Behaviour Management System
The behaviour in our school is very good. OFSTED inspections confirm this: ‘Pupils typically behave very well, both in the classroom and around the school. They are courteous, welcoming and respectful’ (May 2018). ‘Students are calm and orderly when moving between lessons and at breaks and lunchtimes.’ ‘Students are usually focussed and industrious when working and lessons have a purposeful and productive atmosphere. Students are confident when contributing to class discussions. The positive attitudes of students to their learning have a strong impact on their progress’ (March 2015).
The comments made by OFSTED are a result of strong teaching, high expectations, positive relationships and a consistent approach to managing behaviour.
The behaviour system that we employ is built around an assertive discipline model that incorporates levels of consequences in a format shown below.
Behaviour for learning structure
If a student’s behaviour is preventing others from learning or the teacher from teaching:
Level 1 – Verbal encouragement to assist in return to task
Level 2 – Verbal warning that attitude/behaviour is unacceptable
Level 3 – Student will need to stay after the lesson for a short discussion. Student is moved to another seat/short time out.
Level 4 – Actions/sanctions will follow from the teacher. Student moved to faculty safe room.
Level 5 – Actions/sanctions will follow from the teacher/senior leadership
On-call used if student behaviour persists in safe room or student refuses to co-operate. Student should be escorted to Achievement Support Centre by On-call staff.
Level 5 may be used immediately if student is physically or verbally abusive, or if they could endanger themselves or others.
Students who persistently refuse to accept the rules of the school or the authority of the staff will run the risk of being suspended. You can read our Suspension and Permanent Exclusion Policy here.
The system very much allows students to have the opportunity to put things right on three occasions before serious actions/sanctions are put in place. When we speak to students about how this is used, either individually or in assemblies, we are always very careful to emphasise that it really is their choice how far they go up the levels. Bearing this in mind, if a student does reach level 4 or 5, this is obviously a serious matter and we have therefore devised a series of actions and sanctions that will take place if a student reaches these levels in a lesson. These could include the following:
- The incident is recorded on the behaviour log;
- A discussion with the teacher and/or Head of Year at the end of the lesson to determine what went wrong and how to prevent it next time;
- A short detention to catch up on work missed;
- A phone call home;
- Student is withdrawn from the room and placed in the Achievement Support Centre;
- Student is placed on a subject or tutor report;
- Fixed term exclusion.
We record all incidents that have gone to level 4 or above on a computerised behaviour log which is regularly reviewed by tutors and year staff to ensure that incidents are followed up quickly. By doing this, we hope not only to save paper but also to use it as a tool to track students’ behaviour and progress in lessons. It is worth noting that in addition to recording negative behaviour, we also use the log to record positive behaviour, recording when students achieve well in lessons, homework and coursework.
We will continue to regularly consult staff and students about our behaviour systems. If you have any concerns or questions about this please do not hesitate to contact your son/daughter’s Tutor or Head of House. You can read our current Student Behaviour Policy here.