Scunthorpe Church of England Primary School

SCUNTHORPE CHURCH OF ENGLAND PRIMARY SCHOOL

POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR POLICY

RATIONALE

This school has a responsibility to establish a whole school policy to promote positive behaviour.

Within the principles advocated by the Governing Body concerning the promotion of standards of behaviour and the maintenance of good order, the ultimate responsibility is that of the head teacher. However, it is expected that incidents relating to the maintenance of good order and discipline will be dealt with by teachers as part of their professional duties as and when they occur.

This policy will support the school in maintaining a safe environment for all pupils, staff and visitors, of all abilities and backgrounds (ECM2.2) and will encourage appropriate social behaviour.

PURPOSES

To support the school’s ethos of rules and a positive rewarding attitude to good behaviour.
To create a safe, secure environment for pupils, staff and visitors.
To enable children to progress through stages of moral development leading to self-discipline.
To create a positive learning environment.
To promote acceptable codes of behaviour and encourage respect for the pupils, staff and other adults.
To achieve a consistent approach to positive behaviour across the school.
To provide a common language of support which adheres to the 4Rs framework:

Teachers have the right to teach

Pupils have the right to learn

Everybody has the right to safety

Everybody has the right to dignity

Everyone within the school community has the responsibility to ensure that we can all enjoy our rights.

GUIDELINES FOR ALL SCHOOL STAFF

All adults in school must ensure that the following happen:

Children will be praised and rewarded for positive behaviour.

A simple set of rules has been agreed which is acceptable to both staff and pupils.

An agreed set of sanctions has been carried out. There are clear steps in the policy follow them carefully along with de-escalation strategies.

We use the “It’s Good to be Green!” system

Adults will demonstrate mutual respect as an example to children.

Children will be encouraged to take responsibility for their own actions. Children must be given the opportunity to self regulate their behaviour and to correct their behaviour choices.

Children will be offered a challenging curriculum, a stimulating environment and an orderly routine.

Children will be offered time and support to reflect on their actions.

Self esteem will be promoted at all times.

Parental support and cooperation will be encouraged, including a home-school agreement.

CONCLUSION

This policy should be seen in relation to all areas of the curriculum and the ethos of the school and reviewed yearly.

THE PRINCIPLES OF GOOD PRACTICE

In order to promote good behaviour we must take a careful look at ourselves. What we do in our classrooms has a direct impact on pupil behaviour.

Below are a few principles of good practice:

a)The teacher must be in the classroom with the work ready before the lesson starts.

b)Making sure that the lesson is well-planned is important. If the teacher is confident in the preparation, the teacher is more likely to be confident in the delivery of the lesson.

c)Making sure that the appropriate resources are to hand is vital. It is very easy for children to become bored and consequently they may well misbehave if they have to wait.

d)The organisation of the classroom will help children to know where to get the things they need and prevent unnecessary interruptions to learning and teaching.

e)Keeping things tidy is important – it conveys a pride in our school environment and also encourages children to care for the quality of work produced.

f)Developing good relationships is vital. If the children feel that you do not care for them, they will respond likewise and become uncooperative. Spending a few minutes to listen to a child at playtime can be very helpful in getting willingness to work and stick to the rules. Making personal positive comments shows children that you care for them.

g)Making sure that the work is appropriate to the child is of paramount importance: learning activities across the curriculum must be differentiated so that all children are sufficiently challenged and make progress.

h)Ensure that children know how to use classroom equipment appropriately.

i)Have clear routines so that children know what they have to do. Try to have a routine at the start of each lesson so that they have something to do when they come into the room and have a routine to follow at the end of the lesson, as these times can create their own problems. Have routines for transition or for trying to get whole class attention. We use the whole school sign of hands up to stop.

j)Don’t overreact to problems. Stay calm and then the children are likely to do the same. Save shouting for the rare occasion when something really serious has happened. Follow the procedures, it takes the emotion out of the situation and avoids arguments as the steps are the same for everybody.

k)Try to avoid interruptions. Don’t let other people ‘steal’ learning and teaching time with matters that can be dealt with during lesson breaks.

l)Don’t stop your lesson to sort out problems that could be left to be sorted out during the next break, when you will be free to deal it and tempers may well have cooled by then.

m)All classes will hold a 20-minute positive behaviour Weekly Meeting, during which class issues can be dealt with positively by all class members. Minutes for these meetings should be taken in KS2 classes (Y4-Y6).

DAILY ROUTINES

Key factors to positive behaviour are clear and consistent routines, which are easily understood by all.

