Behaviour policy

Approved by: [Name] Date: [Date]

Last reviewed on: [Date]

Next review due by: [Date]

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Contents

1. Aims ....................................................................................................................................... 2

2. Legislation and statutory requirements ................................................................................... 2

3. Definitions .............................................................................................................................. 3

4. Bullying .................................................................................................................................. 4

5. Roles and responsibilities ...................................................................................................... 4

6. Students code of conduct ....................................................................................................... 7

7. Rewards and consequences .................................................................................................. 8

8. Behaviour management ....................................................................................................... 11

9. Training ................................................................................................................................ 12

10. Uniform……………………………………………………………………………………………….13

11. Exclusions…………………………………………………………………………………………....13

12. Monitoring arrangements ................................................................................................. ..13

13. Links with other policies ..................................................................................................... 13

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

1. Aims

This policy aims to:

Provide a consistent approach to behaviour management

Define what we consider to be unacceptable behaviour, including bullying

Outline how students are expected to behave

Summarise the roles and responsibilities of different people in the school community with regards to

behaviour management

Outline our system of rewards and sanctions

2. Legislation and statutory requirements

This policy is based on advice from the Department for Education (DfE) on:

Behaviour and discipline in schools

Searching, screening and confiscation at school

The Equality Act 2010

Use of reasonable force in schools

Supporting students with medical conditions at school

It is also based on the special educational needs and disability (SEND) code of practice.

In addition, this policy is based on:

Schedule 1 of the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014; paragraph 7 outlines a school’s duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, paragraph 9 requires the school to have a written behaviour policy and paragraph 10 requires the school to have an anti-bullying strategy

DfE guidance explaining that academies must publish their behaviour policy and anti-bullying strategy online

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3. Definitions

Misbehaviour is defined as:

Disruption in lessons, in corridors between lessons, and at break and lunchtimes

Non-completion of classwork or homework

Poor attitude

Incorrect uniform

Truancy

Serious misbehaviour is defined as:

Repeated breaches of the school rules

Verbal abuse

Any form of bullying

Sexual assault, which is any unwanted sexual behaviour that causes humiliation, pain, fear or intimidation

Vandalism

Theft

Fighting

Smoking

Racist, sexist, homophobic or discriminatory behaviour

Possession of any prohibited items. These are:

o Knives or weapons

o Alcohol

o Illegal drugs

o Stolen items

o Tobacco and cigarette papers

o Fireworks

o Pornographic images

o Any article a staff member reasonably suspects has been, or is likely to be, used to commit an offence, or to cause personal injury to, or damage to the property of, any person (including the student)

4. Bullying

Bullying is defined as the repetitive, intentional harming of one person or group by another person or group, where the relationship involves an imbalance of power.

Bullying is, therefore:

Deliberately hurtful

Repeated, often over a period of time

Difficult to defend against

Bullying can include:

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Type of bullying Definition

Emotional Being unfriendly, excluding, tormenting

Physical Hitting, kicking, pushing, taking another’s belongings, any use of violence

Racial Racial taunts, graffiti, gestures

Sexual Explicit sexual remarks, display of sexual material, sexual gestures, unwanted physical attention, comments about sexual reputation or performance, or inappropriate touching

Direct or indirect verbal Name-calling, sarcasm, spreading rumours, teasing

Cyber-bullying Bullying that takes place online, such as through social networking sites, messaging apps or gaming sites

Details of our school’s approach to preventing and addressing bullying are set out in our anti-bullying strategy.

Any incident of bullying must be referred to the Progress Manager in the first instance.

Details of the perpetrators actions and the impact upon the victim must be recorded fully on SIMs and added to the bullying log held by the deputy safeguarding lead. Action will be taken to ensure that both the perpetrator and victim are dealt with appropriately.

The Progress Manager will develop a strategy for both the perpetrator and the victim. For repeat behaviour or very serious incidents a Pastoral Support Plan will need to be created; this will involve:

Perpetrator and victim may be brought together to discuss and work through the incident, possibly with peer mentors and contracts may be drawn up or promises made.

Parents/carers of students involved informed of incident(s) and strategy put into effect.

