| Bramley School Behaviour Management Policy |
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Importance of a Behaviour Management Policy We consider that the best way to encourage good standards of behaviour in a school is a clear code of conduct, backed by a balanced combination of rewards and punishments within a positive community atmosphere. Establishing a whole-school behaviour policy is an important step in that direction. Elton Report, Ch. 4, para 50.
POLICY FOR BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT
INTRODUCTION A school “Behaviour Policy” is not a list of rules and commands. It is a set of agreed principles which guide the decisions and actions taken by the staff, both teaching and non-teaching, within the school. A whole school behaviour policy aims for coherence and harmonisation but not uniformity. To treat children fairly we do not, by definition, treat them the same: a child in a Nursery class would be spoken to in a different manner from a girl in Tops. A behaviour policy should establish an approach to understanding behaviour, systems of rewarding “good” behaviour, and methods of controlling and reforming “bad” behaviour. To be effective it should be: • Positive in its approach • Able to anticipate and avoid difficulties • Formulated with the co-operation of staff • Clear to all staff, pupils and parents. The central purpose of a policy is to encourage good behaviour, rather than to simply punish the bad. This should be done in a school climate which values all cultures and with an awareness of equal opportunities. It is interesting to note that, if children are asked to define good behaviour, they will invariably do so in negative terms. Often they view good behaviour as the absence of bad ………… “good children will not …..”. Bramley School does NOT use Corporal Punishment. FORMULATION AND AIMS To formulate such an approach, the existing patterns of behaviour within our school have to be looked at – such questions as Where, When, and Why, does difficult behaviour occur? Only then can we identify the aspects of the school, both inside and outside the classroom, which cause this behaviour to occur. Once this has been identified, we can decide on our approach as to what needs to be changed. All teachers need to accept the responsibility for maintaining good behaviour throughout the school. Every organisation depends upon children behaving in certain ways to achieve its ends and a school’s central purpose is that a child should learn. Good behaviour makes effective teaching and learning possible and bad behaviour disrupts this purpose. Thus, in order for children to learn well, children need a calm, purposeful classroom atmosphere with positive relationships based on mutual respect. Teaching is not just concerned with the transmission of knowledge. Establishing good relationships with children and encouraging them to learn and behave well are an essential part of a teacher’s work. CHARACTERISTICS OF WELL-DISCIPLINED SCHOOLS Research has shown that schools in which children behave in an orderly and well-mannered way tend to exhibit some of the following characteristics: • They foster good discipline by creating a caring school environment which is conducive to good discipline, rather than adopting isolated practices to deal with discipline problems • The school is a place where staff and pupils come to work and to experience the success of doing something well • The schools are pupil-orientated • The schools focus on the cause of discipline problems, rather than the symptoms • The school approach emphasizes positive behaviour and preventative measures, rather than punitive action • The school staff believe in their school and in what the children can do, and work hard towards this • The staff handle most of the routine discipline problems themselves • The schools have well-developed links with parents • The school policy is not negative and rule-bound, but proactive and positive • The children clearly know the clearly-stated boundaries of acceptable behaviour • Parents are informed when their children behave particularly well, and not just when they are in trouble • Pupils’ non-academic, as well as academic, achievements should be recognised and praised. BRAMLEY’S CODE OF CONDUCT Because we want Bramley to be a school which values each individual and where we all care about each other, each class has helped to put together the following code of conduct, which we try to follow at all times. 1. We will try to fill our days being busy, happy and helpful. 