Behaviour Policy
This policy is for all staff, pupils/students, parents and carers, governors, visitors and partner agencies working within the school and provides guidelines and procedures as to how our school supports and responds to behaviour.
Stoneyholme Community Primary School Behaviour Policy Article 29: Education must encourage the child’s respect for human rights, as well as respect for their parents, their own and other cultures, and the environment.
This policy must be implemented in conjunction with:
Introduction
The Department for Education guidance for headteachers and school staff of maintained schools, which outlines the statutory duty of schools in relation to developing a behaviour policy, is largely based on a behaviourist approach.
“Headteachers, proprietors and governing bodies must ensure they have a strong behaviour policy to support staff in managing behaviour, including the use of rewards and sanctions” (DfE, Behaviour and discipline in schools: Advice for headteachers and schools staff, published July 2013; last updated January 2016)
Although behaviourist approaches can work for the majority of children, they are not successful with all. This is especially true for those who have experienced Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) – traumatic life experiences that occur before the age of 18. For children who have experienced trauma and loss, including vulnerable groups such as children in care, children at the edge of the care system, and children previously in care, behaviourist approaches often serve to re-traumatise them and do not teach them how to express their emotions in a more appropriate manner.
As a school we believe in a nurturing approach where every child feels listened to. The commitment of staff to the emotional well-being of the pupils is a particular strength of our school. Each class’ learning charter underpins this and promotes a positive approach to the education and pastoral management of each individual pupil. We reward and celebrate achievement which has an impact on the pupil's self-esteem, confidence and happiness. All pupils know that they are safe and secure – and that their contributions and achievements are respected and valued.
Vision/Ethos
At Stoneyholme Primary School we promote positive pupil behaviour through ‘Every Child Matters and Everyday Counts’. This simply means that everyone is important, and every minute of every day learning takes place. Expectations
In order to help children to feel safe and learn, their educational environment needs to be high in both nurture and structure. Children need predictable routines, expectations and responses to behaviour.
We are proud to be a Trauma Informed School (TiS). For us this means that we aim to have TiS approaches at the core of our whole school ethos and across our whole setting.
Aims
It is acknowledged that members of the school community may have very different parenting experiences and views on behaviour. However, the aim of our Behaviour Policy is to bring us all together to adhere to some basic key principles and practices that reflect our school ethos and reflect our mission statement ‘Every Child Matters and Everyday Counts.’
To ensure that children, staff, governors and parents are fully aware of: the expected behaviour of children both in lessons and around the school
Trauma Informed Schools (TiS)
TiS is a dynamic, developmental approach to working with children that supports their emotional and social wellbeing. It is based on the latest research in neuroscience, attachment theory and child development, drawing on research into the role of creativity and play in developing emotional resilience.
Knowledge of social and emotional learning supports the school in planning experiences, activities and opportunities and reinforces our understanding that learning happens across the whole day, especially during break times where less structured interactions enable pupils to develop their social and emotional learning and apply skills that are vital for healthy development.
We recognise that it is important for adults to understand where a child is in terms of their mental and emotional health and this approach supports staff with how to differentiate their relationship with children in order to support their development. It also gives basic guidance so that some change can be made through understanding where the child is functioning from and practical activities, which facilitate the development of this relationship. As part of this, the school also has access to a comprehensive and flexible reporting tool for tracking change over time, for both individuals and groups of pupils.
Learning to be skilful in relationships and ready for challenges requires experiencing, descriptive feedback, reflection, modelling and teaching from adults and peers. Addressing early emotional developmental needs builds resilience, decreases the risk of mental illness, prepares children to take their place within a community and equips them to be ready and willing to learn.
Life events can introduce episodes, which become interruptions to some children’s development. The TiS programme supports adults in creating a differentiated provision in response to need with reparative strategies as part of systematic actions.
With a programme of continuous development, our vision is for all our staff to receive regular training and to use this insight to build healthy development, encourage pupils to increasingly self-regulate and embed strategies in social and emotional learning and positive behaviour choices, therefore underpinning academic progress.
