Highbury School

Behaviour Policy

Introduction

We have active consistent and positive expectations of the roles responsibilities and contributions of all participants in Highbury’s learning community which promote effective and confident behaviour.

This policy is a result of the annual review of the existing Behaviour Management Policy and the Governor’s Statement of Principles.

The Head Teacher and the Governing body will review this policy annually.

Practice at Highbury  is effective in the light of the  guidance ( Appendix 1), with an approach , including this policy, that is based upon  a consistent  holistic approach to promoting learning behaviour, including behaviour management. On occasions that approach may include  physical intervention, accepted in Calderdale as good practice, from *Team Teach training that includes positive handling strategies

Aims

Encouraging a positive relationship with parents and external agencies, to develop a shared approach to behaviour management. We recognise the role of school,  design, structure and  relationships in promoting children’s learning to regulate themselves with increasing independence. In addition the curriculum and target setting reflects this priority, in order for children to access their environment and community, with positive confident learning behaviour. 

Highbury School aims to promote positive behaviour management by:

•  Fostering good personal and professional relationships between staff and pupils
• Modelling good behaviour & providing positive role models
• Promoting good behaviour and discipline
• Promoting and raising self-esteem
• Encouraging consistency of response
• Providing a safe and supportive environment

In addition the curriculum and target setting reflects this priority in order for children to access their environment and community (including social media and assertiveness in relation to such as Prevent and grooming) with positive confident learning behaviour. 

As a school we promote equality, diversity and tolerance and therefore utilise strategies including:

•  embedding the above within teaching and resources
• using key data indicators to understand the needs and characteristics of the school
• promoting community cohesion
• parental engagement
• staff training

Procedures

We proactively seek to teach and make progress regarding self – regulation.

Positive behaviour is recognised and rewarded throughout school. The ethos of the school is one of encouragement and positivity. We follow the strategy of ‘catch them doing something right!’ and draw attention to achievements, continually looking for positives to reinforce. Approaches target the development of motivation, recognising personal challenges. 

We will adapt approaches for pupils whose behaviour may be a result of underlying mental health difficulties. We will consider whether the behaviour under review gives cause to suspect that a child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm. Where this may be the case, school staff should follow the schools’ Safeguarding policy.

Proactive  Behaviour Management Strategies

We acknowledge that the staff and the school environment impacts upon pupil behaviour

As a staff we will-

• Promote an approach that enables children to express their needs and views
• Analyse needs (including sensory) and proactively plan to facilitate regulation
• Include analysis reflection and teaching that considers and promotes mental health and well being
• Acknowledge all good behaviour and celebrate progress
• Model appropriate behaviour
• Ensure responses are at an appropriate level
• Be aware of how we identify at risk children and children exhibiting signs of mental ill health
• Reprimand the behaviour not the pupil
• Keep language simple using key words and the pupil’s name first
• Reinforce natural, positive consequences
• Praise – verbal, gestures, private, public (class / assembly)
• Reward -wow certificates, class based token systems and Star of the Week
• Seek to promote a consistent approach (home & school) and will actively seek to link effectively with support services
• Provide Individual Education Plans (IEP’s)– to include behaviour targets and be shared with parents
• Eliminate or reduce internal antecedents – for example, hunger, pain, fatigue, illness.
• Eliminate particularly aversive events – for example stimuli that a child has a fear or aversion to such as physical contact, noise, dogs etc

 The school environment will provide

• An appropriate physical setting e.g. class management and organization
• An appropriate social setting e.g. people involved and how
• Social stimulation
• Stimulating activities at an appropriate level
• Opportunities to exhibit choice
• Adapt approaches for pupils whose behaviour may be a result of underlying mental health difficulties
• Clear timetabling and predictability e.g. structured day, routines clear & predictable.
• A means of communication e.g. Sign Supported English, PECs

Initial de-escalation strategies may include

• Planned ignoring – as far as possible take away attention from the misbehaviour.
• Change of adult support - a change of face for the intervention will often change the pupil’s response
• Moving pupil to distraction-free area in classroom
• Verbal reminders about appropriate behaviours- a prompt acts as a cue or support to encourage a desired behaviour
• Using incentive of favoured activity on completion of task ( token economy, ‘let’s make a deal’)

 Where initial low key strategies have been tried but the pupil is not responding, the following strategies or sanctions may be used as appropriate:

• Pupil moved away from other pupils and given 1:1 support to re-establish appropriate behaviour.
• Pupil removed from the class for short period of ‘time-out’.
• Pupil reminded of appropriate behaviour and consequences of continued challenging behaviour e.g. specific sanction such as working through play time, or missing favourite activity within a lesson until task complete.

