BEHAVIOUR POLICY

Effective Learning Through Positive Approaches to Classroom Management and Discipline

The basic needs of children should be met in every classroom.

Good discipline is generally a function of effective learning. Most students will behave when they feel able to participate and when they are treated with respect and empowered to succeed. It is important to recognise the strong link between lesson content, teaching style and classroom management on one hand and students’ motivation and behaviour on the other hand.

While appropriate task setting may not always be a guarantee of good behaviour, inappropriate tasks will almost always result in poor behaviour, much of the mild disruption experienced in school often being associated with unsuitable lesson content and/or poor classroom management.

This statement offers a philosophical background to the procedural statements that can be accessed in the staff handbook. It is vital that all staff are aware of all such procedures to ensure that the school’s management offers consistency and transparency to staff and students alike.

Good behaviour is the cornerstone of the schools vision to move the Good to the Great.

The question children will ask is: ‘Is this lesson worth behaving in?’

We want students to behave positively by making good choices and we need to encourage young people to behave intrinsically (because of good choices) not extrinsically (because teacher is there) This has implications for rewards, as students need feedback for effort both inside & outside lessons (intrinsic) Staff are advised to beware of rewarding for doing a task-(If you do this I will……) (extrinsic)

Teachers need to be aware of what skills individual children need to extend their behaviour repertoire. Children don’t need taming, civilising and disciplining-they’re not nasty and brutish and therefore we need-solution focused approaches i.e to teach children what the skills that they need are. If a child does not possess behaviour skills, it’s pointless punishing the child for not having them.

Some students clearly do not have the requisite skills to behave in an appropriate manner and others choose not to and it is important for teachers to distinguish between the two.

Behaviour is purposeful and functional, therefore teachers should think, ‘What is a child learning from their behaviour? What problem does the child think that they have? What is the motive behind their behaviour?’ This leads to communication between the child and their context.

Behaviour in social context (classroom)

• Learned from home
• I am stupid and so will be class clown
• My background has made me wary and so I don’t trust adults

How we behave and conduct ourselves will have a massive affect on the culture of our school. Therefore all of us need to make the right choices.

If we react to the 3% of students who disrupt, we reinforce bad habits; we need to be proactive, whilst being consistent to principles (firm) but flexible in actions and practices.

Good practice is to adopt a positive staff culture as outlined below. This underpins Shorefields’ WHYDAI system and is endemic in lessons where students are challenged, make the most progress and take an active role in their own learning.

Breaking LEARNED BEHAVIOUR frequently leads to RELUCTANCE, however, fighting fire with fire merely leads to a huge conflagration! It’s easier to teach new behaviour skills than to battle with old.

Children constantly test the boundaries. They need age-appropriate autonomy. They need CHOICE and to be INVOLVED. Children without boundaries go in search of them.

A child can be angry but must express anger in a socially responsible way. We don’t need to give a disproportionate response to a situation. A positive and effective approach to using a variety of classroom strategies is to adopt these behaviour principles:

• Fight fire with water
• Analyse don’t personalise
• The problem is the problem, not the child
• Behaviour mistakes are learning opportunities

At Shorefields we try to reduce challenging behaviour through:

• Social skills training
• Curriculum adaptation
• Proactive classroom management
• IBPs
• Working closely with parents
• Early Intervention
• Challenging the negative thoughts of some children by changing, ‘I can’t do it!’ into ‘I can’t do it YET.’

ALL of the above are reliant on LANGUAGE & COMMUNICATION and we should support our students in their use of language through OUR use of language. The limits of our world are the limits of our language. Many children do not have Command Centre Skills. They cannot STOP - THINK – CHOOSE and so invariably make the wrong choices.

Managing Behaviour

Everyone at Shorefields will feel safe, secure, fulfilled and challenged to maximise their potential. Everyone will have a clear sense of worth and place in our society.
This ethos is communicated to students by the example set by teachers and other adults and by the expectations of the staff.

When teachers are seen to behave fairly, professionally, and courteously, to insist on high standards of work and behaviour from students; work hard and be punctual themselves, they are more likely to receive courtesy and commitment and high standards from students. The smooth and effective running of Shorefields demands a high level of consistency from staff both inside and outside the classroom.

Our WHYDAI procedure(see appendices) and Classroom Management Strategies and the school handbook, clearly lay out the processes by which students and staff are supported to manage difficult behaviour. It is important that all staff:

ALWAYS deal with the problem personally (get support to deal WITH you if necessary)

Are CONSISTENT

• Are aware of not making major issues out of minor issues, thus giving a disproportionate response to a situation
• Carry out our duties with a high level of professionalism.
• Are aware that the behaviour we pay most attention to is the behaviour that is most likely to increase
• Use Low Level interventions as the first intervention strategies, trying to avoid ‘dishing out’ detentions.

There are high expectations of staff at Shorefields in terms of:-

• Attendance and punctuality to school as well as to lessons and duties
• The fulfilment of professional responsibilities
• The planning and organisation of lessons
• The general welfare, supervision and control of students.

Well-managed behaviour that leads to engagement in school depends on school wide positive behaviour support from Curriculum and Pastoral Leaders. Teachers must adopt a proactive and preventative approach to classroom management, ensuring that interventions at all levels are evidence based.

Disruptions can be categorised under the following headings:

• Anger
• Rule breaking
• Confrontation
• Disengagement

Any support system can only be effective if certain precepts are taken as read:

• The individual teacher taking a high level of responsibility both inside and outside the classroom
• Students being under the supervision or instruction of staff at all times. Students must NEVER be made to stand outside classrooms.
• The immediate availability of support for staff through the pager system.
• Clear records of the disciplinary problems being kept. It is therefore essential that all incidents are written up with action that has been taken.
• Any student paged from class to the Early Intervention Unit will receive an appropriate sanction.