Rationale
Inherent in the aims of the school is the understanding that members of the school community will behave in such a way that will enable:
- The development of a happy, peaceful, caring and secure environment.
- Successful learning for each child.
- The development of cooperation, mutual respect, positive values and attitudes.
- Towards one another and an appreciation of the wider world.
- The creation of an atmosphere where each person’s contribution is valued.
- The promotion of the social and personal growth of each child.
The way in which children behave is influenced by every aspect of home and school life, therefore the climate and relationships are of the utmost importance in building positive behaviour patterns. It is essential that there is a strong commitment to good behaviour in order for effective learning and teaching to take place. This commitment will be reflectedin a common purpose, consistent practice and constant vigilance and will be based on a quiet but firm insistence on high standards of behaviour at all times.
Children feel secure when they know exactly what is expected of them and why. Therefore it is vital that this policy is communicated to the children and agreed with them and that its main points are reinforced regularly.
We all need to understand that living and working together requires certain ‘rules’ which must be adhered to. The reasons for this must be fully understood.
'Rules' which must be adhered to :
- Be considerate, polite, cooperative and thoughtful towards others at all times.
- Take care of the school and nursery buildings,grounds, furniture and equipment and be led towards a satisfaction in doing so.
- Expect to give and receive respect.
- Recognise school safety rules and understand the need for keeping them at all times.
From these positive behaviours which are to be encouraged the children must understand that there are certain ..
Behaviours which will NOT be tolerated:
- Destructive behaviour.
- Bullying and racial teasing.
- Bad language or rudeness.
- Disobedience or defiance.
Good behaviour arises from the pattern and order of the school so that most children either maintain positive behaviour patterns or are able to moderate their behaviour for themselves.
PRINCIPLES - Developing positive behaviour.
At this school we believe that positive behaviour will develop if:
Organisation
- The classrooms will be well planned with clear routines and systems.
- The atmosphere will be calm and purposeful with staff clearly in control.
- Materials and equipment will be accessible to the children and they will be trained to set up activities and to tidy away.
In order to encourage good behaviour staff will:
- Agree procedures within each unit and the after school club
- Establish a set of rules with the children which will be displayed and constantly referred to. These should be of a positive nature.
- Ensure that staff are available to supervise the children in the cloakrooms.
- Label all resources clearly making them easily accessible to the children.
- Establish classroom routines which enable the children to organise themselves.
- Arrange furniture to facilitate maximum movement and use of space.
Behaviour Management Skills
The Curriculum
Each child has different needs which must be considered at all times, so that the learning experience will be satisfying rather than frustrating and challenging rather than boring. The curriculum will be of relevance and interest, leading to the all-round growth of each child.
To encourage good behaviour staff will:
- Plan collaboratively at termly and weekly levels, activities which are stimulating and meaningful to the children.
- Differentiate tasks to met individual needs.
- Give very clear instructions to the children.
- Develop behaviour contracts between the school or nursery, the child and the parents.
- Talk to the rest of the class if there is a need for special allowances to be made and enlist their help(possibly while the child is out of the room.
- Allow a child who has had poor behaviour to have a clean slate.
- Allow the child to express their own feelings about a situation.
- Utilise opportunities during circle time and school council.
During the children’s first months at school or nursery they will need to understand their place as part of a group or class and the ways in which they will need to behave in this situation.
Consistency of Approach
All adults involved in the school must take responsibility for promoting the positive behaviour and attitudes of all of the children – not only those directly under their supervision.
A consistent approach should be established throughout the school and attention should be given to detail so that the ‘little things’ do not pass unnoticed.
Teachers will often wish to concentrate on working with small groups or individuals but this should not be to the exclusion of supervising other children, especially those in the shared
areas, small rooms or the toilets. Teaching assistants should supervise children in these situations where appropriate.
All staff should be aware of the need to anticipate situations before they become incidents and to use diversionary tactics, and of the need to be responsible for the behaviour of all ofthe children, not only those for whom they are directly responsible.
Role Models
All adults should:
- Exhibit the kinds of behaviour we expect to see in the children.
- Be consistent and predictable.
- Not ‘fly off the handle’.
- Be seen to be fair.
- Apologise when appropriate.
- Use appropriate voice and stance.
- Exhibit patience and tolerance.
- Praise the children rather then criticise.
- Be polite and courteous.
- Use the children’s names when talking to them.
- Show pleasure and care.
- Maintain a tidy neat classroom which demonstrates the value placed on children’s work.
Misbehaviour
It is natural for children to test the boundaries of acceptable behaviour to confirm their location. The answer to this testing is to confirm the existence of the boundaries firmly,unequivocally and immediately.