Classroom Environment
"Classroom management is not about having the right rules, it’s about having the right relationships." ‘Feel The Difference: Learning in an Emotionally Literate School’ Lynne Gerlach /Julia Bird (2006).
Only when children feel a sense of being heard, understood and cared about, can they begin to express their emotions in a more acceptable way, which will benefit everyone. Each class has developed their own class charter to enable all children to get the most out of all learning opportunities. It is visible throughout all classrooms within the school and must be endorsed by all members of staff. It states the rights and responsibilities of both teachers and pupils in order to create a most effective teaching and learning environment. RIGHTS Every child has the right to an education (Article 28) and to learn in a productive, stimulating environment, where everyone has the right to feel safe and be treated with dignity and respect (Article 2 non-discrimination) RESPECT To ensure everyone has access to their rights, showing and demonstrating respect is essential. Where behaviours negatively affect the rights of others, teachers have the duty of care to respond and highlight the consequence to the child.
The organisation of the classroom is fundamentally important in managing behaviour. Teaching and learning should be interesting and varied and offer pupils a degree of choice. Account should be taken of pupils’ preferred learning styles. Pupils should feel involved in the learning and teaching process. Well organised, purposeful cooperative learning activities can improve behaviour. Expectations should be regularly enforced and should be realistic but challenging. Teaching should encourage an accurate match between aspirations and ability. The teachers’ every word and action should be based on the assumption that all pupils can achieve whatever is to be learned. Simple non- verbal encouragement (smile, thumbs up, etc.) is effective. Teachers should model good behaviour patterns and be aware of their own stress control techniques, where adults are in control but not ‘controlling.’ When pupils arrive in the classroom, initial contacts should be positive.
Responding to Good Behaviour
We aim to recognise, acknowledge and celebrate good behaviour along with a child’s effort and achievement regardless of ability (Article 2 non-discrimination). Children must expect their efforts to be recognised and we aim to maintain a culture where children want to succeed and are proud of their talents and success (Article 29: Goals of education). It is vital that there is an emphasis on praise rather than sanctions. The ultimate reward for good behaviour, effort and attendance will come from the opportunities that the child’s success will bring in the future. However, we recognise that children need recognition for their achievement in the shorter term. Parents (duty bearers) will be informed of achievements and there will be opportunities to celebrate successes in the whole school achievement assemblies.
Some of the positive consequences for the good choices and good behaviour that children show are:
Consequences
Although we insist on a strong emphasis on acknowledging and rewarding positive behaviours, there will on occasions be some students who may struggle to follow agreed expectations. When a child is displaying inappropriate behaviours we recognise that each situation will be absolutely unique to the child and therefore the response needed will be unique also. The situation and the factors involved will be considered carefully and responses will be made usually following a professional discussion between some/all of the following people; Headteacher, Assistant Heads, SENDCo, Learning Mentor, Class Teacher, Teaching Assistant. At every stage we will also maintain close communication with parents and carers.
Children are given opportunities to reflect on their behaviour and suggest what should have happened or what we expect to see in the future using restorative approach and questioning. It is essential that children are allowed to start each day with “a clean slate.” This will restore the working relationship between staff and the child and place the emphasis back onto rewarding positive behaviour. Any negative behaviour from the previous day should have been dealt with at that time and should not be allowed to affect the following day. However this does not mean that any strategy put in place to improve behaviour can be ignored e.g. if a child has been given an ongoing sanction due to their behaviour, or has been asked to sit in a particular seat, then that arrangement remains in place for as long as is required.
Whole school strategy
We strongly believe that responding to the SEMH needs of children is not the responsibility of a few staff in school; it is everyone’s responsibility. All members of staff are responsible for supporting the behaviour of children across the school- building relationships is everybody’s business!
Smiling and greeting a CYP on their way into school can really add to their sense of belonging/ feeling liked, respected and valued.
Our positive approaches to behaviour involve us ‘noticing’ good choices, being explicit in descriptive praise and providing reward as reinforcement.
Our Behaviour Curriculum
At Stoneyholme Primary School we want to create a calm, safe, supportive environment that limits disruption.
