Leigh Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School

Legal Framework

Our policy is underpinned by the 54 Articles of the United Nations Convention on the rights of the child, which came into UK law in 1992 and in particular, Article 28 which states “Discipline in schools must respect children’s dignity and their rights.”

The school will fulfil its legal duties under the Equality Act 2012 in respect of safeguarding, children with special educational needs and all vulnerable children.

As an inclusive school all members of the school community should be free from discrimination, harassment, victimization and any other conduct that is prohibited under the Equality Act 2010.

The Teacher’s Standards (2012) make clear the expectation of the teachers to “manage behaviour effectively to ensure a good safe learning environment.” Teachers must “have clear rules and routines for behaviour in classrooms, and take responsibility for promoting good and courteous behaviour both in classrooms and around the school, in accordance with the school’s behaviour policy.” They must “manage classes effectively, using approaches which are appropriate to pupils needs in order to involve and motivate them.” (Standard 7)

The law says “The headteacher must set out measures in the behaviour policy which aim to promote good behaviour and respect, prevent bullying, ensure pupils complete assigned work and regulate the conduct of pupils.”

Aims

To encourage acceptable standards of beahviour which promote respect for people and property, and develop patterns of behaviour which will be suitable throughout life. Within the school these standards will contribute to effective learning and a harmonious atmosphere, in keeping with our mission statement. This will be achieved in the following ways –

From staff

· An awareness that they are role models for pupil behaviour.

· Provide opportunities to discuss acceptable norms.

· Demonstrating in their relationships with the children that each individual, their efforts and achievements are valued.

From children

· The children will be involved in the drawing up of the class rules.

· The children will be made aware of the need for codes of conduct both within the school and the wider community.

· The children will be encouraged to develop self-discipline by being polite and courteous in all aspects of school life; having consideration for others and reflecting on the results of their actions; being open and honest when confronted by their actions; showing good table manners and encouraged to value their own efforts by presenting work to their own highest possible standards.

Between adults and children

· Children will be encouraged to discuss their concerns with staff, initially the class teacher, although other members of staff will be available if preferred. Bearing in mind child protection guidelines these discussions will be respected by all parties.

· Children will be given the opportunities to be placed in positions of trust and will be expected to take on appropriate responsibilities. School Council Meetings will take place regularly and play leaders will organize playground games for children during dinner times.

· Children will be expected to use adults full title e.g. Miss____, Mrs. ____, Mr. ______

when addressing them.

· Adults will work with children to share expectations in the classroom. Rewards and Sanctions are displayed in all classrooms.

Between children and children

· Pupils will be expected to empathize with other points of view during the discussion of situations.

· They will be encouraged to respect the feelings of others and respond appropriately.

Children and property

· Children will be taught to take care of their own property, school property and that of others.

Working with parents to achieve our aims

Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Leigh will involve parents by

· Asking them to sign our Home-School Agreement which sets out the roles and responsibilities of parents, children and the school.

· Making parents aware of our Good Behaviour Policy, which is available on the school website or on request from the school office.

· Creating an atmosphere in which parents can feel confident in approaching the school with any areas of concern and dealing with these worries at the earliest opportunity.

· Providing occasions for regular verbal and written reporting on pupil achievement and behaviour.

· Ensuring that if a child’s standard of behaviour or performance are not satisfactory parents are invited to discuss the matter at the earliest opportunity.

· Expecting parental support in upholding and remedial actions that may need to be taken.

· In the unlikely event of non-cooperation and continued adverse behaviour, support would be sought from outside agencies.

Taking account of individual pupils needs

At Sacred Heart we take account of a range of individual pupil needs when developing and implementing our behaviour policy. We take account of pupils with special educational needs (SEND) those with SEMH needs and also the needs within certain other groups defined by Ofsted as ‘at risk’ within the education system. If appropriate an Individual Behaviour Plan (IBP) will be created taking into account the needs of the child at that time.

As a school we take a restorative approach

When dealing with disagreements in school we give a ‘cooling off period’. We wait until the children have calmed down before questioning them in more detail about the incident. We do not want to re-ignite the situation especially when emotions are raw and one party feels aggrieved. Both parties need an opportunity to have their say about what has happened. The restorative approach focuses on reflection, acknowledging feelings of yourself and others affected, taking responsibility for your actions, repairing harm to relationships and putting things right again.

