Behaviour Policy and Principles

SPRINGFIELD SCHOOL

Wakefield Pupil Referral Units

Sharing values, celebrating differences, embracing success.

Vision

To enable all our learners to achieve personal success by becoming productive, resilient, responsible members of society.

Behaviour Policy

Version: 1.0

Date of implementation: October 2022

Date of next review: October 2023

Introduction

Springfield works with a wide spectrum of students in a variety of contexts. Naturally, the management of diverse behaviours is central to our school and this document outlines both the philosophy and practice that informs our work. It aims to provide a practical guide for staff in managing behaviour whilst ensuring that practice is grounded in a philosophy that places the needs of the child at its Centre. All staff should be familiar with it.

We are committed to inclusive education and securing the greatest possible access to learning and achievement for students that are unable to engage in a mainstream school. Central to our ethos is the belief that student’s behaviour can be modified, managed and enhanced in order to enable them to be actively involved with the learning process. We believe that students can be encouraged and taught to control their behaviour and that staff can influence pupils’ behaviour to create environments where learning can take place in a calm, purposeful atmosphere.

Aims

An effective relationship and behaviour management policy is one that seeks to support and lead young people towards high self-esteem and self-regulation. This occurs when positive, good relationships are formed and high standards of good behaviour are clearly set.

We will;

Provide high quality teaching, raising aspirations and celebrating achievement
Promote a safe, healthy, social and emotional learning environment and/or experience for all pupils;
Offer a curriculum that enables all pupils to engage with and enjoy their learning
Assist pupils in gaining skills and knowledge to enable them to make positive contributions to society and to prepare pupils for the next step in their lives
Assess and address SEMH needs in addition to any other SEN that causes a barrier to learning;
Develop and/or contribute to My Support Plans that identify pupils’ needs and subsequent measures to support in order to enable parents, families, schools and other agencies to provide an education that fully supports individual need.

Nurture Principles

Springfield takes a pro-active method in meeting these aims through offering a Nurture based approach. This approach is underpinned by the 6 principles of Nurture:

Student's learning is understood developmentally
The classroom offers a safe base
The importance of nurture for the development of wellbeing
Language is a vital means of communication
All behaviour is communication
The importance of transition in student’s lives

What we will do

At Springfield we:

All have the right to learn;
Are all responsible for supporting the rights of others and ourselves;
Have rules to support our right to learn and achieve in a safe environment;
Have rewards to celebrate the right choices we make and our successes;
Have consequences to help us learn to take responsibility for our actions and to support us to make the right choices in the future;
Have a Code of Conduct by which all students and staff demonstrate they are responsible members of our community and understand our expectations;
Build confidence among students and young people to show empathy and understanding;
Work with members of our school community to raise awareness and develop respect of both our own and others’ behaviours;
Use agreed methods of reporting and responding to incidents of inappropriate and positive behaviours;
Identify a clear system to deal with inappropriate behaviour and refer and review students when necessary for additional support from within Engage Academy and/or or wider professionals;
Share good practice and develop training when necessary to ensure consistency in approach and standards of expectation.

Our expectations

At Springfield there is a whole school commitment to positive reinforcement using a nurture-based approach. There are high expectations and the standard of behaviour exhibited by all students reflects these expectations and the overall success of the policy. We focus on three main expectations:

Respect - We keep each other safe and happy;
Responsibility– We are responsible for our own actions and our own learning with support;
Resilience - Even when we find things difficult we keep trying.

Underpinned by these expectations, students are expected to;

Arrive on time and be ready to learn
Use positive language
Allow other students to learn
Show positive effort and attitude
Complete all tasks to the best of my ability

Inclusion Team

The Inclusion Team work alongside classroom staff to support all students. They will have a particular focus on students who need intervention and this can be provided in a variety of ways:

Working away from the classroom for an agreed timescale with a plan in place for reintegration
1:1 working
Realistic and achievable target setting
Completion of a My Support Plan to identify need and appropriate intervention and to monitor progress.
Referral to Educational Welfare Service, Educational Psychology and SENART for advice and support.
Planned intervention time across a week/term

Rewards and Consequences

We aim to develop an ethos where there is a healthy balance between rewards and logical consequences with both being clearly understood by all students and staff. Students should learn to expect fair and consistent consequences for inappropriate behaviours which are linked to the behaviour. Logical consequences are designed to teach students more appropriate behaviours. All systems will have a degree of flexibility when taking into account individual circumstances. As part of the student’s induction, staff and students discuss expectations, reward systems and consequences. The emphasis of this policy is on positive praise and reward, which should be given wherever possible for both learning and behaviour.

Included in this policy is clear guidance, strategies and positive relationship management techniques. All staff should follow the school’s procedures and policy.

