A calm, orderly environment is needed at all times in school to ensure students are able to focus fully on their learning. The school manages behaviour through our new 'Ready to Learn' policy. This is summarised below.
Ready to Learn Policy
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this policy is to be inclusive, fair and equitable whilst managing and improving the behaviours of our students to support quality teaching and learning in our school. This policy should therefore not be looked at in isolation, but as a supportive element to our teaching for learning policy.
“The most successful schools do not deal with behaviour in isolation but tackle it as part of a wider school improvement strategy. They set out to motivate students and raise achievement by improving teaching, making learning more enjoyable and giving wider choices in the curriculum.”
At St. Ninian’s High School, we encourage all our students to develop positive working habits and we therefore expect a very high standard of self-discipline and behaviour from our students at all times. We hope that by encouraging them to adopt a caring and responsible attitude at school they will be able to focus more on their learning, make the most of the opportunities given to them at school and take these positive habits out into their wider lives.
AIMS:
- To minimise disruptive behaviour so that there is a culture of achievement and learning everywhere in the school and no learning time is wasted.
- To provide clarity for students and staff on what is acceptable behaviour and provide a consistent response to misbehaviour.
- To encourage all students to take responsibility for their own actions, develop positive working habits and to self-regulate before sanctions are required.
- To enable teachers to deliver active, creative and engaging lessons which challenge students and are not affected by low level disruptions through poor behaviour.
CONTEXT:
‘Ready to Learn’ is an integral part of our ethos at St. NInian’s High School and is there to help support our core purpose of enabling effective learning to take place. It is a behaviour management system which covers all aspects of behaviour throughout school i.e. towards other students, staff and the environment both in the classroom and around school. Students will learn and progress most effectively when they are in a secure, safe and happy environment and that is what ‘Ready to Learn’ is designed to create and support.
We believe that all students and staff at St. Ninian’s High School are important valued individuals and deserve to be treated and spoken to with respect. How students behave affects their progress and that of those around them. Everyone has the right to learn without anyone else disrupting their education. How students speak to peers and staff, the tone of voice they adopt and their choice of language is very important and at all times should be done in a respectful and courteous manner.
‘Ready to Learn’ is about rewarding students who try their best and do not disrupt the learning of others. However, sanctions are in place to discourage anti-social behaviour, which are issued through the Ready to Learn system and are based on a few simple rules that students are expected to observe throughout their time at St. NInian’s High School.
Praise & Rewards
A key aspect of this policy is that students who develop positive habits and consistently follow classroom and social area expectations are praised and their positive behaviour is rewarded. This is done primarily through the gaining of reward points, milestones and accolades in our online ‘epraise’ rewards system. Students high attendance, positive attitude to learning and engagement is celebrated and acknowledges at key points throughout the year, as well as attainment and achievement. The vast majority, if not all students will experience this positive aspect of Ready to Learn, whereas a minority of students will experience the sanctions side of the policy.
Ready to Learn and Punctuality to School
It is essential that students arrive ready to start school at 8:40am. Any persistent unauthorised lateness will be followed up and appropriate action taken and/or sanctions applied.
Lates Detention
If a student has 4 lates in a week to any lesson that student will be issued with a lates detention that runs for 30 minutes on a Friday afternoon.
- If students are in school and fail to turn up to a 30 minute detention, it will be increased to one hour and completed the following Monday.
- If students fail to attend that one hour detention they will serve a one day isolation.
- Refusal to complete the isolation will result in a student being sent home.
- If a student is absent on the day of their detention, they will complete it on their next day attending school, except Tuesday. Students will not necessarily be reminded – it is their responsibility to remember! Sanctions for non-attendance at detention will apply as outlined earlier.
Ready to Learn Classroom Expectations
Praise is at the heart of the Ready to Learn system and we will regularly remind students of our high expectations. Ready to Learn rewards and sanctions are linked to ‘our classroom expectations’ which are displayed in classrooms and are as follows:
- Arrive to the classroom on time and ready to learn.
- Remain silent when being spoken to.
- Stay ‘on task’ and not disturb other students.
- Follow instructions first time, every time.
- Speak to others in a respectful way and avoid physical contact with others.
Stage 3 Detention
If students break any of the five behaviour targets they will be given up to two warnings (Stage 1 and Stage 2) in a lesson or registration period. If they then break one of the ‘Behaviour Targets’ for a third time, they will be issued with a Stage 3.
Stage 3 Detentions run every morning break at 10:50am and students must go straight there at the end of Lesson 2.
- If a student is in school and fails to attend a Stage 3 detention, it will be increased to Stage 4 and completed the following day.
- If students fails to attend that Stage 4 detention after school they will serve a one day isolation.