Pupils are expected to:
The Role of the Adults
Taking a non-judgmental, curious and empathic attitude towards behaviour. We encourage all adults in schools to respond in a way that focuses on the feelings and emotions that might drive certain behaviour, rather than the behaviour itself. Children with behavioural difficulties need to be regarded as vulnerable rather than troublesome, and we all have a duty to explore this vulnerability and provide appropriate support.
Staff focus on the central principles of empathy, connection, attunement, trust and co-regulation. This includes careful consideration and awareness-raising of both verbal and noncommunication.
We believe our approach to behaviour, supports staff to feel empowered to respond in a way that is empathetic but has boundaries, firm but kind.
Adults are expected to:
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 and procedures, but governors may give advice to the head teacher about particular disciplinary issues. The head teacher must take this into account when making decisions about matters of behaviour.
The governing body is responsible for:
Reviewing and approving the written statement of behaviour principles.
Reviewing this behaviour policy in conjunction with the headteacher.
Monitoring the policy’s effectiveness.
Holding the headteacher to account for its implementation.
Headteacher
The Headteacher and Senior Leadership Team lead the whole school ethos to promote a consistent Behaviour Policy: that is embedded across the school, through policy development, displays, choice of language, non-verbal behaviours, and communication with parents/carers, as well as those outside of the school community.
Parent/Carer
“The parent-child connection is the most powerful mental health intervention known to mankind” (Bessel van der Kolk)
Stoneyholme Community Primary school recognises the importance of the parent/child relationship. We work collaboratively with parents / carers so children receive consistent messages about how to behave. We aim to build a supportive dialogue between the home and the school. We inform parents / carers immediately if we have concerns about their child’s welfare or behaviour – this includes if there is a pattern of regularly receiving warnings. If parents / carers 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 unit leader/head teacher, and if still unresolved, the school governors. If these discussions cannot resolve the problem, a formal grievance or appeal process can be implemented.
Parents and carers, where possible, should:
The school will endeavour to build a positive relationship with parents and carers by keeping them informed about developments in their child's behaviour and the school’s policy, and working in collaboration with them to tackle behavioural issues.
Safeguarding
We recognise that changes in behaviour may be an indicator that a pupil needs help or protection.
We will consider whether a pupil’s misbehaviour may be linked to them suffering, or being likely to suffer, significant harm.
Where this may be the case, we will follow our child protection and safeguarding policy, and consider whether pastoral support, an early help intervention or a referral to children’s social care is appropriate.
Please refer to our child protection and safeguarding policy for more information.
Child on Child Abuse.
All staff should be aware that safeguarding issues can manifest themselves via child-on-child abuse. This is most likely to include, but may not be limited to:
• bullying (including cyberbullying);
• physical abuse such as hitting, kicking, shaking, biting, hair pulling, or otherwise causing physical harm;
• sexual violence and sexual harassment;
• sexting (also known as youth produced sexual imagery); and
• initiation/hazing type violence and rituals.
All staff should be clear as to the school’s policy and procedures with regards to child on child abuse. Please see Safeguarding Policy.
Anti-Bullying
We foster a clear understanding that bullying, in any form, is unacceptable. We believe that preventing bullying is the responsibility of our whole school community and when there are incidents of bullying we will work together to deal with the situation and to learn from what has happened. In our school we do this by:
· Involving the school community in developing our policy including a child/ pupil friendly version of our policy.
· Using assemblies and time in class to ensure that pupils understand the differences between relational conflict and bullying.
· Building a positive ethos based on respecting and celebrating all types of difference in our school.
· Creating a safe and happy environment, with consequent positive relationships that have an impact on learning and achievement.
· Having a positive ethos that all pupils, staff and parents understand.
· Work in school which develops empathy, social skills and emotional understanding e.g. PSHCE, Citizenship.
· Secure the safety of the target of bullying. Take actions to stop the bullying from happening again. Whole school learning - reflection on what we have learnt · Think about any safeguarding concern and report concerns to Designated Safeguarding Lead.
· Provide assurances to child that concerns have been listened to and action will be taken.
· Consider who else is involved and what roles they have taken.
· Send clear message that the bullying must stop.
· Work with both parties to find solutions. Identify the most effective way of preventing reoccurrence and any consequences.
Reflect and learn from bullying episodes –consider what needs to happen next to prevent future bullying e.g. PSHE, training etc.
· Raising awareness of online bullying through regular e-safety lessons.
· Adopting a social model approach to bullying. Diversity is valued and everyone is included in our school.
· Focussed work with individuals and groups of pupils where required to support understanding and development of social skills.
· Ensuring all staff are trained and we have a range of activities at lunchtime to promote positive interactions.
· Offering training to all school staff around bullying, including specific guidance on those groups who are most likely to be bullied.
Reporting Bullying
In our school pupils are encouraged to talk to staff when they are unhappy or have concerns. Pupils in our school understand that they have a right to feel and be safe and a responsibility to support others to feel and be safe. Pupils are encouraged to report bullying to:
· A trusted adult
· Their class teacher/TA
Each class has a ‘worry box’ where children can report their concerns if they do not feel confident speaking to an adult. They can also talk to Miss Wilkinson online through See-Saw application using email. Children are taught that it is important to talk to a trusted adult if bullying is taking place outside of school. Parents are also encouraged to report concerns and bullying to named individuals. This is normally the class teacher. When pupils report their concerns our staff are trained to LISTEN and to BELIEVE. We involve children as far as possible in finding solutions.
Parents are encouraged to:
•If a parent has any concerns about their child they should speak to the class teacher immediately. If a parent thinks bullying is the issue, the matter will be referred to the headteacher. The headteacher is always informed of any bullying concerns at Stonyholme Primary School and monitors the situation carefully.
•If a parent feels unable to talk to the class teacher, they can make an appointment to speak directly with the Headteacher.
•The school will work with both the child and the parents to ensure that any bullying is stopped and that support is given where needed.
•Parents should not confront the bully or their parents. This can complicate the situation and distress the pupil.
•The school will deal directly with all children involved and their parents directly. Parents will be kept informed of any actions the school is taking.
•If parents feel that their concern has not been dealt with appropriately they should follow the schools complaints policy. All members of the school community, including pupils, staff, parents and governors, are expected to treat everyone with dignity respect at all times. This includes both face-to-face contact and online.
Zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment and sexual violence
We will ensure that all incidents of sexual harassment and/or violence are met with a suitable response, and never ignored.
Pupils are encouraged to report anything that makes them uncomfortable, no matter how ‘small’ they feel it might be.
The school’s response will be:
We have procedures in place to respond to any allegations or concerns regarding a child’s safety or wellbeing. These include clear processes for:
Please refer to our child protection and safeguarding policy for more information
Reasonable Force
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 would only need to 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.
Reasonable force covers a range of interventions that involve physical contact with pupils. All members of staff have a duty to use reasonable force, in the following circumstances, to prevent a pupil from:
Incidents of reasonable force must:
When considering using reasonable force, staff should, in considering the risks, carefully recognise any specific vulnerabilities of the pupil, including SEND, mental health needs or medical conditions.
Exclusions
Only the 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 and 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. The headteacher informs the local authority and the governing body about any permanent exclusion, and about any fixed-term exclusions beyond five days in any one term. If the head teacher excludes a pupil, s/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. A committee, made up of between three and five governors, considers any exclusion appeals on behalf of the governing body. 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 local authority, and consider whether the pupil should be reinstated. If the governors’ appeals panel decides that a pupil should be reinstated, the Principal must comply with this ruling. The governing body itself cannot either exclude a pupil or extend the exclusion period made by the Principal. A less extreme form of exclusion may also be considered: this may, for example, involve lunchtime inclusion or learning exclusion, where a pupil learns away from the class. School staff would consult with parents but do not need to report this.
Monitoring/recording
There is a wide range of highly effective provision for managing the behaviour of pupils, observation, unit meetings, CPOMS recording, communication with parents, support from SLT, these effective systems are in place to ensure that any issues are quickly dealt with. The excellent use of LSAs to support individual pupils is very effective in managing behaviour and we use lots of small group interventions for targeted pupils to support their learning. Children are taught to take responsibility for their own behaviours - including making choices and accepting consequences
We use various interventions, these includes various assessment and monitoring tools/toolkits, such as: - The Boxall Profile - The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) - Various Emotional Literacy and Social Skills resources, as well as strategically planning social and emotional lunchtime activities. We use an holistic support for children presenting SEMH needs, such as Early Help and TAF processes.
