Behaviour Policy

Bourne Community College

Behaviour for Learning Policy

The purpose of the behaviour policy is to support the philosophy and educational and other aims of the College and to ensure that the conduct of all members of the College community is consistent with the values of the College.  At Bourne Community College everyone is responsible for behaviour.

Entitlements and Responsibilities

Children and Young People

All children and young people should be entitled to:

• educational provision that meets their needs and enables them to enjoy their learning, be safe and healthy and make a positive contribution to their schools and to the wider community;

• sustained, high quality educational provision regardless of gender, race, class, sexual orientation or disability;

• a creative and flexible curriculum that stimulates learning and encourages engagement;

• be taught in environments that are conducive to learning and free from disruption;

• healthy foods in College;

• be free from circumstances in which they are bullied, ignored, ridiculed, or subjected to any forms of discrimination; and to

• have their voices heard, to be listened to and to know where to go to share their concerns.

All students have a responsibility to:

• work to the best of their ability

• show, through their behaviour and their language, respect and consideration for teachers, support staff and other students;

• take proper care of books, equipment and the school environment generally: and

• accept and support the College’s discipline polices and norms of behaviour.

Teachers

Teachers should be able to enjoy teaching, without being subject to the stresses caused by unacceptable student behaviour.  Teachers should be entitled to:

• regular professional development on behaviour strategies;

• a clearly defined range of available disciplinary measures and sanctions

• clear guidelines and professional development on:  what to do in a disciplinary crisis, including guidelines covering intervention in fights or disputes between students; the use of physical restraint; sexist, racist and homophobic harassment; unacceptable language; and recording and logging incidents of violent or poor behaviour;

• the necessary time within the College day to share information experiences and effective strategies on meeting the behavioural needs of individual students; and

• freedom from verbal abuse, threats or physical assaults within their working environment.

• consulted fully on the behaviour policies of the College.


Teachers should be entitled to know:

• where to turn when they need support;

• the arrangements in place when students are removed from the classroom; and

• the arrangements for supporting and protecting staff who may be working on their own before and at the end of the College day.


Teachers are entitled to:

• a strong lead from the headteacher and those with leadership and management responsibilities who provide close support to staff;

• the support of teams of trained and committed support staff;

• work in an environment where the ethos is supportive of teaching and learning; and

• effective security arrangements, particularly when working in remote classrooms and when on their own.


Teachers have an entitlement to work in conditions that enable teaching to be at its most effective.  Those conditions should include:

• appropriate class and group sizes, with counselling and personalised tuition available to young people at key points in their school lives;

• an up-to-date teaching and learning environment;

• effective health and safety policies which protect the health, safety and welfare of all those in the school community;

• sufficient up-to-date books, materials and equipment to meet the learning needs of all those in the school community; and

• sufficient up-to-date information and communication technology (ICT), such that all young people have ready and immediate access to that technology.


Teachers have a responsibility to:

• respect the children and young people they teach;

• be committed to and have high expectations of students’ learning;

• encourage good behaviour and respect for others;

• prevent all forms of bullying amongst students;

• keep their students safe;

• seek support and advice about how to promote positive behaviour;

• keep parents informed of their children’s educational and social progress; and

• work as part of a team with other teachers and support staff.


Parents have a right to expect from the College:

• high quality education, whatever their children’s learning needs, including full information on their progress;

• full consultation on College policies, including the behaviour policy;

• detailed information on how they promote positive behaviour and what they can do to help; and

• the facility to discuss and resolve any concerns.


Parents have a responsibility to support their children’s College by:

• encouraging their children to recognise the importance of education and learning;

• backing the application of the behaviour policy and their systems of incentives, rewards and sanctions;

• insisting that their children pay proper respect to teachers and support staff;

• preparing their children for school, including providing breakfast and the conditions for a good night’s sleep;

• taking all reasonable steps to ensure that their children carry out work set for them;

• respecting staff, students and the College environment; and by

• not behaving aggressively or violently towards staff.