Reparations and planned next steps

We aim to de-escalate behaviour and redirect pupils, however when behaviour has been inappropriate children must understand that there are consequences. Approached include:

• Helping pupils understand what is wrong OR what they did wrong
• Helping pupils understand consequences (of both good and inappropriate behaviours)
• Providing opportunities to make amends and the motivation to want to change
• Sanctions where necessary will be applied
• Exclusions – In very extreme circumstances, where all other measures have failed, exclusion from school may apply
• Teaching curriculum aspects or re planning coverage

Individualised and Specific Behaviour Strategies

Some pupils will display challenging behaviour and will need specific strategies and interventions to promote appropriate behaviour.

Challenging behaviour is termed as behaviour that leads to: -

•  Regulation that significantly inhibits learning and causes distress
• Physical danger / harm to self
• Physical danger / harm to others
• Damage to property
• Prevention of participation in educational and community activities
• Disruption of learning to others
• Isolation from peers
• Excessive demands on staff / resources

Behaviour Management Plans

Where a pupil frequently displays challenging behaviour, the School Leadership Team (SLT) will be informed and a Behaviour Management Plan (BMP) drawn up in consultation with the class team.

BMP’s

Assist coordination of the child’s learning in relation to their behaviour regulation and choices.

• Are based on observation and behavioural data
• Specify de-escalation strategies known to work with the individual pupil
• Specify preferred positive handling techniques
• Success is determined using observation and behavioural data
• Ensure a consistent approach across the staff team, who are responsible for disseminating information
• Are always shown to parents who are asked to give consent
• Changes or strategies involving physical intervention will be discussed with parents
• Aim to ensure a consistency of approach and sharing of information between home and school through regular communication between staff and parents
• Interventions will be aimed at limiting the amount of harm to the child or others
• Interventions will be aimed at limiting the amount of reinforcement resulting from the behaviour
• Are continuously monitored and are reviewed regularly

Positive Handling  

Where possible we will do our best to help pupils to calm using communication skills, distraction techniques and removing triggers. However, there may be times when staff may need to control or restrain a child to ensure the pupil’s own safety, the safety of others, or to ensure that property is not seriously damaged. This can require positive handling techniques (control or restraint). 

Physical intervention should always be:

• Only at the last resort after all other avenues of resolution have been exhausted
• In the best interests of the pupil
• Absolutely necessary
• Reasonable and proportionate

Specific Guidelines for situations involving positive handling techniques

• Only Team Teach trained staff are to be involved in the use of positive handling techniques
• A second member of staff, where possible,should be present during the use of positive handling
• A record should be kept of any incident resulting in positive handling
• Parents should be informed of these incidents by phone or in person
• Positive handling should only be used when it is considered that the risk involved in not intervening outweigh the risks involved in intervention
• Positive handling should be avoided in situations where it is likely to increase the risks involved for either the staff or the child
• Staff should act within their duty of care to the child
• The scale and nature of any physical intervention must be proportionate to the behaviour and the nature of the harm that the child might cause
• Positive handling may be used as a secondary prevention technique where there is clear, documented evidence that particular sequences of behaviour are likely to escalate rapidly into serious violence. Secondary prevention involves recognising the early stages of aggressive behaviour and employing techniques aimed at averting further escalation
• In the case of a 'behaviour' occurring over an extended period of time, SLT should be informed

Reactive Behaviour Strategies

Physical intervention may be used as part of a BMP however it may also be used in unplanned situations where an unexpected behaviour is seen to pose a significant risk e.g. by running toward a busy road, engaging in self-injury, or sustained aggression toward others or likely to commit an offence.

Judgments have to be made at the time, taking due account of all the circumstances, including any known history of other events involving the child.

Assessment recording and reporting

This will include some or all of the following: -

• Annual reviews and IEP’s.
• Behaviour Management Plan / Pupil Profiles
• Observations and recording  of behaviour and incidents
• Assessment tools. ABC charts, tick lists etc
• Home school link books, letters and meetings with parents
• Behaviour log, Serious incident / Accident form

Glossary:

Definitions:

• Control means either passive physical contact, such as standing between pupils or blocking a pupil's path, or active physical contact such as leading a pupil by the arm out of a classroom.
• Restraint means to hold back physically or to bring a pupil under control. It is typically used in more extreme circumstances.

Exclusions

Headteachers can exclude your child if they misbehave in or outside school.

What happens when your child is excluded:

 If a child is being excluded from school parents or carers are notified about an exclusion as soon as possible. Parents would then receive a letter informing them long their child  is excluded for and why.

 Information contained in the letter would include details of how to challenge the exclusion.

 Exclusions can start on the same day but the school would not insist that arrangements are made to collect a child straight away. A child who had been excluded would always be kept safe in school until arrangements could be made.

