Behaviour Policy
Loxley School Behaviour Policy
Aims Statement:
We aim for Loxley pupils to become independent learners, motivated by their natural curiosity about the world in which they live.We want them to like themselves and to behave in a caring way towards others.
Reasons for Revision of Behaviour Policy
The school behaviour policy was revised in line with the new SEN Code of Practice implemented with effect from January 2002. Reference has been made throughout the policy to this key document and to the related document, Inclusive Schooling for Children with Special Educational Needs, issued in November 2001 (Ref: DfES/0774/2001.
The school aims statement reflects the present culture and ethos of Loxley School, in consultation with all children and staff. In part, the school’s mission statement mirrors the principles behind the behaviour policy and reflects prevailing beliefs in the value of individuals, who together, create the whole that is Loxley C of E Community Primary School.
Principles behind the behaviour policy
Loxley School commits itself to providing a secure and happy learning environment and community for its pupils. All children should have access to an appropriate education that affords them the opportunity to achieve their personal potential. At Loxley School we endeavour to provide those opportunities and to create those practices that best support the achievement of personal potential.
Loxley School aims to be inclusive in its policies, outlook and practices and has a concern for every individual within its community. The school is keen to respond to the many varied life experiences of all children and offers support appropriately through practical steps and plans of action.
School expectations and context for the behaviour policy
Generally the behaviour of pupils at Loxley school is very good. Many children come from the surrounding villages and because of the size and nature of the school, have a regard and concern for each other. There are close relations between all members of the school and its wider community and communication links are positive and effective.
Teacher and pupil relationships must be built on mutual respect and trust in the same way that we expect that pupil relationships with their peers must be built upon respect, trust, friendship and tolerance for each others’ wishes. The school believes in the power of positive and frequent praise for good and caring behaviour as a more effective way of improving standards and relationships between individuals than constant criticism.
Adults within the school environment have a duty to provide positive role models in all areas of behaviour, including non teaching staff and visitors to the school. Older pupils are encouraged to care for and support younger ones in the playground and in the classroom, just as they would in a family at home. Loxley School aims to have a positive, caring ethos and provide challenging well-planned education. The goal is to produce caring, successful pupils with a high self regard and self belief, positive esteem and an awareness of appropriate behaviour in all social and academic contexts.
What constitutes inappropriate or unacceptable behaviour?
After consultation between teachers and governors it has been agreed that bad, unacceptable or inappropriate behaviour usually falls into the following categories:
Context specific behaviours:
Person specific behaviours:
Other
Whilst there will always be occasions where it is difficult to define the problem behaviour into categories, as a general guide, responses to the behaviour are determined in part by the kind of behaviour displayed.
Procedures to follow
If children fail to maintain the high standards of behaviour expected, either within the classroom or on the playground, the following procedures apply:
For a first offence verbal reminder of how to behave, reminders of class
or playground rules, prompts to apologise or make amends
a second offence verbal reprimand which may be followed by –
the child being kept in at playtime
the child standing a the lunchtime supervisors or kitchen door
the removal of a privilege
a third offence If a child is violent towards another pupil on more than two occasions they may be given a fixed term exclusion.
Recording instances of bad behaviour
A pro forma is to be completed after the second offence (except for serious offences) listing any of the offences categorised above. This pro forma will be kept in school but a note of the behaviour should go home to parents.
It is the class teacher’s responsibility to complete a slip reporting bad behaviour to parents.
No bad behaviour should be discussed with parents in public; no other child should be mentioned by name to anyone who is not their parent.
All people who are professionally involved with the school in any capacity have been asked to observe confidentiality regarding individual children’s behaviour.
Nb. If the child behaving inappropriately is on the school’s special educational needs register, it would be useful to include a photocopy of the behaviour report in the pupil file.
(See attachments at end of policy containing pro formas to be used).
Reporting Bad Behaviour at Playtime
It is important that if bad behaviour occurs during a playtime, the observing lunchtime assistant/supervising adult fills in a behaviour slip according to the guidelines on attached sheet and passes it to the child's class teacher, with additional spoken comments if necessary.
A slip must always be filled in if another child has been injured deliberately, even if it is a 'first offence'. Behaviour log slips are kept in yellow Behaviour Log File in the office.
If the only witness to a verbal or physical attack is a child, as soon as a teacher or supervisor learns of the incident it must still be reported and recorded.
Please note the request for First Aid details.