Children should expect sanctions for poor behaviour which will be fair and consistent and reflect the seriousness of the incident
However some flexibility will be necessary as some children will need more time and help to develop appropriate behaviour, just as others require more time to consolidate their intellectual learning. It must also be remembered that individual circumstances are different and changing both at school and at home.
When incidents occur staff will briefly discuss the matter privately with the child, in order to ascertain the exact nature of the incident and what the child will do about it next time so that the same thing does not happen again.
Minor incidents should be dealt with on the spot by the staff as appropriate. Often poor behaviour can be rectified by finding plenty of occasions to praise the child. It should always be remembered that:
- Sanctions must be understood and be seen to be fair.
- The children should not be humiliated.
- It is the behaviour which has offended and not the child.
- Reprimands should always be used sparingly and consistently, and should be firm rather then aggressive. Avoid sarcasm and idle threats.
- Low verbal warnings often succeed (I am surprised at you – that’s not like you).
Staff should discuss incidents and ways of dealing with them with colleagues.
Sanctions can be instigated at the staff’s discretion and can take the form of the following:
- Working next to an adult.
- Sitting alone to work.
- Time out - sitting in a specified place or on a specified chair both indoors and in the playground.
- Repairing the damage.
- Asking the child what punishment they should have.
- Depriving the child of an enjoyed activity.
- Holding a supervisor’s hand on the playground.
In cases where two or three children are fighting/arguing they should be helped to resolve a problem themselves. They should be given the opportunity to discuss the situation alone and come to any decisions. They should then return to the adult who should ask them if there is anything that needs to be done as a result of their decision.
Parents should be involved by the classteacher in a low-key way early on so that the child sees home and school working together.
In more serious incidents the Headteacher should be consulted early on to:
Parental involvement may now need to be more direct with strategies such as a Home-School contact book or a reward system set up.
It may well be at this stage that an Individual Education Plan is established, again with parental involvement, to modify the child’s behaviour.
It is vital to ensure that the consequences of repeated poor behaviour are made clear to the child:
Children will also be sent to the Headteacher immediately following one off serious incidents or repeated misbehavior such as:
Bullying
Bullying can be described as being ‘a deliberate act done to cause distress solely in order to give a feeling of power, status or other gratification to the bully’.
It can range from ostracising, name-calling, teasing, threats and extortion, through to physical assault on persons and/or their property. It can be an unresolved single frightening incident or a series of such incidents which casts a shadow over a child’s life.
At Maidenbower Infant School and Nursery staff, parents and children work together to create a happy, caring, learning environment. Bullying, either verbal, physical or
indirect will not be tolerated. It is everyone’s responsibility to aim to prevent occurrences of bullying and to deal with any incidents quickly and effectively.
In order to identify incidents of bullying, all staff will watch for early signs of distress in pupils and will listen to children’s concerns and act upon them.
Incidents giving concern maybe brought to the attention of staff either by the victim(s), their friend(s), their parent(s) or other interested people.
Strategy for dealing with bullying
The following is a list of actions available to staff depending on the perceived seriousness of the situation. The emphasis is always on a caring, listening approach
as bullies are often victims too – that is why they bully.
Use of Restraint
As from September 1998 Section 550A of the 1996 Education Act clarified the powers of teachers and other staff who have lawful control or charge of pupils to use reasonable force to prevent pupils committing a crime, causing injury or causing disruption. This in no way authorises the use of corporal punishment nor does it encourage the use of inappropriate force.
Under the Act all teachers are allowed to use reasonable force to control or restrain pupils.
It also allows other staff to do the same provided they have been authorised by the Headteacher to have control or charge of pupils.
Therefore at Maidenbower Infant School and Nursery this includes all Nursery staff, Classroom Assistants, Welfare Assistant,Midday Meals Supervisors, Learning Support Assistants, Administration Staff and the Premises Officer. It does not include any voluntary helpers. Of course everyone has the right to defend themselves against attack or in an emergency but the purpose of Section 550A is to make it clear that teachers and other authorised staff are also entitled to intervene in other less extreme situations.
Types of Incident
There is a wide variety of situations in which reasonable force might be appropriate or
necessary to control or restrain a pupil which fall into 3 categories:
- Where action is necessary in self defence or because there is imminent risk of injury.
- Where there is a developing risk of injury or significant damage to property.
- Where a pupil is behaving in a way that is compromising to good order and discipline.
Examples:
- A child attacks a member of staff or another child.
- Children are fighting.
- A child is engaged in, or is on the verge of committing, deliberate damage by accident, or by rough play, or by misuse of dangerous materials or objects.
- A child is running in a corridor or on a stairway in a way in which s/he might have or cause an accident likely to injure him/herself or others.
- A child absconds from class or nursery or tries to leave the premises (if s/he would be at risk if not kept on the premises).
