Vandalism

[Badaz52]

Hi Everyone,

 

I'm sure I am not in alone on this but the amount of damage we have to fix these days is alarming. Monitors, keyboards, mice you name it. Some of the vandalism is quite inventive too. I think it is an increasing issue because of the over-reliance in online learning platforms over traditional methods of teaching as well as increasing behaviour issues across the country. If I'm a student who doesn't want to do their work damaging the computer is pretty final its not like forgetting my pencil case or textbook which can be remedied quickly.

 

I have thought of taking hardline stances such as not repairing it, billing the departments or students (if we know who has done it) taking the equipment away but I'm just curious to know what others do? do you take a hardline stance or do you just keep repairing it? we find that sometimes repairing it just encourages them to do it again.

[Brax]

We've had to keep repairing it but our team has shrunk (for reasons I won't get in to) and we simply do not have the time to go around classrooms on what feels like a weekly basis to replace them all. So we have essentially taken a hardline stance of we'll repair it when we can. But I completely agree it has gone to absurd levels and I've said it's not sustainable. SLT have seen this and to be fair to them they ordered 100 keyboards and mice out of a different budget but the damage is too frequent and extreme. Edited March 8, 2024 by Brax

[jthompson]

Whatever approach you take, you'll need a degree of buy-in from teaching staff and leadership. They're in the rooms with these kids, not you, so having them tackle the problem at the source should be the aim.

 

I've found that a range of different approaches are sometimes needing around the school, depending on the staff involved and/or the nature of the room. For instance, for a couple of our general bookable computer rooms, where no one member of staff has 'ownership' of the room, we find that keeping on top of repairs works out better in the long run (damage becomes less frequent, but is also more easily attributable to a particular class/student), whereas in other rooms, removing a vandalised machine from service will serve to galvanise the relevant department's attitude to caring for the equipment.

 

Being able to provide department heads with logs of who signed into which computers and when is always a good starting point for supporting staff who do actually want to chase things up.

[6Foot2]

Saddened to read both posts above. These issues were significant factors in my decision to quit a job I (initially) really enjoyed.

 

[mavhc]

Ask the leadership what they want to do, continue to spend money on equipment and your time, or do something about it. Calculate the cost per month/term/etc so they have data

[jthompson]

If you have areas of the school, perhaps particular departments, where you're not seeing so many issues, maybe try and determine why and seek to replicate or promote that in other departments.*

 

*without it seeming condescending, naturally.

Edited March 8, 2024 by 6Foot2

[Olliedawg]

In our bookable IT rooms I tend to find keyboard/mice damage is the worst. (keycaps removed/swapped around with other keys, mice buttons damaged/ripped off).. I sometimes get notified by teachers if damage is found (depending on who's using the room, some dont bother).

 

I have tried to put together a log system previously, however not all staff bothered to do it so I gave up. I have a stockpile of keyboards/mice I just replace them as they get damaged & that's how it is. At the end of the day it's a classroom behaviour problem, not mine. It is sad & it is a waste of money.

[IT_CoffeeNeeded]

Vandalism has happened in every school I have been in some worse than others!

 

In one school I was placed there was sixth form building which we were regularly replacing Mice/Keyboards (sometime 5-10 times a day) In the end we agreed (School and myself) we don't replace any equipment until half terms.

Students were upset that they were unable to access any IT for the first few weeks, but were informed the reason why.

 

In the end after replacing all the missing equipment weeks later, the amount we had to replace became very rare.

My theory is the students realized they were being punished as a group for some of their friends actions, and put an end to it themselves.

 

Side note - One thing is that I have noticed is the vandalism/theft happens more when the equipment becomes older.

[Badaz52]

In our bookable IT rooms I tend to find keyboard/mice damage is the worst. (keycaps removed/swapped around with other keys, mice buttons damaged/ripped off).. I sometimes get notified by teachers if damage is found (depending on who's using the room, some dont bother).

 

I have tried to put together a log system previously, however not all staff bothered to do it so I gave up. I have a stockpile of keyboards/mice I just replace them as they get damaged & that's how it is. At the end of the day it's a classroom behaviour problem, not mine. It is sad & it is a waste of money.

 

I notice it is worse in bookable spaces or when supply teachers are in. The problem is our school made a decision a while ago to make every room bookable so it has become a free for all and impossible to track. The staff have been asked to check equipment at the start and the end and promptly report any issues but they don't.

[psydii]

Vandalism has happened in every school I have been in some worse than others!

And it can change within a school over time

Side note - One thing is that I have noticed is the vandalism/theft happens more when the equipment becomes older.