Classrooms will be set out in preparation for the children.

Teachers will make arrangements for their class to be collected from the playground promptly at the start of each session.

At assembly time classes will be lined up and will walk silently to the hall. Being on time is essential. Class teachers/ teaching assistants will supervise their class out of the hall after the assembly.

At playtime teachers will see their children quietly out of the building.

During wet weather children will remain in their classrooms and be supervised by their class teachers/ teaching assistants.

Teachers must be on the playground ready to collect their classes before the whistle/ bell.

All teachers are expected to supervise the end of playtimes.

Classes will be lined up and walk quietly to and from the playground/ hall for Physical Education and singing.

At home time children will leave the building in an orderly manner, supervised by class teachers and teaching assistants.

When walking around school children will be taught to keep to the left. This will be reinforced by all adults in school.

“It’s Good to be Green” Rules

We are kind, polite, helpful and aware of others’ feelings.

We listen carefully to others without interrupting them.

We look after our own and other people’s belongings.

We try our best, work hard, and learn from our mistakes.

We treat each other the way we would like to be treated.

We always tell the truth.

CLASSROOM EXPECTATIONS

We must all be consistent in our expectations of children’s behaviour, both in and outside the classroom. It is important that teachers outline these general expectations at the beginning of every school year, and then remind children of them regularly.

Always do your best.

Come into the classroom sensibly, calmly and quietly and listen for instructions.

Allow other people to work.

Work sensibly, co-operate and share.

Put your hand up to show you are ready to listen to the adult.

Ask permission before leaving the room.

Take pride in your work.

Take pride in your classroom, help to keep it tidy.

All staff will support the pupil’s behaviour outside of the classroom environment. All staff will respond sensitively to the various behavioural needs of the children.

PLAYGROUND AND TOILETS

Play together sensibly.
Tell an adult if you have a problem.
Put litter in a bin.
Use the toilets considerately.

DINNER TIME EXPECTATIONS

Always do as you are told first time.
Line up quietly and go into the dining hall sensibly.
Talk to people near you in a quiet voice.
When you have finished your meal, clear your place and go out when told to do so.
Always listen and behave respectfully towards adults.

STRATEGIES TO ENCOURAGE POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR

GENERAL PRINCIPLES

Teachers will give a lead in dealing with children and reinforcing good behaviour. All adults will treat all children equally, be calm and polite, and will raise their voices only in an emergency or when in the playground.

It is important to criticise the behaviour and not the child.

Avoid confrontation and especially physically manhandling children.

Allow the child to save face by giving them the option to change to more appropriate behaviour.

Good behaviour will be praised and noted and bad behaviour not reinforced and dealt with quietly. The names of good children will be said frequently and the names of badly behaved children as little as possible.

IT’S GOOD TO BE GREEN SYSTEM

Each class has a name cardholder displaying children’s names and children are encouraged to stay on green.

Children have the chance to start afresh on green every session and are expected to maintain this throughout the day.

If a child does not follow the “Good to be Green” rules they receive a verbal warning. If it continues then they move onto a “Yellow Warning Card”. (Use de escalation techniques )

If a child modifies behaviour and follows expected behaviour choices they can return to green. Put warning card behind so green card is now showing.

If a child ignores the opportunity to make better behaviour choices and continues to behave inappropriately then give another verbal warning. If behaviour continues then move them to a “Red Consequence Card”. (Follow the consequences from the Sanctions below)

Record behaviour on class consequence sheet.

After a consequence has been assigned the child moves back to green with the opportunity to make improved behaviour choices. Consequences issued and served quickly have most impact then the children can start again to make improved behaviour choices.

Any child on green at the end of the day earns a counter for their house team.

Counters can be awarded for positive behaviour at any opportunity during the lesson.

Children who stay on green all the time will be our Always children and will have their name added to the hat for the “Good to be Green” class draw to be made weekly after Friday celebration.

BEHAVIOUR IN ASSEMBLIES

Adults will assist by bringing classes in quietly and being continually active in reinforcing good behaviour with praise. On collecting classes at the end of assembly adults will again reinforce good behaviour and insist that children walk back to their classrooms quietly. Children will return to their classrooms before going out to play.

