Climate for Learning Policy

Climate for Learning

(2016-17)

Climate For Learning Policy

Contents

PART 1: Introduction

1.1Aims of Policy

PART 2: Academy Responsibilities

2.1. Leadership Responsibilities

2.2 Department Responsibilities

2.3Pastoral Team Responsibilities

2.4Teacher Responsibilities

2.5Student Responsibilities

PART 3: Rewards

3.1. Type of Rewards

3.2 Points System

3.3Celebrating Success

PART 4: Consequences

4.1. Recording Unsatisfactory Behaviour

4.2 Sanctions

4.3Detentions

4.4Consequence System

4.5Serious Incidents (C5)

4.6Screening, Searching & Confiscation

4.7Physical Intervention

4.8Students Who Require Support For Behaviour

4.9Anti – Bullying

4.10Racist Incidents

PART 5: Student Support

5.1. SEND

5.2 Behaviour

5.3Health

5.4Applied Curriculum

5.5Most Able

PART 6: Appendices

Appendix 1

Linked Policies

a) Anti - bullying

b) Racist Incidents

c) Attendance

d) Drugs

e) SEND

f) Pregnant School Girl

g) Safeguarding

h) Intimate Care

i) Supporting Students with Medical Conditions

j) Sex and Relationship Education

Appendix 2

Consequence System

a) Examples of behaviours resulting in consequences

Appendix 3

Miscellaneous

a) Uniform and Equipment

b) Home / School Agreement

Introduction

Our Academy aim: “A safe place where we all promote and enjoy the highest individual achievement”

The aim of this document is to establish clear discipline and rewards procedures that help to create an orderly climate for learning.

It is a primary aim that every member of our community feels valued and respected, and that each person is treated fairly within a climate of mutual trust and respect.

All staff believe that our Academy should provide a caring, positive, safe and stimulating environment that promotes the social, physical and moral development of the individual student.

1.1 Aims

The Academy Climate For Learning aims to:

• Reflect the values expressed in the Academy aim.
• Make clear the positive and constructive rules of conduct as agreed by the board of Trustees, staff, parents and Students.
• Set out the framework for rewarding good and responsible behaviour and the procedures to be followed and sanctions to be applied should behaviour fall short of these standards.

The Objectives of the Academy’s Climate For Learning are to:

• Ensure that the Academy is a safe and supportive environment for all.
• Ensure that all members of the Academy community are shown respect and show respect for others.
• Encourage a positive approach to behaviour by good example and praise and reward for good behaviour.
• Ensure that the environment, curriculum, other factors within the Academy’s control are monitored to ensure the promotion of good behaviour.
• Ensure that where behaviour falls short of accepted standards, procedures are followed and sanctions are applied fairly and consistently.
• As a community it is essential that we recognise that this policy must apply to the behaviour of all its members: to adults (teachers, other staff, parents/carers, and visitors) as well as to Students’ behaviour. Only by example can we teach and demand good standards of behaviour from those whose education is entrusted to us.
• We also recognise that the success of the policy depends on the full support of parents. The Home/School Agreement, (see Appendix A) is reviewed annually. Parents and Students sign the Home/School Agreement annually.

Academy Responsibilities

2.1 Leadership Responsibilities

'To develop the Academy Community to ensure capacity for sustained improvement.'

The Academy’s leadership team and it’s trustee’s will:

• Commit to providing feedback to all stakeholders on issues brought to their attention as soon as practically possible.
• Endeavour to be constructive and professional in feedback to stakeholders on all matters.
• Support all colleagues in implementing the standards and expectations of the Academy, through the consequence and rewards system.
• Through line management hold themselves and their colleagues to account around their professional responsibilities.

2.2 Department Responsibilities

Leader’s and Assistant Leaders of Learning have a responsibility to support staff and students in their department by:

• Ensuring the consequence and rewards systemis being applied consistently and fairly
• Facilitating systems such as removal of students from lessons and the review of class groupings
• Developing reporting systems to analyse the impact of strategies, to be used as part of the Department’s self evaluation
• Liaising with Head’s of Year, Assistant Head Teacher (Student Support), Deputy Head Teacher (Pastoral) and the Lead Behaviour Professional.

2.3 Pastoral Team Responsibilities

Head’s of Year and Assistant Head’s of Year have a responsibility to support staff and students across their year group by:

• Ensuring the consequence and rewards system is being applied consistently and fairly
• Facilitating systems such as removal of students from lessons, report cards, year group detentions etc
• Creating a system to celebrate success for all areas of academic and expansive curriculum
• Supporting Form Tutors in ensuring no student is invisible
• Developing reporting systems to analyse the impact of strategies, to be used as part of the Academy’s self evaluation
• Liaising with Assistant Head Teacher (Student Support), Deputy Head Teacher (Pastoral) and the Lead Behaviour Professional
• Supporting Professional’s within the Student Support Team in order to promote the Academy’s Aims for all students.