 

Oh definitely. It is also less prevalent when the kit is branded something recognizable like HP or ThinkCentre or Microsoft. Though it doesn't make them immune.

 

Things that have coincided with an increase of vandalism in my experience:

 

• the post lockdown return (in line with general behavoiur issues)
  
• "IT" Clubs run by "not teachers" who do not supervise as effectively as someone whose Performance Review depends on the kit working well enough that they can deliver the next lesson and get the grades from the kids.
  
• Aging and poorly maintained kit.
  
• Blocking access to sites that allow them to be off task. The more locked down the system and web, the more likely (in my experience) it is that an off task kid "chooses" to rip the keys off/ destroy a mouse. With available distractions online they tend to be using the keyboard and mouse to engage with the distraction. Sure they aren't learning, but they aren't stopping the next student at that seat from learning either.
  
• Supply teachers. (see the "not teachers" item above)
  

[jthompson]

Loading times seem to be the prime factor here. That's almost entirely why our trolleys of Chromebooks have been a roaring success, with barely any vandalism, whereas our older Windows devices get drawn on and picked at a lot more. The quicker they can get online, the less likeyl they are to injure the computer.

[Chris_Cook]

We have similar problems at our secondaries. Apart from this one room where we have so few problems that we often forget it even exists.

 

I don't want to pick on the other staff, but the teacher who looks after that room is old school (in an excellent way) and deals with things. They've been to us twice in the last year or 2 - once for a mouse, and once because the PCs are getting on a bit now.

 

Cover lessons seam to be the problem at the moment. Especially on one site. We've now asked that cover lessons aren't done in computer rooms unless there is a member of the department there.

[DrBeaker]

Boy ... what a thread to discuss.

 

Keyboards

 

Keys ripped off

Keys rearranged to spell swear words

The whole keys from the keyboard removed.

Smashed in half.

Ripped out / off leaving only the cable behind

 

Mice

Plastic covers ripped off

Buttons ripped off

Ripped out/ripped off leaving only the cable behind

 

Cable-tied cables

 

Cut off

Ripped out

Ripped apart

 

Disconnected and left intentionally

Removed and plugged into the front of computers, next computer to it, the opposite computer etc.

 

Monitors

Smashed, cracked

 

Computers

Optical drives ripped out

USB ports damaged

Upside down

Rubber feet nicked

Cases forced/broken open

 

But all together now... Teachers only .. "It's been like that for ages". What a load of rubbish.

 

As when we as IT know when we've fixed it and when we've not.

 

This is classroom management which is part of teacher standards (classroom and behaviour control).

 

We raise the issues, nothing gets done, no-one gets punished, nothing gets said. It's an utter waste of time and rinse and repeat all the time. Some staff care, some don't give a crap.

Edited March 8, 2024 by 6Foot2

[nicholab]

This just annoys me why are some kids so stupid that they can’t enjoy nice things and learn. They are stealing from themselves why do they want to be in a poor environment. What so difficult about sitting there and learning and being able to have a nice life? Or should these kids have gone to vocational courses to learn a trade? Society seems missing a military style discipline that we had this at Boys Brigade. Edited March 9, 2024 by nicholab

[6Foot2]

... should these kids have gone to vocational courses to learn a trade? ...

 

When I was in the 4^th and 5^th year, I remember my "less academically inclined" classmates were sent to the local college on Wednesday afternoons to take part in "MVE Classes" (Motor Vehicle Engineering)

 

They were noticeably less "difficult" upon their return, if only for the duration of Thursday morning, often up to their old tricks by the afternoon.

 

[mullet_man]

It's constant here, replacing keys on laptops all the time.

 

Just had 2 HP PCs damaged where the power buttons have been damaged and the front bezel destroyed. PCs have warranty but not to cover damage and looking at the the bezel am struggling to find a replacement that's less than £60. For a bit of plastic.

 

Had lots of screens damaged over the years too. The problem is no one tells us so the damage happens and is left for days so you can never pin point when the damage was done to try and punish pupils and charge parents.

 

I think I've become mostly numb to it now but it's still massively frustrating due to the amount of money we waste fixing just for it to all happen again.

[mullet_man]

Oh keyboards and mice forgot about them, constantly buying them for our IT rooms.

[kevin_lane]

In our control centre, where the naughty kids go we have a 5 PCs I think, which are all damaged.

 

I had the cleaning lady come up to me, and hand me a damage keyboard and mouse, the other week.

 

It’s just sad because we do but put in a lot of hard work to put the resources in place.

 

But I suppose on the flip side we don’t know what is going off in a kids head, and could be having a hard time at home.

 

not that I’m saying it’s OK to damage the equipment.