Possible consequences of further bullying made clear (procedure repeated, fixed term exclusion).

Parents/carers will be made aware that the Police will be informed in the case of serious physical attacks either by individuals or by a group.

For serious incidents the senior member of staff responsible for the year group must be involved and make contact with parents/carers.

The Perpetrator

The student needs to be taken through the incident in order to make it clear why his / her actions are unacceptable.

Parents/carers must be invited into school to discuss the incident(s) and the meeting must focus on the pastoral support plan and in particular the parental/carers role within it.

The plan must recognise that the perpetrator will have needs to be met in order `that his / her behaviour can be modified’.

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The perpetrator will be closely monitored for a fixed period of time and progress reviewed against targets in the Pastoral Support Plan.

The following disciplinary steps can be taken:

Official warnings to cease offending

Detention

Exclusion from certain areas of school premises

Minor fixed-term exclusion

Major fixed-term exclusion

Permanent exclusion

The Victim

The student will have a trusted adult as first line of referral, usually the tutor.

All work with the victim will aim at improving self-confidence, creating adult / peer support and understanding any possible need to change aspects or their own behaviour.

Parents/carers will be invited into school to understand and support the plan.

Prevention

We will use some or all of the following to help raise awareness of and prevent bullying. As and when appropriate, these may include:

Targeted support

Signing a behaviour contract

Holding Anti-bullying assemblies

Having regular discussions about bullying and why it matters

Setting up and sustaining Circle Time sessions

5. Roles and responsibilities

5.1 The governing board

The interim executive board is responsible for monitoring this behaviour policy’s effectiveness and holding the acting principal to account for its implementation.

5.2 The Acting Principal

The Acting Principal is responsible for reviewing and approving this behaviour policy.

The Acting Principal will ensure that the school environment encourages positive behaviour and that staff deal effectively with poor behaviour, and will monitor how staff implement this policy to ensure rewards and sanctions are applied consistently.

5.3 Staff

Staff are responsible for:

Implementing the behaviour policy consistently

Modelling positive behaviour

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Providing a personalised approach to the specific behavioural needs of particular students

Recording behaviour incidents

Providing reward points to recognised positive behaviour

The senior leadership team will support staff in responding to behaviour incidents.

5.4 Parents/Carers

Parents/Carers are expected to:

Support their child in adhering to the student code of conduct

Inform the school of any changes in circumstances that may affect their child’s behaviour

Discuss any behavioural concerns with the tutor or progress manager promptly

6. Student code of conduct

In our Behaviour for Learning system there are general expectations:

That we all feel safe, valued, challenged in our work or lessons, and that we will do our best in all situations.

There are specific expectations of the students and staff:

To be prepared for lessons.

To listen carefully.

To show respect.

To help themselves and each other to learn.

To be responsible for our environment.

To complete all set tasks and homework.

Behave in an orderly and self-controlled way

Move quietly around the school

Treat the school buildings and school property with respect

Wear the correct uniform at all times

Accept sanctions when given

Refrain from behaving in a way that brings the school into disrepute, including when outside school

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7. Rewards and Consequences

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The school may use one or more of the following sanctions in response to unacceptable behaviour before issuing a C1:

A verbal reprimand using the scripts

Moving seats

Making reasonable adjustments to work.

C4 – internal isolation

In any learning area all staff must deploy the consequence system in a consistent way.

It is the responsibility of all Curriculum Leaders to issue staff within their departments a timetable for internal isolation for each period and to place a copy of that timetable in the Staff Area/Q Drive.

Teaching staff must have the internal supervision timetable close at hand to ensure students (if necessary) are sent to the appropriate room within the department.

Students are not to be sent to wait outside classrooms unless a member of staff is immediately available to support the student.

C5 – supportive learning

We may use the supportive learning at The BASE in response to serious or persistent breaches of this policy and they will be expected to complete the same work as they would in class.

Students who do not attend a given detention are also sent to supportive learning at The BASE.

The BASE is managed by Assistant Vice Principal

Reintegration back into lessons will only take place when the student has:-

Satisfactorily completed a Restorative Justice Activity to show they have reflected on their poor choices and misbehaviour.

