Behaviour
‘Behaviour in school is exemplary.’ (Ofsted)
At Benedict Biscop C.E. Academy, our aim to create a culture of good behaviour and behaviours for learning, where staff are attentive, observant and who are skilled at identifying any underlying needs our pupils make have. In doing this, our staff will be able to respond in appropriate ways that support our pupils based on their needs at that time. Key to this is the strong focus on the development of relationships and social and emotional skills, which starts within our Early Years.
Alongside this we have created a system of behaviour management which is fair and consistent and which establishes a safe, orderly and positive learning environment in which both children and staff can flourish – so that children and teachers can learn together to achieve all that they can, meeting our vision…’With God all things are possible.’
We encourage children to take responsibility for their own actions which take account of mutual respect, good manners and show consideration for others. Staff are excellent role models and pupils have clear expectations which supports them to behave well.
School rules
Every child has a right to learn and every member of our community has the right to be respected.
Article 28 from the United Nations Convention On The Rights Of The child states: Every child has the
right to an education. Primary education must be free and different forms of secondary education
must be available to every child. Discipline in schools must respect children’s dignity and their rights.
As a Rights Respecting school and with Justice as one of our Core School Values, we have created our 4 school rules which aim to provide a framework for positive behaviours expected in school and which underpin our positive reward system. These rules develop trust and encompass key rights of the child.
- Be Kind
Treat everyone and everything with respect. Be polite and honest in all situations and never hurt
others feelings with your words or actions. Handle equipment carefully and value our resources.
Article 29 Every child has the right to education which tries to develop your personality and abilities
as much as possible and encourages you to respect other people’s rights and values and to respect
the environment.
- Listen
Listen to each other and respect the opinion of others. Always be prepared to learn and carry out
tasks you are asked to do my all members of staff.
Article 12 Every child has the right to express their views, feelings and wishes in all matters affecting
them, and to have their views considered and taken seriously.
- Follow Instructions
Always do your best. When you are in school or on school visits, willingly do as you are asked by an
adult, when you are asked to do it. - Keep Your Hands and Feet to Yourself
Move around our school safely. Walk sensibly and calmly in school. Have fun at playtimes but be
considerate towards others and use self-control.
This is supported by:
- Consistent use of language across the school
- A fair reward system linked to ‘individual’ and ‘house team’ points.
- High quality teaching that develops the highest standards of behaviour, ensuring that pupils
are appropriately challenged, engaged in learning and motivated to learn - Staff recognising that children need to learn to negotiate with each other in a range of
different situations, as a major life skill, with staff supporting the children to do so. - Parents who want the best for their children and recognise that children make mistakes but
that we must learn from them. - Forgiveness is a core School Value which pervades school life
- A bespoke Personal Development curriculum which provides a framework for staff to support
pupils and help promote and improve excellent behaviour.
Rewards
We believe that high standards of work and behaviour should be celebrated and encouraged through a system of positive rewards for our children. At Benedict Biscop C.E. Academy, we look for every opportunity to celebrate success and achievement, rewarding good behaviour, high attendance, effort, progress, academic achievement and successes beyond our school curriculum.
Pupil voice is really important to us, and our Rights Knights have fed into developing our systems of rewards currently in place. Children, on a weekly basis, can receive ‘Rainbow Award Certificates’, which are celebrated in the weekly celebration element of our Friday Community Worship – where parents are specifically invited, on the week of their child’s award, to attend and join in the celebration with the rest of our worshiping community. This is also shared with our wider community through our Facebook page. These awards celebrate excellence, hard work, dedication and improvement across our full curriculum.
On a weekly basis, pupils are also entered in to our ‘Roll of Honour Book’, an award where we recognise how our pupils are demonstrating Christian Values throughout the week. Pupils names are read out in Friday worship and our community celebrate together.
Across all year groups, pupils are given a ‘House Team’. This encourages the children to develop a team identity through a collaborative approach to positive behaviour. Any staff member is able to reward pupils with ‘House Points’ throughout the school day, which are added to the class team notice board. At the end of each week, House Captains collect the totals from each class and the running total is shared in our Friday worship. At the end of each half term, the house team with the highest total receives and ‘house treat’/team building session.
“Behaviour is courteous and thoughtful, showing a real awareness of the needs and rights of others.” (Ofsted 2012)
We recognise that sometimes pupils may not choose certain behaviours and we understand that children can express their needs through their behaviour and that develop of children depends on having certain needs met.
We are pleased at Benedict Biscop C.E. Academy and Northern Lights Learning Trust to therefore be developing as a THRIVE Trust. This means that together we are working to create a culture where everyone can thrive emotionally and socially across the Trust.
Within school, and across the Trust, key practitioners have been trained with the knowledge and skills to support pupils effectively through the THRIVE approach. The THRIVE approach is a therapeutic technique to help support pupils with their social and emotional development. The approach helps staff to understand children’s needs as shown by their behaviour. We are then able to provide bespoke interventions and support to meet developing needs.
