Behaviour and Discipline Policy

							         Westgate Community Primary School




                          Policy on
                   Behaviour and Discipline




Date written / revised : September 2010

Date approved by Chair of Governors:

Signature of Chair of Governors:

Revision Date: September
                                    Westgate Community Primary School

                                  Behaviour and Assertive Discipline Policy
Aims

At Westgate School one of our key aims is to provide an environment that is conducive to high quality
Learning and Teaching. One way that we work to achieve this is through the expectation of positive
behaviour from all pupils.

Objectives

All staff and pupils are looking to achieve :

       On task learning
       Care and Respect for oneself and for one another
       Self-control
       Co-operation

Ways and Means

Through our Assertive Discipline philosophy all staff should:

       Clearly, confidently and consistently state their expectations to pupils.
       Create an environment where the potential for the development of positive relationships between
        staff and pupils and pupils and pupils is maximised.
       Create an environment where pupils clearly understand the boundaries of acceptable and
        unacceptable behaviour and that pupils understand the consequences of their behaviour.
       Have a uniform plan for responding to pupil behaviour.
       Be consistent in the use of praise and rewards for positive behaviour and appreciate that positive
        recognition increases a pupil’s self-esteem and that self-esteem is an important factor in motivation.
       Be consistent in the use of sanctions for inappropriate behaviour.

Managing behaviour

Everyone at Westgate has agreed to:

       Encourage pupils to be responsible for their own behaviour and recognise and highlight good
        behaviour displayed by individuals and groups of pupils by using praise, rewards and privileges.
       Ensure that sanctions for inappropriate behaviour are applied fairly and that pupils have a chance to
        learn from their mistakes and make appropriate choices of behaviour in the future.

Rights, Responsibilities and Rules

All of us who work at Westgate, both staff and pupils, have rights and responsibilities and from these are
derived the school rules that we need to follow if the aims of the school are to be achieved.

Rights                                           Responsibilities
     To be able to learn                            To work hard and try your best
                                                     To be polite, co-operative and
                                                       considerate
                                                     To speak but also to listen without
                                                       interrupting
                                                     To share and care for equipment
                                                     To take turns

Rights                                           Responsibilities
     To be safe                                     To act in a safe and responsible
                                                       manner, taking care of yourself and
                                                       others
                                                     To treat others as you would expect
                                                       to be treated yourself
Rights                                              Responsibilities
     To be happy                                       To allow others to speak while you
                                                          listen with courtesy
                                                        To never hurt others by name-calling,
                                                          by deliberately hurting feelings or by
                                                          saying offensive words
                                                        To never hurt others by physically
                                                          mistreating them

The School Rules

The School Rules for the pupils flow naturally from these Rights and Responsibilities.

       Be kind and gentle and don’t hurt anybody with what you say or what you do
       Be honest and don’t cover up the truth
       Work hard and don’t waste time or spoil the learning for others
       Look after property and don’t waste or damage things
       Listen to people and don’t interrupt
       Follow instructions and immediately do as you are told

STOP and THINK………

Will what I am saying and doing keep us all safe, happy and help us learn?

Rewards and Privileges for Positive Behaviour by pupils

The rewards and privileges agreed by staff and pupils include:

       Praise – individual, in front of the class, in front of the school.
       Stickers, stars and stamps.
       Certificates
       Other individual rewards
       Table and Class rewards
       Golden Time or the equivalent
       Positive feedback to parents
       A visit to another teacher
       A visit to the Headteacher


Consequences for Inappropriate Behaviour by pupils

The consequences agreed by staff and pupils are:

For inappropriate behaviour in a lesson, around the school or in the playground:

       A verbal warning that outlines the consequences of further transgressions
       A second verbal or visual warning (where appropriate)
       Pupil may be moved to another part of the classroom / school / playground
       Time out, where and when appropriate
       Loss of part / all of playtime, where and when appropriate
       Feedback to parents by class teacher

For persistent or serious cases of inappropriate behaviour at various times during the day / over an extended
period of time:

       Feedback to parents by class teacher
       Pupils sent to another teacher
       Pupil sent to the Headteacher, Deputy Headteacher or Key Stage Leader
       The Headteacher writes to / calls a meeting with parents
       An Individual Behaviour Support Plan drawn up with parents
       Fixed-term Exclusion *
       Permanent Exclusion*

These consequences for inappropriate behaviour are largely hierarchical. However, at times it may be
appropriate for steps to be missed and more serious sanctions brought in at an earlier stage than this model
might suggest. This would be true when there is a pattern of inappropriate behaviour or when there has been
a serious breach of the School Rules.

