ST THOMAS OF CANTERBURY SCHOOL

Aims

• To create an environment which promotes a feeling of security, care, love and respect for all within our school community
• To create an atmosphere of learning which fosters interdependence, creativity, and lifelong learning
• To define expected standards of behaviour for children and staff.
• To encourage consistency of response to both positive and challenging behaviour.
• To promote self-esteem, self-discipline, positive relationships, and emotional intelligence.
• To promote and develop children’s ability to make the right decisions in terms of their behaviour
• To ensure emotional intelligence is modelled by all adults, and embedded within the school
• To encourage the involvement of both home and school in the implementation of this policy.

Behaviour Expectations

The school has a central role in the children's spiritual, social and moral development just as it does in their academic development. Just as we measure academic achievement in terms of progress and development over time towards academic goals, so we measure standards of behaviour in terms of the children's developing ability to exhibit the positive relationships and self-awareness which model and promote.

The children bring to school a wide variety of behaviour based on experiences. At school we endeavour to work towards expectations of behaviour based on the basic principles of honesty, respect, consideration and responsibility. So, expected standards of behaviour are those which reflect these principles, and are ‘lived’ every day by all those in the school community.

School Ethos

The adults within the school community have an important responsibility to model high standards of behaviour, both in their interactions with the children and with each other, as their example has an important influence on the children. As adults we are expected to:

• Separate the child from the behaviour
• create a positive climate which develops children’s confidence and encourages them to take ‘risks’ in their learning;
• Provide children with simple but clear choices which allow them to take responsibility for their own behaviour
• emphasise the importance of being valued as an individual within the group;
• promote, through example, honesty and respect;
• provide a caring and effective learning environment;
• encourage relationships based on kindness, consideration and understanding of the needs of others;
• ensure fair treatment for all regardless of age, gender, race, ability and disability;
• Celebrate the efforts and contribution of all.

The Curriculum, Planning and Learning

We firmly believe that the quality of teaching has a huge impact upon the standards of behaviour within a school. We aim to provide inspirational learning opportunities for children which give them no reason to want to misbehave. The St Thomas Curriculum can be found in the school prospectus, or by the download link here: http://www.st-tc.co.uk/our-school/school-prospectus-2012/

Classroom Management

'I am the decisive element in the classroom. It is my personal approach that creates the climate.' (Haim Ginott)

Classroom management and teaching methods have an important influence on children's behaviour. The classroom environment gives clear messages to the children about the extent to which they and their efforts are valued. Teachers within the school have an obligation, responsibility and expectation to:

• Provide inspirational learning opportunities through innovative teaching strategies
• Develop children’s abilities to make the correct choices in their learning and behaviour
• Provide clear routines and structures which promote security and understanding from the children
• Make clear expected standards of behaviour, provide children with simple choices about whether they adhere to those standards, and clear consequences for wrong choices
• Praise and highlight effort AND achievement
• Model teamwork and collaborative learning and highlight examples of where children do this well
• Build exceptionally positive working relationships with children and parents/carers
• Expect the best for all children
• Accept responsibility for their own reactions to children’s behaviour
• Where children make the wrong choices, provide a period of self-reflection and consideration where the child can be helped to think ‘Where do I go next?’ or ‘How can I make a better choice next time?’
• Separate unwanted behaviour from the child
• See Jesus and God within each child in our school community

Classroom Behaviour Structure

Rules and procedures should be designed to make clear to the children how they can achieve expected standards of behaviour. We operate a ‘traffic light’ system which is structured in the following way: (note the additional colours here). These are displayed in class alongside children’s names or pictures.

*It is expected that these colours and scripts will be displayed in each class, with teachers allowed flexibility as to the precise wording of the script so that it is age appropriate* 

*There is an acknowledgement that EYFS strategies, and those in Year 1 at the beginning of a new year may differ slightly- these adaptations will be....

Monitoring of Behaviour

Regular and rigorous monitoring of challenging behaviours will allow staff to identify patterns of behaviour from children or groups of children which are having a negative impact upon learning and progress. Each teacher is responsible for recording and monitoring the orange and red levels in class each week. (See appendix). These will be analysed and discussed at staff appraisals in consultation with the learning mentor.

Praise Area

We as a school acknowledge that children who are on the green level are only doing what is expected, and therefore we should encourage and inspire them to aim even higher. To support this, each class will have a ‘praise area’ where children can be placed for outstanding learning behaviours which are to be used as a model for others in the class. The form which this area takes will be left to the judgement of the class teacher. Possible ideas include:

• Wall of fame
• Praise wall

Rewards

Our emphasis is on rewards to reinforce positive learning behaviours and achievement. We believe that rewards have a motivational role, helping children to see that good behaviour is valued, although it is also acknowledged that without intrinsic motivation and high expectations from the teachers, the value of rewards is greatly diminished. The commonest reward is praise, informal and formal, public and private, to individuals and groups. It is earned by children striving towards and achieving standards as well as by particularly noteworthy achievements. This is as true for adults as for children. Rates of praise for positive learning behaviour should be as high as for work.

What Do Rewards ‘Look’ Like at St Thomas of Canterbury?

The Secrets of Success are embedded throughout the school, and the rewards system within school will be based upon these. Children will receive a reward card which they will keep for the whole of the half-term? They will receive a sticker each time they have shown that they have followed a secret of success (NEED SOME IDEAS WORDING THIS SECTION). It is also recommended that where appropriate, teachers (or children) date when they received the sticker. Each reward card will contain space for 60 stickers (10 for each secret of success). It is recommended that teachers identify on planning which secret of success they will be particularly looking for in each session.

• Reward cards for children to collect stickers for learning/behaviour which exemplifies a Secret of Success (See Appendix)

Celebration of Achievement

When children receive 10 stickers, they will receive a praise pad in class. When children receive 20 stickers, they will also receive a praise pad in class.

• 30: Certificate in KS2 assembly?
• 40: ?
• 50: ?
• 60: Some kind of community reward helping reception/Y1?

Challenging Behaviour

Although rewards are central to the encouragement of good behaviour, realistically there is a need for consequences to remedy behaviour which detracts from the learning of the child in question and other sin the class/school.

The use of consequences should be characterised by certain features:-

• It must be clear why the behaviour in question has resulted in a consequence
• It must be made clear and understood by the child what choices should be made in future to avoid a repeat situation.
• There should be a clear distinction between minor and major offences.
• It should be the behaviour rather than the person that is the subject of the consequence

Patterns of behaviour will be closely monitored (see appendix ____), and patterns of continued challenging behaviour will be dealt with according to the flowchart found in appendix ____.

Communication and Parental Partnership

We give high priority to clear communication within the school and to a positive partnership with parents since these are crucial in promoting and maintaining expected levels of behaviour. The flow chart previously mentioned in appendix _____ indicates where and when parents are involved in discussions with staff about their child’s choices and behaviour.

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