2. We will try to do our best so that we can be proud of our work 3. We will try to be honest and truthful at all times 4. We will try to be polite and show respect to everyone 5. We need to move quietly and safely around the school 6. We will keep our school clean and tidy, taking care of all school equipment 7. We will respect other people’s possessions and look after our own possessions 8. We will try to play fairly in the playground, learning to share and include everyone in our games 9. We will try to make more friends and work together in teams 10. We shall try to be kind and considerate to everyone, thinking of other people’s feelings. CLASSROOM EXPECTATIONS FOR PUPILS Classrooms are the children’s place of work and they should be allowed to work successfully, safely and enjoyably. Where appropriate: 1. Children should thus start the lesson by sitting quietly behind their desk, awaiting instructions from the teacher, and they should have ready all the appropriate books and equipment for the lesson. 2. During the lesson, to be fair to all children and to give all an equal chance of having a say, children should always put their hand up before they speak. Calling out is always a distraction to others and not acceptable. 3. At the end of the lesson, children should pack away their books and equipment sensibly and wait quietly before being told to leave in an orderly fashion. Children tend to behave more sensibly if they are given certain responsibilities. Children in the Foundation Stage and early stages of Key Stage 1 have a less formal structure to their day but they are expected to work towards developing the skills which will enable them to behave appropriately at all times. REWARDS The age-old method of using the “carrot rather than the stick” to encourage a donkey still holds true. Good behaviour is encouraged by praise and rewards and it is most important that the positive aspects of behaviour are emphasised. There should be a wide range of rewards accessible to all abilities. One of the most powerful rewards we can give to children is our time and this is often given in inverse proportion to where good behaviour is exhibited. It is often the few who misbehave who unfairly demand much of the teacher’s time and effort. An important reward is teacher praise and, to be effective, this must be seen to be handed out fairly and with justification. This praise can be furthered by a child being asked to show his work to the Headmistress, to other teachers, or to other classes. Displaying children’s work increases their self-esteem and confidence, which leads to further success. Successful children are rarely those who are disruptive. The ‘Team Point System’ can help to encourage good work and behaviour. All the girls are members of a house and staff can award team points for work, effort, behaviour, politeness, and help and consideration for others. In the Pre-Prep girls join the ‘house system’ in Year 1. Girls in the Foundation Stage are rewarded with stickers and verbal praise. A Good Cup is awarded by each class teacher in the Pre-Prep on a weekly basis to girl/girls in their class. This is presented to the girls in their weekly Good Cup assembly. Girls may be sent to the Head of Pre-Prep for a special sticker if they have achieved something of merit. Parents should receive positive and constructive comments, either verbally or written. Cups are awarded at the end of each term to the winning team and to the highest-scoring individual.
Hierarchy of Rewards
On a Daily Basis Headteacher/ Head of Prep awards gold stars and merit certificates in Assembly Cups and certificates awarded at end of term ↑ Work sent to other classes – Head of Prep, Head of Pre-Prep, as a good example. ↑ Class teacher silver stars, house points and stickers and Good Cup awarded weekly by class teacher for each class in Pre-Prep Merit certificates ↑ Verbal praise ↑ Look/nod of approval/smile SANCTIONS - Prep Corporal punishment to any child during any activity, whether or not on the school premises, is prohibited. Punishments should make the distinction between minor and more serious misbehaviour clear to pupils and should be fairly and consistently applied. Reprimands should be sparingly and consistently applied – we should try to separate the behaviour from the child and criticize the behaviour and not the person. Comments such as “that’s typical of you” ….. “there you go again” are not helpful. As far as possible, the situation should be dealt with within the class circumstances. If a child misbehaves, the choices are either to change the child’s behaviour within the class or to send the child elsewhere to be disciplined. If a teacher feels that he/she cannot cope with a particular girl’s behaviour, it is always better to send her to the Head of Prep or the Head of Pre-Prep. There is a traditional reluctance for teachers to discuss discipline problems, as they could be viewed as failure on the part of the teacher concerned. We should all encourage a greater openness as a staff to discuss such issues and to provide support. Good class control is something to be worked for and only comes with experience. Verbal Warnings Verbal warnings are used when a teacher observes a behaviour which is inappropriate and against the Bramley rules eg a child running around the school, loitering in toilets during break time, then she/he may give the child a verbal warning. A verbal warning is an explicit warning to the child that the particular action is against the rules and if the child