Introduction
Good behaviour is essential to allow St George’s Church of England School to flourish as a learning community that promotes the well-being of all its members. We believe that a happy and secure environment relies upon good relationships between children, staff, and parents.
At the heart of our policy is our commitment to raise expectations and improve standards. We aim to promote responsible behaviour and self-discipline backed by a clear system of rewards and sanctions. We feel it is important that the children understand the need for boundaries. They should be encouraged to become participants in this process and to reflect on their behaviour both individually and collectively. Within this framework we hope that the children will contribute positively to the community appreciating the feelings and needs of others.
We recognise that each individual child is at a different stage of social learning. Only through a consistent approach to supporting their behaviour will we be able to achieve an environment in which children can learn and develop as caring and responsible people.
Positive behaviour needs to be rewarded, encouraged, and taught. Positive behaviour management is based on positive and respectful relationships between children and adults. Good behaviour should be modelled by all members of the school community and encouraged always.
This policy outlines the underlying philosophy, purpose, nature, organisation, and management of pupil behaviour at St George’s School. It is a working document designed to enhance the development of positive relationships between children, adults working in school, parents, and other members of the wider community. The fair and consistent implementation of our Behaviour Policy is everyone’s responsibility.
Our Core Beliefs:
- Behaviour can change and every child can be successful.
- Positive, targeted praise is more likely to change behaviour then blaming and punishing.
- Reinforcing good behaviour helps children feel good about themselves.
- An effective reward system and celebrating success helps to further increase children’s self-esteem enabling them to achieve even more.
- Understanding each child’s needs and their individual circumstances helps us to act in the fairest way possible for that child, at that moment.
- Adult behaviours create children’s responses and behaviours.
Aims
At St George’s Church of England School, we aim to:
- ensure a consistent and calm approach to and use of language for managing behaviour.
- ensure that agreed boundaries of acceptable behaviour are clearly understood by all pupils, staff, and parents.
- ensure that all adults take responsibility for behaviour and follow up any issues personally.
- to promote pupils’ self-esteem by providing an effective system of rewards and praising effort in both work and behaviour.
- ensure our pupils are polite, happy, and considerate of others’ feelings.
- encourage our pupils to respect their own and others’ property.
- foster good citizenship and self-discipline.
- encourage a positive, calm, safe and purposeful atmosphere where pupils can learn and shine!
As a school community, through the taught curriculum as well as through all other opportunities e.g., lunchtimes and extended provision such as After school clubs, we aim to:
- teach specific social skills e.g., sharing, turn taking, listening to each other, how to address people politely, etc.
- teach strategies for children to solve conflict peacefully.
- teach co-operative and collaborative skills to enable children to work effectively as a member of a group.
- enable children to recognise, understand and respond to a range of feelings.
- promote equal opportunities and instil a positive attitude towards differences.
- promote an ethos of peer support.
- ensure the atmosphere in the classroom environment is conducive to learning.
- ensure the children are aware of the consequences of their words and actions towards themselves and others.
“It is the everyday habits of adults that provoke a change in pupils’ behaviour.” Paul Dix
Our Christian Values permeate through every aspect of school life and are promoted through our PHSE and SMSC curriculum and assemblies. Everything we do at St George’s is centred around our Christian Values. The Values are displayed throughout the school in each classroom.
Behaviour for Learning: The St George’s Way
Try Your best, Be Respectful, Stay Safe
We recognise that clear structures of predictable outcomes have the best impact on behaviour.
Our school’s principles for behaviour sets out the rules and visible consistencies that all children and staff follow. Good behaviour is recognised sincerely rather than just rewarded. Children are praised publicly and reminded in private.
Our school has three simple Golden Rules: ‘Try Your Best, Be Respectful and Stay Safe’
These rules are explicitly taught and modelled by all members of our school community. However, we also understand that for some children, following our behaviour expectations are beyond their current developmental level. In this case, these children will have access to bespoke positive behaviour plans, which may include carefully targeted sanctions and rewards to reinforce positive behaviour.