Behaviour for Learning Policy

Rationale

At Montpelier Primary School we are committed to creating a secure, caring and stimulating learning environment in which effective teaching and learning can take place.

Aims

To establish and maintain a consistent and fair approach which enables effective learning to take place in a school where children feel happy, secure and safe
To acknowledge that maintaining good behaviour within the school is a shared responsibility
To ensure staff use a positive, proactive, reflective approach to behaviour management
To ensure pupils are confident in their right to be treated fairly
To ensure pupils can learn in a safe, calm, positive environment
To develop in pupils a strong sense of belonging and an acceptance of responsibility for their own actions
To develop in pupils an awareness of and adherence to appropriate behaviour in a range of social situations.

School Ethos – The BASICS Model

The school has an ethos in which the principles of our code of conduct are respected. Many of these principles will be addressed daily throughout school life in assemblies, by adults modelling and acknowledging good social behaviour and through positive relationships developed between members of our school community.

Belonging – Learners want to feel part of the shared experience – involve them.
Aspiration – Learners want to know they can improve their worth – see their benefits.
Safety – Learners want to know they are free from intimidation and humiliation – Create a ‘No-put- down’ zone.
Identity – Learners want to know they are recognised – value their individuality. Challenge – Learners need to be stretched – extend their comfort zone
Success – Learners want the satisfaction of success – catch them improving.

Code of Conduct – The Golden Rules

Each class will create its own class rules at the beginning of the academic year based on the School Code of Conduct :

We are gentle – respect for physical safety
We are kind and helpful – respect for emotional safety
We work hard – respect for work
We look after our school environment and its property – respect for environment and property
We listen – respect for other people’s views We are honest – respect for honesty

Curriculum

Through our curriculum, we teach pupils the BASICS model and the Golden Rules. PSHE and Citizenship, including SEAL, is taught using a variety of methodologies. It directly addresses our ethos and expectations.

We believe that an appropriately structured curriculum and effective teaching contribute to good behaviour. Thorough planning that addresses the needs of all pupils, the active involvement of pupils in their own learning and structured feedback (see feedback & marking policy) all help to avoid the alienation and disaffection which can lie at the root of poor behaviour.

It follows that lessons should have clear objectives which are understood by the pupils and differentiated to meet the needs of a range of abilities. Marking is used both as a supportive activity, providing feed-back to the pupils on their progress and achievements and as a signal that the pupil’s efforts are valued and progress matters.

In order to gain the most from their learning it is important that pupils are appropriately equipped. Should pupils fails to return their homework, reading book or bring a PE kit the class teacher should remind them. It will be logged Sleuth (the school online behaviour log) and a reminder note sent home. Sleuth will be monitored by SLT and admin staff and repeated incidents of forgotten homework or PE kit will be followed up by SLT.

Staff Responsibilities

Our BASICS model applies to all members of the school community. All staff have a responsibility to look for opportunities to promote the BASICS model and praise positive behaviour in the classroom, around the school and on visits outside the school. All staff should respond to the behaviour of all pupils around the school not just those for whom they have direct responsibility.

All staff have a responsibility to:

Belonging

Create a calm working atmosphere in the classroom with well- established routines which promote a sense of belonging for children and staff

Use Golden Time regularly to promote a collective celebration of success
Work in partnership with parents sending home well done slips and informing them as soon as
possible about an incident that has occurred and how it was dealt with
Be aware of all children’s behaviour in class and around school, dealing with every incident appropriately and giving mutual support to colleagues
Set clear expectations during the first week of the year by making your own class rules based on the golden rules and regularly remind pupils of the rules

Aspirations

Act as a positive role model, treating all adults and children with respect and creating aspirations for the children to strive toward
Set achievable individual pupil targets and acknowledge the gains they have made

Safety

Escort children around the school, ensuring all children are monitored and safe – stop children at regular intervals checking the middle and back of the line
Make children aware of appropriate behaviour in all situations and deal with problems calmly
Make it safe to get something wrong in lessons by emphasising the learning
Report any sudden changes in behaviour or unusual behaviour that is causing you concern immediately to Charlotte Lannigan, (designated teacher for child protection) if you consider there might be an underlying child protection issue. Or, in her absence report to Am Rai or Sam Bracken or Camilla Garofalo.
Be punctual in collecting classes.
Work closely with other members of staff and outside agencies, implementing advice and
strategies for dealing with a child in difficulties
Report concerns about individual pupils promptly, using the school incident reporting procedures
Ensure pupils requiring the toilet during lesson time are given a band and write their name on a whiteboard by the door to ensure they are accounted for. Bands available should equate to the number of toilets available.