2.4 Teacher Responsibilities

Teacher’s have a responsibility to support students in the Academy by:

• Ensuringtheir lesson planning meets the needs of all students in their classes
• Being present to greet all students at the start of the lesson
• Taking an attendance register within the first 10 minutes of a lesson in order to inform the student office of absence
• Maintaining a positive learning environment throughout the lesson
• Ensuring students are not left un-supervised
• Using the consequence and rewards system consistently and fairly, requesting support from Leaders of Learning if required
• Ensuring the classroom is free from litter or damage and displays are consistent with Academy expectations and promote learning for all
• Dismissing students in a calm and orderly manner at the end of the lesson in the correct uniform
• Stepping out of the classroom to supervise behaviour in the corridors

2.5 Student Responsibilities

The Academy is committed to promoting good relationships and mutual respect between all stakeholders. The Academy aims to enable students to fulfil their potential in an environment in which they:

• Acquire high levels of self esteem
• Promote positive attitudes and respect for others and their property
• Develop initiative, purpose and self discipline
• Behave in a co-operative and interdependent manner as part of a supportive Academy community.

Students have the right to:

•A good education and high quality teaching

•Be treated with respect

•Feel safe,no one should physically or verbally threaten or hurt students

•Voice their opinion

•Fair treatment

•Use the Academy buildings, facilities and equipment

In order for the Academy’s aims to be successful Students have a responsibility to:

•Be the best learner they can be and to help others to learn by respecting the learning environment

•Adhere to the Academy’s consequence and reward system and follow the uniform and equipment expectations of the Academy

•Treat others fairly and with courtesy and if they feel they are not being treated respectfully, they have a responsibility to say so or report it

•Be friendly and to sort out disagreements peacefully

•Respect the opinions of others

•Care for the buildings, facilities and equipment

Rewards

The Academy’s use of rewards is a system designed to celebrate success for all, across all areas of the academic and expansive curriculum, with the intention that no student remains invisible.

3.1 Types of Rewards

A variety of rewards can be issued by all staff at the Academy, both teaching and non teaching:

• Simple ‘well done’ or ‘thank you’ to the student at the time of the good behaviour or work
• A positive telephone call home, notes in the Planner
• Reward stickers or stamps
• Points
• Well done post cards
• Certificates of commendation
• Head teacher ‘Excellent Work’ letters & badges
• Certificates in assemblies and celebration evenings

3.2 Points System

The Academy has adopted a points system in which students are rewarded points (1 point per award), which can be used for a variety of end of year activities and prizes. Points are awarded for

•Outstanding work

•Excellent effort

•Attendance

•PAUSE points (Form Tutor points)

•Head of Year points (the Head of Year may choose a theme to promote and award points)

•Leaders of Learning (the Leaders of Learning may choose a theme to promote and award points)

•Senior Leaders (promoting all aspects of Academy life)

Head’s of year and Assistant Head’s of Year are responsible for ensuring no student remains invisible by analysing the use of the points system and it’s impact.

3.3 Celebrating Success

Success will be celebrated in a variety of ways.

Consequences

Whilst actively encouraging and rewarding good behaviour, The Academy makes clear that unsatisfactory behaviour will not be ignored or tolerated. Boundaries are made clear and sanctions are applied when Students do not meet the expectations of the Academy (for all areas of Academy life including attendance, punctuality, equipment, uniform and effort).

A key aim is to encourage students to be responsible for their own behaviour and engage in effective learning at all times. Through our clearly expressed and applied classroom expectations, students should feel that the Academy expects them to behave in a polite and sensible manner and that the responsibility for doing so is theirs. However, when the Academy’s expectations are not met, students, teachers and parents must be aware that there are consequences and sanctions will be applied to such behaviour.

In order for unsatisfactory behaviour to be dealt with effectively, it is considered important to have the fullest picture of a Student's behaviour so that any incident may be seen in the widest possible context. Such information will not only be used in judging what sanction is appropriate but will also inform efforts to identify anyunderlying cause for the behaviour and to work with the Student and their parent / carers in order to improve her/his behaviour in future.

The recording of unsatisfactory behaviour is therefore considered important and helpful.

4.1 Recording Unsatisfactory Behaviour

All unsatisfactory behavior will be recorded on the Academy behaviour system.

During lessons either classroom teachers, cover supervisors or support assistants within the classroom will record the unsatisfactory behaviour. It is the recording staff member’s responsibility to ensure that the appropriate sanction is given to the student and carried out by themselves with the student, with the help from Leaders of Learning or Heads of Year if required.

Unsatisfactory behaviour on the corridor or at break or lunch times will be recorded by the staff member witnessing the behaviour. The responsibility to issue the sanction and ensure it is carried out is that of the Pastoral team for the year group of the student.

