Rushen Primary School Behaviour Policy
Aims
• To create an environment where everyone feels safe, free, cared for and in which pupils will be able to work effectively to achieve their potential.
• To foster respect for ourselves, other peers and members of the community and for the buildings and environment in which we live.
Objectives
• To raise children’s awareness of what is acceptable behaviour.
• To develop in individual children a personal ability to conduct themselves in manner that is acceptable and valuable.
• To foster a sense of responsibility amongst groups of children that will be both self supporting and mutually rewarding.
• To create an environment where children behave in a manner that enables the school to operate effectively for all who attend it.
• To build good attitudes amongst our children that will be carried forward as they move on into the rest of their lives.
• To be confident that the children of Rushen School will represent the school in a manner that will reflect positively upon the establishment.
Achieving acceptable standards of behaviour
Approach
All matters of behaviour management will be approached from a positive angle eg Would you ..... rather than don’t do that. A common approach to matters of behaviour will be taken by everyone in the school with the exception of personal preferences in terms of the subtleties of class/teacher relationships so that children will be aware that the behaviour accepted by the school is universal regardless of who is supervising them e.g. teacher, lunchtime ancillary, parent helper, caretaker, visitor to the school. To this end everyone involved in the running of Rushen School will be involved in the creation of our behaviour guidelines and made aware of its content and the intended interpretation of statements contained within them.
Rules
Rules need to be put into place so that children are aware of the boundaries of acceptable behaviour and the frame work in which they will be expected to operate. Some of these rules will be of an operational nature to assist with the smooth running of classrooms etc eg Children will tidy away materials at the end of an activity before moving onto the next. Some rules will be safety orientated to ensure that accidents are avoided if possible eg When moving about the school children will walk on the left hand side of corridors.
Sanctions
Children need to be aware that if they cross the line of acceptability action of some description will always be taken. We are endeavouring to promote self discipline, children will be offered opportunities to correct inappropriate behaviour of their own volition (once it has been identified by an adult) before sanctions are invoked.
Sanctions that could be used are: Removal of privileges. Use of personal time to compensate for misdemeanours.
Code of Conduct
A Code of Conduct has been drawn up by each teacher and their class.
The Codes of Conduct will form the baseline for the development of acceptable standards of behaviour. Children will be expected to conform to the standards set out in the appropriate Code of Conduct.
Reward Schemes
Each class will devise a scheme by which behaviour that meets the agreed standards is awarded with some form of recognition stars house points etc.
Merit Scheme This scheme is to reward children who are being helpful or demonstrating good manners. Teachers may only give merits to children who are not in their class. The merits are kept in pots in the Entrance Halls and in the School Libraries. Merits that have been awarded to children are displayed in their classrooms. The total number gained by each class is calculated each week and the class with the highest number of merits gains a reward, usually a session in the adventure playground. Once a term a draw is made to pick a winner for a prize.
Star of the Week Scheme Every Friday each teacher chooses a child from within their class to be their Star of the Week, they are awarded a certificate at the Star of the Week Assembly and told what it is that they have done that has particularly impressed them.
Playground Raffle tickets The Lunchtime supervisors issue raffle tickets to children who are playing sensibly, once a month we draw these out of a hat and award a small prize to the lucky winner. Each month a cup will be awarded to the Year group that has collected the greatest number of tickets.
Class rewards Each class has a class based reward system that the class teacher operates, eg. stars and star charts, marble jars
Stages of Control
• Personal self discipline
• Return to acceptable behaviour on a cursory signal from teacher (or other adult)
• Verbal reminder from teacher • Intervention by teacher to offer alternatives if unacceptable behaviour continues
• Removal from surroundings to somewhere within the confines of the classroom where isolation is possible from the other members of the class
• Removal from the room by the Headteacher or a Senior member of staff in the Headteacher’s absence the internal phone system would be used to summon the additional help in this situation or alternatively (in extreme cases) a reliable child from the class would be given a red emergency card (see attached) and sent to seek out the Headteacher . The card should be prominently displayed in the classroom so that it can be easily be found if it is needed.
• Parents would be involved at this stage or if the child displayed frequent deviations from the accepted level of behaviour. The school governors would be formally informed of the problems at this stage but would have been made aware of the difficulties prior to this through informal discussions.
• If school and parents were unable to jointly raise the standard of an individual’s behaviour to that which is accepted within Rushen Primary School, further help will be sought from the Department of Educations Special Needs Support Service.
• It is possible that a child may display inappropriate behaviour sufficiently frequently that despite the above procedure having been worked through insufficient improvement is made and then the possibility of suspension or exclusion will become a reality.