Behaviour Policy Updated

							Oxgangs Primary School
   Behaviour Policy




                 Revised December 2008.
                               Behaviour Policy


An important part of the education process is the development of good behaviour in
our pupils. Indeed effective education cannot take place without it. Unfortunately
there is no magic formula as to how good discipline can be developed although the
relationship between the teacher and the pupil is crucial. A Scottish research paper
reported on what their teachers did to get the class to work well. Top of the list were:



      Explaining and helping, including not making the pupil look or feel foolish


      Having positive relationships, such as showing a genuine interest in pupils,
       and being able to ‘have a laugh’


      Having clear rules and applying sanctions when rules got broken.


However, despite the efforts of talented teachers and a positive partnership with
parents, there will always be pupils who upset the smooth running of the best
organised classrooms.
Who Is Responsible For Good Behaviour?


The pupil:                 An important aim of the school is to develop self
                           discipline in our pupils.


The parent:                The ultimate responsibility for the behaviour of children
                           rests with the parent.


The Head Teacher:          The Head Teacher has overall responsibility for
                           discipline in the school. He/She investigates the most
                           serious problems and only the Head Teacher has the
                           authority to exclude a child from school. Normally
                           he/she will help with problems involving pupils from
                           more than one class.



The Class Teacher:         The class teacher has the primary responsibility for
                           discipline, in the classroom and minor problems outwith
                           the classroom. In cloakrooms and corridors it is
                           expected that class teachers will maintain good
                           discipline in all pupils and use sanctions if necessary.



The Visiting Specialist:   The visiting specialist is responsible for the children in
                           his/her care and must be free to adopt any of the
                           sanctions available to the class teacher. It is not
                           appropriate for visiting specialist to leave discipline
                           matters to the class teacher.


Learning Assistants and
Lunch Time Supervisors:    The playground and lunch time supervisors are
                           responsible for the well being of the pupils whom they
                           are supervising. Pupils who are no co-operating should
                           be referred to promoted staff.



Support Staff:             All adults in the school are expected to play their part in
                           encouraging appropriate behaviour from pupils.
                           Problems should be referred to promoted staff.
The Pupil Council

If pupils are to see the full benefits of conforming to the rules of the school
community, it is important that their views are valued. For this reason Oxgangs has a
Pupil Council who meet fortnightly with the Head teacher to consider issues raised by
their classmates. The framework is:


      One member of classes P2-7 will meet once a fortnight with the Head Teacher


      Council members will be elected by their classmates to serve from August to
       December. There will be a second election for the period from January to
       June. Members will be eligible for re-election.


      P1 views are to be sought by the class teacher


      Meetings will take place during the school day


      A Chairperson and minute taker will be elected by the council


      Minutes from each meeting will be discussed in the classroom


      Ideas and issues will be taken up by the management team or the Parent
       Council, as appropriate


      It will not be appropriate to discuss individual pupils or staff at Council
       Meetings


      Pupils will be encouraged to use the suggestion boxes provided.
Positive Reinforcement
It is likely that behaviour will improve if good conduct is reinforced positively.
Positive reinforcement will vary from class to class but may include:


       Awarding of Pupil Of The Week Certificates by the Head Teacher at weekly
        assemblies and putting them on display

       Individual or group points awarded for good behaviour or a good attitude to
        work

       Inclusion on privilege rotas

       Class certificates/stickers

       Head Teacher certificates

       Sending pupils to promoted staff for praise.

Circle Time
Circle Time activities are designed to promote pupil self esteem and develop learning
personal and social skills A whole school approach to Circle Time plays an important
role in maintaining a high standard of behaviour and developing a positive school and
class ethos and should take place at least once a week.

   The values that underpin Circle Time are:

       Respect for self
       Respect for others
       Respect for our immediate and wider environment

Circle Time supports and nurtures common values and goals. It develops:

       a sense of security and belonging
       Confidence
       Self esteem
       Sense of identity

Topic Ideas

Circle Time can be a forum to discuss important topics such as:

   1.   Bullying
   2.   friendship issues
   3.   cooperation
   4.   celebrating success and achievement
   5.   exploring feelings
   6. resolving conflict and solving problems

Ideas for circle time activities can be found on the staff shared folder.