Injuries
If a child is injured as a result of bad behaviour (their own or another child's) their injuries must immediately be:
· treated,
· recorded in the First Aid book
· reported to the classteacher and if appropriate the headteacher
· reported to their parents ( by showing parents the entry in the First Aid book, at the end of the school day, and asking them to sign it.)
In summary:
Any child deliberately responsible for injuring another child must be dealt with according to the guidelines in this behaviour policy:
their behaviour must be recorded on a slip;
their class teacher must be told.
Persistent Bad Behaviour
Where a child has 3 incidence forms filled in during one week, irrespective of the severity of the offence, the class teacher needs to discuss the behaviour with a parent. Improvements are necessary.
One of the goals of Loxley school is to work together with parents to achieve the full potential of the child, and this is one instance where co-operation and mutual trust are an important aspect of any communication with parents.
If there is no improvement in the behaviour causing offence, the parents will be invited to meet with the Headteacher to discuss the matter further. The pupil will be invited to give his/her comments. The Headteacher and parents together with the class teacher, and other professionals if involved, will discuss and agree a programme to improve the child’s behaviour. At this stage, if this is not previously the case, the child may also be recorded on the school’s Special Educational Needs register at School Action.
Rewards and Sanctions
The rewards and sanctions have been determined considering existing school practice and itemised for clarity and consistency between staff members. They follow a hierarchical pattern, and particularly where sanctions are concerned, they should be seen as progressive steps.
For Key Stage 1 some consideration should be given to the immediacy of rewards or sanctions, although these may follow on from one day to the next. For Key Stage 2 pupils, rewards or sanctions may be applicable over a longer period of time.
Positive behaviour is noted and rewarded by stickers, praise and smiley faces at KS1 and merit points and praise at KS2. Unacceptable behaviour is challenged and criticised. Children are taught (even from a young age) to take responsibility for their own actions.
The above guidelines are clearly set out in the Home School Agreement. The policy will be regularly reviewed. Children, parents and support staff will be fully involved. The policy must not be seen to be there for the benefit of the teachers, but for the benefit of the whole school community. | Child Protection
Loxley CE Community Primary School Policy for Child Protection
The school has adopted the Warwickshire Guidelines for child protection.
1.Context
The protection of children is the proper concern of everyone in a position to help. Primary responsibility for the care and protection of children rests with their parents, but a range of services is available to help them with this task. Parents seeking help for themselves make many referrals to agencies. Relatives, friends or neighbours may also directly, or encourage families to seek help or alert statutory authorities to children about whom they are concerned. All agencies with staff who are in direct contact with children and families must be involved. (DfES Circular 10/95: Protecting Children from Abuse,p3)
The safety and protection of children is of paramount importance to all those involved in education.
Children can develop a special and close relationship with school staff, and view them as significant and trustworthy adults.
It is not surprising therefore that children, if they have been abused, may confide or disclose to a teacher or other member of staff.
School staff are also in a unique position to notice any change in demeanour or circumstances. There is the opportunity to notice injuries, marks or bruises when children are doing P.E. or swimming which might indicate a child has been abused.
At Loxley CE Community Primary School we agree that the safety and protection of all pupils is of paramount importance and that all staff will adhere to this policy and the child protection procedures established by the Area Child Protection Committee (ACPC). We will work appropriately with each child, their family and other agencies to protect, in all cases, the child.
The School has adopted the LEA Code of Conduct for staff accused of Child Abuse. All staff will adhere to this code of conduct in line with national guidelines and supported by the ACPC.
2 Designated Teacher
The designated teacher for child protection is Deborah Holt.
The designated teacher has received child protection training and will liase in accordance with ACPC Child Protection Procedures and make these available to staff.
3. The Staff
All staff, including supply teachers and other visiting staff and those supporting school trips are informed of the designated teacher’s name and the school’s policy for the protection of children through the provision of this policy and discussion or training as appropriate.
All staff need to be alert to the signs of harm and abuse. They should report any concerns, if not immediately, as soon as possible, that day to the designated teacher. If in any doubt they should consult with the designated teacher.
The Warwickshire ACPC Procedures (Blue Book) is available for staff reference and is located on the staff shelf in the office.
LEA Personnel Procedures are also located there.
4. Response in School
1.Reporting to the designated teacher
Any concern must be discussed with the designated teacher as soon as possible and at least by the end of the teaching session.
2.Immediate response to the child
It is vital that our actions do not abuse the child further or prejudice further enquiries for example:
Listen to the pupil, if you are shocked by what is being said try not to show it.
It is ok to observe bruises but not to ask a child to remove or adjust their clothing to observe them.
