Carnwath Primary School
Behaviour Position Statement
As we are working towards becoming a nurturing school, we would also like our behaviour approach to fit in with the six nurture principles.
The six principles of nurture are:
- Children’s learning is understood developmentally
- The classroom offers a safe base
- The importance of nurture for the development of wellbeing
- Language is a vital means of communication
- All behaviour is communication
- The importance of transition in children’s lives
We feel consistency from every adult in the school is the key to good behaviour within school. The message from staff will be that the children need these behaviours to be a successful learner and we will actively teach the behaviours in a consistent manner across the school.
Our expectation is that all children will arrive on time and enter school through the correct door, without having to use the main entrance. An adult will greet them with a ‘good morning’ as they enter.
We discussed how the children will go into the classroom. When the bell rings, they will line up at the classroom door until an adult is ready to invite them into the classroom. At this point the class teacher and member of Support Staff will say ‘good morning’ and they will be offered a choice of greeting should they wish:
- A hug
- A handshake
- A high 5
The three consistent expectations of children across the school is that they will be:
- Ready
- Respectful
- Safe
As we start back to school in August the expectation is that all staff will teach expected behaviours together and recognise children who demonstrate these behaviours throughout the week. Examples of expected behaviours would be: wonderful walking, manners matter, listening lugs. There will be a whole-school focus and House Points will be awarded to children who demonstrate the expected behaviour. There will be a different focus every week which will be introduced and discussed at assembly.
All classes will continue to develop a Class Charter in August which fits in with this policy.
The children will continue to be given House Points for things that they do which are ‘over and above’: behaviour, effort, excellent work, helping out …. Teachers may use class rewards to encourage good choices of behaviour, eg certificate, group trophy, fill a bucket but there will be no prizes.
Children will be given positive, verbal recognition within class and the wider school when they are behaving well. Should a member of staff encounter a child who is not behaving as expected they will challenge the child’s behaviour and ask them to behave in a more appropriate manner. This should be done quietly and discretely.
We all make mistakes from time to time and we have also considered what the consequences will be for children who do not meet our behaviour expectations. Children prefer using colours than numbers so we are returning to using colours to discuss consequences:
Reminder: child will be given a private reminder of the 3 expectations
Caution: child will be given a private, clear verbal caution and reminded of our expectations. They will be reminded to think carefully about their next step.
Thinking Time Out: this will be done immediately following the unacceptable behaviour. Child will be given 3 minutes time out to think about their behaviour. They will also be able to access the blue cog box, if needed, during this time. Before returning to the class the teacher will have a brief discussion with them and remind them about expectations.
Reflective Break: child will miss playtime and will have the opportunity to discuss what has gone wrong and why. This will be relevant to their age and stage. When break is over the class teacher will have a restorative conversation with the child before they return to the class.
Parent Contacted: should the child continue to make poor behaviour choices then their parent will be contacted to discuss the next steps. Teachers should complete the pink card log in order for SMT to monitor behaviour and parental contacts.
There will be some instances where parents will be contacted straight away if this is deemed appropriate.
We feel that consequences that are immediate and also linked to the actual poor behaviour choice are much more relevant for the child. This is particularly the case for younger children.
We believe that by working together as a staff and with parents we can have an excellent school ethos in which our children are engaged in their learning and reaching their potential.
We will expect parents to support us in discussing appropriate behaviours with their child and emphasising these should their child go home after making a poor behaviour choice. In order for parents to know if their child is not meeting expectations they will have a coloured dot marked in their home-school planner. If your child reaches blue then their reflective sheet will also be stapled onto the page. If they reach pink then either the class teacher or a member of the management team will contact you.