Aims

It is a primary aim of our school that every member of the school community feels valued and respected, and that each person is treated fairly and well. We are a caring community, whose values are built on mutual trust and respect for all. The school behaviour policy is therefore designed to support the way in which all members of the school can live and work together in a supportive way. It aims to promote an environment where everyone feels happy, safe and secure.

 

The school has a number of school rules, but the primary aim of the behaviour policy is not a system to enforce rules. It is a means of promoting good relationships, so that people can work together with the common purpose of helping everyone to learn. This policy supports the school community in aiming to allow everyone to work together in an effective and considerate way.

 

The school expects every member of the school community to behave in a considerate way towards others.

 

We treat all children fairly and apply this behaviour policy in a consistent way.

 

We recognise that this behaviour policy and the practice it supports needs to be responsive to individual needs. The school believes that our response to children who have additional needs relating to a disability must take into account the legislation of the Disability Discrimination Act 2001 and the 2005 amendment. School must not discriminate against disabled pupils and consequently may be required to make reasonable adjustments to ensure their educational and social experiences at our school are as positive and inclusive as possible. For children who display inappropriate behaviour for reasons related to a disability, for example autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, Tourette’s Syndrome etc the school response may need to be differentiated in recognition of the additional difficulties these children may have in managing their actions.

 

We firmly believe however that it is our responsibility to support and help such pupils to behave in socially acceptable manner and that effecting positive behavioural change is always possible. However, the methods of achieving this may vary depending on the individual circumstances of the pupil concerned.

 

The school will ensure all staff are aware of individual needs where behaviour and disability is likely to be an issue. Individual guidance will be circulated to every teacher about how they may most effectively manage the behaviour of individual children with these difficulties.

 

This policy aims to help children to grow in a safe and secure environment, and to become positive, responsible and increasingly independent members of the school community.

 

The school rewards good behaviour, as it believes that this will develop an ethos of kindness and co-operation and help raise self-esteem. This policy is designed to promote good behaviour, rather than merely deter anti-social behaviour.

 

Rewards and punishments

 

We praise and reward children for good behaviour in a variety of ways:

·        teachers congratulate and praise children regularly;

·        teachers give children colour team points which go towards their team’s weekly total. The team with most points at the end of each week is presented with the cup in Show and Tell Assembly;

·        each week, teachers nominate a table of the week or a child to be class pupil of the week;

·        we distribute merits to children either for consistent good work or behaviour, or to acknowledge outstanding effort or acts of kindness in school;

·        all classes have an opportunity to take part in an achievement assembly where they are able to show examples of their best work;

·        classes can work together to earn ‘smiley faces’ for good behaviour at lunchtimes. The class/classes with most smiley faces at the end of the week wins a ‘Golden Time’ reward an extra e.g. an extra playtime or P.E. time, a visit to the pond and wild area etc.

·        when a class has earned 15 smiley faces they can have a non-uniform day.

 

The school acknowledges all the efforts and achievements of children, both in and out of school. The Outside School Achievement Wall contains information and photographs showing pupil achievement out of school, for example, music or swimming certificates.

 

The school employs a number of sanctions to enforce the school rules, and to ensure a safe and a positive learning environment. We employ each sanction appropriately to each individual situation.

 

·        We expect children to listen carefully to instructions in lessons. If they do not do so, we ask them either to move to a place nearer the teacher, or to sit on their own.

·        We expect children to try their best in all activities. If they do not do so, we may ask them to redo a task.

·        If a child is disruptive in class, the teacher will verbally reprimand him or her. After two warnings, if the child continues to misbehave, the behaviour is recorded in the behaviour section of the teacher’s Assessment Record Book and the child will be sent to another class for the rest of that lesson to complete their work. After the third occasion when a child has been sent to another class to work, the Class Teacher will contact the child’s parents to inform them of the problem and arrange a meeting to discuss ways of working together to improve the child’s behaviour. It will be explained at this meeting that a further two incidents of the child being sent out of class may result in a one day suspension for the child. A record of parental letters sent and parental interviews held will be kept by the Class Teacher.