If a disclosure is made the pace should be dictated by the pupil without them being pressed for detail by being asked questions such as “what did they do next?” or “where did they touch you?”. It is our role to listen not to investigate. Use open questions such as “is there anything else you want to tell me?” or “yes?” or “and?”.
Accept what the pupil says. Be careful not to burden them with guilt by asking them questions such as “why didn’t you tell me before?”
Do acknowledge how hard it was to tell you this.
Don’t criticise the perpetrator, this may be someone they love
Don’t promise confidentiality, reassure the pupil that they have done the right thing, explain whom you will have to tell (designated teacher) and why. It is important that you don’t make promises that you cannot keep.
5. Recording Information
Make some brief notes at the time or immediately afterwards; record the date, time, place and context of the disclosure or concern, regarding facts and not assumption and interpretation. Notes must be signed and dated.
Observed injuries are to be recorded on the Body Map.
Note the non-verbal behaviour and key words in the language used by the pupil.
It is important to keep these original notes and pass them to the designated teacher.
All referrals to Social Services must be followed up within 24 hours in writing using the referral pro-forma.
6. Support
i Pupils and Families
Our school recognises that children who are abused or who witness violence may find it difficult to develop a sense of self worth and to view the world in a positive way. The school may be the only stable, secure and predictable element in the lives of children at risk.
This school will endeavour to support pupils through:
The curriculum to encourage self-esteem and self-motivation
The school ethos, which promotes a positive, supportive and secure environment and which gives all pupils and adults a sense of being respected and valued
The implementation of the school behaviour policy
A consistent approach, which recognises and separates the cause of behaviour from that which the pupil displays.
Regular liaison with other professionals and agencies who support pupils and their families
A commitment to develop productive, supportive relationships with parents, whenever it is in the pupil’s interest to do so.
The development and support of a responsive and knowledgeable staff group trained to respond appropriately in child protection situations
ii Staff
Receiving a disclosure or observing signs of abuse can be very distressing. You should discuss your feelings with the designated teacher.
Incidents of a child protection nature can affect staff not directly involved. Meetings should be used to support staff in this situation. The LEA Lead Officer for Child Protection can facilitate such meetings if requested.
You may be asked to attend a Strategy Meeting. You will need to take the completed referral pro-forma, school attendance records and other information the school may hold.
You may be required to attend a child protection case conference for which you should provide a report.
Your designated teacher will be available to support and advise you.
7. Confidentiality
Staff have the professional responsibility to share relevant information about the protection of children with other professionals particularly investigating agencies. If a pupil confides in a member of staff and requests that the information be kept secret, it is important that the member of staff tells the child sensitively that she has a responsibility to refer for the child’s own sake. Within that context the child should however be reassured that the matter will only be disclosed to the people who need to know about it Staff who receive the information about children and families in the course of their work should have the information only within professional context. Child protection records should be kept securely locked.
Personal information about all pupils and their families is regarded by those who work in this school as confidential. All staff will aim to maintain this confidentiality; all records relating to child protection incidents will be maintained by the designated teacher and only shared as is consistent with the protection of children.
8.Parents
Parents play an important role in protecting their children from abuse. The school is required to consider the safety of the pupil and should a concern arise professional advice will be sought prior to contacting parents.
The school will work with parents to support the needs of their child.
The school aims to help parents understand that the school, like all others, has a responsibility for the welfare of all pupils and has a duty to refer cases to the Social Services in the interests of the child.
9. When a pupil transfers to another school
If the pupils is on the child protection register, their Social Worker will be contacted by the designated teacher and informed of their transfer.
When the child changes schools within the authority, child protection records will be passed onto the designated teacher at the receiving school.
When the child is moving to another authority information will be passed onto the designated teacher at the receiving school. Case conference minutes are not transferred but the date, name of chair, local authority and outcome will be included on the records transferred.
10. Training
Loxley School has a commitment to training, updates and attendance at inter-agency protection meetings. Time will be given to enable this commitment to be met.
The designated teacher is expected to cascade learning to the wider staff.
11. Curriculum
Loxley School has a commitment to safeguarding pupils and equipping them with the skills to understand their rights, appropriate forms of punishment and chastisement and the difference between good and bad touching. Such skills will be developed specifically during PHSE lessons and circle time and some are reinforced throughout school life as part of the behaviour code.
