Belmont Park School

Behaviour Policy

September 2016

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Behaviour for Learning at Belmont Park School What are the purposes of the Behaviour for Learning policy?      

To improve standards of behaviour in the learning environment To encourage students to take responsibility for their own actions To support staff in a consistent and clear way. To communicate to students what good behaviour means To use constant positive reinforcement in the pursuit of high standards of work and behaviour To provide a clear set of rewards and sanctions which all students, parents/carers and staffunderstand Our Philosophy Belmont Park is a school for students with special educational needs. All of our students have some degree of Social, Emotional or Mental Health Difficulties and can display extremely challenging behaviour.

Our aim is to increase academic attainment and improve the behaviour and social skills of our students. Good behaviour is promoted through a programme of positive rewards. We praise the behaviour we want to encourage. Staff model high standards of behaviour and are positive role models. We treat each other with respect and in this way an atmosphere is created in which students feel safe, valued and appreciated, learning takes place and good behaviour is promoted. We have the highest expectations of students and we want to see young people progress to further education or employment. Students are held responsible for the choices they make regarding their behaviour and must adhere to school rules. We recognise that each student is different and may demonstrate different types of challenging behaviour. For this reason we develop individual personalised behaviour strategies. Student may also have different triggers which all staff need to be aware of and these need to be identified and incorporated into individual student deescalation plans, this is placed in each students file. Our main emphasis is on rewarding good behaviour and staff ensure that students receive rewards every time they earn them. This could be a good letter or phone call home from a teacher or mentor, a certificate from the Headteacher, a class trip to the café or playing pool at lunch time. Each student has to meet certain targets set by the teacher and mentor in order to be rewarded. 2

HIGH EXPECTATIONS When our students leave Belmont Park School it is usually to attend college, or the world of work through apprenticeships. Our task is to prepare students effectively for that experience. Consequently our expectations of behaviour and the standards to which we aspire, are that of a good mainstream school. Of course the methods, resources and level of support to reach and sustain those standards are different, as are the consequences for various misbehaviours. The amount of time and type of support, for students to achieve the emotional security, behavioural control and social skills necessary to fully integrate post 16, will vary according to the student’s individual need. Our objective, aspirations and expectations must facilitate this, which is why we have expanded our curriculum to include life skills such as personal and social development to equip students with the skills needed to cope in further education and training.

The Contribution of Parents/Carers to Good Behaviour. Belmont Park School expects parents/carers to:      

Follow the principles of the school behaviour policy. Work together with the school to ensure their child follows instructions and school rules. Send their child to school punctually every day, properly clothed, rested and fed. Inform the school of any SEN‐related (Special Educational Needs) or other personal factors which may make it difficult for their child to behave in an appropriate manner. Be supportive and take an active interest in their Childs experiences in school Attend meetings with school staff, if requested, to discuss their child’s behaviour and progress.

The Contribution of Students to Good Behaviour. Belmont Park School expects students to:          

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Arrive on time to school every day, fully equipped and wearing school uniform. Have a positive attitude at all times towards staff, students and the school environment. Act as positive ambassadors for the school when off school premises. Never harm, put down or bully any member of the school community. Listen to and be respectful of the opinions, views and beliefs of other members of the schoolcommunity. Co‐operate with all members of the school community. Co‐operate with systems in place designed to promote positive behaviour. Follow school rules. Not bring inappropriate or unlawful items to school including weapons and illegal substances. We actively seek to include our students in the promotion and maintenance of a calm, healthy and purposeful environment.

Monitoring Behaviour, Personalised Targets and the Points System The point system is used to monitor individual student behaviour. Each student can earn a maximum of 15 points for meeting three personalised targets in each lesson. An extra 10 pointscould be earned in the morning for punctuality. Maximum points of a 100 could be earned each day. Teachers and mentors must discuss and agree points rewarded to students in each lesson. Targets must be clear and achievable and reviewed on a regular basis to be tailored to individual student’s needs. Points cannot be taken away from students once they have been earned. Points are accumulated and each student may obtain a weekly reward or a reward at the end of the term relating the total number of points. Weekly rewards could consist of a good letter or phonecall home from a Teacher or Mentor, a certificate of achievement from the Headteacher, a trip to the café or playing pool at lunch time. End of term trips are decided by the school council.

School rules: Belmont Park School has rules relating to all aspects of the daily running of the school which are linked to respecting each other and the health and safety of staff and students.    