Proved that they are ready to learn and can behave correctly

Should the student choose to continue to misbehave they will:-

Not be sent back into lessons and will continue in the Withdrawal Room

The Vice Principal responsible for behaviour will consult to determine appropriate further sanctions e.g. receive a Fixed Term Exclusion

When students are in supportive learning the school day will end at 4pm and break/lunch times will be separate from the main school.

Detentions – A Restorative Approach

The Law: Detention is one of the sanctions schools can use against poor behaviour. The Education Act 1997 gives schools legal backing to detain students after the end of a school session on disciplinary grounds.

All schools, have clear legal authority to detain students without the consent of the parent/carer. This covers both lunchtime and after school detentions.

Detentions must be reasonable and proportionate to the offence.

Staff must take account of any Special Educational Needs, any religious requirements and whether the parent/carer can reasonably arrange for a child to get home from school after the detention.

When a student is given a detention the member of staff who gave the detention will then collect the student the following day from the presentation hall to have a restorative conversation with the student. The member of staff will record the consequence on SIMs and also resolve the detention after the restorative justice conversation.

Incident Procedure

1. Pastoral support and progress managers ensure that student(s) complete a Student Statement form

2. Pastoral support and progress managers interview student(s), if necessary, to clarify statement and record notes.

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3. Statements to be passed to relevant member of staff – Mentor, Subject teacher/Leader, Leadership Team member who is dealing with the incident with possible recommendations

4. Pastoral support and progress managers to request support from walkabout duty member of staff if necessary, e.g. if seriousness of incident warrants it

The expectation is that staff will distribute 4 rewards points for every consequence.

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7.2 Off-site behaviour

Sanctions may be applied where a student has misbehaved off-site when representing the school, such as on a school trip or on the bus on the way to or from school.

7.3 Malicious allegations

Where a student makes an accusation against a member of staff and that accusation is shown to have been malicious, the acting Principal will discipline the student in accordance with this policy.

Please refer to our safeguarding policy for more information on responding to allegations of abuse.

The acting principal will also consider the pastoral needs of staff accused of misconduct. There will also be an expectation of mediation between the student and staff facilitated by the pastoral team.

8. Behaviour management

8.1 Classroom management

Teaching and support staff are responsible for setting the tone and context for positive behaviour within the classroom.

They will:

Create and maintain a stimulating environment that encourages students to be engaged

Display the student code of conduct

Develop a positive relationship with students, which may include:

o Greeting students in the morning/at the start of lessons

o Establishing clear routines

o Communicating expectations of behaviour in ways other than verbally

o Highlighting and promoting good behaviour

o Concluding the day positively and starting the next day afresh

o Having a plan for dealing with low-level disruption

o Using positive reinforcement

8.2 Physical restraint

In some circumstances, staff may use reasonable force to restrain a student to prevent them:

Causing disorder

Hurting themselves or others

Damaging property

Incidents of physical restraint must:

Always be used as a last resort

Be applied using the minimum amount of force and for the minimum amount of time possible

Be used in a way that maintains the safety and dignity of all concerned

Never be used as a form of punishment

Be recorded with the designated safeguard lead and reported to parents/carers.

8.3 Confiscation

Any prohibited items (listed in section 3) found in student’s possession will be confiscated. These items will not be returned to students.

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We will also confiscate any item which is harmful or detrimental to school discipline. These items will be returned to students after discussion with senior leaders and parents/carers, if appropriate.

Searching and screening students is conducted in line with the DfE’s latest guidance on searching, screening and confiscation.

8.4 Mobile communication technologies

We advise students not to bring mobile phones into school.

Phones must not be seen at all during the school day.

As students are advised not to bring mobile phones into school, the loss of a mobile phone WILL NOT BE investigated in most cases

If mobile phones are seen, they will be confiscated (and given to reception in an envelope – with name and year written clearly on it) and returned to the student at the end of the day.

Students using mobile phones to bully other students may be excluded from school and will not be allowed to bring their phone into school.

Confiscation of a mobile phone is legitimate if it is used around site without permission of a member of staff Searching and confiscation of any items will be conducted in accordance with DfE guidelines. This does not require student or parent/carer permission.