12. Case Conferences and core group meetings
It is generally a requirement for the classteacher to attend a pupil’s Child Protection Case Conference. Where possible they will be accompanied by the designated teacher but this may not always be possible. Teachers should prepare a report using a pro-forma presenting information to the chair at the start of a meeting. The chair will gather all information and assess the risks. Teachers will be asked for their view in respect of registration
If a child’s name is placed on the Warwickshire Child Protection register a Core Group will be agreed. All core group members will meet regularly (at least monthly) monitor and progress the Child Protection Plan and Core Assessment. Attendance at these meetings will be given priority.
The designated teacher will be available to advise and support teachers.
Where no registration has taken place school may be asked to monitor the situation. It is the school’s responsibility to ask for clarity about information required, timescales and reporting methods.
13 Role of Governors
Carolyn Ayres is the governor responsible for child protection. The governors will monitor the implementation of this policy regularly.
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Anti-Bullying Policy
Rationale
Everyone at Loxley CE Community Primary School has the right to feel welcome, secure and happy. Only if this is the case will all members of the school community be able to achieve their maximum potential. Bullying of any sort prevents this being able to happen and prevents equality of opportunity. It is everyone’s responsibility to prevent this happening and this policy contains guidelines to support this ethos.
Where bullying exists the victims must feel confident to activate the anti-bullying systems within the school to end the bullying. It is our aim to challenge attitudes about bullying behaviour, increase understanding for bullied pupils and help build an anti-bullying ethos in the school.
This document outlines how we make this possible at Loxley CE Community Primary School.
Definitions of Bullying
Bullying is deliberately hurtful behaviour that is repeated over a period of time, making it difficult for the person concerned to defend themselves. This can take the form of name-calling, violence, threatened violence, isolation, ridicule or indirect action such as spreading unpleasant stories about someone.
The school works hard to ensure that all pupils know the difference between bullying and simply “falling out”.
Actions to Tackle Bullying
Prevention is better than cure so at Loxley we will be vigilant for signs of bullying and always take reports of incidents seriously. We will use the curriculum whenever possible to reinforce the ethos of the school and help pupils to develop strategies to combat bullying-type behaviour.
Pupils are told that they must report any incidence of bullying to an adult within school, and that when another pupil tells them that they are being bullied or if they see bullying taking place it is their responsibility to report their knowledge to a member of staff.
All reported incidents of bullying will be investigated and taken seriously by staff members. A record will be kept of incidents. The Classteacher of the victim will be responsible for this and will be required to give a copy of report and the action taken to the Headteacher. Older pupils may be asked to write a report themselves. In order to ensure effective monitoring of such occurrences, and to facilitate co-ordinated action, all proven incidences of bullying should be reported to the Headteacher. If bullying includes racist abuse then it should be reported to the Headteacher to be recorded in the Racial Incident Book.
Upon discovery of an incident of bullying, we will discuss with the children the issues appropriate to the incident and to their age and level of understanding. If the incident is not too serious, a problem-solving approach may help. The adult will try to remain neutral and deliberately avoid direct, closed questioning which may be interpreted as accusatory or interrogational in style. Each pupil must be given an opportunity to talk and the discussion should remain focused on finding a solution to the problem and stopping the bullying recurring.
There are various strategies that can be applied if more than one pupil is involved in bullying another. Role-play and other drama techniques can be used as well as Circle Time. If held regularly, this can be an effective way of sharing information and provide a forum for discussing important issues such as equal rights, relationships, justice and acceptable behaviour. It can also be used just within the affected group to confront bullying that already exists.
Victims who are worried about openly discussing an incident when the aggressors are present (eg taunting during a lesson) can be encouraged to go to the teacher with a piece of work, using this as a reason to speak to the teacher. Victims need to feel secure in the knowledge that assertive behaviour, and even walking away can be effective ways of dealing with bullying. Setting up a buddy system can also be beneficial.
Parental Involvement
The parents of bullies and their victims will be informed of an incident and the action that has taken place and asked to support strategies proposed to tackle the problem. The bully will also be reminded of the possible consequences of bullying and the sanctions for repeated incidents will be clearly explained to him/her. (Persistent bullies may be excluded from school). A monitoring tool-linked to Individual Education or Behaviour Plans- may also be used, usually incorporating a reward for achieving desired behaviour.
Parents are reminded regularly through letters and newsletters to inform their children that they must tell someone should they ever be bullied. Keeping information from the school, or from their parents, will never help a problem to be solved, and will prolong the period a victim has to suffer. Whilst there is little history of bullying at Loxley, we believe that one case is one case too many and we believe it is essential to constantly review this policy to ensure we are in a position to strengthen our approach to this issue. Where necessary we have and will call on outside resources such as the to support our action. This policy is seen as an integral part of our Behaviour and Discipline Policy
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