School governing bodies are charged with the duty to provide a written statement of general principles relating to behaviour and discipline. It applies to all adults and pupils within the school community.
BEHAVIOUR PRINCIPLES AND SAFEGUARDING STATEMENT
As governors, we wish to acknowledge and encourage good work and good behaviour of both adults and children and will support the school in achieving this aim. We also aim to ensure pupils and adults who work at Airy Hill School are as safe as possible, at all times.
Airy Hill school is a place where the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (the CRC) is actively upheld. The CRC consists of 54 articles.
The key provisions are:
- The right to a childhood (including protection from harm). The right to be educated (including all girls and boys completing primary school).
- The right to be healthy (including having clean water, nutritious food and medical care).
- The right to be treated fairly (which includes changing laws and practices that discriminate against children).
- The right to be heard (which includes considering children’s views)
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
The governors of Airy Hill School are opposed to discrimination of any kind and expect all children to be treated in a fair and consistent manner.
We aim to:
- Create an atmosphere where each individual feels respected and valued regardless of their colour, religion, race, gender or physical appearance or any form of disability.
- Give all children the same educational opportunities and to educate children to live in Britain’s multi-cultural society by fostering respect for each other, building harmonious relationships and ensuring diversity is celebrated.
- Ensure that fundamental British values such as mutual respect for and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs and for those without faith is fostered.
- Safeguard everyone in the school community by having strong policies that protect from physical, sexual, emotional abuse, neglect and bullying.
- Have high expectations of all pupils, staff and parents with regard to learning and behaviour.
Everyone at Airy Hill School has the right to feel welcome, safe, secure and happy. If the school is an environment where good behaviour is promoted, then all members of the school community will be able to learn and achieve their maximum potential. It is everyone’s responsibility to behave well towards others and respect others’ rights. This statement supports this ethos and the CRC.
BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT
Behaviour management is about changing behaviour not children. It is about doing things with not to children. Management involves cooperation between all members of staff involved with a child, parents and active involvement of the child themselves. Pupils need to feel secure both physically and emotionally.
To achieve this, the staff at Airy Hill will:
- Model the standards of behaviour and courtesy expected from those around them.
- Aim to ensure that pupils experience success through their efforts.
- Aim to ensure that pupils and staff feel recognised as individuals and unique people who have things to offer as well as learn.
- Discuss and involve children, staff and parents in developing rules of behaviour to create a greater degree of shared ownership and responsibility.
- Promote the inclusion of all pupils into participating in as many aspects of school life as possible.
- Foster a sense of self-discipline throughout the school without the need for complex reward systems.
- Encourage pupils to take responsibility for sorting out their own minor conflicts.
- Ensure children, in conflict, listen to others and ensure that children have a chance to say what has happened and how they feel and discuss future action.
- Keep open communications with parents, ensuring they are informed.
- Encourage pupils to take personal responsibility and to reconcile with others.
- Encourage pupils to reflect on the choices they have made and the results of these choices.
- Ensure discriminatory incidents, bullying, violence, offensive comments, harassment and defiance will be taken very seriously and addressed immediately by senior staff.
- Support pupils with serious disabilities, emotional or mental health issues affecting their behaviour.
MONITORING SCHOOL DISCIPLINE AND UNDERSTANDING PUPIL REQUIREMENTS
Whilst encouraging positive behaviour management there will be times when sanctions are appropriate to show disapproval and to deter other pupils. We have the following guiding principles for sanctions.
Sanctions:
- Must be immediate, wherever possible and only for the incident that has happened.
- Should provide opportunities and support to improve behaviour in future.
- Must be fairly applied to all regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, disability and gender.
- Must be recorded and the record monitored and analysed to identify any patterns.
- All discriminatory incidents will be recorded and YEAT informed.
- Will not be applied to pupils whose behaviour is influenced by their disability and they cannot control or have more difficulty controlling than pupils without the disability.
- Such as, internal exclusions, will be used for serious incidents and external exclusions avoided unless the safety of other pupils and staff is put at risk.
References
- School Rules
- Behaviour Policy
- Guidance on the Use of Physical Restraint
- Anti-Bullying policy and statements
- Exclusions procedures
- Procedures for managing allegations of abuse against staff working in Children’s school and family settings
- DfE Keeping Children safe in Education
If you have any concerns about how these principles are put into practice at Airy Hill Primary School, please contact the school office who will advise you about how to raise these matters appropriately.