Most schools are inundated with punishments and sanctions - as if the pupils were meant to be cowed into submission by their use. Every day, the time-honoured threats can be heard echoing around the corridors - “If you don’t want to listen now, you can listen in your own time for an hour after school.”

Yet despite the punishment, the same old offences are committed - bullying, verbal abuse, fighting and interruptions flourish. Indeed, some pupils almost seem to have a masochistic streak - they just can’t get enough punishment.

And things are not likely to get any less intense. The Government is pushing for “inclusion” and is encouraging pupils with behavioural difficulties into the mainstream, so the pressure on classroom teachers to step up their punitive measures is likely to increase as teachers try to contain challenging behaviour.

Detentions are your principal weapon. But remember that it’s meant to be the pupil who is inconvenienced - not you. So don’t give one that will take up too much of your time - five minutes can make the point just as well as half an hour.

And try to give the detention as near to the time of the infringement as possible. Disruptive students often have short-term memories and won’t remember why you’re keeping them in a week later.

To make it easy for yourself, have on-the-spot detentions around break, lunchtime and the end of the school day. Hold the pupils immediately after you teach them - and if you have to spend time chasing around for them, ask yourself who is being punished.

Detentions can be tough: some pupils will argue tirelessly about why they’re being kept back. Indifficult classes, they might even try to push past you to get out of the room. Indeed, it’s not unheard of for unwilling detainees to climb out of windows to avoid “doing time”.

Give detentions at a time when you know you can receive back-up from other staff. It’s good for defiant pupils to see that teachers are part of a team. And remember that detentions will always be difficult unless you’ve been fair. Try toidentify the main trouble-makers and give them extra time rather than detaining the whole group.

Sometimes, sending a letter home to parents can be less confrontational than holding a rowdy detention, and it can be particularly effective if you use the letter to point out what was good as well as what went wrong in a pupil’s behaviour. All schools have their own rules about sending letters home, but if you are allowed to send them, then do so.

Sending a pupil out of the classroom is a controversial but potent weapon. There are likely to be strict guidelines on how you can use this: most schools accept that a two-minute “time out” in the corridor is acceptable, but giving a pupil half an hour to run around unsupervised clearly isn’t a good idea.

Some schools will encourage you to send pupils to a referral room or to the head of department. Whatever is on offer, don’t be afraid to use it. Certainly, there are times when a pupil should leave the room.

Always remember that sanctions work best when used sparingly and when counterbalanced with your system of rewards. If you can find a way to drop a punishment, offerforgiveness and finish on a positive note by offering a reward, you will have gone a long way towards mastering the art of punishment.

Paul Blum teaches in a London secondary school and is author of ‘Surviving and Succeeding in Difficult Classrooms’ (RoutledgeFalmer)

Be hard but not hardline

1. Use sanctions sparingly.

2. Try to override your impulse to punish rather than reward.

3. Ignore your hard-line colleagues who boast about how they can break the resisitance of difficult pupils - it’s just not true.

4. Use sanctions as a simple counterweight to your rewards.

5. Don’t detain a whole class - target the trouble-makers.

6. Remember that removing a sanction for improved behaviour is like a reward, and this is the best way to use your sanctions.