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Mobile phones are not allowed in classroom or during lunch time and must be handed in to a member of staff in the morning. Phones are kept safe in the office and will be returned after school. Smoking is forbidden on site. Any cigarettes, lighters and other paraphernalia will be confiscated and destroyed, they will not be returned to students under any circumstances. If a student is caught smoking on school grounds they will be given a verbal warning by the Headteacher, if this happens a second time parents will be informed and fixed term exclusion will be considered. Any student who is believed to be, or suspected to be under the influence of drugs will be seen by a first aider. Parents will be contacted and asked to collect their son or daughter from school. The possession of drugs or the use thereof could result in a fixed term exclusion. Parents or carers will be held responsible and accountable for the well-being of their child and upon collection of the student an open conversation between the Headteacher, student and parent will determine the outcome. If a parent is unwilling to collect their son or daughter, Police or other professional services will be involved to ensure the safeguarding and well-being of the student. Belmont Park is a healthy school and we do not allow any sweets, chewing gum or fizzy drinks on school premises, these will also be confiscated by a member of staff and not returned. Racist, sexist and homophobic comments are unacceptable and any student using this type of language will be spoken to by the Headteacher and given an appropriate sanction. It is the responsibility of mentors and teachers to consistently record and report such incidents. The incident will be placed in the student file and used as evidence in the event of an exclusion.

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Staff should deplore this language and make a note of it on the point sheets to be sent home each week. Parents/carers should be informed of the language via phone call from the staff member involved. Students are expected to treat each other with respect. Bullying is also not acceptable and can result in exclusion. Bullying is deliberate, hurtful behaviour such as name-calling, insulting, taking belongings, intimidating, threatening, kicking or hitting someone. Cyber bullying by students via email, social media sites and texts will be treated as serious and may result in exclusion. Students caught filming or cyber stalking staff members may also be excluded and could result in police involvement. Students must wear school uniform, this would consist of a Belmont Park School polo shirt, black trousers and black leather shoes or black trainers. If students are not in the correct uniform, parents will be contacted and where possible the student will be sent home to get the correct uniform. Girls should not wear heavy makeup or lipstick and should not wear false or painted nails. Jewellery apart from stud earrings, should not be worn in school. Jewellery will be confiscated in the first instance and returned at the end of the day. If there are further incident jewellery will only be returned when parent/carer collects it. Damage to property has to be repaired and parents/carers will be invoiced for any damage caused. Students who assault other students or staff will receive a fixed term exclusion or appropriate sanction decided by the Headteacher. Police may also be involved. It is the staff’s responsibility to report and record such incidents in detail using a serious incident form that are located in the office. Students are searched on a daily basis, to ensure there are no inappropriate items in school and to safeguard all staff and students. A student who brings an offensive weapon into school will be excluded and police will be involved. If a student is involved in a serious incident where they have been excluded, parents or cares are invited into school and must attend a meeting with the Headteacher to discuss and resolve the situation. Serious crimes or assaults are reported to the police and CCTV recordings may be handed over. We have a dedicated Police Officer attached to the school and he is able to support us in deciding the seriousness of student’s actions. Play-fighting is not allowed in school, play-fighting easily leads to real fighting and physical injury. Staff are not allowed to play-fight with any student or to condone this type of behaviour. Students that play-fight will be subject to mentoring in the 1:1 mentoring room. Parents may be called into school. If students persistently play-fight, a fixed term exclusion will be considered. If a student has persistent disruptive behaviour in the classroom, then the teacher and mentor must decide together whether a student should be asked to leave the classroom and to work elsewhere. Advice should be sought at this point from the student support team. No student is permitted to be alone in the mentoring room. It is the responsibility of the student support team to ensure this.

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Inappropriate behaviour may result in a student being taught alone in a classroom or not taking part in a reward trip. Students are expected to attend school daily, breakfast club starts at 8:15am8:45am. Registration is between 8:45am-8:55, students are expected to be in at this time. Key stage 3 Students are not allowed to leave school premises at any time during the day, Key stage 4 students are also not allowed out at lunch time unless a letter from parent/carer is given to school stipulating that they are allowed to leave during lunch. If any student arrives at school late for lessons after lunch, parents/carers will be notified and the privilege will be revoked and other sanctions like detention will be considered by the Headteacher. If a student fails to attend school regularly, the Educational Welfare Service is notified. School Attendance Panel meetings will take place at school. Persistent not attendance may result in legal action and a hearing at Bow Magistrates Court. The court may impose a fine of up to £2 500 or a prison sentence of up to 3 months.

