Respectful Relationships and Behaviour Policy

October 2015

Ravenswood Primary is a Rights Respecting School which means that everyone puts the rights of the child at the heart of our school. All children have rights as detailed by the UNCRC (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child). Everyone in our school has the right:

To feel safe, healthy and happy
To be treated with respect, dignity and equality.
To learn or to teach, or to do their job.

Your education should help you to use and develop your talents and abilities. It should also help you learn to live peacefully, protect the environment and respect other people.

Article 29 of the UNCRC.

A rights-respecting school not only teaches about children’s rights but also models rights and respect in all its relationships: between teachers/adults and pupils, between adults and between pupils. All staff are encouraged to use praise and re-inforcement of whole school and class charters to help pupils achieve their best work and respect the rights of everyone.

Our Respectful Relationships and Behaviour Policy is designed to acknowledge and reward pupils’ good work and behavior that respects the rights of everyone. Praise and rewards are both important influences in motivating pupils and building self-esteem.

Whilst emphasising behavior that respects the rights of everyone, we also lay out sanctions. Children know and understand behavior that respects the rights of everyone in our school and are encouraged to choose behavior that will help everyone around them.

The following procedures will enable our Respectful Relationships and Behaviour Policy to be implemented

Whole-school level

All staff understand the school’s core belief about behavior.
Positive out of class behavior is promoted by agreed routines and clear systems.
School assemblies are used to develop children’s social, emotional and behavioural skills.
Positive behaviours in playgrounds and dining hall is noted and celebrated.
Parents/Carers are aware of and contribute to the school’s positive behavior ethos.
There are clear, consistently used systems for dealing with inappropriate behavior.
There are opportunities for staff to discuss and contribute to the development of systems underpinning positive behavior.

Class level

Adults model controlled, respectful and non-verbal behaviours.
Teaching routinely incorporates activities designed to promote children’s social and emotional development.
Appropriate behaviors are taught and reinforced on a regular basis.
Children are taught the language of sharing and co-operation, choice and consequences.
Children are encouraged to identify their own and others strengths to recognise and value the diversity within their classrooms.
There are clear classroom routines to reduce uncertainty and promote a peaceful and purposeful environment.
Each class has a charter, devised through discussion with children, which promote social and learning behaviours.
Class charters are displayed prominently.
Appropriate behavior is quickly noted and genuinely celebrated by staff and peers. There are clear systems, understood by all, for dealing with inappropriate behavior.

Individual child level

All children’s strengths are recognized and celebrated by staff.
Systems are in place for noticing and drawing attention to good or improved behavior.
Where a child experiences difficulties in developing or sustaining appropriate behavior there are systems which give additional support and attention.

Whole School, Playground, Dining Hall and Class Charters

Our charters are built upon the rights of the child as outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. For example, Article 29 of the UNCRC:

Your education should help you to use and develop your talents and abilities. It should also help you learn to live peacefully, protect the environment and respect other people.

Whole School Charter

School charters are negotiated with the Rights Team and school staff. These are displayed around school and in every class:

We have the right to an education. We will always try our best.
We have the right to be respected. We will respect ourselves and others.
We have the right to be protected. We will be gentle towards everyone.
We have the right to be heard. We will listen to others.
We have the right to share our views. We will be kind and truthful.

Playground Charter

You have the right to play and rest.

Article 31 of the UNCRC.

Use kind words
Include everyone
Keep hands and feet to yourself
Put litter in the bin
Cheer up everyone!

Dining Hall Charter

You have the right to the best health care possible, safe water to drink, nutritious food, a clean and safe environment, and information to help you stay well.

Article 24 of the UNCRC.

Keep food on your plate.
Try to eat all of your food.
Be respectful to everyone in the dining hall.
Walk calmly in the dining hall.

Class Charters

Class teachers form their own Class Charters through discussion with the children during the first week of term. Once Class Charters have been agreed they are displayed prominently in the classroom and shared with parents. Charters should be stated from the positive and not the negative to give a clear indication of good behaviour. For example:

We should treat everyone equally.
We should join in group tasks.
We should listen carefully to everyone.
We should try to include everyone.
We should make everyone feel safe.

Class Rewards

Teachers will also decide their own reward list which should be flexible to allow teachers to provide positive consequences tailored to suit themselves and their classes. This list could include:

Movie and popcorn
5 minutes of extra playtime
Games
Time for iPad’s.

Individual rewards

Each teacher will decide on his/her own set of rewards but a common core will include:

Verbal praise
Stickers, stampers and written comments.
Certificates and letters home to parents.
Sending pupils to P.T and H.T
Online DOJO points

House System

We operate a ‘House System’ with every child allocated to one of three houses when they enroll in school:

Emerald (Green)

Ruby (Red)

Sapphire (Blue)

Children can earn house points for displaying rights respecting behaviours. This helps to promote positive relationships across all year groups. Children will be awarded Weekly Solar System Superstar Awards for good work and displaying rights respecting behaviours.