Identity

Be as consistent and as fair as possible in the use of rules and sanctions, whilst valuing each child’s individual identity
Encourage individuals to take on responsibilities in the classroom through a system of regularly changing monitors
Teach pupils the skills of conflict resolution to support them in managing their relationships in a confident and positive manner

Challenge

Provide challenge for all pupils through an interesting and relevant curriculum and high standards of teaching

Success

Celebrate success by focusing on good behaviour and positive reinforcement – catch them being good
Follow the hierarchy of rewards and sanctions.

Classroom environment

Every classroom will have a positive behaviour display board that shows:

The class golden rules
The class’s chosen reward for Class reward time
Merit awards; 30=bronze, 60= silver, 100=gold, 150=platinum

In addition, classrooms will display:

A happy/neutral/sad face in a prominent position at the front of the class, with children’s
names returned to neutral at the start and end of each learning session
A container and tokens
A visual timetable
A poster of BASICS
All pupil resources will be labelled and easily accessible
The layout of the room will ensure all pupils can see and hear comfortably
Pupil groupings ensure positive relationships are encouraged and sustained
The teacher takes responsibility to ensure all adults in the room are aware that they must act as a positive role model at all times
Interaction between pupils and with the teacher will be polite and respectful
Noise levels are closely monitored by the teacher
Staff follow the behaviour strategies as outlined in this policy
Sleuth behaviour log stored as an online favourite
Genesis Pager icon stored on computer desktop

Rewards

This policy is designed to promote and acknowledge good behaviour rather than merely to deter anti-social behaviour. All staff have a responsibility to look for opportunities to promote the BASICS model and praise positive behaviour in the classroom, around the school and on visits outside the school.

Whole School Rewards:
We praise and reward pupils for good behaviour, social skills and effort with work throughout the school week and in a variety of ways:

Learning Achievement Award

A Learning Achievement Award assembly is held weekly in KS1 and KS2. The Phase Leader compiles photographs from each class in their phase onto a PowerPoint presentation the day before the assembly. During the assembly, each child tells the audience what their learning achievement has been and they are congratulated with a badge and a sticker for their work. The badge should be worn for a week and returned to school. The name of the pupil and reason for the award is recorded in the assembly file. A ‘well done’ slip should be sent home on the day of the assembly to ensure parents are informed of the reason for the award.
Class teachers are responsible for keeping a record of awards to ensure the system is fairly applied

Top Table Award
The Top Table Award is part of the lunchtime behaviour strategy and is administered by the senior SMSA. It aims to acknowledge courteous behaviour and kind, helpful acts towards both adults and children. The majority of children display positive behaviour and each child should be recognised for their positive contribution by being given the opportunity to invite a friend to lunch at the Top Table.

Lining up award
Golden tokens will be awarded for classes who line up well and a reward chart is displayed in the corridors for both KS1 and KS2. The tokens/award stickers will be counted and the class with the most tokens/stickers each week will be rewarded in assembly with a certificate to display on their door in KS1 and extra playtime in both KS1 and KS2.

Class Rewards:

verbal praise
pupil name placed on the happy face
stickers
public praise in front of the group/class
positive comments in pupils’ books
class privileges
notes to parallel teachers or the senior management team.

‘Well Done’ Notes
‘Well Done’ notes should be given for the pupil to take home as an acknowledgement of a particular achievement. This will enable parents to reinforce the teacher’s praise at home. As a minimum, at least one well done slip should be sent home each term for each child. This should be for work praised in the good work assembly and for showing positive behaviour for learning by setting a good example to others in terms of behaviour, learning and care. The class teacher should keep a tick list to ensure all pupils are accounted for.

Other adults who work in the school should also give well done slips to pupils who set a positive example. The pupil should be encouraged to show the slip to the class teacher, who will reward the pupil.

Merits
Pupils will be awarded a merit to acknowledge achievement in learning:

Outstanding work
Effort to improve learning
Exemplary learning behaviour

Merit Boards

Each class will clearly display a merit board which shows pupil awards. Accumulation of merits points will be celebrated as follows:

30 merits will be rewarded by a bronze certificate.
60 merits will be rewarded with a silver certificate.
100 merits will be rewarded by a gold certificate for outstanding achievement signed by the Head teacher.
150 merits (in exceptional cases) will be rewarded with a platinum certificate signed and presented by the Head Teacher. Gold to Platinum charts are to be kept by class teacher and not displayed in the class for pupils to add on merit points to.

Achievement of a certificate will be acknowledged by pupils standing up and being applauded in assembly.

All pupils will have received a minimum of 60 points (silver certificate) at the end of the academic year (other than in exceptional circumstances which are noted by the class teacher and shared with the Leadership Team and the pupil’s parents). Most pupils should achieve a gold certificate by the end of the summer term.

Class code of conduct / Star Time
In addition to individual merit points, whole class rewards should be given for following the class code of conduct.