 

I wish they didn’t because it’s because it’s just has a massive impact on the rest of the school.

 

I know it’s sad to say but unfortunately

 

I think no matter which school you go in you will always end up with damage equipment intentionally or not intentionally, I’ve been at my school since 2007 and I don’t think I’ve ever had a year where no equipment has been damaged lol [emoji23]

[6Foot2]

... But I suppose on the flip side we don’t know what is going off in a kids head, and could be having a hard time at home ...

 

This explanation was used by staff to "wash away" almost every incidence of vandalism where I had a good idea as to who was responsible.

 

Without going into detail, I did not have a childhood you would envy (massive understatement!) but I did not engage in destructive behaviour.

 

Everybody's experience is different, and it's awful that what I went through still happens to other kids today, but it should not be used as a way to "excuse" unwanted behaviours.

 

Back on topic...

[gaz350b]

You can never get rid of damage but you can reduce it. It’s a lot of hard graft and especially worse in the winter months.

 

It’s definitely worse since covid.

We are having a school wide push at the moment and slowly feel we are moving in the right direction.

 

Staff who own a room tend to be better but it’s always those classes (GCSE PE) that don’t respect the rooms as much.

 

We inspect the open areas for damage 5 times a day as we find damage breeds damage and deliberate walk around classrooms we know are going to be a problem while being used by difficult classes.

We also have some key areas where we 100% know we can get a “conviction” due to location of cctv above pc’s. Students are billed for a full keyboard as well as sanctions even if it’s just 1 key.

 

The key is following through and educating them because often they don’t see the harm.

 

With the walks around site I can find the person on cctv within 5-10mins. But again this would all be pointless if you haven’t got the backing of senior leaders!

[Aprice]

It was out of control for us and becoming a real pain. We check every suite twice a day.

 

Since fitting CCTV in each damage has plummeted, we're yet to actually need to check it really. The school intends to bill anyone caught damaging anything and fair play to them they have billed a few that were caught before the cameras went in. The kids are very aware of the presence of new cameras. We're not sure how it will go in the long term, but for now we're quite happy.

 

The rooms are still left in a mess at the end of lessons, but we can't win every battle.

[mavhc]

Time to install some fake cameras

[mullet_man]

Time to install some fake cameras

Am wondering if this would work for us here too. It's worth a shot before it gets out of control.

[Warwick_Tech]

My 2 cents on this topic;

 

I approach it from a psychological perspective - when I first started in a new school the current manager warned me "There's too much vandalism here" and SLT were tired of every little thing being 'vandalism'

 

I agree it was bad, he convinced them to install CCTV in the main suites, but the layout, BFL, quality of equipment etc. was not conducive to a 'vandalism free environment'

 

Don't get me wrong you can never eliminate it, but you can reduce it -

 

* Make sure all KB/Mice/Monitors are the same brand

- Seems like a stupid suggestion, but it's a phycological thing, students are less likely to be the 'first' to damage something deliberately, once the first key goes, it's wild west time so it needs to be stamped out as soon as possible, like a fire

 

* Make sure your speeds are up to scratch

- As mentioned before, students who have to wait, are more likely to pick, laptops suffer a double if not triple penalty for this due to their being 'bumped' around and WIFI being turned off etc.

 

* Give them a 'fake' hack

- So we block games, hacks, the usual; but there’s always holes you can't patch - Maybe make these into a 'secret' that they can be naughty with, without actually causing any damage (unblockedgames.com etc.)

 

And yes, you need to chase, chase, chase SLT and staff, but they must understand good behaviour (reporting damage) is rewarded with new kit and no penalty; damage is punished by having to sit with kids in detention or chase kids for payment - I take the line that the department pays first and foremost, then they reclaim the money from the student, it serves as a double whammy of getting the message across.

 

Don't get me wrong of course, we still get vandalism and damage, but it's much less than it was (creeping up since covid) and the main issue we have atm is stealing the metal bar below the spacebar, so it wobbles around (still better than the spacebar itself) and we've taken to buying garden wire to fix these so as to reduce plastic waste.

 

I find education helps too, if you have a student who is breaking off keys 'just because' remind them that the whole keyboard goes in the bin, then the ocean, then the sea turtles - you'd be amazed that genZ care so much about the environment most of them are mortified to find out they're indirectly killing wildlife.

 

That or you play the exam card "How would you feel if your exam was ruined by the wrong letters?" etc.

[mavhc]

Or you force every class to wait in a line before the end of lesson to test everything. We did that when mouse balls kept being stolen (I'm old)

 

Then they can stay until they've fixed it or paid for a replacement