Golden Time
Golden Time, in line with the Jenny Moseley model, should take place in every
classroom on a weekly basis.

Golden Rules
After staff development with a member of the Jenny Mosely Consultancy team and
discussion with pupils and staff it was decided to adopt the Golden Rules.

These are:

Do be gentle                                           Do not hurt anybody

Do be kind and helpful                                 Do not hurt people’s feelings

Do work hard                                           Do not waste your or other
                                                       people’s time

Do look after property                                 Do not waste or damage things

Do listen to people                                    Do not interrupt

Do be honest                                           Do not cover up the truth

They are displayed in every classroom and at other prominent points where they can
be referred to on a daily basis.

Playground Rules
These consist of photographs and instructions are displayed prominently around the
school and in every classroom:

      Don’t play here
      There should always be an adult here
      Footballs only allowed here
      Don’t climb on the fences
      Don’t swing on the goals
      Do play safely and have fun



Playground Equipment
Each class has a tub of playground equipment which teachers will issue at break and
lunch times.
A traditional ‘craze’ such as marbles, skipping or ‘beds’ will be encouraged once a
term.




Playground Buddies
It was agreed to have one ‘friendship stop’ for the whole school where children who
were feeling left out could sit. Specially trained P7 buddies intervene and help them
find a friend to play with


The Red Card System
It was decided to adopt Jenny Mosely’s red card warning system. Teachers decide
how the system is to be administered in their own class but a few principles were
agreed. Cards are issued to pupils who are disrupting learning without the need for
teachers to become involved in time-consuming dialogue. Cards can also be taken
back if appropriate.

Advice For Staff

          Explain the impact their behaviour is having and what the consequences of
           their continuing behaviour will be i.e. sanctions. Always be calm and in
           control.

          Unless a child is at risk of seriously harming themselves or another person,
           pupils should not be restrained. Under extreme circumstances it might be
           appropriate to remove the class from the classroom rather than vice versa.
           Contact another member of staff immediately.

          If you are in classroom tutorial rooms etc. leave the door open.

          It would be most effective if adults positioned themselves close to the
           corridor of the boys’ and girls’ changing rooms with the corridor door
           open. Adults should not enter changing rooms of opposite sex, except
           under exceptional circumstances.

          Most interaction should be conducted in a positive manner.

          Be aware that at times adult body language can seem threatening.

          Allow pupils the opportunity to sort problems out for themselves,
           developing inter-personal strategies, tolerance etc. Planned ignoring can
           be an effective strategy in certain circumstances.
          In the classroom try to maintain a position which enables you to have all
           pupils within your range of vision and avoid having your back towards
           pupils.

          Frequently scan around the room and maintain eye contact as much as
           possible. Keep partition open when pupils are in the activity areas

          Keep a polite and calm tone of voice, especially in controversial situations.

          Allow pupils time to reflect upon the tense situation and apologise at a
           more appropriate time. Sometimes apologies need to be verbalised more
           quickly e.g. in the playground.

          In a difficult situation for the pupil consider leaving the discussion of the
           issue until he/she is in a more rational frame of mind. Give the pupil some
           time to calm down and see clearly that they were in the wrong.

Wet Breaks

      At morning break the pupils have their snack [fruit and milk] in the activity
       areas.

      At lunchtime, no food is to be taken out of the dining hall.

      At lunchtime, the activity area is to be used for quiet games and activities. All
       classroom partitions should be open. No children should be playing in the
       cloakroom or toilet areas.

      The smartboards and computers should not be used.

      All classes will be provided with a box at additional games and materials.
       Classroom resources eg. pens, paper, coloured pens etc should be made
       available.

      Pupils should not be standing on chairs, or running or crawling under desks.

      Monitoring adults will circulate throughout the areas.

      P7 monitors should report any problems to the supervisors and encourage the
       children to participate in games and activities. Monitors should be based in
       the classroom area.

School Rules

Pupils are expected at all times to show respect for the individual whether a teacher,
another adult or a fellow pupil.
There are few formal rules and those which do exist are there to ensure the safety and
welfare of all our pupils and the respect for property:

Pupils should move about the building quietly, safely in a single file and should keep
to the left except for special circumstances where lower banister is required.

