A calm, orderly environment is always needed in school to ensure students can 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 "Ready to Learn" (R2L) policy focuses on developing positive working habits and self-discipline. We believe every student has a right to disruption-free learning in an environment where they are safe and respected.

• Build positive learning relationships between students and staff.
• Reward students who meet expectations and demonstrate positive behaviours.
• Provide clear and supportive procedures for consistent responses to behaviour.
• Enable students to reflect and take responsibility for their own choices.

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

Positive behaviour is primarily acknowledged through our Arbor platform.

• Daily Praise: Includes verbal feedback, positive emails, or phone calls (logged on Arbor), and Achievement points.
• Achievement Points: Can be "banked" to earn milestone badges or traded for rewards (e.g., charity donations, queue-jump passes, prize draws).
• Weekly/Termly Recognition: Including but not exclusively "Student of the Week," rewards breakfasts, and reward trips based on attitude to learning and behaviour records. Ready to Learn and Punctuality to School

Expectations for Students

• Be on time and ready to learn.
• Follow instructions.
• Stay on task.
• Speak and listen carefully.
• Respect personal space and the environment.

Classroom procedures: Staged approach

If students are unable to follow classroom expectations, the school uses a tiered system of consequences:

• Stage 1 & 2 Warnings: Verbal and visual warnings (e.g., name on the board) to allow for self-regulation, given to students not meeting the expectations
• Stage 3 Formal Intervention Issued: If a student continues to not meet the expectations, results in a Classroom Stage 3 demerit and a 15-minute Breaktime Reflection session.
• Stage 4 Removal from the classroom: If the student persists in poor behaviour, they are sent to the Recovery Space for the remainder of the lesson in addition to the Breaktime Reflection. This is to allow them to self-regulate before moving onto their next lesson.
• Stage 5 Escalation: Issued for refusal to move or leaving without direction. This also includes not arriving in the recovery space within 5 minutes of being sent or having to be removed from the recovery space by a member of the senior leadership team. This results in a 15-minute After-school Reflection in addition to the Breaktime Reflection.

Multiple Demerits: Receiving more than one demerit in one day leads to an escalated afterschool reflection session (up to 1 hour).

Reflection Sessions: Held at break time (10:30AM) in the main hall every day (and after school, 3:00PM, on selected days). Students must sit in silence and reflect; eating/drinking is not permitted.

Failure to attend: Failure to attend a reflection session will result in the session being moved to the next available day, and communication sent to parents. Persistent failure to attend will result in placed in the student on a Reflection Agreement and may eventually result in suspension.

Personal Mobile Digital Devices: "Off and Away All Day"

Devices (including smartwatches and earpods) must be switched off and put away while on the school site – this reflects the DESC policy.

• Misuse: Results in an ePraise demerit and a Breaktime Reflection. The device is placed on the teacher's desk for the lesson.
• Confiscation: Persistent issues or refusal to hand over a device result in it being stored in the office safe until 3 pm, and can lead to a complete mobile device ban (i.e. cannot bring one onto the school premises at all)
• Serious Misuse: Bullying or unauthorized photos may require parental collection. Suspected criminal activity or safeguarding concerns will result in the device being held for the Police.

Lates Reflection

If a student has 4 or more lates in a week to any lesson that student will be issued with a lates reflection which last 15 minutes or more (dependant on home many late marks have been accrued). This reflection runs once a week on each site, the time and length of which is communicated to parents when set. Failure to attend these sessions leads to the same outcomes as a failure

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 school expectations:

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 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. 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 give their name to the member of staff, 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 the appeal themselves. We feel this is important in terms of generating a sense of responsibility for their actions.

Further Interventions

Pastoral leaders monitor the ongoing behaviour of all students in their care, and persistent behaviour issues will lead to further interventions taking place. These may include, but are not limited to:

• Behaviour report: A report card for students to meet certain targets, these may be monitored by a member of pastoral support, the head of year or a member of SLT
• Mobile phone ban
• Ban from certain social areas at social times
• Self-study day: Where a student follows their learning timetable, but not along side their peers

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.