In some circumstances it may be reasonable for a member of staff to ask a student to reveal a message for the purpose of establishing whether cyber bullying has occurred, for instance, but if the student refuses then the member of staff must not enforce the instruction. The staff member can, however, legitimately issue a consequence for failure to follow a reasonable instruction.

8.5 Student support

The school recognises its legal duty under the Equality Act 2010 to prevent students with a protected characteristic from being at a disadvantage. Consequently, our approach to challenging behaviour may be differentiated to cater to the needs of the student.

The school’s special educational needs co-ordinator will evaluate a student who exhibits challenging behaviour to determine whether they have any underlying needs that are not currently being met.

Where necessary, support and advice will also be sought from specialist teachers, an educational psychologist, medical practitioners and/or others, to identify or support specific needs.

When acute needs are identified in a student, we will liaise with external agencies and plan support programmes for that child. We will work with parents to create the plan and review it on a regular basis.

8.6 Language

Assertive response style, “language to engage not enrage” is fundamental in encouraging behaviour for learning. As adults we all need to model good behaviour and avoid confrontation.

In order to make the expectations clear in lessons, it is advisable to be specific in your requests to students about their behaviour. Use the terms listed, in the language shown. Avoid “you” statements.

For example, if you want a student to listen to you, you could say: “John, we expect all students to listen when they are asked. We learn best when we listen so that we know what to do. I would like to see you facing me and not talking. Thank you.” (Not e.g. John, you should be listening. Be quiet.”)

All staff have a script which supports in the delivery of these conversations.

9. Training

Our staff are provided with training on managing behaviour during Friday briefings and teaching and learning meetings. Behaviour management will also form part of continuing professional development.

Some staff are also trained using team teach.

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10. Uniform

All staff must deal with uniform issues to ensure consistency.

Pastoral support and progress managers must check uniform in every morning; teaching staff must check uniform as students enter the room. Students dressed in inappropriate uniform will be expected to borrow uniform.

Students without a tie, blazer or incorrect footwear go to the Pastoral office and collect the correct uniform in exchange for an item of value. Item is returned at the end of the day when the uniform item is returned. Students who are significantly out of uniform will be in supportive learning for the day or sent home to change. Students who refuse to borrow uniform will be in supportive learning at the BASE.

Pictures of perfect uniform are in every classroom to be used as a good example and on the school’s website if parents/carers are in doubt about suitable school wear. Students must also have a natural hair colour even when dyed.

The pastoral support and progress manager will send uniform letters when issues arise

For persistent flaunters of school uniform, pastoral support and progress managers must alert their SLG link for further action to be taken. For students who still persist in breaking the school uniform rules and therefore the behaviour policy- Students will be internally excluded (supportive learning) or fixed term excluded for persistent refusal to follow the school rules on uniform.

‘Random’ uniform checks to be carried out in tutor time every half term. Students can borrow uniform for one week and then will be put in supportive learning.

A letter will go home every year informing parents of uniform and will be updated on the school website

11. Exclusions

If an Exclusion is required the pastoral manager and Leadership Team member to collate evidence to share with Acting Principal. (Acting Principal to make final decision)

In the case of Exclusion, Pastoral manager to update SIMs and student passport.

Leadership team to liaise with Acting Principal’s PA re: Fixed Term Exclusion letter

Pastoral manager or Leadership member to contact parents/carers to inform of exclusion and date and time of return.

Only the Acting Principal can exclude students from school.

Students will go on report on return from exclusion to a member of the senior leadership team or inclusion team. At the readmission meeting the student, parent/carer and member of staff will sign a behaviour contract agreeing to targets that will support the improvement in behaviour. Minutes from the meeting and the behaviour contract will be added as a linked document via SIMs.

Exclusions data to be monitored to look at trends in exclusions.

11. Monitoring arrangements

This behaviour policy will be reviewed by the acting Principal and full governing board/IEB every year. At each review, the policy will be approved by the acting principal.

12. Links with other policies

This behaviour policy is linked to the following policies:

Exclusions policy

Safeguarding policy

Commented [SB1]: Parent/Carer, student and member of staff will sign contract agreeing targets following an exclusion

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