- A child persistently refuses to obey an order to leave a classroom.
- A child is behaving in a way that is seriously disrupting a lesson.
Reasonable force
The use of force can be regarded as reasonable only if the circumstances of the particular incident warrant it. The use of any degree of force is unlawful if the particular circumstances do not warrant the use of physical force.
Therefore it cannot be justified in cases of trivial misdemeanors or in situations that could clearly be resolved without force. The degree of force used must be in proportion to the circumstances of the incident and the seriousness of the behaviour or the consequences it is intended to prevent.
Any force used should always be the minimum needed to achieve the desired result. Whether it is reasonable to use force might depend on the age, understanding and sex of the child.
Actions
- Before intervening practically the child should be told to stop and what will happen if s/he does not do so. Always try to deal with a situation using other strategies before using force and ensure that the use of force will not exacerbate or inflame the situation. Never use force as a substitute for good Behaviour management.
- Continue to communicate with the child throughout the incident and make it clear that the restraint or physical contact will stop as soon as it ceases to be necessary.
- Remain calm and measured, never giving the impression that you have lost your temper and are acting out of anger or frustration
- If you believe you are at risk of injury do not intervene without help. In this case remove all other children who might be at risk and summon help from colleagues or contact the police. The child should be informed that the police have been sent for. Until help arrives the member of staff should continue to try to diffuse the situation orally.
- Physical intervention can take several forms such as:
- physically interposing between children blocking a child’s path.
- holding, pushing, pulling.
- leading a child by the hand or arm.
- shepherding a child away by placing a hand in the centre of the back.
- use of more restrictive holds (in extreme circumstances).
- slapping, punching or kicking a child.
- twisting or forcing limbs against a joint.
- tripping up a child.
- holding a pulling a child by the ear.
- holding a child face down on the ground
- Staff should always avoid touching a child in a way which might be considered indecent.
Reporting and Recording Incidents
- A detailed report of any incident where force is used must be completed and a copy retained by the Headteacher in an incident log. The report must include the names of all parties involved, when and where the incident took place, the names of witnesses, the reason that force was necessary, how the incident began and progressed, the child’s response and the outcome of the incident with details of any injuries.
- If the Headteacher considers it necessary a ’Use of Physical Restraint’ form (see attached) should also be completed. These forms are for internal use but the LEA, police and social services would have access to the report if investigating a complaint.
- If the incident results in injury an ‘Accident/Incident Reporting’ form – HSW3’ must be completed. This can be instead of or in addition to the above form.
- Staff may find it useful to have the help of a colleague when writing the report. Staff involved should also keep a copy of the report.
- The Headteacher will:
Investigate incidents (not minor or trivial) and evaluate them in the light of the school’s risk assessment procedures, disseminating any conclusions reached.
Initiate appropriate follow-up with the child involved and others present if appropriate.
Notify parents/carers of the action taken and initiate follow-up.
Offer support to the staff involved as appropriate.
Complaints and Allegations
Involving parents when an incident occurs with their child, and adherence to the school’s
policy about physical contact with children should help to avoid complaints from parents.
Cleary it will not prevent all complaints and a dispute about the use of force by a member of
staff might lead to an investigation either under disciplinary procedures or by the police and social service under child protection procedures.
The school’s Personnel Manual offers advice to the Headteacher and members of staff should the use of physical restraint lead to an allegation of physical abuse which is to be
investigated under disciplinary procedures.
DfES Circular 10/95 , Protecting Children from Abuse, gives guidance about investigations
under child protection procedures and includes advice relating to allegations against teachers
Communication
The Headteacher will ensure that all new parents, staff and children are informed of our
approach to and expectation of children’s behaviour.
Reviewed: February 2007
Appendix 1
Magpie Magic
Our aim is for our children to learn to be responsible for their own behaviour and to this end we negotiate codes of behaviour together.
The majority of the children have responded
well to this approach and behaviour at our school is generally good. However some children
need more support to keep to the codes of behaviour and to understand that there are
consequences for repeatedly breaking the rules.
Therefore we have created a system, Magpie Magic, whereby good behaviour is rewarded and children understand the consequences of poor behaviour. Our assemblies and circle times have centred on revisiting codes of behaviour or Golden Rules, discussing the consequences for breaking those rules and explaining how to earn a Magpie Gem. This is central to our behaviour policy. The children now earn gems and Golden Time – a session within the week where they can select activities – by keeping the classroom and playground codes.
Children who repeatedly break the Golden Rules miss an agreed amount of Golden Time; those who earn 15 gems are awarded a special ‘I’m a gem’ sticker to hang from the Magpie tree.
Yellow cards are given for repeated poor playground behaviour; again the consequence is either loss of or reduced Golden Time.