Physical handling of students All staff are trained by Team Teach who are DFE recognised providers. Physical handling techniques should only be used as a last resort. Failure to follow Team Teach procedures can put staff and students at risk and may lead to disciplinary procedures. Belmont Park is committed to ensuring that staff deal professionally with all incidents involving aggressive behaviour, prior to this every strategy will be used to de-escalate the situation. Students who are physically handled must be treated with respect and handled according to Team Teach guidelines to ensure minimal risk of injury. Sometimes a member of staff’s comments or behaviour may be the trigger to the student’s behaviour. In this situation the member of staff should leave the area and let other members of staff de-escalate the situation. A student’s behaviour may be adversely affected by the presence of an audience such as other students and staff, unnecessary staff and student should be asked to leave the area if an incident occurs. It might be advisable for a member of staff to escort the student to a quiet area away from unnecessary observers in order to de-escalate the situation. All staff must understand the importance of responding to the emotions and feelings of the student which lie beneath the behaviour as well as to the behaviour itself. A student should only be physically handled in extreme circumstances such as:  where a student is committing a criminal offence,  where there is risk of injury to students or staff  where there is a risk of damage to school property. A member of staff who recognises that a situation is escalating to a point demanding physical handling must clearly tell the student to stop the behaviour and seek help by any means available.

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A member of staff who has to physically handle a student alone must seek assistance form another member of staff immediately since single-handed intervention increases the risk of injury. Any member of staff who becomes aware that another member of staff is intervening physically with a student has a responsibility to offer support and assistance. All staff must understand the importance of listening to and respecting students and the importance of creating an environment that is calm and supportive. This is especially important when working with students with complex needs. Staff must explain to the student being physically handled, in a calm and gentle manner that the reason for the physically intervention is to keep the student and others safe. Staff must explain to the student that as soon as he or she calms down, then the physical intervention will stop. The Headteacher, Deputy Headteacher or Head of Student support should be called to every incident where a student is being physically handled. All incidents that result in a physical handling must be recorded in the red bound incident book that can be found in the main office. CCTV footage of the incident and events prior to it will be viewed immediately by a member of the senior management team. After any incident the student and the member of staff must be checked for any sign of injury. Any injuries must be dealt with immediately by a qualified first aider. After the incident the student will be given time to calm down with a member of staff. Parents or carers will be contacted and told about the incident, they may be asked to collect the student from school. Similarly, a member of staff should be strongly advised to have a break such as a cup of coffee or a chat with a member of the leadership team. On the students return a senior member of staff will have a debrief meeting with the student and to ascertain the underlying reason for the incident. The student will be given an opportunity to explain things from their point of view. Any necessary steps will be taken to re-establish the relationship between the student and staff involved.

Fixed Term Exclusions Only the Headteacher or Deputy Headteacher may exclude a student. Students can be excluded for:  Acts of violence towards others  Bullying behaviour  Damaging school property  Being under the influence of illegal substances or in possession thereof  Bringing an offensive weapon into school  Disrupting the running of the school  Persistent failure to follow instructions 7

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Behaviour of students outside school can be considered as grounds for exclusion if the student participates in non-criminal bad behaviour and bullying while taking part in any school organised or school related activity or travelling to or from school, wearing the school uniform or is in some other way identifiable as a student of Belmont Park School. Exclusions could also be used for misbehaviours at any time that could have repercussions for the orderly running of the school or poses a threat to another student or a member of the public or in instances where the students behaviour could have an adversely effect on the reputation of the school.

Any exclusions of more than 15 days in a term results in a Governors Disciplinary Committee Meeting. Students are required to return to school after an exclusion with a parent or carer for a post-exclusion interview. If parents/carer are unable to attend during work hours, a convenient time may be arranged with the Headteacher. As a last resort the Headteacher would consider having a phone conversation with the parent as part of the post-exclusion interview.

Permanent Exclusions The Headteacher may decide to permanently exclude a student. The Governing Body will meet to review this decision. Parents/carers may appeal against a Permanent Exclusion in accordance with the local authority procedures. Students can be permanently excluded for:  Acts of violence towards others  Persistent bullying  Criminal damage to school property  Being under the influence of illegal substances or the supply of illegal substances  Bringing an offensive weapon into school  Continual disruption of the running of the school and persistent failure to follow instructions

Manage Moves If a student is extremely disruptive then an Urgent EHC/Statement review is organised to discuss a possible change of placement. All professionals including the schools SEN Officer should be present at the meeting.

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