BEHAVIOUR POLICY
Why have a Behaviour policy?
As in a family, the key to helping young people learn to behave appropriately in school lies in having a very consistent and fair approach. This policy sets out to define a code for appropriate behaviour at Minet Nursery & Infant School. Thepolicy is based on the school’s vision of a safe, caring, thinking school and applies to everyindividual.
What are our aims?
We aim to provide a happy atmosphere in which staff and parents work together for the welfare of the children, and where children adopt certain standards of behaviour, develop a sense of self-discipline and an acceptance of responsibility for their actions.
We encourage children to be gentle to one another and keep each other safe. We aim for everyone to be polite, well-mannered, helpful and to become good citizens. We believe that no-one has the right to prevent another child from learning or a teacher from teaching. We aim to give all our children a shared sense of pride in attending Minet Nursery & Infant School and to feel that it is a place where they are safe to learn and play without disruption.
It is important that we all understand what acceptable and unacceptable behaviour is. The consequences of unacceptable behaviour must also be clearly stated.
From the outset we recognise that there is a distinction between emotionally disturbed behaviour (which may be caused by a Special Educational Needs) and less complex poor behaviour. Pupils with identified special needs that result in serious misbehaviour will have a Behaviour Support Plan (BSP) involving parents and other agencies while working towards our high expectations.
The general standard of behaviour is the collective responsibility of the whole staff. This demands a positive policy of encouraging acceptable behaviour and high standards of learning, recognising success wherever possible and the constant setting of good examples by staff and parents.
Praise and encouragement are used so that behaviour management can take the form of rewarding rather than punishing. We aim to emphasise the positive rather than criticize, modeling the behaviour that we expect from each other.
Members of staff reinforce good behaviour in a number of ways:
• A quiet word of encouragement
• A positive written comment on a piece of work
• Stickers, stamps, stars and other age-appropriate awards both in books and in person
• A visit to another member of staff, or the Headteacher, for special praise
• Praise in front of the group, class or whole school
• Acknowledgment through ‘Special Mentions’ in assembly
• Giving a special privilege
• Displays of good learning
• Inviting parents / carers in to share good news
• A phone call home to share good news
• A letter home to parents / carers informing them of good actions
When we do respond to inappropriate behaviour, we are constructive and we give advice on how to improve. We ask children to agree what actually happened and decide how to put things right. Our school rules encourage children to think and make the right decisions. They make our high expectations simple to understand.
The majority of pupils respond to encouragement. A good reward system is essential to ensure progress rather than perfection. It is our aim that, by promoting positive behaviour and good learning, we will set the standards that we all wish to see throughout the school.
What are our school rules?
Think
-Could I hurt myself or someone else?
-Could I upset someone?
-Could I make work for someone?
If so: STOP and think again
If not: GO ahead
Try to…
-Be kind and respectful to everyone
-Be helpful and sensible
-Do your best and enjoy learning
What is the role of parents?
As part of our behaviour policy we recognise that parents/carers should be fully informed about their child’s behaviour. Every effort is made to ensure that there is good communication between home and school. Our expectations of parents are made clear in our prospectus. Should a child’s behaviour be a cause for concern, their parents will be contacted and the matter discussed.
What is the role of the staff?
Our school is a large community and children need to be taught as early as possible to appreciate that school is a place in which a positive code of behaviour has to be adhered to for the good of everyone.
Minet Nursery & Infant School staff support good behaviour by explicitly teaching and demonstrating to children that:
• Appropriate behaviour needs to be modeled and demonstrated by all adults at all times
• We set high standards, apply rules firmly and fairly and expect acceptable standards of behaviour and learning.
• Everyone is here for a purpose and must be treated as a valued individual
• Good relationships need to be actively worked upon between everyone at every level
• We all make mistakes sometimes and are willing to admit if we are wrong
• Problems are normal where children are learning and testing the boundaries of acceptable behaviour – they provide an opportunity to learn
All staff will always avoid:
• Humiliating – it breeds resentment
• Shouting – it diminishes you
• Over reacting – the problems grow
• Blanket punishments – the innocent will resent them
• Over punishment – never punish what you can’t prove
• Sarcasm
• Leaving pupils outside rooms
All staff will always:
• Keep calm
• Listen
• Be positive and solutions-focused
• Build relationships
• Carry out any sanctions consistently
• Be consistent and fair
• Follow up problems to their conclusion
• Be clear that when a problem is resolved we forgive and move on
What is our positive behaviour strategy?
Each class has the school rules displayed on the wall. These are regularly discussed to promote thinking about how to behave and trying to behave well.
Golden Time
Golden Time is awarded as a shared reward that the whole class earns and is never taken away from individuals as a punishment. Teachers invest the time and effort to ensure that golden time is very special, purposeful and safe.
Class rules and rewards
Staff, including SMSAs, use stickers, stars, stamps or other reward systems children to reward and recognise efforts small and large. Teachers will also discuss with children and display a set of class rules that are consistent with the school behaviour policy but are special to the ‘family’ of their class and year group.
How do we manage misbehaviour?
