Behaviour

Why do we need a behaviour policy?

The law requires schools to have a written behaviour and attendance policy. Ofsted reports that schools are most effective where the behaviour policy is applied consistently. Our behaviour and attendance policy helps us to create a caring, stimulating and secure environment in which staff and students can work and engage safely and to encourage the involvement of parents/carers in the development of their child.

We aim to enable our students to:

• Be healthy
• Stay safe
• Enjoy and achieve in their learning
• Make a positive contribution
• Achieve economic well-being
• Access the full range of learning opportunities in a calm, positive environment
• Achieve through appropriate expectations of work and behaviour with praise, reward and celebration and explicit and consistent consequences
• Behave appropriately in a wide range of social and educational settings
• Value the rights of the individual

What are the principals of our behaviour policy?

• To raise students’ self esteem
• To promote/develop empathy and respect for self and others
• To develop in students a sense of self discipline and an acceptance of responsibility for their own actions
• To ensure regular attendance
• To develop an awareness of and adherence to appropriate behaviour
• To encourage students to value the school environment and its routines
• To ensure that students are confident of their right to be treated fairly
• To empower staff to determine and request appropriate behaviour from everyone
• To acknowledge that the maintaining of good behaviour within the school is a shared responsibility
• To ensure that positive behaviour is always recognised
• To ensure the policy is fully understood and is consistently implemented throughout the school
• To ensure effective mechanisms are in place for the monitoring and evaluation of this policy
• To ensure the rights and responsibilities of all members of the school community

How do we implement our Behaviour policy?

• School Ethos
• Expectations of the school community
• Curriculum
• School Systems
• Rewards
• Sanctions
• Support Systems for Individual Student Need
• Support Systems for Staff
• Support Systems for Parents/Carers

School Ethos

The school has an ethos in which the above principles are respected. Many of these principles will be addressed daily throughout school life in assemblies and modelling good social behaviour from all adults within the school community.

Expectations of the school community:

Staff and Governors	Students	Parents
To lead by example	To respect, support and care for each other both in school and the wider community	To be aware of and support the school’s values and expectations
To be consistent in dealing with students	To listen to others and respect their opinions	To ensure child comes to school regularly, on time and with the appropriate equipment
To encourage the aims and values of the school and local community among the students	To attend school regularly, on time, ready and equipped to learn and take part in school activities	To keep child at home when they are ill and to provide the school with a written explanation of the reasons for any absence
To have high expectations of the students	To take responsibility for their own actions and behaviour	To take an active and supportive interest in child’s work and progress
To meet the educational, social and behavioural needs of the students through an appropriate curriculum and individual support	To do as instructed by all members of staff (teaching and non-teaching) throughout the school day	To provide the school with an emergency contact number
To encourage regular communication between home and school	To be tolerant of others, irrespective of race, gender, religion and age	Engage and communicate with School as and when necessary

Curriculum

At Rossett School, through our curriculum, we teach students the above mentioned principles in all we do. Personal Development time, PSHEE and citizenship address our ethos and expectations directly.

We believe that an appropriately structured curriculum and effective learning contribute to good behaviour. Thorough planning for the needs of individual students, the active involvement of students in their own learning and structured feedback 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 students and differentiated to meet the needs of a range of abilities. Marking and record keeping can be used both as a supportive activity, providing feed-back to the students on their progress and achievements and as a signal that the student’s efforts are valued and progress matters.

SCHOOL SYSTEMS

Rewards

All staff have access to Eportal

They may use this electronic system to record merits given for:

• Work over and above that expected from that student, or
• An act of ‘good citizenship’ – be that inside or outside the classroom

Merits can be awarded by any staff at Rossett School. We ask that approximately one sixth of students should be awarded merits each lesson. We also encourage staff to catch students who are ‘getting it right’.

The weekly tally is processed and made available to staff. This data can be sorted according to the wishes of the year team (gender split, form by form, top student performers) within any time frame. In this way Directors of Studies and Achievement Coordinators can use this information for monitoring the rewards process.

