Grange School Policies

POSITIVE DISCIPLINE

The school operates a system of Positive Discipline, which is akin to the Discipline for Learning model.

Positive Discipline is about teaching and learning; it is not a disciplinary regime and it is based on two principles;

• To allow teachers to teach.

• To enable pupils to learn.

Both principles demand that behaviour in the classroom is appropriate. To focus the attention of the pupils on these principles, four classroom rules have been adopted and are used across the whole school. These rules are displayed in all teaching areas.

Positive pupils

Are ready to learn,

Listen to and follow instructions,

Always try hard and persevere when faced with a challenge,

Speak in the correct way to adults and other pupils.

Support for Positive Discipline

 

1. Rewards

Several areas of school life are rewarded to provide opportunity for pupils to enjoy achievement and to encourage pupils to make positive contributions by promoting pupil self-esteem. (Every Child Matters agenda)

Areas rewarded are Attendance, Punctuality, Progress and subject-specific work

Attendance

Termly certificates will be awarded to all pupils who, using a sliding scale related to Gold, Silver and Bronze, will have achieved at least 90% attendance for the term. Weekly certificates indicate the form which has the highest attendance in each year group.

Punctuality

Termly certificates will be awarded to all pupils who have one or no lates per term.

Attendance and punctuality achievements will be recorded on the Pupil Achievement File on SIMS.net.

Progress

Progress will be rewarded through Assessment Manager. Pupils who, at Review 2, 4 and 6, have only Ats and Wts plus PD1 & PD2 will receive a letter to that effect through Assessment Manager. This will be recorded on the Pupil Achievement File on SIMS.net.

Subject-specific work

All departments are encouraged to celebrate and reward achievement by issuing termly certificates. Curriculum areas may add their certificates to teacher share.

Pupils of the Term .

This award is made to all pupils who achieve Ats and Wts; who record scores of 1 for Positive Discipline in all subjects; and who record 100% attendance and excellent punctuality. A formal presentation will be made to all these pupils in the presence of their parents. Pupils will receive a certificate and a £10 voucher.

Progress Points

At Key Stage 3, pupils will be awarded Progress Points. These are awarded to the pupils who progress well in the lesson. These will be recorded in the Pupil Planners. The Progress Points will have a value as well as a certificate.

2. Sanctions

Pupils with Positive Discipline scores greater than the agreed minimum for each year group will have their work and behaviour monitored for a period of time by the Head of Year. In classroom situations, the 5-step procedure must be followed on all occasions with the exception that staff may move to any part on the ‘ladder’ if they consider the incident serious enough. Colleagues are asked to bear in mind that a redirection of a pupil does not need to count as a warning. Many of our pupils will need a reminder during a lesson to remain or return to task.

• First (informal reminder)

• Second (formal reminder)

• Third (final reminder)

• Removal (this may be within the teaching area - outside room, to a Head of Year, Head of Department, or named member of staff or S.L.T.)

• BSR (removal may occur between 2 and 4 in a positive effort to prevent poor behaviour increasing and resulting in a BSR referral).

A referral to BSR must be effected through the Head of Department or the assistant in his/her absence, and result in a departmental detention. The lower part of the referral form indicates the date of the detention. Parents are immediately informed of the nature of the referral, by telephone through the HSLO.

HoDs experiencing difficulty in completing a detention with any pupils should seek assistance from SLT, after two failed attempts for the pupil to attend. A school detention will then follow.

For behaviour, which falls outside the 5-step procedure, a Green Referral form must be completed and handed to the appropriate Head of Year.

Monitoring behaviour across the School

During review 2, 4 and 6 scheduled for each term, every member of staff is required to complete a progress report for pupils they teach. Guidance for the completion of Progress Reports is detailed separately.

A grade 1 pupil:

This pupil behaves appropriately on all occasions, following the 5-point Positive Discipline code and gives no cause for concern.

This pupil has high level organisational skills.

A grade 2 pupil:

This pupil behaves appropriately for the majority of the time, generally conforming to the 54 point Positive Discipline code.

Occasions when the pupil needs re-directing are rare.

The pupil has good organisational skills.

A grade 3 pupil:

This pupil behaves in a way that is generally appropriate although compliance with the 5 point Positive Discipline code is variable.

The pupil needs regular re-direction but not at the expense of other pupils’ learning.

The pupil may try to overcome difficulties but without real

persistence: working as required.

The pupil has some organisational skills.

A grade 4 pupil:

This pupil does not comply with the 5 point Positive Discipline code on a regular basis.

The grade 4 pupil will have constant reminders to stay on task and will have to be removed from class, perhaps to BSR, on more than one occasion, to allow the learning of others to take place.