We will collect data on the following:
Behavioural incidents, including removal from the classroom.
Attendance, permanent exclusions and suspensions.
Use of pupil support units, off-site directions and managed moves.
Incidents of searching, screening and confiscation.
Perceptions and experiences of the school behaviour culture for staff, pupils, governors, trustees and other stakeholders (via anonymous surveys)
Recognising the impact of SEND on behaviour
We recognise that pupils’ behaviour may be impacted by a special educational need or disability (SEND).
When incidents of misbehaviour arise, we will consider them in relation to a pupil’s SEND, although we recognise that not every incident of misbehaviour will be connected to their SEND. Decisions on whether a pupil’s SEND had an impact on an incident of misbehaviour will be made on a case-by-case basis.
When dealing with misbehaviour from pupils with SEND, especially where their SEND affects their behaviour, we will balance their legal duties when making decisions about enforcing the behaviour policy. The legal duties include:
Taking reasonable steps to avoid any substantial disadvantage to a disabled pupil being caused by the school’s policies or practices (Equality Act 2010).
Using our best endeavours to meet the needs of pupils with SEND (Children and Families Act 2014).
If a pupil has an education, health and care (EHC) plan, the provisions set out in that plan must be secured and the school must co-operate with the local authority and other bodies.
As part of meeting these duties, the school will anticipate, as far as possible, all likely triggers of misbehaviour, and put in place support to prevent these from occurring.
Any preventative measures will take into account the specific circumstances and requirements of the pupil concerned.
Our approach may include:
Short, planned breaks for a pupil with SEND who finds it difficult to sit still for long.
Adjusting seating plans to allow a pupil with visual or hearing impairment to sit in sight of the teacher.
Adjusting uniform requirements for a pupil with sensory issues or who has severe eczema.
Training for staff to understand conditions such as autism.
Uses of spaces such as sensory room or quiet zones for when a child may be experiencing sensory overload.
As outlined in the SEN Code of Practice and our local SEND Guide, we promote a differentiated approach following different levels of intervention using the Assess/ Plan/Do, Review cycle. Appropriate target-setting and information-sharing is extremely important, to ensure that bespoke provision and strategies are recorded using a range of suitable tools such as IEPs and Provision Maps. These are jointly developed, agreed and reviewed, involving key adults.
Off-site misbehaviour
Sanctions may be applied where a pupil has misbehaved off-site when representing the school. This means misbehaviour when the pupil is:
Sanctions may also be applied where a pupil has misbehaved off-site, at any time, whether or not the conditions above apply, if the misbehaviour:
Online misbehaviour
The school can issue behaviour sanctions to pupils for online misbehaviour when:
It poses a threat or causes harm to another pupil.
It could have repercussions for the orderly running of the school.
It adversely affects the reputation of the school.
The pupil is identifiable as a member of the school.
Sanctions will only be given out on school premises or elsewhere when the pupil is under the lawful control of a staff member.
Malicious allegations
Where a pupil makes an allegation against a member of staff and that allegation is shown to have been deliberately invented or malicious, the school will consider whether to discipline the pupil in accordance with this policy.
Where a pupil makes an allegation of sexual violence or sexual harassment against another pupil and that allegation is shown to have been deliberately invented or malicious, the school will consider whether to discipline the pupil in accordance with this policy.
In all cases where an allegation is determined to be unsubstantiated, unfounded, false or malicious, the school (in collaboration with the local authority designated officer (LADO), where relevant) will consider whether the pupil who made the allegation is in need of help, or the allegation may have been a cry for help. If so, a referral to children’s social care may be appropriate.
The school will also consider the pastoral needs of staff and pupils accused of misconduct.
Please refer to our child protection and safeguarding policy
Review
“This policy functions as a practice guide and is therefore reviewed whenever issues arise which generate new ways to communicate our approach, and otherwise annually”.
Date of Policy Implementation: March 2024 Date of Next Review: March 2025