School Rules

SCHOOL RULES AND DISCIPLINE

 All rules are made for the benefit and care of the children and are kept as simple as possible. We want each child to respect and show courtesy to others and to take an interest in school affairs.Some rules are necessary to ensure harmony, fair play and health and safety.

Some rules are necessary to ensure good habits are developed.

Some rules are necessary to ensure the smooth running of the school.

Our three school rules are:

• We are respectful
• We are kind
• We always try our best

All rules and methods of discipline are reviewed regularly and discussed with pupils.
The following may serve as a guide to rules:

Clothing, accessories and hairstyles etc...

• All pupils must wear appropriate clothing as outlined in the ‘Uniform Guidelines’

• Jewellery should not be worn, (pupils with pierced ears may wear studs except for PE, school staff will not be held responsible for the loss of jewellery brought to the school. Multiple ear rings are not allowed.)

• School bags (for equipment/kit) must be as small as possible.

• Hairstyles must be practicable and reasonable (no logos./patterns/decorations cut into hair)

• Nail varnish, transfers (tattoos) and face/hair ‘make up’ should not be worn

Money, toys, games, sweets and ‘swaps’ etc...

• Toys, games, collections of cards etc. must not be brought into school

• Money must not be brought to school unless requested by the school

• Bikes, skateboards etc. must not be brought into the school grounds

• Sweets and drinks etc. must not be brought to school

 Behaviour

• Running and climbing on furniture in school is dangerous and not acceptable behaviour

• Fighting, name calling, abusive language and gestures, and deliberate acts of vandalism of any kind will not be accepted

• We do not encourage children to hit back. There is always an adult available to help solve problems.

In general any behaviour which causes a disruption to the harmonious running of the school will not be accepted.

It is made very clear to all pupils what is and is not acceptable behaviour. We encourage our pupils to take responsibility for their own actions and teach them that they will be held accountable for their actions/lack of action!

We also encourage class/year group identity, especially as the children grow older. With the older pupils the class is expected to work together to overcome difficulties and will on occasions be held ‘collectively’ accountable/responsible where individuals have not intervened to correct or disassociate themselves from unacceptable behaviour.

Children often see themselves as being unfairly treated; at times they are justified in their thinking. We consider all arguments with adults as inappropriate. We do encourage our pupils to find an appropriate time (usually not at the time of the incident) to discuss their grievance with the class teacher or another member of staff. We seek parents help and cooperation in encouraging their children to approach an adult to help solve their problems.

We believe pupils should learn how to solve their problems and address their grievances in an appropriate manner at an appropriate time. Sulking, refusals, defying and arguing with adults responsible for the care of pupils is never acceptable, even if the adult has misinterpreted the situation.

Adults can ‘get it wrong!’ We will apologise to the pupils if we do, BUT, pupils who register their grievances in an inappropriate manner will be punished for the way in which they reacted to the adult.

 If your child approaches you with a problem about discipline in the class/school which is causing concern please try to encourage him/her to approach an adult in school to help resolve the problem. However do feel free to approach the school on your child’s behalf. The children need to see that their needs/opinions are valued. WE (parents and school based staff) need to teach the children how to question/challenge authority in an appropriate and effective way.

We also need to teach our children to look at their own behaviour and analyse whether or not their reactions/actions:

• helped diffuse a difficult situation/problem

• fuel a difficult situation/problem

• resolve a difficult situation/problem

Children do not come to this school just to learn what is required by the national curriculum, but how to think and reason for themselves and take responsibility for their actions and, when working/(playing) collectively, to be responsible and accountable for the ‘group’ response to a given situation.

How we discipline pupils is of interest to most parents inquiring about the school and its methods of working and caring for children.

The majority of pupils form good relationships with staff and discipline takes the form of a simple verbal reprimand and showing disappointment, however punishments and methods of discipline do vary according to the circumstances and may include one or more of the following:

• strong verbal reprimand

• detention during play times

• loss of privileges (trips outside school, membership of a team, parties etc.)

• daily report to another class for a period of time

• payment for/replacement of damaged property

• exclusion from the school (fixed period or permanent)

If a child’s behaviour is seen to be deteriorating or a ‘rule’ is persistently broken then this will be discussed with parents and their cooperation and support enlisted in helping to solve the problem.

The school will view each disciplinary situation in the light of the circumstances surrounding it and the individuals involved. In the sad event of it being necessary to exclude a child from the school under one of the following:

• Fixed Term Exclusion (pupil remains out of school for a fixed number of days)

• Permanent Exclusion (pupil cannot return to school but remains on roll until an alternative placement is found)

Parents will be informed of the circumstances in writing and whether or not they have the right to appeal to an independent appeal committee. Parents wishing to appeal will be informed of the procedure for this at the time of the exclusion.

Attitude

We want all our pupils to learn the essential skills necessary to deal with problems in a calm manner with confidence. This involves taking into account HOW they react. We teach the children that they CHOOSE their responses to situations and must take responsibility for their choices.