In order for Streatham Wells Primary School to provide a happy, secure and stimulating environment for the welfare of its pupils and all concerned with the life of our school, we aim to:
- * Ensure that our policy is followed by our whole school community, children, all staff, parents and governors, based on a sense of community and shared values* Apply positive policies to create a caring family atmosphere in which teaching and learning can take place in a safe and happy environment.* Teach, through our school curriculum, values and attitudes as well as knowledge and skills. (This will promote responsible behaviour, encourage self-discipline and encourage in children a respect for themselves, for other people and for property.)* Encourage good behaviour rather than to simply punish bad behaviour, by providing a range of rewards for children of all ages and abilities.* Make clear to our children the distinction between minor and more serious behaviour (see appendix 1) and the range of sanctions that will follow.Initially, treat problems when they occur in a caring and sympathetic manner in the hope of achieving an improvement in behaviour.
CODE OF CONDUCT
- All members of our school community* are asked to respect each other.
- Children are expected to be well-behaved, well-mannered and attentive.
- Children should walk, not run, when moving around our school.
- All children are expected to respect their own and other people’s property and to take care of books and equipment.
- Physical violence is not acceptable, neither is retaliation.
- If children are unable to settle a dispute peacefully it must be reported to a member of staff who will deal with the matter.
- Foul or abusive language or gestures must not be used.
- Everyone is expected to be punctual and attend regularly.
PLEASE REMEMBER: IT’S EVERYONE’S RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE OUR SCHOOL AND HAPPY AND SUCCESSFUL PLACE TO BE!
* Members of school community includes children, all staff, parents/carers, governors and visitors
GENERAL CLASSROOM PRACTICE
Classroom Organisation
All class teachers will used the agreed ‘Classroom Organisation’ Policy.
Classroom Rules
Through discussion and agreement between the class teacher and children there needs to be a set of principles (rules) on expected behaviour established at the beginning of the academic year and reinforced at the beginning of each term or half term.
Expectations and Routines
One of the elements of a successful classroom is the establishment of expectations and routines. Although some may seem very obvious they often need to be referred to again and again.
The following expectations and routines are especially important and need to be in place as soon as possible at the beginning of a new year/term:
- Storage of coats and bags in correct places
- Registration/Punctuality
- Class Rules/Sanctions
- Organisation of working areas/tables
- Seating arrangements/sitting correctly on chairs
- Tidying up – knowing where resources go
- Lining up procedures both inside and outside the classroom – use of number lines
- Bibs/bands to be worn by children playing football at playtime
- Lunch time procedures
- Acceptable noise levels
- Toilet times – if any
- Use of and allocation of monitors if required
Our children should always be made aware of their teacher’s expectations of them that are aimed at raising their educational standards and self-esteem, building caring relationships and promoting positive attitudes.
All of our children should be aware of how they can gain.
RECOGNITION FOR GOOD WORK AND BEHAVIOUR
At Streatham Wells we operate a ‘Credit Card’ system for all of our children from Year 1 to Year 6. Each of our children is given a credit card into which they can collect credits for good work or effort.
10 credits = Bronze Certificate
20 credits = Silver Certificate
30 credits = Gold Certificate plus a certificate in our ‘Book of Achievement’
We also hold a weekly Achievement Assembly where two children are chosen from each class by their class teacher to receive an Achievement Certificate for outstanding work or behaviour. Photographs of these children are also displayed in our entrance hall.
Staff use a variety of awards to reinforce co-operative behaviour. These include:
Table Team of the Day/Week, Team of the Term, Stickers, Whole Class rewards, Certificates, Take a Toy Home (Nursery), Star Charts, Marbles in a Jar
At Streatham Wells we use our ‘SEAL’ P.S.H.E. programme as well as Circle Time in each class at least once a week. SEAL (Social, Emotional Aspects of Learning) is a programme of activities that run progressively from Nursery to Year 6. They challenge and motivate our children to reflect on their own behaviour and also give them the forum to encourage positive behaviour. The programmes encourage self-esteem and self-confidence. They promote core ethical values such as fairness, honesty, respect and self-discipline. We also use Miss Dorothy.com in Years 3-6 to promote safety and well-being.
It’s very important that ground rules are established at the start of each Circle Time session. Where possible, our children and adults sit in a circle and are able to make eye contact with each other. No child is forced to contribute, nor is anyone ‘put down’. The circle can involve games, drama, takling and listening as appropriate. Through the activities children are encouraged to take responsibility for their own actions and to offer help and support to other children in dealing with any difficulties. It should be a place and time where each child can feel especially valued and secure.
Brain Gym exercises or similar can be used as a behaviour management tool to refocus children’s attention or provide a learning break to enable children to reach their full potential and/or develop particular skills.
Unsatisfactory Behaviour
This should. initially, be dealt with personally by individual teachers/class teachers to ensure that they personally gain the children’s respect. Teachers should always be fair, firm and vigilant with children in their care and any unsatisfactory behaviour should be dealt with calmly, efficiently and speedily.
We use THE SEVEN STEPS as a way of dealing with persistent unsatisfactory behaviour and they are as follows:
- Verbal Warning
- Written Warning (name on board)
- Time out in designated area
- Miss some playtime
- Time out in another class with Key Stage Co-ordinator
- Yellow Card and parents informed by letter from Deputy Head Teacher
- Red Card and parents informed by letter from Head Teacher
Depending on the nature of the behaviour, steps can be skipped.
