WholeSchool Positive Behaviour Policy

UpdatedApril 2017

Review April 2018

Rationale

A whole school approach to behaviour management

The Haven School’s approach to behaviour management is based on positive relationships. All staff and students are expected to develop positive relationships with each other so that respect and dignity are evident at all times. Fairness, consistency and kindness are our operating principles.

Our Behaviour Management Strategy is based on our therapeutic belief that everyone has the capacity for growth and changing their behaviour. Most pupils who attend The Haven have barriers to learning and a history of negative experiences in other schools. We recognise that pupils will often present with extremely challenging behaviours during their time with us. We manage their behaviours through a whole school positive behaviour policy which aims to help them feel secure and therefore able to achieve their potential. It includes clear expectations and a rewards system.Success is evaluated not by the absence of problems but by the way we manage them.

Wherever possible our responses to a particular behaviour are centred on the individual needs of the pupil. If a pupil is making progress in managing their behaviour,our ethos ensures that there will always be another chance for them at The Haven.

Expectations are clear and promoted throughout the school. We also expect pupils to follow the spirit of this policy when they are off-site and wearing the school uniform. We expect all members of our learning community to follow the language of the policy. All staff work to help pupils improve their behaviour through targeted and personalised intervention.

The Haven - Values and Principles

We believe that young people who have suffered negative life experiences which have resulted in them being unable to learn successfully in mainstream or other schools should have the opportunity to learn in an environment that caters for their specific needs. We believe that these young people should be helped to develop improved self-esteem and respect for themselves and others. We believe in being honest with each other despite any differences and in treating each other how we would wish to be treated.

The ethos of the school reflects that all members of our community are equally valued irrespective of age, religion or belief, disability, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender re-assignment, pregnancy or maternity or immigration status. Our valuesare on display around the school and are expected to be practiced by of all members of The Haven’s community:

Aims

Our primary aim is to support pupils so that by the time they leave us, they are prepared for the next stage of their education, employment or training. We promote the therapeutic, personal and academic development of each pupil, tackle disaffection, improve attendance and behaviour, increaselearners’ participation in education and raise their levels of achievement.

We consistently aim;

  • To create an environment thatwill encourage and reinforce good behaviour so that pupils’ dignity is protected.
  • To define acceptable standards of behaviour.
  • To encourage a consistency of response to both positive and negative behaviour.
  • To promote self-esteem, self-discipline and positive relationships.
  • To ensure that the school's expectations and strategies are widely known and understood.
  • To encourage the involvement of both home and school in the implementation of this policy.

Areas of impact on pupils:

  • Improved self image, confidence and motivation
  • Improved social skills andthe ability to form better relationships with staff, peers, family and the wider community
  • Raised expectations of potential
  • Improved attendance and punctuality
  • Increased academic success

Our approach to behaviour management at The Haven concentrates on rewarding good behaviour through a system of recognition, praise and rewards.

Recognition systems include consistent, impartial and fair strategies to discourage inappropriate behaviour.

Our systemsand support strategies encourage pupils to exercise self-control and develop positive attitudes to school work.

By accessing a variety of activities that are well-matched to their individual abilities, we provide pupils with opportunities to experience success and achieve.

Pupils areencouraged to develop an understanding of their own behaviour, andhow inappropriate attitudes and behaviour affects themselves and others.

We aim to help pupils to manage their emotions and therefore reduce the number of behaviour incidents that occur. We believe that the best way of doing this is by providing support that results in improved confidence and self-esteem. We do not aim to “control” or “manage” the pupils but to help them learn that the most effective form of discipline is self-discipline. This then has a positive impact on attitude to learning and outcomes.

Haven staff receive training in the practice of The Restorative Justice system of mediation. On the rare occasions when it is necessary to adopt this practice it has proved to be 100% successful.

Who is involved?

Everyone in The Haven community has a shared understanding of the policy on behaviour management.

The Behaviour Policy is discussed with pupils before they are admitted to The Haven. It is regularly discussed and clarified in forums such as induction lessons, tutorials, PSHE, Skill Building lessons and personal mentoring sessions. It is also discussed and reinforced at pupils’ regular and annual SEN reviews.

Parents and carers have a particular role to play in reinforcing the policy and working in partnership with The Haven to encourage positive behaviour. The Behaviour Policy is discussed with parents and carers before pupils are admitted, and forms part of the home-school agreement. Parents and carers receive information about the behaviour of their child/children during review meetings and are involved in discussions through phone calls home.

The Governors and all teaching and support staff receive copies of the policy; the policy is regularly discussed and reviewed at staff meetings to aid consistency in the giving of rewards and sanctions and to ensure it addresses the needs of our pupils.

These values are supported by the following rules

* Arrive on time.

* Put all belonging in your box.

* Follow your individual timetable.

* Stay on The Haven premises.

* Go to a member of staff if you need help.

* Show respect to all staff and your fellow pupils.

We believe that all of our learners can do well. We encourage success by supporting them to meet the following expectations.

Our expectations:

  • All pupils will speak politely and show respect to everyone within The Haven community and not use inappropriate language.
  • Pupils will respect and not damage school property or the building.

How it works

Pupils are expected to conform to The Haven’s Values and Rules in addition to personal behaviour targets which are set by personal mentors within a mentor meeting. Discussions with the pupils help them to understand their own behaviour and what they need to do to improve.

Our systems also provide for a series of ‘fresh starts’ throughout the day, so that pupils who may have had a poor start to the day are still able to ‘pull this back’.

This system assumes minor low-level disruptive behaviour.

Formal discussion of pupil behaviour takes place during staff meetings and reviews. Staff will have opportunities to discuss aspects of behaviour with pupils during the day.