Risk of prosecution if child is found in public place

For the first 5 school days of an exclusion, it is the parent or carers responsibility to make sure their child isn’t in a public place during normal school hours unless there is a good reason.

Parents/carers may be prosecuted if their child is found in a public place when they’re not supposed to be.

Types of exclusion

There are 2 kinds of exclusion - fixed period (suspended) and permanent (expelled).

Fixed period exclusion

A fixed period exclusion is where your child is temporarily removed from school. They can only be removed for up to 45 school days in one school year, even if they’ve changed school.

If a child has been excluded for a fixed period, schools should set and mark work for the first 5 school days.

If the exclusion is longer than 5 school days, the school must arrange suitable full-time education from the sixth school day, eg at a pupil referral unit.

Permanent exclusion

Permanent exclusion means your child is expelled. Your local council must arrange full-time education from the sixth school day.

Alternative education and exclusion

The school or local council must tell you about any alternative education they arrange. It’s your responsibility to make sure your child attends.

Making a complaint

If alternative education isn’t arranged within 5 days, or you’re not happy with the education, you can complain to:

the school, for fixed period exclusions

the local council, for permanent exclusions

If you’re not happy with the response, you can complain to the Department for Education (DfE).   

You’ll need to show that you followed the school or council’s complaints procedure.

Special circumstances

If a child is subject to a child protection plan or is in Local Authority Care, the social worker for that child will also be informed of the exclusion.

If a child who has been excluded is not collected by the end of the school day or if the child absconds from school  then the school may need to report this to the police and/or the multi-agency assessment team (MAST)

Screening and Searching Pupils
The DfE document Searching, screening and confiscation – advice for Head teachers, school staff and governing bodies (February 2014) should be read in relation to this section. The Head teacher and staff authorised by them have a statutory power to search pupils or their possessions, without consent, where they have reasonable grounds for suspecting that the pupil may have one of the following:

Prohibited items:
· knives or weapons;

• alcohol;
• illegal drugs;
• stolen items;
• tobacco and cigarette papers;
• fireworks;
• pornographic images;
• any article that a member of staff reasonably suspects has been, or is likely to be, used to commit an offence or injure a person or damage property.

The member of staff conducting the search must be the same sex as the pupil being searched; and there must be a witness (also a staff member) and, if at all possible, they should be the same sex as the pupil being searched. However, there is a limited exception to this rule whereby staff can carry out a search of a pupil of the opposite sex and without a witness present, where there is reasonable belief that there is a risk that serious harm could be caused to a person if the search is not conducted immediately and where it is not reasonably practicable to summon another member of staff.
School staff can seize any prohibited item found as a result of a search. They can also seize any item, however found, which they consider harmful or detrimental to school discipline.

Allegations of abuse against staff
In line with guidance from the Department for Education, when dealing with allegations of abuse against teachers and other staff, all allegations of abuse will be taken seriously. Our school is committed to ensuring that we deal with allegations quickly in a fair and consistent way that provides effective protection for the child and supports the person who is the subject of the allegation. Every effort will be made to maintain confidentiality and guard against unwanted publicity while an allegation is being investigated. Suspension of the member of staff will not be used as an automatic response when an allegation has been reported.
Allegations that are found to have been malicious will be removed from personnel records and any that are not substantiated, are unfounded or malicious will not be referred to in employer references. We will offer pastoral support to staff members in line with the DfE guidance.
Pupils who are found to have made malicious allegations are likely to have breached school behaviour policies. The school will therefore consider whether to apply an appropriate sanction, which could include temporary or permanent exclusion (as well as referral to the police if there are grounds for believing a criminal offence may have been committed).

February 2020  

Reviewed annually

* In keeping with effective evidence -based practice as the baseline of our approach - a distinctive feature of Team-Teach, are  both de-escalation skills and physical interventions, known as ‘positive handling strategies’. The approach is clearly structured and calibrated against level of risk. It includes accreditation and re-accreditation of staff. Team Teach is accredited by The Institute of Conflict Management (ICM). The majority of staff will receive  initial 12 hour training, with  6 hour refresher training every two years. Other members of staff will be included in training, as appropriate.

Appendix 1

Key References : This policy was written with particular reference to the following:,

• Behaviour and discipline in schools 2016 DFE
• Advice for headteachers and school staff
• The Children’s Act 1989
• The Education Act 1996
• Use of Force Guidance April 2012
• Team Teach Approach
• School Standards Framework
• The Equality Act ( 2010) and schools 2014 DFE
• Positive Environments where Children flourish Ofsted March 2018
• Preventing and tackling bullying Advice for headteachers, staff and governing bodies 2017
• Government Response to the Consultation on Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision: Green Paper and Next Steps DFE July 2018