Rewards

All members of staff will recognise and celebrate appropriate behaviour at all times around the school through informal praise. Wherever appropriate, students’ best efforts, for behaviour and learning will be celebrated.

Rewards may include but is not limited to:

School expectation points
Verbal praise and smiling at students;
Verbal praise to parents about their students;
Special responsibility/privileges;
Positive phone call/text home;
Praise postcard home;
Head teacher awards;

This strategy is to promote that all students understand that if they try their best and follow school’s expectations for behaviour and learning they will be rewarded for their efforts. Rewards can be tailored to the students' likes and preferences in order to promote achievement, celebrate success and encourage learning.

The procedures outlined in the following section are to help deal effectively with inappropriate behaviour. If a student exhibits inappropriate behaviour, staff should use a nurturing approach to de-escalate a situation and attune to their needs/behaviours. Safe spaces are available in school for a student to be directed/guided to, where they can calm with support if appropriate.

Consequences

This policy is designed to empower both teaching and support staff in our mutual desire to create a safe, fair, secure and happy learning environment. When dealing with all forms of inappropriate behaviour, staff should follow these overriding rules:

Be calm – Students should be dealt with calmly, firmly but fairly referring to what the action is and why the action is being taken.
Use personalised consequences – A personalised consequence is a sanction that takes into account a student’s specific needs whilst remaining as fair as possible and in line with similar consequences for other behaviours from other students. We recognise that our students may need extra support, guidance and encouragement to understand what behaviour is expected of them in school. Personalised modifications are needed to reflect our student’s needs and support is provided by staff they know well to make the right choices.
Repair and rebuild – following a negative behaviour incident all students are encouraged to reflect on their actions and consider how they have affected others. At an appropriate level, staff will support students to consider the impact of their actions, how other choices could have been made to avoid making the wrong choice and discuss the incident with those involved. For some students they may be able to do this soon after the incident, for others it may be a while later. Staff will use their professional judgement to decide when it is most appropriate to complete a repair and rebuild discussion and the most appropriate outcome for those involved.

Restorative Practice

Wherever possible, Springfield will seek a restorative approach to all incidents. This process does not assign blame but encourages the students to look at their own and others behaviours with a view to providing a positive outcome for all involved. A restorative meeting either formal or informal, may be arranged, at which the student is encouraged to think about and discuss their behaviour.

Handing in Personal Belongings

Basic expectations are set out to students and these include handing in phones, smoking paraphernalia and personal items at the start of the school day to ensure students are focused on learning and negates concerns regarding safety and security. These can then be collected at the end of the day or when a student is due to leave school. Students are expected to follow the core principles, set out in this policy, at all times but if negative behaviour does occur then an agreed individual plan will be established. Consequences of inappropriate behaviour will be actioned and will often include sanctions such as; minutes given, to be taken back during school, to catch up on any time lost or work not completed or a 1:1 intervention, to understand the behaviour displayed and strategies of how to overcome triggers. In some cases, it may be necessary for the student to spend some time out of school to be given an opportunity to catch up on work missed and undertake some more intensive learning around a particular behaviour; providing students with strategies to avoid the behaviour being repeated. This will be at an approved and risk assessed venue and parents/carers will be informed. The aim is to address the barriers to positive behaviour and to ensure the impact on pupil progress is minimised. The pupil will return to school when staff are confident that they are able re-join the learning and contribute positively to school life.

Confiscation

Any prohibited items (listed in the Appendix; Prohibited items) found in pupils’ possession will be confiscated. These items will not be returned to pupils.

We will also confiscate any item which is harmful or detrimental to school discipline. These items will be returned to pupils after discussion with senior leaders and parents, if appropriate.

Searching and screening pupils is conducted in line with the DfE’s latest guidance on searching, screening and confiscation.

Suspension from school

At Springfield, suspensions are only ever issued when all other options have been explored and for a serious incident. Some behavior is regarded as non-negotiable when in a regulated state and exclusions will be considered for;

Persistent bullying
Theft
Physical assault against an adult or pupil
Possession of or use of illegal substances, drugs or weapons
Any other behavior deemed by the Head Teacher to be a risk to themselves or others

Staff will inform SLT immediately if they believe that such incidents are taking place.

Staff will use their professional judgement around such incidents, taking into account their knowledge of a student’s individual needs. The health and safety of students and staff is paramount. Head Teacher has the final decision.

High level violent acts by a student towards other students or staff will result in fixed term internal or external exclusion. Damage to property has to be put right by the student wherever possible. In the circumstances of extreme damage parents/carers will be contacted, shown the level of damage and may be asked to contribute or pay for the damage.

A reintegration meeting will take place on the student’s return to school with a clear plan developed in conjunction with SLT and the Inclusion Team and any amendments made to the student’s individualised risk assessments and support to self-regulate plans. The plan and package of support will be reviewed regularly.