Children should be clear about the use of these sanctions and should know why they are being punished.
All of our children should be aware that verbal abuse and threatening physical violence is unacceptable.
Misbehaviour such as severe violence and/or verbal abuse may result in a fixed term exclusion from schoold by the Head Teacher. In extreme cases, permanent exclusion may be used as a final resort.
Any exclusions by the Head Teacher are reported both to the Chair of the Governing Body and the C.Y.P.S. (Children and Young People’s Service).
PLAYTIMES AND LUNCHTIMES
Playtimes and lunch times should be happy and relaxed times when children can socialise and play together.
We have a set of simple Playground Rules that are on view in every classroom and around our school. These are:
- Listen carefully instructions and follow them.
- Play games that are safe and will not cause harm to anyone.
- Walk carefully and sensibly when moving to and from our classrooms.
- Be responsible about playing with equipment and looking after it.
- Look after each other and help each other especially if someone gets hurt.
- Stay out in the playground unless given permission to go inside.
- Keep out of classrooms.
- Remain behind the yellow line at all times.
Rule reminders are on display around our school to encourage our children to “do the right thing!”
We also have set procedures for lining up at the end of playtimes.
- When the bell rings at the end of playtime everyone has to stand still and quietly.
- The member of staff on duty holds up a series of coloured cards in turn and when our children see the correct colour for their class they walk quietly to their lines.
- Children do not move to their class lines unless they see their coloured card.
- Each of our children know where they should be standing in their lines and this avoids any potential pushing or arguments.
- Footballs and bibs/bands should be collected by the captain once children have lined up.
By following these lining up procedures all of our children go into their classrooms in a calm and orderly manner which means that our teaching sessions are able to start quickly.
Our Midday Supervisors play a very important role in the life of our school. They have a variety of tasks to carry out over the lunch time period which include:
- Encouraging children to play and teach new games.
- Praising and rewarding children who keep to our rules e.g. giving out “in it to win it” slips in all areas of the playground.
- Reinforcing rules by reminding children who may be in danger of breaking them.
- Engaging ALL children in activities.
- To correct rule breaking and invite children to make amends.
- Giving preliminary first aid and completing any accident reports.
- Being vigilant for danger and reporting it.
- Giving out and collecting play equipment.
- Listening to children’s concerns and responding to their feelings.
- Ensuring an orderly end to lunchtimes by following the lining up procedures.
A playground buddy system operates as part of our induction procedures for new children.
Any problems during lunch times can normally be dealt with on the spot by midday supervisors. If not, the following guidelines should be followed.
- Children who initially misbehave stand by the ‘Time Out’ sign in the playground for five minutes.
- Midday Supervisors refer any problems they can’t deal with themselves to Senior Midday Supervisors
- Senior Midday Supervisors refer to class teachers at the end of lunch time unless agreed otherwise.
- If there is a major problem, the Senior Midday Supervisors may refer directly to Head Teacher or Deputy Head Teacher.
PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT
To promote good behaviour at our school it is very important for there to be good communication with our parents/carers.
Regular communication leads to the building of better relationships and trust.
We try to involve our parents/carers in the following ways:
- Home/School Agreements
- Twice yearly Parent/Teacher Conferences
- End of Year Reports
- Reading Journals/Records
- Half-termly Class Newsletters
- Teachers provide designated weekly slot to meet with parents/carers or are available by appointment
- Curriculum Evenings and Theme Weeks
- Managed Learning Environment (M.L.E.)
- School Plays/Concerts
- Invitations to help in class
- Class Outings
- PTA Events
- Invitations to class assemblies
- Head Teacher has ‘Open Door’ policy
- Weekly newsletter from Head Teacher
- Use of interpreters for children and parents whose first language isn’t English and require this support
- Welcome meeting for parents/carers in the Foundation Stage
- Weekly ‘Drop In’ sessions
- Family Learning sessions organised via our Children’s Centre
- Use of our Children’s Centre Outreach Worker
- Home/School Books where appropriate
Parents/Carers who regularly work in our school and/or help with outings should be subject to a CRB check
Parents/Carers can help us by:
- Reinforcing our school ethos by encouraging children to keep the rules
- Letting us know when something has happened that may affect their child’s behaviour
- Coming to meetings with teachers or people from other agencies and keeping appointments
- Keeping to Home/School Agreements
- Behaving in a way that sets a good example to our children
- Making sure that children arrive at school on time, and are collected punctually at the end of the day
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
Equal opportunities should be provided for everyone regardless of race, gender, ability, disability and social factors and should permeate the entire curriculum. The sharing of different cultural, social, personal and religious ways of life should be encouraged in all classes.
SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS
If a child has an I.E.P. (Individual Education Plan) any behaviour targets and rewards/sanctions should be followed by all staff.
Early morning briefing sessions can be used to update staff on any changes to children’s needs or any causes for concern.
COMPLAINTS PROCEDURES
If any parents/carers have any complaints about the way we have cared for their children or dealt with any matter it’s important that this is brought to our attention as soon as possible so that it can be dealt with promptly.
Initially, if appropriate, the matter should be discussed with the child’s class teacher or Key Stage Co-ordinator in order that any misunderstanding can be cleared up.
If the matter cannot be resolved in this way, the complaint should then be referred either personally or in writing to the Head Teacher.
Almost all complaints are dealt with satisfactorily at one of these two stages but should this not be possible, then a complaint should be made in writing to the Chair of Governors at the school address.
Reviewed September 2011
Next Review September 2012