4.2 Sanctions

Where a Student does not meet the expectations of the Academy, there should be an appropriate response. The principles of the Academy’s consequence system are set out below:

• Whole groups should not be punished for the activities of individuals. Every effort should be made to identify individuals or ringleaders.
• Sanctions should not be humiliating or degrading
• Punishments should be in proportion to the offence

Students should be clear about why they are being punished and how.A range of sanctions exist, and care is taken to apply the sanction most appropriate to the Student concerned and the nature of the unsatisfactory behaviour. These include:

• Moving a Student's position in class
• Loss of break/lunchtime
• Withdrawal of other privileges
• Detention (see detentions procedure)
• Informing parents by letter, phone call or inviting to a meeting
• Referral to the Head of Year / Assistant Head of Year / Form Tutor
• Being placed on report card
• Isolating Students by removing them from class for a time (only with approval of the HOY & LOL)
• Drawing up a contract for improving behaviour / attendance / effort etc
• Issuing a formal warning
• Internal exclusion – ‘The Bridge’
• Fixed Term Exclusion
• Off site / On site alternative education provision
• Permanent Exclusion

4.3 Detentions

There is no legal requirement to give 24 hours notice for detentions, however for detentions longer than 10 minutes issued the same day, every effort will be made to contact the student’s parents / carers.

Detentions may be set for repeated lateness to the Academy or lessons, for unsatisfactory work or behaviour, or for work or homework not completed.

Where detentions of 20 minutes or more are given, the parents/ carers will be notified via the Student Planner or a telephone call home.

It is the student's responsibility to ensure that his/her parents / carers are made aware of the detention time and date.

Departments will have their own arrangements for holding detentions for unsatisfactory work, behaviour, homework, or lateness to lessons. When detentions are set, the teacher setting the detention must, in addition to informing the parents log it on behaviour watch. This ensures that the Pastoral Teams can monitor the Student’s behaviour and implement strategies to support them.

4.4 Consequence System

4.5 Serious Incidents (C5)

During Lessons

Should a member of staff encounter a serious incident within a lesson, then there are different courses of action which can be followed depending on the seriousness of the incident:

• Relocation of the student to the Head of Year or Leader of Learning and, where possible, by prior arrangement
• The Student should be sent, and accompanied by a Support Assistant (if possible) to another member of staff. This should only be done if the whereabouts of the other member of staff is known
• The staff member sending the Student must follow this up by: Logging the incident in theBehaviour system as soon as practically possible
• Consulting with the Leader of Learning and / or Head of Year as soon as practically possible

Should the Student refuse to leave the room or if the incident is so serious that relocation is neither appropriate nor adequate, then the alternative course should be followed:

• The member of staff should send another Student to the Student office and use the on call system to request support from the Assistant Head of Year / On call duty staff

• The member of staff concerned must follow up by recording the incident in Behaviour Watch
• A serious incident is one in which a Student is openly challenging the authority of a member of staff with sustained rudeness or other unacceptable behaviour, which makes it impossible for the member of staff to continue with the lesson or which poses a threat to the safety of the Students or the teacher.

Social times / corridor

Should a member of staff encounter a serious incidentduring social time or on the corridor, then there are different courses of action which can be followed:

• Accompany the student to the Head of Year office / student office where they will call for the appropriate pastoral team member
• The member of staff concerned must follow up by recording the incident in Behaviour Watch as soon as practically possible

If the student refuses to accompany the member of staff then:

• The member of staff must inform the student office immediately in order for the appropriate pastoral team members to be informed
• The member of staff concerned must follow up by recording the incident in Behaviour Watch as soon as practically possible

4.6 Screening, Searching and Confiscation

The Academy follows the DfE guidelines (2011) and Education and Inspections Act (2006) on screening, searching and confiscation, however we do not currently screen students.

Without Consent Search

It is a criminal offence to have a knife or offensive weapon on school premises (it is a defense to be carrying one for educational or other lawful purpose). If a student is suspected of carrying a weapon, the Academy has the authority to do a without consent search. The Academy has decided to carry out searches with consent only and if a Student does not consent to a search then the Academy will opt for one of the following:

• Request parent / carer attend the Academy and search the student or
• Call the police to carry out the search

With Consent Search

The Academy has the authority to carry out a search for weapons, items which have been stolen or which may be used to carry out an offence (this includes cigarettes, lighters and e-cigarettes). Where a Student consents to a search the following protocol will be observed:

• Two members of staff will be present
• The Student will be questioned first
• If questioning confirms suspicion, the Student will be asked to surrender the item
• If suspicion remains then the Student will be asked to remove outer clothing and to empty bags, pockets etc. At no point will an intimate search or ‘patting down’ take place
• Searches will take place in privacy where possible and will be sensitive to race, culture, religion etc.

After the search:

• The incident will be recorded on Behaviour Watch. Trustees will be informed annually of the number of searches
• The item will be confiscated
• If the confiscated item is illegal the Police will be informed and the item delivered to them as soon as possible.

Information regarding searches will include:

• Name, Year, Sex and ethnicity of Student searched
• Grounds for search
• Time and Place
• Who carried out the search
• Who else was present
• How the search began and progressed
• Students response
• Outcomes and follow up actions

Nominated Senior members of staff and Pastoral Teams are eligible to carry out searches.