College Governing Bodies

The College body have a right to be involved and contribute to the formulation of the behaviour policy of the College.  Their insights and contributions should be valued and fully taken into account.

The College governing body has a responsibility to play its part in ensuring that the health and safety of the entire school community is not undermined or jeopardised.

The College governing body has a responsibility for contributing to the positive ethos of the school and to the College’s work in enhancing students’ learning.


The College Community
The College’s Behaviour Policy is updated regularly.  It is the product of, and made known fully to, the whole College community.  It should be applied fairly and consistently and be followed by all students, staff, parents and, as appropriate, visitors to the College.


Behaviours we expect
The College uses a system of Behaviour for Learning which clearly describes the behaviour we expect, the consequences of not meeting these expectations and the positive rewards we give to acknowledge and praise students who work within the rules.

Behaviours which are unacceptable
The College recognises that there are a range of behaviours which are inconsistent with the College rules.  The College also recognises that some behaviours are trivial (but nevertheless undesirable) other behaviours are moderately serious and a few behaviours are considered as being very serious.  The College also emphasises that repeated misbehaviour is treated as significantly more serious than one-off instances.

Low level or trivial behaviours will include shouting out, eating in class, arriving late, running inside, time-wasting, failure to help clear away, etc.

Moderately serious behaviours will include graffiti, kicking, refusal to follow instructions, lying, spoiling other student’s work, rudeness, etc.

Very serious behaviours will include physical assault against another student or an adult, verbal abuse/threatening behaviour against another student or adult, bullying, racist abuse, sexual misconduct, drug and alcohol related offences, damage to College property or personal property, theft, persistent disruptive behaviour and any other behaviours considered to be very serious by the Headteacher and Governing Body.


Responding to unacceptable behaviour

The College uses stepped approach to responding to unacceptable behaviour.  Staff aim to match the level of their response to the degree of seriousness of the misbehaviour:-

Low level behaviour –
• advice and counselling
• verbal warning
• student kept in during break
• 15 minute lunchtime detention
• other behaviour management strategies available to staff

Moderately poor behaviours –
• advice and counselling
• verbal warning
• short detentions
• after-College detentions
• other behaviour management strategies available to staff
• ‘On Report’

Very poor behaviours –
• advice and counselling
• verbal warning
• after-College detentions
• internal exclusion for a fixed period of time (if facilities are available)
• external exclusions for a fixed period of time
• permanent exclusion

The student support system is used to monitor and review behaviour.  Students who repeatedly display poor behaviour and do not respond to the available sanctions will be moved up to the next level.  

Parents will be informed when the behaviour of a student causes concern over a period of time and will need to be increasingly involved if behaviour becomes more serious.


Students who persist with inappropriate behaviour

The College acknowledges that in some cases there are extenuating circumstances, which may have an impact upon a student’s behaviour, and that these circumstances need to be taken into account.

The College will provide additional guidance, support and monitoring of these students through its curriculum, student support and Learning Development Teams and may need to seek additional specialist advice from other agencies such as the Educational Psychology Service, Education Welfare Service, Police, Youth Offending Team, Connexions, Behaviour Support Team, Child and Mental Health Service.  These students are likely to be discussed at termly Planning and Review Meetings, which are multi-agency meetings.  Parents would need to be involved on a regular basis.

In accordance with the Exclusion Guidance issued by the Department for Education and Skills (2002) the College may permanently exclude a student for:-

Monitoring and Evaluation of the Behaviour Policy

The Behaviour Policy will be monitored and regularly reviewed


Addendum 1

The College has a zero tolerance towards students who are thought to be under the influence of alcohol and/or illegal substances or who bring them onto college premises, either for personal use or for supplying others.  Students who carry, use or are found with illegal substances could be permanently excluded from the College.

Behaviour Policy Leaflet