·        The safety of the children is paramount in all situations. If a child’s behaviour is violent and endangers the safety of him/herself or others, the Class Teacher may have to use physical restraint on the child. All teaching staff and the majority of support staff are trained in Team Teach techniques. All incidents involving restraint must be recorded in the Serious Incident Book in the Head teacher’s office. All staff will be made aware of children who may need to be restrained. This will be on the child’s IEP

·        If a child physically hurts another pupil s/he will be taken to the Head Teacher, who may call the child’s parents and send the child home for the rest of the day. If a child repeatedly acts in a way that is a danger to others s/he may be suspended for a longer period.

 The Class Teacher discusses the school rules with each class. In addition to the school rules, each class also has its own classroom charter, which is agreed by the children and displayed on the wall of the classroom. In this way, every child in the school knows the standard of behaviour that we expect in our school. If there are incidents of anti-social behaviour, the Class Teacher may discuss these with the whole class, referring to the class charter.

 

The school does not tolerate bullying of any kind. If we discover that an act of bullying or intimidation has taken place, we act immediately to stop any further occurrences of such behaviour. These are dealt with by the Behaviour Coordinators who then inform the Head Teacher of any incidents and monitor the children involved over an extended period.. While it is very difficult to eradicate bullying, we do everything in our power to ensure that all children attend school free from fear. Incidents of anti-social behaviour at lunchtimes are dealt with by the Lunchtime Supervisors, working closely with the Behaviour Coordinators, the Deputy Head Teacher and the Head Teacher.

 

All members of staff are aware of the regulations regarding the use of force by teachers, as set out in DfEE Circular 10/98, relating to section 550A of the Education Act 1996: The Use of Force to Control or Restrain Pupils. Teachers in our school do not hit, push, slap children or invade their space. Staff only intervene physically to restrain children or to prevent injury to a child, or if a child is in danger of hurting him/herself. The actions that we take are in line with government guidelines on the restraint of children.

 

Whilst recognising that some children will require a differentiated approach in relation to their behaviour, we cannot condone nor will we accept violent or abusive behaviour towards staff or other pupils and any such incidents will be the subject of close scrutiny. In very rare cases we may be unable to impact positively on behaviour where violence and abuse are major concerns. If such pupils have statements of special needs then a review of their statement will be held to determine if it is still appropriate to name Reinwood Junior School as their school. If no statement exists then the process for an SEN assessment will be undertaken. However we envisage such circumstances to be very rare and would never be undertaken lightly or without due consultation with parents, Governors and the child.

 

The role of the Class Teacher

 

It is the responsibility of the Class Teacher to ensure that the school rules are enforced in their class, and that their class behaves in a responsible manner during lesson time.

 

The Class Teachers in our school have high expectations of the children in terms of behaviour, and they strive to ensure that all children work to the best of their ability.

 

The Class Teacher treats each child fairly and enforces the classroom code consistently. The teacher treats all children in their class with respect and understanding.

 

If a child misbehaves repeatedly in class, the Class Teacher keeps a record of all such incidents. In the first instance, the Class Teacher deals with incidents him/herself in the normal manner. However, if misbehaviour continues, the Class Teacher deals with each incident as set out in Section 2.1.

 

The Class Teacher liaises with external agencies, as necessary, to support and guide the progress of each child. The Class Teacher may, for example, discuss the needs of a child with the SENCO, education social worker or LEA behaviour support service.

 

The Class Teacher reports to parents about the progress of each child in their class, in line with the whole–school policy. The Class Teacher may also contact a parent if there are concerns about the behaviour or welfare of a child.

 

The role of the Head Teacher

 

It is the responsibility of the Head Teacher, under the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, to implement the school behaviour policy consistently throughout the school, and to report to governors, when requested, on the effectiveness of the policy. It is also the responsibility of the Head Teacher to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all children in the school.