Pupils are not allowed to leave the school grounds unless they are going home for
lunch

Pupils may enter their playground only by the pedestrian entrances

The car park is reserved for staff only.

Pupils are expected to play in the areas reserved for their own age groups although
there will be occasions when older pupils can visit the infant playground eg buddies.


Bullying
Allegations of bullying are taken very seriously. The school has a separate anti-
bullying policy and an anti-bullying leaflet for pupils. Serious incidents are reported
to the Head Teacher who will log them.

Sanctions
The positive approach is not always enough to ensure acceptable behaviour.
Therefore it is necessary to call on a number of sanctions. It would be very
convenient if we could construct a hierarchy of action which would account for all
situations but this is unfortunately impossible. While the following list offers
guidance for an ascending order of sanctions, some steps will be unnecessary, others
will be missed out, while some will not be appropriate for all pupils. It is left to the
discretion of the adult as to which should be adopted.

Reprimand by the adult.

Punishment exercise:

The exercise should have a bearing on the behaviour in question e.g. a letter of
apology or a piece of writing reflecting on more appropriate behaviour. The teacher
has the discretion to decide whether or not the exercise is to be signed by the parent.

Behaviour log

Details of a pupil’s behaviour can be entered into a notebook for future reference. If a
pupil is causing serious discipline problems, it is vitally important that details are
entered accurately and dated carefully. It is particularly useful when discussing
behaviour with the parent and in cases of exclusion.

Referral to Head Teacher or Depute Head Teacher.
It is important that this should be done without due delay with the necessary details. A
phone call or a note about the reasons for the referral is vital because pupils will rarely
give an accurate account of the issue.

Withdrawal of Privileges

It is important that pupils realise that there is a distinction between school privileges
and rights. Privileges can be withdrawn. These will vary from year to year but might
include:

      Loss of Golden Time

      Loss of extra playtime

      Phone call from class teacher seeking parental support

      Letter home from class teacher seeking a meeting

      Phone call/or letter home from H.T. seeking parental support

      Referral to educational psychologist

   A pupil can be referred to the educational psychologist for behavioural reasons.
   The permission of the parent must be given before a referral can take place.


   Exclusion

   Exclusion is the most severe sanction. Only the head Teacher or, in his/her
   absence, the next senior member of staff made exclude a pupil. Often an
   agreement can be reached with the parents that the pupil can return to school
   under certain conditions. However this is not always possible. It is the duty of the
   school to provide the pupil with education support for the period of the exclusion.
Appendix 1

Positive behaviour ideas – arising from staff group discussions

Rewards

[a]    for individuals

      Stickers, stamps, bookmarks, certificates
      Merit Certificates
      Class cheer or clap when appropriate
      To be class messenger or helper, Pupil of the Week
      To be a member of the Eco Group or Playground Development group
      To be sent to the Head Teacher or Depute Head for praise
      To be Pupil of the Week.
      To sit at special table [covered with cloth with table lamp on it] with a chosen
       friend
      To sit on cushion or chair when rest of class is sitting on the carpet
      To be given the first choice for activity at Golden Time
      To be allowed to water the plants
      To be an Open Day guide

[b]    for class [or group]
   Classes should decide on their own privileges [within reason.] Sometimes children
   have different ideas from adults about what constitutes a privilege eg. run down
   path in environmental gardens, astro turf [age appropriate] marbles in jar, bingo
   tickets

           1. Incentives

           Points chart    -   for group or for individual
                           -   total points at end of week [or the day or month]
                           -   Reward for winner

               or
                               Reward when 5 points achieved
               or
                               Bronze certificate for first 5 points, silver after next 5


Privileges

[Privileges which are currently enjoyed but can be withdrawn if necessary]

      Golden Time
      Eating packed lunch outside [class rota].
      Taking part in the extra monthly break

Other positive behaviour ideas

    Flowers in vase or leaves on tree on which is written
   ……………………………….says thank you to……………….for………………

      Individual behaviour contracts/targets

Children discuss school aims and examples of good behaviour and draw up list of
class room rules [with reasons for each]

Children design certificates and badges for presenting in class

Children nominate winners of certificates e.g. Pupil of the Week.