Individual Behaviour Targets

In addition to The Haven’s values, rules and expectations, pupils may have specific behaviour targets designed to support them in managing their behaviour. Achievement of these targets is monitored and recorded; targets are also reviewed at review meetings.

The Teaching and Learning environment

During the day, our aim is to avoid incidents of inappropriate behaviour. By creating a calm atmosphere that is conducive to learning we know that behaviour targets can be met and academic pupil progress can be made.

Our staff enable this to happen by;

  • Planning differentiated learning experiences that are relevant to the learners’ academic and social needs
  • Offering varied tasks that are sufficiently challenging and achievable
  • Demonstrating flexibility where planned activities fail to engage
  • Teaching with appropriate pace, ensuring that there is a clear sense of progression

During lessons our practice is to;

  • Set clear learning outcomes
  • Model tasks clearly to explicit success criteria
  • Encourage learners by offering appropriate praise, help and explanations where necessary
  • Monitor progress
  • Correct errors in ways that emphasise the learning opportunities they present
  • Give personal feedback to learners on all progress made academically and socially

Rewards:

The recognition of achievement is important and we aim to reward appropriate behaviour, learning and endeavour by;

Using spontaneous praise

Using encouraging comments about work and behaviour

Giving praise in front of class, if appropriate

Giving positive comments to another adult

Writing comments of praise on work

Displaying work

Phoning home to inform parents / carers of good progress

Giving pupils a signed commendation

Writing a letter home

Presenting certificates of recognition

Providing extracurricularactivities

Sanctions

How we aim to manage misbehaviour within a lesson (in hierarchical order):

  • Quiet word or ‘look’
  • Reminder of rules
  • Encouraged by member of staff to settle down
  • Brief discussion, where appropriate, of inappropriate behaviour
  • Review of seating arrangement/setting
  • Offer of support or time out
  • Individual catch-up timetable the following day

For more serious infractions or persistent offenders, the following procedures will take place:

  • A phone call home to discuss the pupil’s behaviour
  • A letter home
  • Incident noted on the pupil’s file
  • In more serious and violent circumstances Physical Intervention may be used. (SCIPr) (This is mentioned in admission meetings to parents/carers)
  • Possible fixed-term exclusion.

Behaviours that stop learners doing well and which could result in a review of current provision are;

  • Verbal or physical abuse of staff
  • Bullying – physical, verbal, emotional
  • Sexual harassment of any kind
  • Prejudice on grounds of race, age, gender, sexuality, disability and others
  • Deliberate damage or theft of property

Referral to LA for a new placement is a possibility as a last resort

This could be for

  • A violent physical assault on another person that causes actual bodily harm.
  • Continued and total refusal to follow The Haven rules and procedures
  • Bringing a weapon into school

Wherever possible, sanctions take place as near as possible in terms of time to misbehaviour in order to provide maximum deterrent effect. Sanctions also linked to misbehaviour when appropriate (e.g. cleaning up messes created, helping to mend damage).

When a pupil is persistently unable to meet targets, further discussion might result in extra input for the pupil and/or a review of the EHCP.

It would never be our intention to deprive pupils of areas of the curriculum in response to misbehaviour; nevertheless behaviour that was causing us concern might result in a more limited curriculum input e.g. withdrawal from practical Science/Art and Craft lessons, withdrawal from outdoor activities, placement reduced to part-time.

The use of restrictive physical intervention

This strategy is used as part of the continuum of response to challenging behaviour that may at times occur. De-escalation strategies and positive relationships ensure that most instances of challenging behaviour can be managed without the need for use of restrictive physical intervention. Staff will only use this approach in the following circumstances:

  • To prevent a pupil injuring themselves or another person
  • To prevent serious damage to property
  • To prevent a pupil causing serious disruption to the good order of the school

Staff receive appropriate training which is updated annually. Following a restraint staff must fill in an incident slip which is filed in the Use of Restraint book. Parents/carers are informed and a pupil’s risk assessment is updated following any incident.

The Role of parents and carers:

The Haven expects parents and carers to;

  • Support The Haven in matters of attendance and punctuality by notifying the school of any absences or lateness
  • Notify The Haven of any factors that may affect the behaviour of their child
  • Support their child by attending any regular reviews, open days / events and other meetings
  • Be aware of, and support, The Haven’s Behaviour Policy

Involvement of outside agencies

The Haven School works positively with external agencies. It seeks appropriate support from them to ensure that the needs of all students are met by utilising the range of external support available. Students needing support from external agencies are identified through mentor sessions and general professional judgment from staff.

Consideration of police involvement

On very rare occasions when police involvement is considered necessary the senior leadership team isresponsible.

Responsibilities

SLT is responsible for ensuring that this policy and its related procedures and strategies are implemented.

Review

The Principal, Teacher-in-Charge and Pastoral Manager will monitor and review the Behaviour Policy. Staff will be consulted as part of this review to ensure its continuing appropriateness and effectiveness. The outcome of the review and changes to policy, resolutions and solutions will be communicated to all those involved, shared with the governors and incorporated into an amended Behaviour Policy.

Training

The Head teacher will ensure that appropriate high quality training on all aspects of behaviour management is provided to support the implementation of the policy such as:

  • ‘Brief’ Therapy - Solution Focused behaviour management training
  • Restorative Justice training
  • Regular Physical Intervention training and refresher courses
  • CAMHS training – on all aspects of mental health that are appropriate for our school.

SignedDate

Mike FentonApril 2017

Chair of Governors

SignedDate:

Jane SpensleyApril 2017

Principal

Review: April 2018