Behaviour & Safety Policy
Date prepared January 2020
Adopted by Board Version 1 January 2020
Implementation Date Immediate
Frequency of Review Annually
Review Date September 2021
Signature of CEO: Signature of Chair of Trustees
Tom Quinn Frank Field
‘To act justly, to love with mercy and to walk humbly with our God’- Micah 6:8
Behaviour and Safety Policy Contents
Introduction & Vision 1
Principles 2
Aims 3
Rationale 4
Praise & Rewards 5
Class Charts 6
Consistency Across the Classroom 10
Referral Summary 11
Bullying 18
Inclusion 21
Appendices 22
1
Introduction
This is a statement of policy for The Ellesmere Port Church of England College. It provides guidelines for the standards of behaviour and moral virtues expected in the College and for the procedures adopted by the College and its governors when students behave in ways that fall short of these expected standards. This policy attempts to ensure that all behaviour is consistent with the College's Mission Statement “To act justly, to love with mercy and to walk humbly with our God” Micah 6:8 and our Trust motto “Aspire not to have more but to be more”.
We are dedicated to ensuring that our College environment supports learning and the wellbeing of students and staff through a strong sense of Christian community cohesion. Courage, justice, honesty, compassion, gratitude, humility, integrity and respect are the moral virtues within our Christian community and we work hard to provide a safe College where students feel included in every aspect of College life and comfortable to voice their opinions.
This policy outlines what we expect from all our students in terms of their behaviour, and the sanctions that will be enforced if this policy is not adhered to.
Good behaviour and self-discipline have strong links to effective learning, and are vital for students to carry with them both during and after their College years in line with the ‘Be more’ experience.
2
Principles
Matthew 18:21, 22. Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven."
We believe our behaviour policy is underpinned by our Moral Virtues within our Christian context:
Moral Virtues
Justice - “Grant justice and do what is fair” Colossians 4:1 Definition: the quality of being fair and reasonable.
Humility - “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord” James 4:10
Definition: the quality of having a modest or unarrogant view of one's own importance.
Respect - “Do to others as you would have them do to you” Luke 6:31
Definition: the quality of having due regard for the feelings, wishes, or rights of others.
Courage - “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid” Joshua 1:9 Definition: the quality of having strength in the face of difficulty.
Integrity - “The godly walk with integrity” Proverbs 20:7
Definition: the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.
Compassion - “Clothe yourselves with compassion” Colossians 3:12
Definition: the quality of feeling pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others.
Honesty - “He delights in those that tell the truth” Proverbs 12:22 Definition: the quality of being truthful.
Gratitude - “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good: his love endures forever” Psalm 107:2
Definition: the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.
3
Aims
The Ellesmere Port Church of England College believes that all pupils should be aware of the standards of behaviour, Gospel values and moral virtues that are expected of them and take responsibility for promoting these. We hope that, by encouraging positive behaviour patterns, we can promote good relationships throughout the College built on mutual respect, forgiveness, humility and integrity, and that, through the use of this policy, we can support all of our pupils in developing a high level of social awareness. Our aim is to ensure that all our pupils leave the College with the key skills, moral virtues and a continued awareness of the Christian faith and Gospel values that they need to continue to progress to the best of their ability in all areas of life.
• Positive behaviour is affirmed through the rewards systems of the College
• The behaviour, and not the pupil, is the focus of the discussion
• Justice, respect, forgiveness and firmness are used consistently
• The balance between justice and compassion is needed to get the best out of each pupil
• Rules are applied with integrity and respect
• Appropriate behaviour is modelled
The purpose of this policy is to produce a working document which reflects the current needs of the College. The policy is intended to build upon previous practice and has been the result of review, evaluation and consultation within the forum of a working party.
The policy aims to put strategies in place which help develop a positive culture of praise, reward and gratitude within the College, where pupils feel empowered and are able to successfully manage their own behaviour.
4
Rationale
The rationale behind the policy is that behaviour is a choice: pupils learn that positive and negative behaviour leads to positive and negative consequences respectively.
Equally important is that the policy is rooted in our moral virtue of respect - where staff speak and act courteously to pupils and so educate students to show similar respect towards staff and each other, also to have courage and honesty in reflecting on positive and negative behaviour.
It is important that all stakeholders, that is, staff, pupils and parents understand that when a pupil behaves unacceptably, it is the behaviour that is seen as unacceptable, not the pupil.
The policy aims to instil a sense of ‘ownership’ and responsibility for behaviour from all: staff, pupils and parents; the College aims to communicate and work with parents in order that parents may have a true picture of their child’s behaviour so that they can contribute to their success as much as possible.
