Northowram Primary school – Our Behaviour Policy

We believe that as a school, we work in partnership with parents and carers to lead, guide, encourage and instruct children within a framework of rights, responsibilities and rules. Effective behaviour management is essential to the smooth running of our school and in the creation of an environment where everyone’s rights and responsibilities are addressed. Here at Northowram we are a family so shared values are important. We have the highest expectations of conduct – we believe in the importance of good manners and in treating others with care and respect at all times, both in and outside of the classroom. This policy will support us all to have consistent, positive and purposeful school-wide practices. Through the approaches to managing behaviour detailed here, together with our work to teach Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL), it is our aim to:

  • Encourage positive behaviour
  • Correct behaviour which infringes on rights.
  • Enable children to be aware of and take ownership of their behaviour.
  • Enable children to respect the rights of others at the school. In our school family, we all have the same basic rights:
  1. The right to feel safe; 2. The right to learn;3. The right to be treated with respect
  • Support children to develop positive caring relationships with each other.
  • Enable cooperation and self-control.

Behaviour Consequences

We have high expectations and fair rules in our school. If children make it difficult for others to, learn or feel safe, or to be treated with respect, consequences will be applied.

There are three broad bands of behaviour that our school finds unacceptable:

Northowram Primary School (Jan 2010)

Behaviour Consequences: At Northowram Primary School we learn from our mistakes…

This diagram provides asummaryof progressive sanctions which will usually be applied to promote responsible behaviour

Northowram Primary School (Jan 2010)

Behaviour Consequences

The 4 Ws approach – ‘Reflection’

We want children to learn from and take responsibility for their mistakes. Where possible, consequences will link meaningfully with the behaviour, and will help children to take positive action to amend the situation. During a period of ‘reflection’, children will be asked to respond to a number of key questions:

  • What did you do? children are required to be specific about the behaviour in question
  • What rule did you break?/what right did you affect?
  • What is your explanation? This is a right of reply question
  • What do you think you need to do to put things right?

Sometimes, there is a need for TIME-OUT

Time out (when children are excluded temporarily from their learning and social environment) is an appropriate strategy:

  • When Children lash out (hit, kick, push furniture over etc)
  • For any aggressive behaviour to others, including verbal abuse
  • For persistent calling out or interfering with other children’s right to learn or the teacher’s right to teach
  • For any significantly unsafe behaviour

Time-out can:

  • Protect children’s and teachers’ rights
  • Give the disruptive child time to cool down and regain composure
  • Allow the disruptive child some thinking and reflection time
  • Give the class and teacher necessary cool-off time

Where possible, time-out will be managed within the classroom, moving a child away from their peers to a different area of the classroom. If this is not possible, or there is a need for a more obvious removal from the peer-group, children may be asked to spend time in a colleague or senior teacher’s classroom for an agreed amount of time. Once in this classroom, children will be expected to reflect on the 4 Ws before returning to their

class environment. Children will not be sent out into corridors.

Rewarding Good Conduct

High standards of conduct are the expected norm at our school. Our expectations in this area are communicated through assemblies, displays in classes and shared areas, explicit teaching and through the ethos within each class and throughout school.

Positive praise will be used to recognise good conduct. Exemplary conduct will be celebrated in weekly Praise assemblies and Praise lunches, and within classes in celebration meetings (Star of the week etc). Achievements in this area will be communicated to parents through the weekly newsletter. In addition to this, individual class teachers may:

  • devise systems for rewarding whole class good behaviour (e.g. marbles in a jar leading to class ‘treats’),
  • Implement individual reward systems (e.g star charts) as appropriate for their class.
  • Devise reward systems linked to good behaviour as a key part of individual behaviour plans which will be used to motivate individuals to make positive changes in their behaviour.

Inclusion

We believe that we are all responsible for our actions. We will help all children to learn to make the right choices, and to understand the effect of their actions on others.

Where it is the case that a child is finding it difficult to respect the rights of others, or where a child’s behaviour has been identified as a barrier to their own learning, then school and parents will work swiftly together to plan a way forward:

  • An individual behaviour plan will be written. This will identify short term, measurable targets linked to improved behaviour, and strategies that will be used at school (and home in some cases) to support these positive changes.
  • Progress towards these targets will be closely monitored.
  • Class teachers will liaise with the SENCO and leadership team for advice on strategies and to discuss progress.
  • The school will work with other professionals such as Behaviour Support, Educational Psychologist and Family Support to gain the best advice and support for children, school staff and families.