Children will also be given on the spot house point awards for displaying rights respecting behaviours in the playground and dinner hall.

The winning house for each term will receive a reward for their house in school. The nature of the reward will be decided by the members of the winning house. At the end of the school year the points from the previous terms will be added together and the house with the most points overall will win the House Cup and receive a special prize.

Sanctions

Each classroom uses a highly visual display area to enable staff to promote positive behaviour through traffic lights.

Each time a child chooses to break a rule from the Whole School and/or Class Charter s/he moves down the sanctions listed below:

Verbal or non-verbal warning- child is made aware of what rule has been broken and noted by teacher.
Verbal and visual warning – change of traffic light to amber.
Verbal and visual warning- change of traffic light to red.
This will result in the child engaging in 5 minutes of reflection time during weekly Golden Time.

A child can have a visual warning removed by doing the opposite of what they have done e.g. if they were unkind they would be expected to do an act of kindness, therefore the positive action is being rewarded. Every child will begin each new day with a green traffic light.

Persistent Challenging Behaviour

Should an individual child display persistent challenging behaviour they will be referred to the Headteacher. Their parents will be invited to school to discuss the situation. Further sanctions may then be taken and will depend on the circumstances of each individual case but may include:

Behaviour monitoring sheet
Re-doing of poor work
Completing homework
Removal from class
Reflection time during interval
Restitution of some kind e.g. removal of graffiti, repair of damage
Parents recalled

The following behaviours will automatically result in a sanction:

Physical/verbal abuse
Refusing to obey instructions
Spitting
Deliberate destruction of property
Theft
Intimidation

In some cases it may be necessary for members of staff to use reasonable force to control or restrain pupils. The use of physical intervention will only be used as a last resort to prevent a pupil from doing, or continuing to do, any of the following:

Committing a criminal offence (including behaving in a way that would be an offence if the pupil were not under the age of criminal responsibility)
Injuring themselves or others
Causing damage to property
Engaging in behaviour that is compromising good order and discipline within the school setting or under the supervision of school staff e.g. on a trip.
Attempts to run away from school.

Physical intervention can take several forms. It might involve staff in:

Physically getting between two pupils
Blocking a pupil’s path
Holding, to limit movement or to restrain
Leading a pupil by the hand or arm
Shepherding a pupil away by placing a hand in the centre of the back

Should physical intervention be necessary the school will contact the parents/carers to explain the incident. The child and the adult involved will also discuss the incident when things are calm.

Exclusion

Very occasionally a pupil may be excluded from school. This is a serious and exceptional option that requires a parental visit, accompanied by guarantees of improved behaviour before the pupil can be re-admitted. Offences which may result in this ultimate sanction are:

Physical assault towards another child or member of staff
Continual bullying
Severe disruption in class or school

Partnership with Parents

All Parents/Carers will be encouraged to work in partnership with the school, and other agencies if appropriate, to ensure that this policy is effective. They are encouraged to:

Recognise the need for rules in order for the school to function safely and effectively
Recognise that all rules must be enforced fairly and consistently
Support the school in the implementation of the Respectful Relationships and Behaviour Policy
Work in partnership with the school
Encourage the children to respect the values and beliefs of others
Encourage them to respect the role of staff

Parent Council has responsibility for monitoring and representing the views of parents in relation to policy formation and implementation. They are expected to:

Report any concerns raised by parents to them regarding the handling of alleged incidents of misconduct
Promote the Respectful Relationships and Positive Behaviour Policy to parents

This policy will be communicated to parents periodically through school newsletters and the distribution of leaflets to ensure that pupils and parents are continuously aware of their individual responsibilities.

Other Agencies have responsibility of supporting the school, individual children and/or families in addressing the needs of victims and/or perpetrators in relation to the impact of their misconduct.

The Headteacher will review the policy annually using the information gathered from the monitoring procedures. Formal evaluation will be undertaken within the annual School Improvement Planning process using the performance indicators ‘How

Good is Our School’. Staff, pupils and parents participate in this evaluation process. This will identify strengths and areas for further development.

The Headteacher will have responsibility for ensuring that staff members are aware of courses supporting the promotion of positive behaviour. Staff development on positive behaviour, equalities, including race equality will be undertaken by all staff annually as a whole school programme to update on developments and refresh ideas and practice.

The Respectful Relationships and Behaviour Policy will be reviewed as part of the School Improvement Self-Evaluation in September 2016.

Visiting Specialist Staff

Ravenswood Primary is a Rights Respecting School which means that everyone puts the rights of the child at the heart of our school. All staff are encouraged to model rights and respect in all its relationships: between teachers/adults and pupils, between adults and between pupils.

Ravenswood Primary operate a Respectful Relationships and Behaviour Policy with which the children are very familiar. They know and understand the behaviour which is acceptable in all areas of the school and are encouraged to adherer to the Whole School Charter and choose behaviour which will help respect the rights of everyone around them.