It is important that staff understand the importance of using a wide range of preventative and intervention strategies when dealing with behaviour. It is important to remember that teaching and learning go hand in hand with behaviour, and that it is often the well planned, correctly pitched, and engaging lessons which promote positive behaviour which enables and encourages positive attitudes to learning.
At The Ellesmere Port Church of England College, we aim to keep parents and carers as informed and up to date as possible with regards to their child’s behaviour.
We recognise that working in partnership with parents and carers can facilitate improvements in behaviour and how our vision statement forms the bedrock of our policies. Relevant personnel will communicate with parents and carers at every point. This is how we build our Christian Community. The restorative justice element within our behaviour policy is crucial to the success of this.
Our responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of young people is of paramount importance and we believe that safer pupils make successful learners.
5
Praise & Rewards
It is very important to recognise effort, hard work and success. Our rewards system at The Ellesmere Port Church of England College is called Class Charts, and ensures all students have the opportunity to have their efforts and achievements recognised and rewarded in line with our moral virtue of gratitude.
Points will be awarded by all staff through Class Charts for various reasons, including (but not limited to): recognition of good effort within the classroom, positive contributions, excellent homework, acts of kindness, moral virtues (LORIC) etc. In addition, points will be awarded every week for 100% attendance.
Totals will be highlighted in assemblies and newsletters.
Points are added to individual pupil accounts via the electronic system.
Rewards Assemblies
To celebrate success and reward achievement, students will attend a Rewards Assembly at the end of each Learning Programme. This is an important highlight of the calendar for both students and their teachers. Certificates and prizes are awarded for attendance, punctuality, FFET Awards (centred around the 8 moral virtues) and achievement in individual subjects. There are also special Form Tutor awards and Heads of Learning awards.
We also encourage the recognition of sustained achievement and effort by individual pupils through the presentation of a range of awards at the annual Presentation Evening, where achievements are celebrated in a public forum with parents, staff, governors and a guest speaker.
Gratitude - “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good: his love endures forever”
Psalm 107:2
Definition: the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.
6
Class Charts
As part of our essential partnership with parents, we have invested in a new behaviour monitoring system called ‘Class Charts’.
Class Charts is an online system which teachers use to track achievement and behaviour throughout the school day. We believe in working closely with parents, and one of the key benefits of using Class Charts is that we are able to securely share pupils’
achievement and behaviour report with staff. Both positive and negative behaviours are logged, and this will enable staff to celebrate pupils’ success in class, and to intervene where necessary.
Staff are asked to log behaviour incidents through Class Charts as per our behaviour policy and then to follow up as per our policy. Detentions, although logged on Class Charts, still need to be written in planners. Level 3 forms still need to be filled in as needed as per policy and handed to Line Managers. HOD and HOL are asked to contact home as per the policy to alert parents and then to log communication on Class Charts. HOL will track and monitor Class Charts daily.
Class Charts is used to allow staff, parents and pupils to view, track and log all behaviours both in and out of class.
7 Seating plans should be set up and maintained for all classes
Positive and negative behaviour can be logged for all pupils.
8 Full Pupil reports can be viewed and analysed by staff.
Positive and negative points are organised into specific folders. 1 – Class teachers, 2 – TLR holders and 3 – SLT.
9 An example sub folder. A comment or note can be added.
Further details and information, including detentions can be issued for all pupils.
10
11
Referral Summary
All incidents be logged on Class Charts
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13
14
15
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Bullying
Ellesmere Port Church of England College wants to make sure that all pupils feel safe and accepted into our College community. Our policy is one of inclusion and equality; bullying of any kind is regarded as a serious breach of our behaviour policy and will not be tolerated.
Bullying can take various forms including verbal, non-verbal, physical, visual, cyberbullying, written and the use of inappropriate language; these can be directed at both staff and students. The College practises a preventative strategy to reduce the chances of bullying, and our anti-bullying policy is instilled in our vision, our curriculum and everything we do at the College. It is made very clear to pupils what is expected of them in terms of respecting their peers, members of the public, and staff, and any intentional breach of this will result in disciplinary action. In line with our vision and moral virtues and ‘Be more’ curriculum.
We identify the following types of behaviour, persistently aimed at one individual, as bullying:
• Physical – hitting, pushing, using aggressive body language etc.
• Verbal – name calling, insults, making nasty comments, starting or passing on rumours, threats to a pupil’s face or behind his/her back.
• Non-verbal – looks, gestures, body language.
• Cyberbullying - inappropriate posts, photographs, videos, email, chat rooms, text messages or other social media.
• Written – notes, letters.
• Visual – using a mobile phone to take inappropriate pictures of another student.
• Inappropriate language – racist, sexist, homophobic, transgender.