We can celebrate student success by awarding a certificate (and sending a letter home) at the following ‘landmarks’:

50 merits Bronze Award Certificate + letter from Tutor
100 merits Silver Award Certificate + letter from Achievement Coordinator
200 merits Gold Award Certificate + letter from Asst Headteacher: Student Care
300 merits Platinum Award Certificate + letter from Headteacher
400 merits Diamond Award Certificate + letter from Chair of Governors

Alongside this is a scheme that allows for commendations for individual pieces of work or progress. This could be rewarded with ‘one off’ rewards – well done board/star for the week/postcards. In the Sixth Form commendation letters are sent from the Headteacher and Director of Sixth Form and student praise is ‘messaged’ on the plasma screen and by praise in assemblies.

In addition the Headteacher, at the end of each learning cycle, sends a commendation letter to the students with the highest effort grades in each year group.

Strengths:

• We recognise, encourage and support students ‘doing it right’
• We foster a ‘cool to achieve’ ethos
• We encourage staff to look for positives/’catch them doing it right’
• We acknowledge student achievement to parents/guardians
• Can be used to compare performance

This school rewards good behaviour, as it believes that this will develop an ethos of kindness and co-operation.

Sanctions

The use of sanctions should be characterised by certain features:

• It must be clear why the sanction is being applied
• It must be made clear what changes in behaviour are required to avoid future sanctions
• Group sanctions should not be used as this breeds resentment
• It should be the behaviour rather than the person that is sanctioned
• To place the focus on the learning
• To place the emphasis on the positive; the ‘Choices & Consequences’ programme is intended to be part of our whole school ethos as it will build on the very good praise culture we have, and will help all members of the Rossett School community to feel happier, achieve and seek excellence together.
  

5 simple classroom expectations are displayed in every room:

• Arrive to lessons on time and with the right equipment
• Follow instructions the first time
• Listen to the person who should be talking
• Think carefully before you speak
• Put your hand up if you want attention
• Students need to understand the consequences of their behaviour and take responsibility for their actions

All staff must:

• Remind students of expectations on a regular basis
• Give rule & consequence reminder
• If the behaviour continues issue a consequence
• Provide a consistent whole school approach to behaviour
• Ensure students are clear as to the consequences of the choices they make, positive or negative (see Behaviour Map)
• Issue Sixth Form students with a compulsory After School Study Session if homework, coursework or lesson work rate is giving cause for concern

Support systems for individual student need (in line with the school’s Inclusion Policy):

• If there is a persistent problem the Director of Access & Inclusion/Assistant Headteacher: Pastoral Care will draw up an Individual Improvement Programme (or similar) to support the student in partnership with parents. All staff working with the student will have access to this information via the SEN register. This will give a consistent approach throughout the school day.
• If the problem continues, the school will work with outside agencies to seek solutions to support the student.
• For students who are having these difficulties the school will provide targeted pastoral support or mentoring by adults or peers (i.e. access to a school support officer, peer buddies, mentors etc)
• in order that the staff feel supported and the Staff at Rossett School will work together to provide a cohesive approach to supporting individual needs. Behaviour management should be consistent throughout the school
• Staff having difficulties with an individual, class or group should discuss this with their DOS and/or with the relevant year team

Support systems for parents/carers

At Rossett School we embrace the ‘triangle of care’ between students, parents and staff. We encourage parents to discuss any issues concerning the academic welfare of their child with us – along with any other concerns or issues that may affect the student. We foster parental involvement in their child’s education through the planners, regular reporting and parent consultation evenings, having a Student Support Officer attached to each year group, first day of absence contact home, a wide variety of extended schools activities, the school web and twitter sites, and parental access to information about their child held by the school which will be available to all parents with children at Rossett by September 2010.

Monitoring and review

Behaviour management will be under constant review throughout the school on a class and individual basis.

This document is freely available to the entire school community and has also been made available on the school website. It will be reviewed every 3 years.

Policy Links :

• Inclusion
• Anti-Bullying
• Student isolation
• Removal from class
• Equality, Diversity & Community Cohesion
• Safeguarding Children
• Confidentiality

References :
Primary National Strategy. Developing and reviewing your whole school behaviour and attendance policy 2005 DfES 1735-2005PD5-EN
Key Stage 3 National Strategy Advice on whole school behaviour and attendance policy 09/2003 DfES 0628-2003 R