Behaviour Policy

Behaviour Policy

We are very proud of the way in which the vast majority of our children conduct themselves in school.  Behaviour in lessons and instances of poor or agressive behaviour, including bullying, are rare.  The school promotes good relationships and expects children to show respect and care towards one another.  The vast majority of our children …

• listen well in lessons
• show respect to adults and other children in school
• follow the instructions of members of staff
• start their work on time and remain ‘on task’ during independent or group work
• play well with each other in the playground
• take turns and share things when playing with others
• are always where they should be at the right time
• are good ambassadors for the school when outside school, including educational visits
• treat other chidlren with respect
• are kind, polite, co-operative and have lovely manners
• look after the school, its grounds and our equipment

School Rules

As most schools do, we have a number of school rules which provide guidance for children in how they should behave:

• respect the feelings of others and their right to enjoy school life
• be kind, polite and co-operative and speak to others in a nice way
• be ready to learn, listen carefully and work hard
• be where you should be and behave in a calm and quiet way
• keep your hands, feet and hurtful words to yourself
• look after the school, the grounds, your books and equipment  

It’s Good to be Green!

Our approach to behaviour is based on the ‘It’s Good to be Green’ system which recognises positive and good behaviour as well as attempting to deal, at different levels, with occasional or persistent poor behaviour.  Essentially, children should be aiming for excellent behaviour which keeps them on Green.  Children are rewarded throughout the year for their GOOD behaviour (Green) with house points which contribute to the overall success of their house group.  Inappropriate or poor behaviour is then dealt with in a stepped way, starting with reminders about the expected behaviour, moving to more formal warnings (yellow), consequences and thinking time (orange), referrals to the Deputy Headteacher or Headteacher (Red) and weekly monitoring and reporting to parents (blue) and, ending.  As a last resort,  for persistent poor behaviour or severe poor behaviour,(e.g. physical violence or lack of co-operation with staff) the Headteacher (or Deputy Headteacher in the absence of the Headteacher) may considered a fixed-term exclusion, usually of a few days.  

Consequences (or sanctions) may be applied to pupils who make poor choices about their behaviour.  Consequences include:

• referral to another class for part or the whole of a lesson;
• loss of playtime (playtime detention);
• loss of lunchtime;
• loss of privileges (e.g. representing the school as part of a team);
• discussion with parents;
• apology letters.

The Headteacher may decide to EXCLUDE a pupil from school in the following instances:

• child causes a physical injury to another child;
• child causes a physical injury to a member of staff;
• child puts safety of other children or adults at risk;
• child fails to respond to reasonable instructions to change behaviour;
• child causes intentional damage to school property;
• child uses foul language (swearing or offensive language);
• child is very abusive to a member of staff.

Law and Guidance

Our Behaviour Policy is underpinned by the statuory requirements and the guidance provided by the Department for Education which states that:

• teachers have a statutory authority to discipline pupils who behaviour in unaccepptable, who break the rules or who fail to follow a reasonable instruction
• the power all applies to all paid staff (unless the Headteacher says otherwise) with responsiblity for pupils, such as teaching assistants
• teacher can discipline pupils at any time the pupil is in school or elsewhere under the charge of a teacher, including on school visits
• teachers can also discipline pupils for misbehaviour outside school
• teachers have a specific legal power to impose detention outside school school hours
• teachers can confiscate pupils’ property

Sanctions

Teachers can discipline pupils whose conduct falls below the standard which could reasonably be expected of them.  This means that if a pupil misbehaves, breaks a school rule or fails to follow a reasonable instruction the teacher can impose a punishment on that pupil.  The be lawful, the punishment (including detentions) must satisfy the following three conditions:

• the decision to punish a pupil must be made by the a paid member of school staff or a member of staff authorised by the Headteacher
• the decision to pubish the pupil and the punishment itself must be made on the school premises or while the pupil in under the charge of the member of staff; and
• it must not breach any other legislation (for example, in respect of disability, Special Educational Needs, race or other equalities and human rights) and it must be reasonable and proportionate in all circumstances, taking into account the pupil’s age.  Corporal punishment is illegal in all circumstances.

The Headteacher may limit the power to apply particular punishments to certain staff and/or extend the power to discipline to adult volunteers, for example to parents who have volunteered to help on a school trip.

Teachers have a statutory power to discipline pupils for misbehaving outside of the school premises.  The school’s behaviour policy sets out what the school will do in response to all non-criminal bad behaviour and bullying which occurs anywhere off the school premises, including through social media, and which is witnessed by a staff member of reported to the school, including the punishments that will be imposed on pupils.The teacher may discipline a pupil for any misbehaviour when the child is

• taking part in any school-organised a school-related activity;
• travelling to or from school;
• wearing school uniform;
• in some other way identifiable as a pupil at the school;

or for misbehaviour which

• could have repercussions of the orderly running of the school;
• poses a threat to another pupil or member of the public;
• could adversely affect the reputation of the school.

Confiscation of inappropriate Items

The general power to discipline enables a member of staff to confiscate, retain or dispose of a pupil’s property as a punishment and protects them from liability to damage to, or loss of, any confiscated items.  The following items will be confiscated by staff and either returned to parents, retained or destroyed:

• knives;
• lighters and matches;
• other items which may be used a weapon;
• medicines not including inhalers and prescribed creams;
• cigarettes;
• drugs;
• other items which are considered to be dangerous.