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.

All children were involved in devising a set of whole school rules which everyone tries to adhere to.

It is a means of promoting good relationships, so that people can work together with the common purpose of helping everyone to learn. This supports the school community in aiming to allow everyone to work together in an effective and considerate way. We treat all children fairly and apply our policy in a consistent way.

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

REWARDS: As a Church of England School and in accordance with our Christian ethos, all those involved in incidents of misbehaviour should remember that ‘every day is a new beginning with a new opportunity to do better next time. The school rewards good behaviour, as it believes this will develop an ethos of kindness and cooperation.

Our policy is designed to promote good behaviour, rather than merely deter anti-social behaviour. We praise and reward children for good behaviour in a variety of ways:

• Teachers give verbal feedback and use positive body language.
• Each week the adults in the school nominate two children per class for good work/behaviour and these are recognized in our ‘Praise Assembly’ .
• We distribute merit stickers to children for either consistent good work or behaviour, or to acknowledge outstanding effort or acts of kindness in school
• Completed merit charts are rewarded with House points and a letter sent to the parents by the Headteacher
•  All classes have an opportunity to lead a ‘Praise’ Assembly where they are able to share their work. Parents are invited to attend once a term.

SANCTIONS:

The school employs a number of sanctions to promote good behaviour, and to ensure a safe and positive learning environment. We employ each sanction appropriately to each individual situation. Expectations of good behaviour are made clear to pupils during assembly. In addition to the school rules, each classroom has its own classroom code, which is agreed by the children and displayed on the wall of the classroom. In this way, every child knows the standard of behaviour that we expect in our school.

If there are incidents of anti-social behaviour, the class teacher discusses these with the class during ‘circle-time’, or with individual pupils, as appropriate. Any incident that occurs is logged on the ‘Incident Log’ in the Behaviour file on Staff Shared with the action so that children can be monitored over time.

We expect the children to listen carefully in lessons, to try their best in all activities and to behave appropriately. The safety of the children is paramount in all situations. In order to best achieve these aims and to ensure that consistency is maintained across the school the following 5 steps have been agreed by staff (see Appendix 1) (These are to be used in conjunction with our Rewards system)

1. issue a verbal warning

2. issue a written warning

3. send the child with a yellow card to another class to complete work set

4. the child will miss a playtime and complete a ‘behaviour sheet’

5. send the child to the Headteacher

These steps are cumulative within individual sessions. Each session/day is a fresh start. Where there are instances of swearing, rudeness to staff, verbal abuse or physical violence children will move directly to step 4 (or 5 depending on the severity of the incident).

All ‘behaviour sheets’ (see Appendix 2) are passed directly to the Headteacher. Parents will be called into school to discuss a child’s behaviour when 3 sheets are received, (or immediately if appropriate to the incident).

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.. While it is very difficult to eradicate bullying, we do everything in our power to ensure that all children attend school free from fear.

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. Staff only intervene physically to restrain children to prevent injury to a child. The actions that we take are in line with government guidelines on the restraint of children.

THE ROLE OF THE CLASS TEACHER:

It is the responsibility of the class teacher to ensure that positive behaviour is promoted in their class, and that the 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. 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. In certain circumstances, the class teacher may need to liaise with external agencies, to support and guide the progress of each child. The class teacher may, for example, discuss the needs of a child with the education social worker or LA behaviour support service.

THE ROLE OF THE HEADTEACHER:

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 Headteacher to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all children in the school. The Headteacher supports the staff by implementing the policy, by setting the standards of behaviour, and by supporting staff in the implementation of the policy. The Headteacher keeps records of all reported serious incidents of misbehaviour. The Headteacher has the responsibility for giving fixed-term exclusions to individual children for serious acts of misbehaviour. For repeated or very serious acts of anti-social behaviour, the Headteacher may permanently exclude a child. Both these actions are only taken after the school governors have been notified.

THE ROLE OF PARENTS:

The school works collaboratively with parents, so children receive consistent messages about how to behave at home and at school. Our expectations for good behaviour are outlined in the School Prospectus and on the school website. 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, as set out in the home-school agreement. We try to build a supportive dialogue between the home and the school, and we inform parents immediately if we have concerns about their child’s welfare or behaviour. If the school has to use reasonable sanctions to discipline 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 contact the Headteacher, then the Chair of Governors. If these discussions cannot resolve the problem, 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 Headteacher in carrying out these guidelines. The Headteacher has the day-to-day authority to implement the school behaviour policy, but Governors may give advice to the Headteacher about particular disciplinary issues. The Headteacher must take this into account when making decisions about matters of behaviour.

FIXED-TERM AND PERMANENT EXCLUSIONS:

Only the Headteacher (or the Acting Headteacher) has the power to exclude a pupil from school. The Headteacher may exclude a pupil for one or more fixed periods for up to 45 days in any one school year. The Headteacher may also exclude a pupil permanently. It is also possible for the Headteacher to convert a fixed-term exclusion into a permanent exclusion, if the circumstances warrant this. If the Headteacher excludes a pupil, s/he informs the parents immediately, giving reasons for the exclusion. At the same time, the Headteacher 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 Headteacher informs the LA 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 Headteacher. The Governing Body has a discipline 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 exclusion, the panel consider the circumstances in which the pupil was excluded, consider any representation by parents and the LA, and consider whether the pupil should be reinstated. If the Governors’ appeals panel decides that a pupil should be reinstated, the Headteacher must comply with this ruling.

MONITORING

The Headteacher monitors the effectiveness of this policy on a regular basis. S/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 particular classroom incidents. The Headteacher records those incidents where a child is sent to him/her 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 Playground Duplicate Logbooks that we keep in the First Aid box that goes onto the playground. The Headteacher 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 annually.