The row this week over CedarBridge Academy sending children home for not wearing their blazers sparked a debate over a different issue entirely; the question of the new Code of Conduct for schools.

CedarBridge breached the Code when it sent the children home for uniform infractions, when this should have been dealt with through an escalating series of warnings and punishments.

It would appear that a child who was determined to flout a school's uniform policy could string these punishments out for months, a solution that clearly will not sit well with CedarBridge's administration.

That goes to the heart of the debate over the Code and raises the question of whether a uniform policy (for clothes and everything else) for all types of school is practical.

In addition to that, it has been reported that both CedarBridge and Berkeley have reservations about the Code, and that teachers - who have been vocal about the need for it as a tool for enforcing discipline - feel they were inadequately consulted.

Different schools will have different needs, depending on age and so forth. And principals and staffs should have some say in what standards of discipline they want in their schools and what tone they wish to set. This can be done within a framework laying out minimum standards of discipline and permissible measures.

At the very least, given some of the dissatisfaction that has arisen in spite of the consultation that has taken place - and at least there has been some consultation - talks with the Bermuda Union of Teachers and school principals should take place to resolve some of their concerns.