achieve. Instead, what we should always seek for when working with a larger group of people, is coherence. (See Fullan, 2017)
For example, if I worked in your school, what is our agreed hymn sheet? This could mean:
- Addressing non-compliance immediately.
- Ensuring other staff uphold the same expectations—this is the tricky one!
- Reinforcing positive behaviour with praise.
- Using minimal verbal intervention — short, polite, direct instructions followed by silence.
- It might be worth learning more about mirror neurons to see why other students mimic their peers.
What should schools consider?
- How coherent are staff in enforcing school-wide rules?
- Do students see different expectations between lessons?
- Are teachers following through on their instructions?
- What impact does lack of clarity have on classroom culture?
- How can minimal verbal intervention reduce unnecessary conflict?
- Do teachers reinforce positive behaviour enough?
- What strategies help reluctant students comply without escalation?
- Are school policies clear and easy to enforce?
- How do leadership teams support consistency across staff?
- What practical steps can be taken to strengthen behaviour policies?
Coherence, not consistency, is the foundation of effective behaviour management, when every teacher is clear about expectations, and upholds the same standard, behaviour improves, and learning time increases!
We cannot expect school culture to improve if we don’t follow up on misdemeanours every single day.
- Download these behaviour resources or,
- Discover more behaviour tips in Just Great Teaching, Mark Plan Teach 2.0 and Teacher Toolkit.
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