A principal has endorsed a Hamilton store’s decision to ban her school’s entire student population to allow them to reflect on the effects of antisocial behaviour.

The Department of Education, meanwhile, has urged all parents to encourage their children to act responsibly after a spate of incidents involving students were reported to various schools.

Treats Ltd, a sweet and gift store in Washington Mall, hung up a sign in its shop window last week saying Dellwood Middle School students were not permitted to enter its premises unless staff stated otherwise, owing to “constant unacceptable behaviour”. The ban has since been lifted.

The store owner also complained about students at six other schools, both public and private.

Trina Cariah, Dellwood’s principal, said: “I visited the store during the ban and had a robust discussion with the owner.

“Although the challenges faced by store owners are not solely a Dellwood Middle School issue, we wanted to focus our minds as a school community.

“I know that only a minority of students are behaving in a disruptive manner and not all of them were from Dellwood Middle School. But we hoped to give the store owner some reprieve for a few days while we reflected as a school community on the consequences of antisocial behaviour.

“We have had constructive discussions and I have encouraged all our students to stand up for their school and not allow a small minority to continue to tarnish our reputation.

“Several M3 students joined me in addressing the student body on Thursday when I informed them of the temporary ban and some of our students are now willing to speak up when they observe their peers engaging in antisocial behaviour.”

A photograph of the sign was posted multiple times on social-media platforms.

Ciera Garrafa, the owner of the Hamilton store, said: "It is unfortunate that members of the public — adults — were gleeful about the situation and passed around a photo of a notice when the intention was to defuse the antisocial behaviour for Thursday and Friday.

“In no way did we intend to stigmatise Dellwood Middle School students. I approached a total of seven schools — three public and four private — seeking a solution to what has become a major challenge in the hours after school. In that communication, I suggested that we may have to ban all students if the behaviour continued.

“This was not an overnight decision. My team and I were having to constantly tell students from multiple schools about their behaviour when inside my store.

“I appreciate the support of Dellwood Middle School, especially since they were one of the very few schools to work with us to fix the situation. All students are welcome into the store provided they adhere to basic rules of etiquette and behaviour. Our aim is to maintain Treats as a safe space for everyone.

“We did not in any way want to involve the police so I made the decision to e-mail schools instead. In future, if issues persist, we shall resort to taking action against those students who insist on displaying bad behaviour.

"I would like to point out that Dellwood Middle School students were allowed back into the business on Tuesday [we close early on Mondays], and their behaviour has since been impeccable.

“We have a great relationship with a lot of students and after speaking to some yesterday they even agreed that things had gotten a little out of hand, and we were all working as a team to improve the after-school-hour experience."

The Commissioner of Education, Kalmar Richards, said: “While our school leaders do set expectations of behaviour in and out of schools, the issue of antisocial behaviour by students after school hours needs to be addressed as a Bermuda issue.

“I applaud principal Cariah for her proactive and collaborative approach and I am pleased about the improved behaviour of Dellwood students who have visited the store since the ban was lifted. I commend the students for their good behaviour.”

A spokesman for the Bermuda Police Service said that the decision by Treats to ban students from entering the premises was “not a BPS matter”.

He said: “BPS officers routinely conduct foot patrols in the City of Hamilton, unless other calls for service take priority, including some foot patrols in partnership with the Corporation of Hamilton.

“A feature of these foot patrols is BPS officers checking in on area businesses, which allows proprietors and their staff the opportunity to directly communicate any issues.

“Accordingly, area businesses and any members of the public have the option to make a report regarding any antisocial behaviour involving students, or others, to the BPS officers performing City of Hamilton foot patrols.”

A report can be made by calling 211, or visiting the BPS online community reporting portal, portal.police.bm.