Only the Head Teacher has the power to suspend a student from school. SLT will make this decision in the absence of the Headteacher.

If the Head Teacher excludes a student, they will inform the parents/carers immediately, giving reasons for the suspension. At the same time, the Head Teacher will make it clear to the parents/carers that they can appeal against the decision to the Interim Management Board. The school will inform the parents/carers how to make any such appeal.

The Head Teacher will inform the local authority (LA) of any suspensions beyond five days in any one term as per current guidance.

The Interim Management Board has a discipline committee whose role is set out in strict guidelines whenever a child is excluded from school. Any exclusion of more than 15 days in any term results in a Disciplinary Committee Meeting.

Suspension and Permanent Exclusion pupils is conducted in line with the DfE’s latest guidance on Suspension and Permanent Exclusion from maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units in England, including pupil movement

Parental Involvement

Springfield believes that a positive, supportive relationship between parents/carers and school is key to supporting the needs and behaviours of every student. Parents are contacted on a regular basis, often daily but at least twice a week, to share positive news and discuss any concerns. Involvement with parents will be on an individual basis depending on the circumstances at home. Parental preference around home/school contact will be discussed at the initial meeting when a student joins Springfield.

Classroom Management

Teaching and support staff are responsible for setting the ethos and context for positive behaviour within the classroom.

They will:

Create and maintain a stimulating environment that encourages pupils to be engaged;
Display the student learning expectations in classrooms;
Develop a positive relationship with students, which may include:
- Greeting pupils in the morning/at the start of lessons
- Establishing clear routines
- Communicating expectations of behaviour in ways other than verbally
- Highlighting and promoting good behaviour
- Concluding the day positively and starting the next day afresh
- Having a plan for dealing with low-level disruption
- Using positive reinforcement/ set language scripts
- Follow the Consequences staged approach (Appendix)

The use of positive handling to support students

Central to this policy is the understanding that any physical intervention used by staff should be in accordance with Team Teach guidelines and used only as a last resort once all other strategies have been exhausted and it is reasonable, proportionate, justified and necessary. It is essential that any discussion of physical intervention is set in the wider context of education and behaviour management; it should not be seen as an isolated technique.

All staff have been trained by Team Teach tutors who are DfE recognised providers.

Team Teach reiterates our philosophy that the use of physical handling techniques should only be used as a last resort. Springfield is committed to ensuring that staff deal professionally with all incidents involving aggressive behaviour and only use physical handling as a last resort. Prior to this, every strategy will be used to de-escalate the situation. Students who require physical handling must be treated with respect and handled according to Team Teach guidelines to ensure minimal risk to injury.

Staff should only positively handle a child if the child is:

Injuring themselves or others.
Assaulting another child or staff member.
Engaged in deliberate damage or vandalism to property.
Engaged in any behaviour prejudicial to maintaining good order and discipline at the school or among any of its students, whether that behaviour occurs in a classroom during a teaching session or elsewhere.

A member of staff who recognises that the behaviour is beginning to escalate towards a point where positive handling might be needed may need to seek assistance from another member of staff and/or use alternative de-escalation strategies to prevent the need for positive handling.

Staff should explain to the dysregulated student the reason why they need that level of support to keep them and other people safe in a calm voice. Staff must explain to the child that as soon as he/she calms down the physical handling will stop.

After the incident the student must be given time to calm with a member of staff and if possible repair and rebuild completed with those involved. The parent/carer must be contacted and told about the incident and if appropriate will be asked to come to support their child.

All incidents where positive handling has been required must be recorded.

Please see the school’s Positive Handling policy for further information.

Bullying

Bullying is defined as the repetitive, intentional harming of one person or group by another person or group, where the relationship involves an imbalance of power. Bullying is therefore:

Deliberately hurtful
Repeated, often over a period of time
Difficult to defend against

Details of our approach to preventing and addressing bullying are set out in the School Anti -Bullying Policy.

Appendix

Consequences Staged Approach

The below offers a staged approach to implementing consequences. All strategies used should be in line with this policy.

Stage 1	Stage 2	Stage 3	Stage 4	Stage 5	Stage 6
First reminder	Second Reminder	Time in another space and return to class	Time out working in another space	Call for support (Inclusion Team)	Call for SLT support

Follow Up 1	Follow Up 2
Restorative	Intervention

Reward Positive Behaviour

Lessons are marked based on the effort and behaviour of each student. This is marked as achieved or not achieved through the expectations below:

Arrive to lesson on time and remain in class
Respect
Engage positively with learning

Points given for the number of expectations achieved during each lesson:

5 points
10 points
20 points

The rewards given in lessons are banked and when sufficient points have been accumulated they are credited to a cumulative account from which students may select their own reward.