If an allegation of bullying does arise, the College will:
• take it seriously
• endeavour to use restorative justice at all time
• act as quickly as possible to establish the facts
• record and report the incident; depending on how serious the case is, it may be reported to the Principal
• provide support and reassurance to the victim
• make it clear to the ‘bully’ that this behaviour will not be tolerated. If there is a group of people involved, they will be spoken to individually and as a whole group. It is important that pupils who have harmed another, either physically or emotionally, redress their actions with a focus on restorative justice, and the College will make sure that they understand what they have done and the impact of their actions. ensure that if a sanction is used, it will correlate to the severity of the incident and the ‘bully’ will be told why it is being used
• consider a fixed term exclusion in cases of repeated bullying.
The procedures for referring a bullying incident are outlined on the next page.
Respect - “Do to others as you would have them do to you” Luke 6:31
Definition: the quality of having due regard for the feelings, wishes or rights of others.
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Inclusion
We endeavour to achieve maximum inclusion of all pupils (including vulnerable learners) whilst meeting their individual needs.
Teachers provide differentiated learning opportunities for all the pupils within the College and provide materials appropriate to pupil’s interests and abilities. This ensures that all pupils have a full access to the curriculum.
Aims and Objectives of this Policy
The aims of our inclusion policy and practice in our College are:
• To provide curriculum access for all
• To secure high levels of achievement for all
• To meet individual needs through a wide range of provision
• To attain high levels of satisfaction and participation from pupils, parent and carers
• To carefully map provision for all vulnerable learners to ensure that staffing deployment, resource allocation and choice of intervention is leading to positive learning outcomes.
• To ensure a high level of staff expertise to meet pupil need, through well targeted continuing professional development.
• To promote pupils’ self-esteem and emotional well-being and help them to form and maintain worthwhile relationships based on respect for themselves and others.
If pupils with identified/diagnosed special educational needs are experiencing difficulties then a graduated response to needs will be adopted.
In the first instance school-based strategies, including reasonable adjustments/
modifications, will be utilised under the guidance on the SEND team. The impact of these strategies is then reviewed. If desired outcomes are not achieved then the involvement of outside agencies will be considered in consultation with parents and carers to inform next steps.
Justice - “Grant justice and do what is fair” Colossians 4:1 Definition: the quality of being fair and reasonable
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Appendices
1. Referral to Head of Department P23
2. Contacting Parents P24
3. Letters Home Procedure P25
4. Sample Behaviour Improvement Plan P26
5. SLT Emergency Call-Out P27-28
6. Emmaus Centre P29
7. Fixed term and Permanent Exclusion P31
8. Recording Incidents P32
9. Sample Incident Report Forms P33
Appendix 1
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Level 2 - Referral to Head of Department
1. A student should be sent to HOD in the first instance if he/she is causing persistent disruption which prevents the learning of others
(this is a Level 2 referral).
2. A student should only be removed if the class teacher has used appropriate strategies to stop the inappropriate behaviour.
3. The student should be sent by the class teacher with a yellow lanyard, and the HOD notified of the removal by way of note in the student planner.
4. Should the removed student fail to arrive, HOD should contact SLT on emergency call.
5. Should SLT find the student, the student will be placed with HOD. Refusal to co- operate with SLT will result in a Level 3 referral and placement in the Emmaus Centre. Restorative justice will take place and Chapel reflection time period 5.
Responsibility for dealing with the students lies with the HOD, not SLT.
All members of each department need to know where the HOD is at all times. The HOD should be available to accommodate the removal of students.
In the case of large departments where there is/are TLR Postholder(s) in the department, if the HOD is unavailable for a particular reason, departmental staff should be notified and arrangements made for removal to the TLR postholder(s) in the department.
Appendix 2
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Contacting Parents
Level 1 concerns by phone or planner
• Classroom Teacher
• Form Tutor
Level 2 concerns by phone, planner, letter or meeting
• Head of Department
• Head of Learning
Level 3 concerns by phone, letter or meeting
• SLT line manager and/or HOD/HOL depending on the incident
At level 2 and 3 the Line Manager should be informed for overview purposes if not already involved.
All letters must be quality assured in line with college protocol (see flow chart Appendix 3).
Parental meetings
These should only be held in liaison with HOD, HOL and SLT line manager.
It is important that HODs, HOLs and SLT try and involve the member of staff who initiated the referral whenever possible.
Appendix 3
25
Letters Home Procedure
Appendix 4
26
Behaviour Improvement Plan
Appendix 5
27
SLT Emergency Callout
28
SLT Emergency Call-Out (cont’d)
It is important that SLT Emergency call-out is only used in an emergency.
The HOD must be aware of the callout and ideally make the call when possible.