is caught doing the same action during the term, then she will receive a sanction. The verbal warning is recorded on the staff notice board. It the child is caught repeating the action then she is to be given a sanction eg. Loss of a break time. Sanctions All sanctions must be recorded in the sanctions book in the school office (Advise Mrs Hamilton if a sanction has been given, so it can be recorded in the sanction book , kept in the office). Sanctions such as a loss of a break time, is a time for the child to reflect on her behaviour and the consequence of her behaviour to herself and others’. Sanctions are to be overseen by the member of staff who gave the sanction and the child is to be invigilated at all times. It is the aim of the sanction that the child will not repeat the behaviour again and will therefore have learned from the experience. Behaviour which requires more action than a sanction must be referred to the Head of Prep or the Head of Pre Prep immediately. It will then be decided if the parents need to be informed and if necessary a CAF assessment started. Physical Intervention IN extreme cases of managing behaviour, teachers are asked to observe the Education Act of 1996: The Education Act of 1996 states that teachers may use ‘physical intervention’ to avert ‘an immediate danger of personal injury to, or an immediate danger to the property of, a person (including the child herself). Teachers’ powers under section 4 of the 1997 Act to restrain pupils from engaging in certain (harmful) activities remain in force. When ‘physical intervention’ as is defined above allowable? Physical intervention must only ever be used as a last resort when a child is endangering herself or others. At all times this physical intervention must be the minimal force necessary to prevent injury to another person. Such events must be recorded and signed by a witness. At Bramley School we understand that physical intervention of a nature which causes injury or distress to a child may be considered under the Child Protection Policy or under Disciplinary procedures. MANAGEMENT OF BEHAVIOUR - Pre-Prep Discipline and behaviour management in the Pre-Prep is managed through positive behaviour modelling and praise. Each class devises their own set of positive class rules at the beginning of each year. These may vary slightly in content but generally match the Golden Rules adopted as a whole school approach. Girls in Years 1 and 2 are placed in school houses and can earn team points for their house. Behaviour and work are rewarded in this way. Girls in the Foundation Stage are rewarded in many ways e.g. with stickers, but these are not part of the house system. Good Cup Teachers in the Pre- Prep award a ‘Good Cup’ each week to children in their class. This can be for good behaviour as well as good work. Foundation Stage Children who require help with their behaviour may be given ‘time out’ to enable them to think about what has gone wrong. Disputes/arguments are never left to fester but are always dealt with at the time. Parents are notified either in person at the end of the school day, or by use of the contact book when the class teacher feels they need to be told. Incident Book Any incident which causes distress or injury to another pupil must be recorded in the Incident Book. A copy of which must be signed by the parents of the children involved. See instructions inside front cover of the Incident Book The Use of Restraint Restraint is to be used as a preventative measure only. The use of restraint on a pupil is only permissible when its use will; • Prevent the pupil injuring herself or • Prevent the pupil from injuring another person or • Prevent very serious damage to property . The use of restraint by the teacher must be: • Reasonable • Non-injurious to the pupil • For the minimum amount of time necessary. Restraint will never be used as a punishment or to force a pupil to do something against her will. Hierarchy of Sanctions-Prep
Exclusion
↑ Parents + Head (Governors informed) ↑ Head ↑ Head of Pastoral Care or Head of Pre-Prep ↑ Sanction i.e not accessing privileges, e.g. playtime detention (recorded in book in office) ↑ Verbal warning made explicit to the child ↑ A Look/disapproving/a quiet word
• As good order has to be worked for and maintained and does not just happen, we should set high standards
If a child lives with criticism, He learns to condemn.
If a child lives with hostility, He learns to fight. If a child lives with ridicule, He learns to be shy. If a child lives with shame, He learns to be guilty. If a child lives with tolerance, He learns to be patient. If a child lives with encouragement, He learns confidence. If a child lives with praise, He learns to appreciate. If a child lives with fairness, He learns justice. If a child lives with security, He learns to have faith. If a child lives with approval, He learns to like himself. If a child lives with acceptance and friendship, He learns to find love in the world.
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