This pupil has very few personal organisation skills.

A grade 5 pupil:

This pupil struggles to comply with any aspect of the PD code, therefore disrupting the learning of others.

The pupil has few, if any personal organisation skills.

Intervention from LSU is appropriate and a target report is required to remind the pupil of the standards to meet.

An individual Pastoral Support Plan is formulated and the family are informed.

These guidelines would equate to the grades being summarised as;

• Excellent behaviour and attitude to school.
• Good behaviour and attitude to school.
• Satisfactory behaviour and attitude to school.
• Poor behaviour and attitude to school.
• Unacceptable behaviour and attitude to school leading to intervention from LSU

Each term, pupils scoring 1 and 2 across the board generally would qualify for a letter of praise.

Pupils who are only fulfilling the minimum requirements (scoring 3s) would not qualify for a letter of praise but nor would it trigger a cause for concern.

Pupils scoring 4/5 consistently would trigger the cause for concern, leading to action from the Head of Year.

Staff are asked to refer to these guidelines when completing their reports for Assessment Manager. However it is important to fast track concerns regarding individual pupils through Referral Forum.

This can be done by any member of staff, teaching or otherwise, at any time using the appropriate form in the Staff Form which should be handed to SENCO or the Inclusion Manager in her absence.

Whole School Sanctions

Inevitably, there will be times when children need to be disciplined. Please be consistent when dealing with misbehaviour but at the same time, always remember that there is support for you from many quarters. If in doubt, or if you need help, ASK. If you want support in dealing with a pupil you will need to fill in a Green Form (staffroom). Hand the form to the Head of Year who will ensure that the concern is dealt with appropriately. All staff should receive some notification of the steps taken.

If a member of staff deals with a concern but feels that the information should be shared with a Head of Year or Head of Department, complete a Blue Information Sheet. This will be stored in the pupil’s. A Blue Information Sheet will not normally trigger any further action from the HoY/HoD/SLT but may do so from the Learning Mentor.

If you do not complete any one of these forms it will be assumed that you are satisfied that you have dealt with a situation completely.

Repeated poor behaviour, in or out of class, may be a cause for concern. Staff may complete a white Referral Forum form and hand it to SENCO. Issues surrounding individual pupils are dealt with on a weekly basis at this meeting.

The Learning Support Unit works with pupils who are referred to them from the Forum of following discussion with the Heads of Year.

Detentions

Detentions of varying length can be carried out by any member of staff.

Detentions of up to 15 minutes require no written communication with the home.

Detentions of more than 15 minutes must be notified to the home 24 hours before. Written notice may be given but we may organise immediate detentions through telephone conversations with the home. This immediate contact with parents is not popular with our pupils but effective.

Once a detention has been notified to the home it is NOT the case that parents/guardians can ‘decline’ it. If colleagues need any support with this please see a member of SLT.

Formal Detentions

Pupils sent to BSR are automatically given a 30 minute departmental detention with immediate notification of the referral to parents.

Pupils who fail to attend should be given another chance. HoDs should inform their SLT liaison if a child fails to attend on the second occasion and the SLT Liaison person will arrange for that pupil to complete the departmental detention.

Should the pupil fail to attend that detention, a school detention will follow.

Referrals to BSR and school detentions will be monitored closely by the Inclusion Manager.

Where pupils are being referred too often this will trigger a parental interview. There may be occasions when a pupil’s behaviour in and around school merits a parental interview. In these case, pupils will be isolated in BSR until the parent can visit school to resolve the behaviour issues.

Pupils who are the subject of a Parental Interview will usually complete a School Detention and they will be placed on a post parental monitoring report.

Pupils who are excluded from school will not normally complete a detention upon their return. The exclusion should be seen as sufficient sanction.

The school uses fixed term exclusions to punish inappropriate behaviour. This is the sole responsibility of the Head, who will make such decisions after consulting with the Assistant Headteacher (Inclusion) and other relevant staff.

The school does, where it is warranted, use the ultimate sanction of permanent exclusion.

Colleagues are asked to remember that successive exclusions will increase in length if the misbehaviour warrants it but that decisions on such exclusions will usually be based on a complete review of the child’s behaviour in consultation with the Form Tutor, Learning Mentor, relevant Head of Year and Learning Support Unit staff.

Many of these serious sanctions can be avoided by using the school’s early warning systems. Form Tutors are allowed to place a child on a report to monitor behaviour and this should be discussed with the appropriate Head of Year. Heads of Year have several monitoring strategies they use successfully.

All rewards will be recorded on the Achievement Log and equally all sanctions will be recorded on the Behaviour Log on SIMS.net.