Rewards should take the form of golden stars in a jar.

Achieving the class target should be rewarded by 10 – 15 minutes Star Time. The target should take approximately two weeks to achieve (weekly for Reception and year 1).

The Star Time activity should be chosen by the children from a range of options and may vary. Examples are; extra playtime, a favourite class game, an activity from a choosing box, a quiz or class game.

Sanctions

At the start of the academic year the class teacher will discuss the code of conduct with the pupils and create a set of agreed class rules. Class rules must be clearly displayed and referred to when sanctions are applied to ensure the pupil is clear as to why the sanction is being applied.

Sanctions:
Sanctions will:

Be kept to a necessary minimum
Be applied giving a clear reason
Avoid group punishment wherever possible

In most cases a look of disapproval or a quiet word will be sufficient. However if a pupil continues to present unsatisfactory behaviour a hierarchy of sanctions may be applied and a verbal or written apology may be required.

Consequences

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Stage 4

Stage 5

Stage 6

Stage 7

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Stage 4

Stage 5

Stage 6

Stage 7

In the event of a serious incident a child may be withdrawn from the classroom or playground in order to either minimise disruption to learning or to ensure the safety and well-being of others by a member of staff.

Exclusion

Fixed term exclusion may be imposed in response to breaches of the behaviour policy, including persistent disruptive behaviour, where these are not considered sufficiently serious to warrant a permanent exclusion but where lesser sanctions such as detention/internal exclusion are considered inappropriate.

Permanent exclusion may be imposed for persistent breaches of the behaviour policy, i.e. as a final step in a process for dealing with unacceptable behaviour and following a wide range of strategies that have been tried without success. Permanent exclusion is an acknowledgement that the school has exhausted all available strategies.

Permanent exclusion may be imposed for a serious breach of the behaviour policy, i.e. there may be circumstances where it is appropriate to permanently exclude a pupil for a first or one-off serious offence, such as:

Involvement with an offensive weapon
Supply or intent to supply an illegal substance
Serious actual or threatened violence against another pupil or a member of staff
Sexual misconduct

This list is not intended to be exhaustive or prescriptive but rather to provide examples of the type of behaviour/incident that might lead to permanent exclusion.

Very serious behaviour issues such as a violent act resulting in physical injury or acts of racist, homophobic or sexual abuse should be referred directly to the Deputy / Assistant Headteacher. In extreme circumstances or as a last resort the Headteacher may consider the possibility of short or longer term exclusion. All such incidents will be recorded on the school’s behaviour recording system – Sleuth.

If a pupil deliberately physically assaults a member of staff this will result in a short or longer term exclusion as deemed appropriate by the investigating member of the senior leadership team.

It is essential to gain the support and cooperation of parents when a pupil fails to adhere to the school’s code of conduct. A meeting may be arranged with parents at any stage to ensure they are kept fully informed and to avoid more serious sanctions being imposed.

Reasons for exclusion are detailed in Annex 5 at the end of this document.

Adaptations for Early Years

Rewards:

Positive reinforcement of good behaviour/work through a reward system which includes their name being put on the happy face, stickers, class points and verbal praise
If unacceptable behaviour occurs it is dealt with in the following ways:
A quiet but firm word to the child telling them that their behaviour is not acceptable and why
If the inappropriate behaviour continues, withdrawing a child from an activity, ensuring the child understands the reasoning behind the action, and time out is given on the thinking chair. Children stay on the thinking chair for 2-3 minutes. Children’s name will also be put on the sad face.
If there is a persistent problem the staff will discuss methods of working this through both with each other and the parent/carer and liaise with phase leaders / senior management.

Support systems for Individual Pupil Need
If there is a persistent problem the class teacher, Deputy Headteacher and SENCO will draw up an Individual Pastoral Support Plan to support the pupil in partnership with parents. All staff working with the pupil will be informed of this to ensure a consistent approach throughout the school day. If the problem continues, we will work with outside agencies to seek solutions to support the pupil.

Support systems for staff
The school will support all adults working with pupils to ensure pupils are achieving. It is school practice to discuss behavioural issues in order that the staff feel supported and to provide a cohesive approach to supporting individual needs. This will be achieved following the school’s safeguarding policy. Staff having difficulties with an individual, class or group should speak to the Deputy Headteacher who has responsibility for this area of the school.

Support systems for parents/carers
Parents and carers are encouraged to communicate with the school to discuss any relevant issues. Parents should make appointments in advance to ensure the availability of a member of staff and to give the time needed to hold a full discussion. Likewise, when school needs to discuss an issue with parents/carers, they will be contacted by telephone or email.

Concerns should be raised directly with the school. Parents should not discuss a school based issue with other parents/carers verbally or through electronic messaging as this can unnecessarily escalate or cause misunderstanding.
For reasons of confidentiality, the school cannot discuss matters relating to another child or their parents/carers.

