Rewards and Sanctions

The ethos of the School and the planning of the broad curriculum, promote the attitudes, skills and values necessary for individual children to contribute positively to their own personal development and to that of the School.  Strategies such as Restorative Approach, Circle time and mindfulness sessions encourage the development of these required skills.  These attitudes and values are further encouraged through a system of rewards and sanctions with consistency and co-operation across the school.  Pupils are reminded of the importance of positive behavior throughout the whole school day with all members of staff, volunteers and visitors.

• All pupils have a right to work in a calm, supportive and purposeful atmosphere.
• All pupils have the right to come to school without the fear of being bullied – (see ‘Anti-bullying’ policy).
• Guidelines are issued and discussed at the beginning of each school year outlining expected classroom behavior.  Pupils, through the school council have all had a say in the rules set in the class and school.
• There are visual reminders of the set rules displayed in every classroom, corridor and on the school yard.
• Every adult is responsible for every pupil in our School and is expected to treat pupils firmly, fairly, consistently and courteously. In the same manner, it is expected that pupils behave politely, showing respect to every adult that works or visits the site.

With support from the Key Stage co-ordinator and Senior Leadership Team, the class teacher has prime responsibility for pastoral care. It is expected that each they provide a positive atmosphere that conforms with the principles of restorative justice, in the classroom. In order to ensure this, the thorough knowledge the class teacher has of his/her pupils will be depended upon, along with his/her patience and perseverance when discussing and understanding the root of complex behavior.  Although all children are treated fairly and consistently, personalised timetables and strategies might need to be in place for some pupils with more complex needs (e.g. those educated in the Specialist Resource Base or nurture classes, or Looked After Children).  For certain pupils access to our school Playtherapist, Nurture classes or ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support) will be arranged.

 

 

Teachers will:

• Consistently offer the same rewards and sanctions across the school, allowing the pupils to move through the school clear of the expectations set.
• Know the pupils in their class well enough to watch out for children who are behaving out of character and also look for signs of distress and upset.
• Through talking and listening to children, pick up on suspected occurrences of non-accidental injury or child abuse, and  report incidences to the Headteacher for further investigation.
• Always aim to investigate the root of the misbehavior and work with the pupil and SLT to develop more suitable strategies for the pupil to cope with their concerns and/or problems. All behavior is a form of Communication.

Rewards are a very powerful tool for teachers to use and this is always our aim. The general practice of classroom management involves many rewards being given to children on a daily basis. These include:

• Verbal praise, written remarks about good work, dojo points, stickers, sending children to a nearest teacher or the Head/Deputy for praise.
• Commendation during Friday assembly (Pupil of the Week).
• Postcard sent home with pupils at the end of each half term (Pupil of the Half Term).
• Reports which are also seen as a vehicle for constructive criticism and praise.
• Positive phone calls by teachers are made on a weekly basis.
• ‘Hot Chocolate with the Headteacher’ an initiative where up to 6 pupils are chosen on a weekly basis to join the head of school for this reward.  They are chosen by all members of staff around the school.

Occasionally a pupil will fail to respond to the class reward systems. Every teacher and Learning Support staff has the opportunity to meet weekly to discuss any concerns they might have.  Support is also given by the ALNCO, head of Key Stage and the Senior Leadership Team.  The advice of other members of staff can be very valuable in difficult situations and often they can offer strategies to deal with complex examples of misbehavior.  When it is felt that there might be a more complex reason for their behavior, meetings with parents and other professionals will take place.  Parents will always be involved in this process and targets will be shared by the class teacher.  A strong, positive partnership with home is crucial in the development of every pupil.

In order to deal with any unacceptable behaviour, the ‘Good to be Green’ discipline system is employed. This is a gradated system that warns pupils by using four coloured cards, which allows them to modify their behaviour before the final punishment. The aim is to encourage ‘Good to be Green’ behaviour patterns at all times.  Pupils are always reminded about the types of behaviour they need to be showing in order to reach this goal.  There is consistency with this system across the school although there is a variation in how it is implemented across the key stages.  Visual reminders of this process are displayed in every classroom and all members of staff are familiar with how it works.

The system works thus:

• In Key Stage 2 pupils are given a green card when they display good behaviour that the teacher  approves of. 
• If there is an occurrence of unacceptable behaviour, then the pupil’s card will change to ‘yellow’.  This is done by swapping the card in and the member of staff positively reminds the pupil what they need to do to change their behaviour.
• If the behaviour persists or there is a different occurrence of unacceptable behaviour, then the pupil’s card will change to ‘Orange’
• If the behaviour persists or there is a further occurrence of nacceptable behaviour, then the pupil’s card will change to ‘Red’
• If a pupil receives a red card, then he / she is sent to see a member of the Senior Leadership Team and will be excluded from the classroom for the remainder of the session (morning or afternoon).  Whenever suitable a Restorative meeting will be held between the pupil and the class teacher before the child is included back into the class.
• At the end of the morning/afternoon session, the pupil returns to the ‘Green’ card once again. 

 

• In the Foundation Phase every pupil will begin the session in the tree which is shown by a photo or the pupil’s name.
• If there is challenging behaviour the pupil will move to the cloud, if this occurs on 3 separate occasions the pupil will move to the rain (sanctions to follow).  5 minutes time out will be given each time the child moves to the cloud.
• Totally unacceptable behaviour on 3 visits to the cloud will move the pupil to the rain.
• In the Foundation Phase the child’s picture or name will move to the sun as a reward for good behaviour.
• If the good behaviour continues or an act of extreme kindness the pupil will move to the rainbow and a reward is given.

The system allows pupils to modify their behaviour before reaching the final step.  Teachers will remind the pupil what is expected of them during all of the above stages.

Note – if it is deemed that a pupil’s misbehaviour is serious enough, then the above steps can be omitted and he/she can be moved immediately to Re rain.

If a pupil consistently finds it difficult to follow class and school rules then the class teacher will request a meeting with the parents in order to set an ‘Individual Behaviour Plan’ where targets will be set.  The pupil will be aware of these targets and encouraged to develop strategies alongside the class teacher to support him/her in reaching these.

Staff have a duty to intervene in order to prevent pupils from hurting themselves or others.  If a member of staff ever needs to intervene physically they will follow the school’s Positive Handling Policy.  Where the behavior displayed requires, a Positive Handling Plan or Risk Assessment will be developed for the pupil.  Parents will be informed of this.  Further advice and information regarding this can be obtained from the school.

If the Management Team feel that progress is unacceptable they will consider exclusion for a minor fixed period (one or two days) or an Internal Exclusion where the pupil will be educated out of their usual classroom.  In all cases of exclusion the parents/guardians will be asked to attend a meeting in the school for a Pre-exclusion meeting.  This decision will always be discussed with the LEA and parents before any final decision is made.  The parents will be given a letter in which it states where additional support and advice is given and information regarding the appeals procedure will be issued.  Where suitable the parents will also be expected to bring their son/daughter to a meeting with the Headteacher to discuss the terms of re-admittance and any further steps that need to be taken in a post exclusion meeting (e.g. requesting support from the LEA’s Well-being/behaviour team).

If the school feels that the child’s behaviour is such a concern that they are at risk of another exclusion then they might be put on a ‘Pastoral Support Plan’ which is held by the Specialist Teacher.  This will state precise targets that the pupil needs to achieve within a set time.  All involved with the pupil will be invited to this meeting.

 

 

Exception to the above steps:

If a pupil is felt to constitute serious risk to the welfare of other pupils / staff, they may be excluded immediately.

If the pupil then carries on he/she will be recommended for exclusion for a fixed period (up to five days) or for an indefinite period.