How we foster a culture of positive behaviour for learning
- Putting relationships first. This requires a school ethos that promotes strong relationships between staff, students and their parents/carers. It also relies on creating a positive school culture and climate that fosters connection, inclusion, respect and value for all members of the school community. Everything we do is based on building positive attachments (mutually respectful relationships) with our students.
- Maintaining clear boundaries and expectations around behaviour. Changing how we respond to behaviour does not mean having no expectations, routines or structure. In order to help students feel safe, their educational environment needs to be high in both nurture and structure. Students need predictable, consistent routines, expectations and responses to behaviour. These must be in place and modelled appropriately, within the context of a safe and caring school environment.
- Being ‘fair’ is not about each student getting the same (equality) but about everyone getting what they need (equity).
- Restorative justice. Restorative approaches enable those who have been harmed to convey the impact of the harm to those responsible and for those responsible to acknowledge this impact and take steps to put it right.
- Taking a non-judgmental, curious and empathic attitude towards behaviour. We encourage all adults in school to respond in a way that focuses on the feelings and emotions that might drive certain behaviour, rather than the behaviour itself. Students with behavioural difficulties need to be regarded as vulnerable rather than troublesome, and we all have a duty to explore this vulnerability and provide appropriate support. We acknowledge that behaviour is a form of communication of an emotional need.
- Encouraging parental engagement and involvement is crucial when addressing and planning support for student’s SEMH needs.
- We look at each event in context and are committed toexplaining our practices to students, offer them reasons to work with us and encourage reflective dialogue and self-regulation.
- We treat students as individuals, ensure that the curriculum is appropriate for each student and that teaching styles are apt, and we use praise and rewards as our main tool. There is a lot of encouragement in our school.
What support is there for behaviour, avoiding exclusions and increasing attendance?
The school has in place a behaviour and exclusion policies. If a student has significant behaviour difficulties, a Pastoral Support Plan (PSP) can be written to identify the specific issues, put relevant support in place and set targets with a view to identifying and addressing the underlying reasons behind the behaviour.
The school has an Student Guidance Centre (SGC) and Individual Learning Suite (ILS) where students can be supported and worked with to reduce the behaviours that are having a negative impact upon their education.
Attendance of every child is monitored on a daily basis by the school. Lateness and absence are recorded and reported.
The school are also able to support families in making contact with other agencies who can provide appropriate support.
The school are led by Dorset County Council as to policies and procedures surrounding issues in reference to poor attendance and attendance levels.
Please see our Statutory policies for schools for further details & information