For example:
• Out of control behaviour
• Dangerous behaviour
• Walking out of lesson
• Collect a phone/electronic device
Wherever possible, the HOD should make the Emergency callout (if, for example, a fight takes place in a classroom or there is any other urgent safeguarding issue, then the subject teacher should make the call, informing HOD as soon as possible). The HOD must give specific details of the request for SLT assistance. A senior colleague will attend to the request as soon as she/he is available.
Appendix 6
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Emmaus Centre
After his resurrection, Jesus appeared to two disciples who were walking together on the road to Emmaus. They didn’t recognize him, but he helped them see how the Scriptures pointed to himself as the Messiah. Even though we don’t see Jesus and even when it seems like all hope is lost, Jesus is still at work in our lives! “The Lord has risen indeed” – Luke 24:34
The decision and authorisation to place pupils in the Emmaus Centre lies with the Senior Leadership Team.
Once placed in the Emmaus Centre, pupils remain until a decision is made on the sanction of the incident. This may be further day(s) in the Emmaus
Centre or a Fixed Term Exclusion
Procedure:
1. In an emergency, pupils should be taken to the Emmaus centre by the member of staff who is on call.
2. Following a Level 3 incident a Level 3 referral (pink form) MUST be completed by the appropriate HOD/HOL and passed to the SLT Line Manager as a matter of urgency.
3. The incident is then discussed with the SLT Line Manager and the
Principal/Director of standards before a decision is made on the sanction.
4. A summary is produced which must include the reason for the placement in the Emmaus Centre and the length of stay.
5. The incident should be discussed with the Head of Learning and Learning Coach for that year group so that they are aware of all referrals.
6. When an Emmaus Centre sanction is ‘planned’ in advance as a sanction the HOL/HOD may be asked to inform parents.
7. Admin staff complete the standard letter to parents informing of the sanction. The letter is signed by the Line Manager for the year group.
8. A copy of the letter is given to the HOL and Learning Coach for information. The incident is recorded on Emmaus Centre log by Emmaus Centre Manager. Parents may be invited in for a meeting if appropriate.
9. A copy of the letter is given to the HOL and Learning Coach for information. The incident is recorded on the Emmaus Centre tracker by the Emmaus Manager.
Parents may be invited in for a meeting if appropriate. Restorative justice process begins.
Appendix 6
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Holding Pupils for investigation – Pupils can be held in the Emmaus whilst an investigation into an incident takes place. Whilst it is essential for this to take place quickly, it is imperative for it to be thorough. Holding and investigation can be used to avoid the period in the Emmaus Centre becoming a sanction. During an investigation a pupil may be asked to complete a yellow summary of incident form
(sample at Appendix 9)
It is vital that all referrals and incident summaries are completed on the appropriate forms including appropriate signatures and dates.
Appendix 7
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Exclusion Fixed term Exclusion
Exclusion is at the discretion of the College Principal only.
Parents are contacted within 24 hours of the Principal’s decision to exclude by telephone and by registered letter.
The Ellesmere Port College Church of England College follow the DFE guidelines on exclusions.
A post exclusion meeting with the Principal / SLT, the parent and the student must take place before the student returns to mainstream lessons. HOL and/ or Learning Coach to attend this meeting at the discretion of the Principal.
Permanent Exclusion
The decision to exclude a pupil permanently is a serious one. It will usually be the final step in a process for dealing with disciplinary offences following a wide range of other strategies, which have been tried without success. It is an acknowledgement by the College that it has exhausted all available strategies for dealing with the pupil and should normally be used as a last resort.
There will, however, be exceptional circumstances where, in the Principal’s judgement, it is appropriate to permanently exclude a pupil for a first
‘one-off’ offence.
Appendix 8
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Reporting and recording incidents
All incidents and statements must be completed on the appropriate forms including signature and date
.
Level 3: Responsibility for action - SLT
A Level 3 referral must be completed by the member of staff reporting
• ie. HOD/HOL. (sample Appendix 9)
• The incident should first be discussed with HOD (curriculum issue), HOL (pastoral issue) prior to SLT referral.
• The HOD/HOL must then discuss the issue with the SLT line manager (exceptional cases may require immediate referral to SLT), providing the appropriate paperwork by the end of the day of the incident.
• The incident must be logged on Class Charts by the SLT member as a Level 3 incident.
If a pupil summary of incident form is requested by SLT, the standard yellow summary of incident form must be used and signed by the pupil writing the summary
and the member of staff present when the summary was written. (sample at Appendix 9)
The SLT member must discuss the incident with the Principal/Director of Standards before a decision on the Emmaus Centre sanction is made. The Assistant Principal will complete the remainder of the form with the reason for and length of sanction and place in the office for completion by office staff. An additional incident report summary may be completed by the SLT member, if there is more than one incident.
Appendix 9
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Appendix 9
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