APPENDIX A

Behaviour Policy Appendix

Exclusion

Exclusion procedures may be instigated where the safety of the pupil, or other members of the school community or school property is put at risk because of:

  • Cumulative disruptive behaviour
  • Violence towards staff/pupils/property
  • Verbal abuse towards staff/pupils
  • Drugs/substance misuse
  • Sexual or Racial misconduct

These instances are not exclusive nor exhaustive, but indicate the severity of such offences and the fact that such behaviour can affect the discipline and well-being of the school community.

A decision to exclude will only be taken in response to serious breaches of the school’s behaviour policy and if allowing a pupil to remain in school would seriously harm the education or welfare of the pupil or others in the school.

  • The Head Teacher, in the first instance, will decide on the type and length of exclusion.
  • The Local Authority will be informed (for monitoring purposes).
  • The school will arrange curriculum provision (off site) for the excluded pupil.
  • The Governors’ Discipline Committee will consider any representation from parents and meet within 6-15 days. For exclusions over 6 days, the parent and the LA will be invited to the meeting by the Clerk to the Governors (in writing).

APPENDIX B

NORTHOWRAM PRIMARY SCHOOL

BAXTER LANE

NORTHOWRAM

HALIFAX

W. YORKS

HX3 7EF

Tel: 01422 202704

Fax: 01422 201728

e-mail:

Headteacher

Mr Daniel Lomas

Dear

I am writing to inform you of my decision to exclude NAME for a fixed period of ???? days. This means that ? will not be allowed in school for this period. The exclusion begins ? and ends at the end of the day ?.

I realise that this exclusion may well be upsetting for you and your family, but the decision to exclude NAMEhas not been taken lightly. ?has been excluded for this fixed period because of:

  • total disregard and disrespect towards a wide range of staff in the school
  • swearing at a member of staff
  • refusing to work

NAME’s past behaviour records have also been taken into consideration on deciding on this exclusion.

You have a duty to ensure that your child is not present in a public place in school hours during this exclusionunless there is reasonable justification for this. I must advise you that you may receive a penalty notice from the local authority if your child is present in a public place during school hours on the specified dates. If so, it will be for you to show reasonable justification.

We will set work for NAME to be completed during the period of his exclusion when you must ensure that ? is not present in a public place without reasonable justification. I provided you with some work this afternoon and further work will be available for you to collect from the office from 9am tomorrow morning. Please ensure that work set by the school is completed and returned to us promptly for marking.

You have the right to make representations about this decision to the governing body. If you wish to make representations please contact MR Jon Tolman through the school office, as soon as possible. Whilst the governing body has no power to direct reinstatement, they must consider any representations you make and may place a copy of their findings on your child’s school record.

You should also be aware that if you think the exclusion relates to a disability your child has, and you think disability discrimination has occurred, you have the right to appeal, and/or make a claim, to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST). The address to which appeals should be sent is SENDIST, Mowden Hall, Staindrop Road, Darlington DL3 9DN.

You and your child are requested to attend a reintegration interview with me at school on ?????????? If that is not convenient, please contact the school to arrange a suitable alternative date and time. The purpose of the reintegration interview is to discuss how best your child’s return to school can be managed. Failure to attend a reintegration interview will be a factor taken into account by a magistrates’ court if, on future application, they consider whether to impose a parenting order on you.

You also have the right to see a copy of NAME’sschool record. Due to confidentiality restrictions, you will need to notify me in writing if you wish to be supplied with a copy of NAME’s school record. I will be happy to supply you with a copy if you request it. There may be a charge for photocopying.

You may find it useful to contact the Advisory Centre for Education (ACE) – an independent national advice centre for parents of children in state schools. They offer information and support on state education in England and Wales, including on exclusion from school. They can be contacted on 020 7704 9822 or text ‘AskACE’ to 68808.

NAME’s exclusion expires at the end of the day on ?????? and we expect NAMEto be back in school on ?????? at 8.55am.

Yours sincerely

D Lomas

Northowram Primary School (Jan 2010)