*This Behaviour and Assertive Discipline Policy outlines the procedures that will be followed when there is a
cause for concern over a pupil’s behaviour. Usually these procedures work successfully. However, the
Governors reserve the right to exclude a pupil as a last resort for the most serious of offences and when all
other reasonable steps have been taken. This would be particularly so if that pupil’s behaviour was seriously
detrimental to the education and / or welfare of themselves or others at the school. The school follows the
procedures of Suffolk County Council for fixed term and permanent exclusions and our Exclusion Policy.

Working Together

For this policy to be truly successful, it must have the support and encouragement of parents. In any one
week, a child spends much more time at home than at school and it is important that home and school work
together to promote positive behaviour. The Home School Agreement is one way in which parents can
confirm their partnership with the school in establishing the principles of positive behaviour. Parental
contribution to the Individual Behaviour Support Plan is another way that we can work together in partnership
to help individual children.

How this Policy was devised

This policy was devised by staff, pupils and Governors during 2003 - 2004. Staff Meetings were held with
Teaching and Non-Teaching staff; pupils were consulted in Class Councils and parents through the
Governors. This policy was further discussed and updated as necessary in Autumn 2008. A Behaviour
Functional Analysis form, a Behaviour Recording form and a Behaviour Intervention form are included as
possible ways forward in our recording of behaviour issues.




September 2010
Appendix A : Notes from Assertive Discipline Staff Meetings

Dealing with Inappropriate Behaviour

    o    Positive re-inforcement of expected good behaviour. eg ‘Well done everyone. It’s going to be such a
         great lesson today and I know everyone is going to work so hard because I think this is the best
         group and I know I’m going to be so pleased with you.’

    o    General rule restatement and reminders eg ‘Good. Now I need everyone to be listening really
         carefully today and, as you know, it is important that nobody interrupts the person who is talking.’

    o    Highlighting the positive behaviour that is desired. ‘Well done all the children who have done as I
         asked and have packed up and are sitting quietly.’

    o    Tactical Ignoring of a child, but then at a later stage, speaking to the child quietly about the rules that
         have been broken.

    o    Positive redirection eg ‘Jasmine, you know that your work is really good when you work quietly. I
         want you to go and sit on that table there and I’ll come and see your beautiful work in a while.’

    o    Establish eye contact, always use the pupil’s name and speak clearly, firmly and briefly, using an ‘I’
         sentence. eg ‘Robert, I want you to put that pencil down now.”

    o    Rule re-statements and reminders eg ‘Chloe, you know the rule about being gentle and not hurting
         anybody. I want you to stop that now. Thank you’

    o    Exit procedure. If a child’s behaviour is so disruptive that it is spoiling the learning of the others, then
         the child will need to be removed from the vicinity. After the exiting procedure the member of staff
         will need to conference with the pupil by asking :
        ‘What did they do?’
        ‘Why did they do it?’
        ‘What rule did they break?’
        ‘What are they going to do to put things right?’


If the poor behaviour persists, then the consequences outlined in the Policy will result.
                           Westgate Community Primary School
                             Behaviour Functional Analysis

    Name:                                   Date:

Description of target behaviour:




Frequency:



Intensity:




Duration;


Where:


With Whom:




Function:
(e.g. Attention seeking
        Tangible
        Sensory
        Escape
        Social/family/cultural
        Others)



Review Date:
                   Westgate Community Primary School
                              A Helpful Tool
             Problem / Behaviour Situations Recording Form
             (This does not replace LEA Incident Report Form)


Date:

Time:                     Duration:



Name of pupil:


With Whom:




Situation:



Intensity:   Low           Medium             High


Outcome: