These days and Darwin and the Northern Territory a lot of schools, particularly the private ones, are spending big dollars on advertising what the schools have to offer students. Without naming schools, some of them are spending thousands and possibly tens of thousands of dollars on advertising.

Print media is used. television and radio advertisements are frequent and there is a huge push by schools doing this advertising almost beseeching parents to enrol children.

Again without naming names, some schools have achieved quite burgeoning student populations. Response to advertising has something to do with abnormally high enrolments achieved in relatively short periods of time.

It goes without saying that appealing to parents may well cause some of the schools to downplay their expectations of student behaviour. “Relaxation” of school rules may be part of the way appeal to students is achieved through outreach.

Rules and expectations that are stated may not be enforced or offending may be lightly treated if behaviour becomes an issue.

It’s important that schools advertising for enrolments do so in a way that causes parents and their children to understand what school rules are in place and importantly will be in forced. Playing down or minimising rules for the sake of retaining student is most unwise.

However, it is easy to see that if advertising and constant appeal to parents to enrol children becomes the norm, rules and regulations as stated and the way they are enforced may well be different the one from the other. I believe it important that school rules and regulations should never be compromised for the sake of convenience. The endgame will be that the reputation of the school suffers.