Teachers are encouraged to bear in mind that in many cases misbehaviour can be interpreted as communication. Where there is a pattern of problematic behaviour, teachers should consider speaking to a member of the inclusion team. Where pupils do not follow the school rules, teachers must try to discover the facts and who is involved in a given situation. They will then decide the appropriate action or strategy to be employed.
While teaching we stick to the following steps:
1. A warning look - Child is given a chance to make a fresh start
2. Quiet verbal reminder - Child is given a chance to make a fresh start
3. Name on the board
4. Name underlined
5. Pupil sent to parallel teacher for time out of maximum 15 minutes to sit at reflection tables and complete “What happened?” sheets.
Exclusions
If a child continues to struggle with their behaviour choices then they may need to be excluded from school for a short period. All other avenues of support must have been exhausted at this point.
The LA National Exclusion Guidelines are followed at all times.
The following constitute some of the inappropriate behaviours which may lead to fixed term or permanent exclusions. All of these apply to behaviour directed towards either children or adults within the building. They are as follows:
- Fighting
- hurting another child or adults deliberately
- abusive, threatening or racist behaviourtowards other children or adults
- bullying
- damage to property
- repeated and persistent defiance
- theft
What about playtimes?
The school rules apply equally to less structured playtime outside and the classroom. Rough play always gets out of hand so we insist on NO PLAY FIGHTING, PUSHING, SHOVING or GRABBING CLOTHES between pupils playing outside. Encouraging fighting, goading or failure to report an incident to an adult is also regarded as misbehaviour.
Children are praised for playing gently and cooperatively. We train our lunchtime adults as play managers to help children learn constructive ways of having fun at playtime.
Activities are provided for children to play with indoors and outdoors and occupy themselves sensibly during wet playtimes in the classroom.
Where children need to resolve conflict or where there is a problem at playtime or lunchtime, they need to complete a ‘What Happened?’ sheet giving details of the incident and reflecting on their behaviour choices. Some children need help in completing them. The purpose of these is to keep a record of the child’s version of events and to encourage them to honestly reflect on the events surrounding the inappropriate behaviour. When the child has completed the top half (What Happened?) this is detached and filed in the class ‘What Happened?’ book and the bottom half (Next Steps..) is completed to be taken away by the child as a reminder should a problem of this nature arise again. This records ideas about resolving the problem in terms of apologizing, following the school rules, setting targets, making promises etc.
How do we manage behaviour at lunchtimes?
No child should be left inside without adult supervision.
Children complete a “what happened?” sheet when there has been an incident of inappropriate behaviour.
Inappropriate behaviour at lunchtime will result in time out to cool off by talking to an adult during Thinking time. Persistent or serious inappropriate behaviour may result in a pupil staying in at lunchtime and/or playtime under the supervision of a senior member of staff as a sanction.
Inappropriate behaviour will be reported to the class teacher by the linked SMSA.
Occasionally, for children with a Behaviour Support Plan (BSP), there is a quiet space indoors which they may access to help them manage less structured play – this is not a sanction.
What do we do about racism?
Minet Nursery & Infant School promotes community cohesion and takes a no tolerance approach to racism (see our anti-racism policy). All incidents are recorded, reported and investigated according to the school’s Racist Incidents Recording, Reporting and Investigating Procedures.
What about bullying?
Bullying happens when there is a pattern of deliberate verbal or physical abuse of a child by an individual or group. Minet Nursery & Infant School takes a no tolerance approach to bullying. All incidents are always investigated, recorded and dealt with. Children are encouraged to tell their teacher or another adult if they feel they are being bullied.
How do we intervene in fights or violent situations?
If a child does lose his / her temper and become involved in a fight, it will be taken extremely seriously. If a member of staff witnesses a fight they know that our first duty is to prevent any harm to any pupil. We need to:
• assess the severity of the situation
• send a reliable child for additional help if necessary
• Verbally move other children away
• Verbally separate the children involved – tell them to stop in an assertive voice
It is school policy to intervene and physically prevent a pupil form hurting him / herself or anyone else
What do we do if a child leaves the classroom, building or grounds?
If a pupil runs out of a class we will establish where he or she has gone. Teachers must not run after them but will send a message to the office for adult support. The head or a deputy will be contacted immediately. It is advisable to keep a watchful eye on any child who has taken him or herself out of the school building and possibly out of school grounds without provoking the child to run further. If a child is no longer on school premises, parents and the police will be contacted.
How do we promote good behaviour through our curriculum?
We actively teach personal and social education through structured lessons and activities that promote life skills to foster harmony, care and respect. We explicitly teach and promote positive values as part of our curriculum.
How do we monitor this policy?
Records of pupils who have had serious behaviour incidents are gathered by the appropriate deputy head and reported to the headteacher. We also records award achievements on the SIMs system. Termly figures are reported to governors who hold the head and the school staff to account for continuously improving pupil behaviour and safeguarding all pupils. Analysis and prioritization by staff and governors informs the School Improvement Plan and the school’s self-evaluation cycle.
New staff and supply teachers will always be inducted into this policy and its application.This policy will be reviewed regularly in line with school needs.
January 2017
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