 

The Head Teacher supports the staff by implementing the policy, by setting the standards of behaviour, and by supporting staff in the implementation of the policy.

 

The Head Teacher keeps records of all reported serious incidents of misbehaviour.

 

The Head Teacher has the responsibility for giving fixed-term suspensions to individual children for serious acts of misbehaviour. For repeated or very serious acts of anti-social behaviour, the Head Teacher may permanently exclude a child. The Head Teacher will then inform the Governing Body.

 

 

 

The role of Parents

 

The school works collaboratively with parents, so children receive consistent messages about how to behave at home and at school.

 

We explain the school rules in the school prospectus and display them around school. We expect parents to read these and support them.

 

We expect parents to support their child’s learning, and to co-operate with the school to achieve the best possible education for their child. We try to build a supportive dialogue between the home and the school, and we inform parents as soon as possible if we have concerns about their child’s welfare or behaviour.

 

If the school has to use reasonable sanctions to punish a child, parents should support the actions of the school. If parents have any concern about the way that their child has been treated, they should initially contact the Class Teacher. If the concern remains, they should make an appointment to speak with the Head Teacher and at this point the problem is usually resolved. However, if these discussions cannot resolve the problem, they should contact the school governors and a formal grievance or appeal process can be implemented.

 

The role of governors

 

The governing body has the responsibility of setting down these general guidelines on standards of discipline and behaviour, and of reviewing their effectiveness. The governors support the Head Teacher in carrying out these guidelines.

 

The Head Teacher has the day-to-day authority to implement the school behaviour and discipline policy, but governors may give advice to the Head Teacher about particular disciplinary issues.

 

 Fixed-term and permanent exclusions

 

Only the Head Teacher (or the acting Head Teacher) has the power to exclude a pupil from school. The Head Teacher may exclude a pupil for one or more fixed periods, for up to 45 days in any one school year. The Head Teacher may also exclude a pupil permanently. It is also possible for the Head Teacher to convert a fixed-term exclusion into a permanent exclusion, if the circumstances warrant this.

 

If the Head Teacher excludes a pupil, he informs the parents immediately, giving reasons for the exclusion. At the same time, the Head Teacher makes it clear to the parents that they can, if they wish, appeal against the decision to the governing body. The school informs the parents how to make any such appeal.

 

The Head Teacher informs the LEA and the governing body about any permanent exclusion, and about any fixed-term exclusions beyond five days in any one term.

 

The governing body itself cannot either exclude a pupil or extend the exclusion period made by the Head Teacher.

 

The governing body has a personnel appeals committee which is made up of between three and five members. This committee considers any exclusion appeals on behalf of the governors.

 

When an appeals panel meets to consider an exclusion, they consider the circumstances in which the pupil was excluded, consider any representation by parents and the LEA, and consider whether the pupil should be reinstated.

 

If the governors’ appeals panel decides that a pupil should be reinstated, the Head Teacher must comply with this ruling.

 

Monitoring

 

The Head Teacher monitors the effectiveness of this policy on a regular basis. He also reports to the governing body on the effectiveness of the policy and, if necessary, makes recommendations for further improvements.

 

The school keeps a variety of records of incidents of misbehaviour. The Class Teacher records minor classroom incidents. The Head Teacher records those incidents where a child is sent to him on account of bad behaviour. We also keep a record of any incidents that occur at break or lunchtimes: lunchtime supervisors give written details of any incident in the incidents book that we keep in the staff room.

 

The Head Teacher keeps a record of any pupil who is suspended for a fixed-term, or who is permanently excluded.

 

It is the responsibility of the governing body to monitor the rate of suspensions and exclusions, and to ensure that the school policy is administered fairly and consistently.

 

 Review

 

The governing body reviews this policy every two years. The governors may, however, review the policy earlier than this, if the government introduces new regulations, or if the governing body receives recommendations on how the policy might be improved.

 

Reviewing the Policy

 

This policy will be reviewed in three years.

 

This Policy was written by Miss E. Battye.