In the event of an incident being reported when the school is closed the school will respond when it is reasonable to do so.

Procedures for Managing Behaviour Incidents in the Playground

Pre-School & First Break
A member of staff on duty will inform the teacher verbally when he or she comes out to collect the class. The duty staff will complete an incident report form (appendix 3) and give the green copy to the teacher immediately following their duty. A white copy is given to a member of SLT.

The teacher should talk to the child/children involved at the earliest opportunity and if the incident is serious should pass the incident form on to the deputy head. The incident should be recorded by the class teacher on Sleuth or by the senior member of staff investigating if the incident is referred.

In the event of a serious incident in the playground, such as a fight, a message should be sent to the office immediately via two sensible children. A child should not be sent alone. The office staff will use the pager to contact a member of the senior leadership team. Staff on duty should not leave their post to deliver the message.

Lunchtimes
During lunchtimes, the SMSAs, TAs and FFS staff supervise the children. Should an incident occur they will take appropriate action and record it on an incident report form. Incident forms are then given to the senior SMSA who will disseminate as appropriate, either to the class teacher or the relevant member of the SLT. The class teacher will investigate the incident and if the teacher considers that a), the incident requires prolonged investigation, or b) is judged to be serious, she/he will pass on the form to the appropriate member of the SLT for further investigation.

Any incident resulting in physical injury or acts of racist abuse must be recorded on an incident form and is given directly to the appropriate Deputy Headteacher. All such incidents must be recorded using Sleuth.

Expectations of pupil movement around and beyond the school

An adult must supervise pupils at all times. Pupils must never be left unattended without authorization from SLT and must be able to produce a teacher’s pass to enter the building at break time/ lunchtime.
When leading pupils around the school the adult will continually look back and stand at blind corners. Stairs should be visually covered and children should not be running.
Staff will encourage pupils to show courteous behaviour when moving around, stopping for example, to allow an adult to cross the line and using expressions such as excuse me, when appropriate.

School assemblies/gatherings

Staff will ensure that pupils enter the hall in silence and continue to supervise their class until they are dismissed
Staff will set a positive example by refraining from chatting to each other and using their time to ensure pupils do the same
Teachers will collect their class promptly from the hall

Playground

Staff will be vigilant to ensure that pupils are not allowed into the building without a teacher’s pass unless accompanied by a member of staff.
Pupils requiring the toilet will be given a band and bands given out will equate to the number of toilets to ensure that groups of children do not congregate in the toilets.
Staff on duty will be vigilant to ensure that play is appropriate and will intervene if they observe a cause for concern.
Pupils will be encouraged through assemblies and PSHE lessons as well as informally to report any concerns or playground issues to an adult on duty.
Staff on duty will complete incident forms
Class teachers will arrive in the playground just before the whistle is blown to ensure pupils
are not left waiting.
Tokens will be given to the class that shows a positive example of lining up

Out of School

The trip organiser will ensure that correct procedures for trips have been followed (see trip policy)
The trip organiser will ensure that parent booklets are distributed to all parents accompanying the trip before leaving the site.
Staff on trips will ensure the children are kept in sight of a responsible adult at all times
Staff will be mindful that pupils on trips are representing the school to the wider community and will ensure high standards of behaviour and courtesy towards others are maintained at
all times.
Staff will have informed the deputy Headteacher of any pupil whose behaviour may be a
concern well in advance of the trip to ensure suitable arrangements are in place (see trip
policy)
Staff will ensure that any incidents of unacceptable behaviour are reported immediately upon
return to a member of the senior leadership team.

Reporting Procedures

Class Behaviour Log (Sleuth)

Serious behaviour incidents

Record Forms

Class Behaviour Log (Sleuth)

Serious behaviour incidents

Record Forms

Microsoft Teams (MT)

MT is used from the computer desktop in each classroom. It should be used in emergency situations which require immediate intervention. These are incidents which put the child or others in the classroom at risk. The teacher should use MT to call for support from the welfare team or school leadership team to ensure an immediate response. The incident should be recorded on medical tracker by the welfare team if it is welfare related, sleuth if it is a behaviour incident or Edukey if is a safeguarding concern.

Sleuth

SLEUTH WEBSITE
All behaviour incidents must be recorded on Sleuth, the online behaviour recording system. Any incidents occurring during class time should be recorded by the class teacher on Sleuth.

This includes forgotten PE kit and homework. Any incidents occurring during playtimes are to be recorded on an incident report form indicating whether it is to be followed up by senior leadership or class teacher. The staff member who investigates is to record the incident on Sleuth.

An outline of conversations with parents either in person or by telephone must be recorded and a copy of any letters sent home should be attached to the pupil’s profile on SIMS.