Rewards conversion

Convert credits to cash to enable students to spend money as a reward. As part of this process, the student is expected to work with a staff member in converting their reward. This could be buying something online or visiting a local store. The student should be actively involved in the process to support the development of their life skills.

500 Points = £5 voucher

1000 Points = £10 voucher

2000 Points = £25 voucher

4000 Points = £50 voucher

Prohibited Items

Possession of any prohibited items. These are:

Knives or weapons
Alcohol
Illegal drugs
Cigarettes and E-Cigarettes
Stolen items
Tobacco and cigarette papers
Fireworks
Pornographic images
Any article a staff member reasonably suspects has been, or is likely to be, used to commit an offence, or to cause personal injury to, or damage to the property of, any person (including the pupil)

Exclusions Flow Chart

Illegal Substances Flow Chart to be reviewed at ELT 13.10.2022

Restorative Practice Incident Report

Date:		Time
Student
Date of Incident		People Involved

What Happened?

What were you thinking at the time?

What have you thought about since?

Who was affected and how?

How can you make things right?

Outcome

Restorative Contract/Agreement

Date of Incident		Date of Restorative Session
People Involved in the Incident

Brief Description of the Incident

We have agreed the following

Signed
Date of Review

Review

Date:		Time
Student

Brief details of Incident and Outcome

Update on agreed actions

Incident Resolved	Yes	No
Next Steps

Mobile Phone Charter

Mobile phones & personal devices are now a feature of modern society and most of our students own one. Increasing sophistication of mobile phones present a number of issues for schools:

the high value of many phones / devices
the integration of cameras into phones leading to potential child protection and data protection issues
the potential to use the phone (e.g. for messaging) whilst on silent mode.

This charter sets out how mobile devices are to be used in the Centre. The Mobile Phone Charter was devised by students and staff. The use of mobile phones and personal devices is a privilege but these rules apply to all. At all times, staff and students must treat one another fairly and with respect.

It is not realistic to prohibit phones being brought to the Centre, nor is it logistically possible for the Centre to collect phones in each morning and return them in the afternoon. It is our policy to allow mobile phones in the Centre under the conditions outlined in the charter.

The charter

Mobile phones / iPods must not be used for any purpose (e.g. phone, texting, listening to music, surfing the internet, taking photos, checking the time, taking videos) during any lesson. **
Mobile phones and personal devices are not to be used for taking photographs, recordings or videos of students or staff. Breaching this could mean that you are breaking the law. If you are caught, the sanction will reflect the seriousness of the incident. This will also result in the device being confiscated and the deletion of the material.
Mobile phones / iPods can be used by students before 8.30am, at break time, lunchtime and after the Centre day. At these permitted times, phones can only be used in the dining room, social area, or the outside spaces. They must not be used at any other time (e.g. between lesson changeovers) and are not to be used on the corridors.
Devices can be used for listening to music at the permitted times and in the permitted places through headphones only.
Mobile phones must always be switched off / on silent during lesson time and kept out of view, preferably in your bag. Earphones for any personal device must always be out of view during lesson time and outside of permitted areas or they will be confiscated. This includes earphones that are dangling out of shirts / pockets etc. even if not in use.
Mobile phones / iPods must not be taken into examinations.
Permission to have a mobile phone / iPod in the Centre will only be allowed under the terms of this charter. By bringing such a device into the Centre, the student and parent automatically agree to the terms of this charter. Any student or parent who does not wish to be bound by the terms of this policy is not permitted to bring their device onto the Centre premises and must not do so.
Devices are not to be charged in the Centre by staff or students in any public or learning area.
all personal devices are brought in to the academy at the owner’s risk. The Centre accepts no responsibility for replacing lost, stolen or damaged mobile phones / iPods

** The use of phones/iPods may be sanctioned in lessons if explicitly instructed by the member of staff for learning purposes. Staff should not use their phones in lessons for purposes other than education.

Safes in tutor rooms are an option to store phones, this should enable staff to monitor the use of phones during breaks etc.

Sanctions

If students fail to follow the above charter then staff will follow the staged response set out below:

Stage 1	Students who are caught actively and deliberately using their phones without permission (or against the terms of this charter) must hand their phones over when requested. They will be able to collect their phone at the end of the Centre day
Stage 2	Students who repeatedly refuse to follow the charter above (or use their device in a way that seriously infringes the terms of the charter) will have their phones confiscated and be dealt with according to the Centre’s behaviour and rewards policy and parents will be contacted to come into the Centre to resolve the issue
Stage 3	Repeat offenders will be banned from having their mobile phone / device in the Centre, if caught with it they will face serious disciplinary action and dealt with according to the center’s behaviour and rewards policy

The Springfield Centre