REWARDS

These may be given for good work, good behaviour, etc. These are teachers’ personal rewards and are given to further support whole school positive strategies:

Verbal praise.
Name on board.
Coloured counters for school team.
Stickers.
Special jobs.
Choice activities.
Good day note given out at the end of the day by the class teacher.
Celebration of who has stayed on green on a daily basis.
The class teacher or head teacher will send letters/ postcards home to parents about good work or behaviour of their child. Furthermore, teachers may telephone home to express positive views about a child.
At the end of each week children who have been on green all week “Always Green” are awarded a sticker and included in a prize draw in the classroom for a good to be green prize.
Once each half term Merits are awarded to children having made significant achievements. Parents are invited to the assembly where these are presented. It is the schools policy to invite parents to witness the presentation of any positive award that their child may be given.
On alternate weeks one child from each class will share a piece of work and will be awarded a sticker by the Head Teacher in the weekly “What Went Well” assembly.
In addition a Buddy will be recognised for their hard work in WWW assemblies.

POSITIVE STRATEGIES

Each class has four containers to represent the four different coloured house teams. A teacher will award team counters for the following expected behaviours:

Working hard and doing your best.
Consistently walking around school sensibly.
Consistently being polite and helpful.
Consistently lining up sensibly.
Consistently sitting in assembly quietly and sensibly, etc.

Aspirational Targets – Celebrating Strengths

Honesty
Truthfulness
Having responsibility, etc.

Children will focus on different strengths half termly. Teachers may make reference to these in Merit assemblies. Classrooms display the theme and the strengths and children are encouraged to recognise the strengths in both themselves and others.

Each adult will use their own discretion when deciding what to award counters for. The children will realise that they have to be consistently well behaved to receive a counter and these will be added to the whole school team jars. There will be termly house team rewards.

GOLDEN TIME

Administration of Golden Time is at the discretion of the class teacher.

The purpose of Golden Time is to reward good behaviour. It is a positive behaviour management strategy which needs to be managed sensitively in order to maintain its continued success. All children in KS1 start with 20minutes of Golden time. Teachers have ready a Golden Time record chart on which the children choose their GoldenTime activity and on which a record of deducted minutes of Golden Time is kept. Children lose minutes of Golden Time for failing to keep the Good to be Green Rules and incurring red cards. The procedure for deducting Golden Time is as follows:

Children who fail to comply with Good to be Green Rules are given verbal warnings, in line with the school Behaviour Policy.
If children are issued with a “Red Consequence Card” children start to lose minutes of Golden Time as well as continuing to incur sanctions in line with the Behaviour Policy.
Only one minute of Golden Time should be deducted at a time
Every class member should be left with at least five minutes of Golden Time
In order to track and monitor behaviour, class teachers should keep a weekly record chart.

Our “Always” children will receive verbal and written praise regularly. They will be able to attend a variety of activities.

Nurture Provision

Children who are at serious risk of underachievement due to social, emotional or behavioural reasons (or any combinations of these) will be considered for inclusion into Nurture provision.

Classteachers should discuss their concerns with a member of the Senior Leadership Team. The Nurture Practitioners will ask for a pen portrait of the child, outlining the strengths as well as the areas for concern, from the class teacher, and will support the class teacher in completing the first Boxall Profile.

Golden Eggs

A Golden Egg system is in place for all children who have had access to the Nurture provision. This may be used by the child to gain entry into the NEST at those times where they feel pastoral support is needed. The class teacher may also indicate to a child to take time out in the NEST if their behaviour or emotional condition is becoming a barrier to their learning.

NEST Cards

If the Pastoral team make an emergency intervention a card with the NEST symbol on it is given to the class teacher to inform them of the incident and the class teacher will then liaise with the staff involved at a mutually convenient time to hear about the incident and any outcomes.

Need to Talk Cards

As a specific need arises some children may need access to a member of the pastoral team to talk through concerns or issues. They will be given a “I need to talk card” which they can leave in the NEST or post in the worry box for an adult to find, who will then speak to the child about their concerns/worry.

SANCTIONS

CLASS TEACHER – WHAT TO DO IF …

Teachers are required to use their professional judgement when reprimanding a child, but if a child misbehaves to the extent that s/he is disrupting other children’s learning then:

STEPS

Give the child a quiet, personal verbal warning. (Use de-escalation techniques)

Move onto “Yellow Warning Card”

(Use de-escalation techniques)

If poor behaviour persists give another verbal warning

Move to “Red Consequence Card”.

Consequence: isolate child within class for 10 minutes or lose minutes from playtime.

Children’s name returns to green

If a child returns to seat and still persists moving back through “Yellow Warning Card” then “Red Consequence Card” then keep child in with you at playtime. If a child refuses to do any of the above then they immediately lose a playtime and a refusal letter is sent home.

For serious incidents (violence, aggression) Log behaviour on ABC sheet. Consult a member of the SLT or Pastoral Team.