- Refusal to complete the isolation will result in a student being sent home.
- If a student is absent on the day of their detention, they will complete it on their next day attending school. Students will not necessarily be reminded – it is their responsibility to remember! Sanctions for non-attendance at detention will apply as outlined earlier
If a student continues to break any of the four expectations after a Stage 3 has been issued, they will receive a Stage 4 sanction and will be sent to the isolation room. The student will also receive a Stage 4 detention afterschool the following day.
Stage 4 Detentions run every day after school at 15:30pm (except Tuesday due to staff meetings) and students must go straight there at the end of Lesson 6. Stage 4 detentions run for one hour.
However, if a student receives more than one Stage 3 in a day, they will complete a Stage 4 detention the following day, except Monday as previously explained.
Stage 4 Detention
If behaviour displayed by students is considered extreme, it may result in the student being removed from the lesson immediately without any warning using the Stage 4 on-call process.
You can be sent straight to Stage 4 isolation for doing the following:
- Swearing – we do not expect students to swear anywhere in School. If the swearing is loud enough to be heard, it is loud enough to be sanctioned.
- Dangerous behaviour
- Refusal to accept a Stage 3 sanction.
Students will be issued with a partially completed Stage 4 slip and sent by a teacher/other member of staff to the isolation room. On arrival, students hand in their Stage 4 slip and remain there for the rest of their lesson. Before they leave the isolation room students will be given the completed Stage 4 isolation slip to take home to parents/carers. In addition, they will be set a Stage 4 detention for the next school day, except Tuesday as previously explained. If a student is in school and fails to turn up to the hour detention they will be placed in isolation the following school day. If they fail to complete the day in isolation they will be sent home from school that day. They will complete the day in isolation in full upon their return. If they fail to that they will be issued with a suspension.
If a student fails to leave the classroom when issued you with a Stage 4, staff will call for Senior On-Call. This may lead to students being placed in isolation for the remainder of the day, or part of the day. It may also result in a suspension. Parents/carers will be contacted and a decision made as to any future sanction to follow as a result of the defiance.
This incident will be noted on Student Records and relevant staff notified.
Ready to Learn around School
An important aspect of Ready to Learn is that it encompasses social times and areas around school, as well as classrooms and lessons. Any member of staff, teaching or support can issue a Stage 3 detention to students. There are no warnings for a Stage 3 around school. A Stage 3 can be issued for not following the Social Area Expectations below:
- Always walk calmly in corridors and social areas
- Always be pleasant and polite to others
- Always act sensibly in the canteen
- Use designated areas for stated activities
- Always wear the correct uniform
Extreme or repeated poor behaviour in social areas may result in a more serious sanction.
Refusal to accept a Stage 3 sanction or giving false information will result in the sanction being escalated.
The Right of Appeal
Ready to Learn is based on equal values. If students feel they have been issued with a Stage 3 or Stage 4 slip unfairly, they have the right to appeal. To do this, students go to the specified location to the specified member of staff to present their case between 8:20 and 8:40 the morning after they have received their Stage 3 or Stage 4 slip. However, if a student argues with the member of staff at the time the Stage 3 or Stage 4 is given or if they refuse to take the Stage 3 or Stage 4 slip, they will lose the right of appeal. Students may only appeal 3 times per term, but if they are successful, will retain the same number of appeal opportunities. They must make their appeal themselves. We feel this is really important in terms of generating a sense of responsibility for their actions.
Interventions
If students have a series of Stage 4 issues in a term a member of staff will meet with them and perhaps their parents. They will discuss ways to move forward more positively and address the issues to see an improvement in progress. Students may, for example, be placed on report for a short period where they will be provided with a report card to take to each lesson to be completed by their teacher. This will enable a student’s Form Tutor and Head of Year to monitor attendance, behaviour and/or progress. Parents/carers will be informed either through planners, by letter or a phone call. They will read and sign it each night and add a comment if they feel it is appropriate. Form Tutors or Heads of Year may well invite parents/carers into school to meet and discuss a student’s progress and any concerns that they or teachers have, and develop an action plan to ensure students make positive progress and go on to meet their targets.
If issues persist a member of the SLT of the school will take this monitoring over and may use a variety of interventions to try and support the student in modifying their behaviour.
If there are continued concerns about a student’s behaviour, despite the interventions in place, a referral may be made to the Progress Zone for additional assessment and support. Referrals should be made by the Head of Year or a member of SLT and will be done with the consent of the parents/carers.
Fixed Term Suspension
As a last resort, it may be necessary to impose a fixed term suspension for a serious incident or a cumulation of incidents. The DESC Suspension Policy states that a Head Teacher can suspend any student from attendance for a period or periods not exceeding ten school days in any term.