Once it has been established who is the victim (harmed) and perpetrator (harmer) both children can be informally questioned about what happened, individually at first, in order for them to reflect on the incident and consider how their actions have affected others. If deemed appropriate, a more restorative enquiry can take place with both parties present, however, this has to be carefully considered and carried out under close supervision. This approach is more suitable for children over the age of eight years old although the language can be adapted and simplified for younger children and used more informally. It is important to phrase the questions so that they do not appear to be confrontational or apportioning blame. See Appendix 1 for the Restorative Approach questions.

Accusations of bullying

When an accusation of bullying is made a member of the Senior Leadership Team will investigate the situation and the Seven Step Approach is followed. See Appendix 2.

Persistent unacceptable behaviour

Persistent, unacceptable behaviour will result in-

· Formal meetings with parents.

· Formal monitoring strategies put in place e.g. Behaviour Charts/Contract.

· An Individual Behaviour Plan created.

· A Behaviour Diary and planned meetings with parents and class teachers.

· Contacting and gaining the support from external behaviour support services if necessary.

If the behaviour does not improve the option of a ‘fixed’ term suspension may arise. At all times staff in school will seek to work with parents to resolve problems so that suspension is avoided. However continuous, unacceptable behaviour could result in a fixed term suspension. In exceptional circumstances a fixed term exclusion may be given immediately. Following this a Pupil Support Programme (PSP) will be put in pace to help the child improve their behaviour. This will involve working alongside other support agencies such as the TESS Team (Targeted Educational Support Service), CAMHS or the school’s Educational Psychologist.

As a last resort the school may permanently exclude a child, this would only happen after trying to improve the child’s behaviour through the ways explained in this policy. There are exceptional circumstances in which the headteacher may decide to permanently exclude a child for a ‘one off’ offence.

Beyond the school gate

Whilst this behaviour policy refers mainly to the behaviours of pupils on school premises, the school reserves the right to discipline children for inappropriate behaviours beyond the school gate. This policy covers any inappropriate behaviour when children are

· Taking part in any school organized or school related activity.

· Travelling to and from school.

· Wearing a school uniform.

· In some way identifiable as a pupil from the school.

· Poses a threat to another pupil or member of the public.

· Could adversely effect the reputation of the school.

This policy links to our policies on Teaching and Learning Antibullying, E-safety, Attendance and SEND.

The whole school community – staff, children, parents and governors has been involved with the development of this policy, during Autumn Term 2022.

The headteacher and senior leaders of the school will monitor the effectiveness of this policy regularly and if necessary make further improvements.

Appendix 1 – The Restorative Approach

Appendix 2 – The Seven Steps (Antibullying Procedure)

Appendix 3 – A table of unacceptable behaviours and sanctions

Appendix 1 – The Restorative Approach

Questions to ask the perpetrator (harmer) during the discussion

· Can you talk about what happened?

· What were you thinking and feeling at the time?

· What are your thoughts and feelings now?

· Who do you think has been affected by your actions?

· How do you think they have been affected?

· What do you need to do to put things right?

Questions to ask the victim (harmed) during the discussion.

· What were your thoughts and feelings about what happened?

· What has been the hardest thing for you?

· How have others been affected?

· What are the most important issues for you?

Appendix 2 – The Seven Steps (Antibullying Procedure)

STAGE 1

Step 1 – Interview with the victim

When the teacher finds out that bullying has happened they start by talking to the victim about their feelings. They do not questions them about the incidents but they do need to know who is involved.

Step 2 – Convene a meeting with the people involved

The teacher arranges to meet with the group of pupils who have been involved. This will include some bystanders or colluders who joined in but did not initiate the bullying. A group of six to eight young people works well

Step 3 – Explain the problem

The teacher tells the children the way the victim is feeling – they may use a poem, piece of writing or a drawing to emphasize their distress. At no time do they discuss details of the incident or allocated blame to anyone in the group.

Step 4 – Share responsibility

The teacher does not attribute blame but states that they know the group is responsible and can now do something about it.

Step 5 – Ask the group for their ideas

Each member of the group is encouraged to suggest a way in which the victim could be helped to feel happier. The teacher gives some positive responses but doesn’t go on to extract a promise of improved behaviour.

Step 6 – Leave it up to them

The teacher ends the meeting by passing over responsibility to the group to solve the problem. The teacher arranges to meet with them again to see how things are going.

Step 7 – Meet them again

About a week later the teacher discusses with each student, including the victim, how things have been going. This allows the teacher to monitor the bullying and keeps the children involved in the process

STAGE 2

Contact Parents/Carers

STAGE 3

Contact outside agencies e.g. TESS Team, Educational Psychologist, Police

STAGE 4

Pastoral Support Programme – possible fixed term suspension

Appendix 3 – Unacceptable behaviours and sanctions