Higham on the Hill CE Primary School
Teaching, Learning and Behaviour Policy
Adopted by LGB – Summer Term 2016
Review schedule- Every 3 yrs
Next review- Summer Term 2019
Introduction
The purpose of this policy is to establish the clear purpose for Higham on the Hill Church
of England Primary School, with respect to the teaching and learning we provide. This is a
critical document as it enshrines what constitutes our practice and everyone who has an
involvement with the school needs to have a thorough understanding and appreciation of its
contents. It ensures continuity of practice.
This document is reviewed and updated in line with findings from internal reviews, local and
national guidance. This document is an agreed working document by all staff and is
reviewed regularly.
Purpose: At Higham on the Hill Church of England Primary School we have
agreed we will:
Learn; gain a skill or knowledge by study, practise or teaching, find out or discover.
Inspire and be inspired; fill with enthusiasm, stimulate, be creative.
Value everyone and everything; be respectful.
Enjoy and achieve; have the benefit of and accomplish something new.
Seven Main sections form this policy:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Planning
Classroom environment
Teaching & Assessment
Presentation
SEND
Homework
Behaviour Management
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1. Planning
Teachers should ensure that the curriculum that they deliver is in accordance with
statutory requirements, covers all aspects of the curriculum as detailed in the Current
National Curriculum, and is broad and balanced. It is relevant to the needs of the pupils
and age related.
Teachers have the responsibility to ensure coverage through careful planning and
timetabling.
Rolling programmes are the responsibility of the curriculum co-ordinator and cater for
mixed age classes to ensure coverage as children progress through the school. These
are held by the curriculum co-ordinator, the headteacher and are displayed on the staff
board by the staff room.
Long term plans (rolling programmes) should show what is to be taught on a termly
basis in all curriculum areas, for duration of time that the children remain in this class.
(Usually 2 years) The curriculum co-ordinator has overall responsibility for these plans
in each curriculum area.
Medium term plans should show over a term or half term, what is to be delivered on a
weekly basis in each curriculum area and the length of time devoted to the teaching for
a term or half term. (E.g science 1 hour per week) The class teacher has responsibility
for these plans.
Short term plans are the responsibility of the class teacher and should detail;
 what is to be taught on a daily basis for each curriculum area,
 how this will be delivered to suit the needs of every child,
 use of support staff
 opportunities for outdoor learning and group teaching
 the learning that is expected to take place
 resources
Short term planning is ‘a need to know what you want each child to have achieved by the
end of the lesson’ that is, what learning has taken place.
In short term planning teachers will also show that there is a balance of activities, within
the lessons and over a period of time, that meet the needs of all the pupils in the class,
including activities that enable pupils to access learning in a variety of Visual, Auditory and
Kinesthetic activities. See appendix 1.
It is the class teacher’s responsibility to ensure that detailed short term plans are left for
a cover teacher or supervisor when the absence is planned for.
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Learning Objectives
These are included in short term planning for all curriculum areas. There is a
need to communicate to pupils the reason for their learning. Objectives are the
core to the purpose of the lesson and indicate what learning is to take place.
They are reviewed at the end of each lesson in the plenary.
Learning objectives will be:

Drawn for the current National Curriculum programmes of study

Identified through assessment of where pupils are on their learning journey

Explained to the pupils at or near to the beginning of each lesson

Displayed clearly in the lesson for reference

Revisited at key points in the lesson

Integrated into the end of the lesson as a base for Assessment
Responsibilities of the teacher
Teachers should ensure that at all times their long term and medium term plans are
delivered as planned.
Teachers should continually review and assess their short term planning against the
outcomes of the lesson.
If pupils require an Individual Education Plan to meet their needs, this responsibility is
shared between the class teacher and SENCO.
Long term and medium term plans should be shared with the Headteacher, available to all
staff, and subject copies given to Curriculum Co-ordinators.
Short term plans should be kept in a file in the classroom and available to Senior leaders
and subject coordinators for monitoring.
Parents should be informed regularlyly of the planned teaching areas via the school’s
website.
Short term plans should be available for any other adult involved in the delivery or review
of the lesson, in advance wherever possible.
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Timetables
Timetables should show the time allowed for all curriculum areas. A Hall timetable is
agreed at the start of each term. A timetable for PE support staff if also produced.
Timetables should be completed at the start of each year by each class teacher the
Headteacher. Any changes during the year should be brought to the attention of the Head
Teacher.
2. The Classroom Environment
Classrooms are the responsibility of the class teacher to manage and organise,
ensuring the safety of pupils and staff at all times.
Floor areas should be kept as clear as possible.
The learning environment is of vital importance to children’s attitudes. A tidy and
organised environment will give children the confidence to learn independently. It will
create an expectation of the children in terms of presentation and use and care of
resources, and will help them to be ordered and prepared.
All children’s desks need to be cleared at the end of each day to allow for cleaning.
A ‘going home’ tray for items such as newsletters needs to be clearly identified in each
classroom.
Teachers desks need to be tidy and organized to model good practice.
There needs to be a clear system to collect items to go to the office that is communicated
to all users of the classroom.
Resources
Resources in each class room must be clearly labeled, organised and accessible to
all pupils and all staff.
All pupils will have a named individual tray to store small personal belongings.
Text & Exercise Books, labeled and stored centrally with easy access to all users.
There should be an area for children to access reading materials relevant to their work.
Central resources are the responsibility of the curriculum co-ordinator to audit,
replenish and keep tidy. Specific areas are allocated for curriculum resources.
(see plan)
Staff text books are kept centrally on shelves outside the staff-room and in the
Headteacher’s office.
Teachers personal resources to be clearly named and stored temporarily,
separately to school resources whilst used in school.
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Displays.
Displays should be relevant to the work taking place in the classroom, show a
balance of all the curriculum areas, the core subjects (Maths, English and
Science) and as a Church school, RE, should be represented at all times. Displays
should contain a balance of children’s own work and prompts and guides to inform
learning.
Displays should serve to communicate the learning objectives, encourage children
to have pride in their work, be well presented and have a clear heading.
Displays based on pupil work should be changed regularly,at least once per term,
named and include, at some time, work by every pupil. Prompts & guides should
change as the focus for the teaching changes.
Class rules should be displayed at all times and revised at the start of each year.
Responsibilities of support staff
It is the teacher’s responsibility to plan for each lesson and communicate this to support
staff. Support staff will be expected to know what is planned for each lesson and have an
understanding of their part in the teaching.
Under the direction of the class teacher the support staff should
 Ensure children are supervised at all times.
 Organise the classroom safely and effectively
 Promote safe handling of equipment and tools
 Enforce rules and promote positive attitudes.
 Work with small groups and individuals, following schemes of work, policies and
plans.
 Display work
 Prepare resources
 Model good literacy, especially correct speech.
 Encourage pupils to be independent learners.
 Assist with off-site trips
 Support organisation whole school resources.
 Attend relevant CPD training
3. Teaching & Assessment
Schemes of work
Throughout the school teachers use the current National Curriculum to plan and deliver
Maths, English and Science teaching. In other subjects the National Curriculum may not
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be exclusively followed and maybe supplemented by other areas of learning that are suited
to the needs and interests of the children.
A variety of published and on-line resources will be accessed by the teachers and pupils.
All curriculum areas are monitored, evaluated and reviewed by subject leaders and staff
receive regular CPD related to their subject area, where possible.
Reading
Children will be heard read regularly by a member of staff. This may be individually or in
groups. Children will have a reading book provided by school and have access to the school
library.
Differentiation
Because pupils work in a variety of ways with their different strength and aptitudes,
differentiation is achieved by:
 Breaking down the learning objective into smaller steps
 Providing additional resources
 Adjusting outcomes
 grouping appropriately
 increasing levels of support
Assessment (including marking and feedback)
All assessment will be used to inform teachers’ planning.
Summative Assessment
Test evidence to support assessment in reading, writing and maths are kept in a child’s
individual assessment folder, stored in each classroom. The ‘Target Tracker’ on-line
assessment tracker is used ½ termly to record levels of attainment in Reading, Writing,
and Maths. Science attainment will be recorded termly and other subjects at key points
throughout the year.
The ‘Rising Stars’ assessment materials will be used to aid teacher assessment.
Formative Assessment (including marking and feedback)
Throughout lessons, verbal feedback and direct intervention to clarify mistakes and
misconceptions should happen continually.
Daily lessons are marked by the teachers. A minimum of 1-in-3 pieces of work will be
marked in detail, with a positive comment, linked to the lesson objective and a ‘learning up’
which could be:
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 Remembering to do something next time
 Doing another to check understanding
 Correcting something that was wrong
 Trying a more difficult one
 Explaining something in words.
Children will be given time at the beginning of each lesson to reflect upon these comments
and complete the ‘learning up’ task. Teachers and LSAs will monitor.
LSAs will mark any group work sessions they have led. They will write a positive comment
about the work and give an indication of support given. They should bring it to the
attention of the teacher if any child found it very easy or very hard.
All marking should be done in green ink.
Spelling test results and mental maths tests take place regularly and results are recorded
by class teachers.
4. Presentation
Presentation of work forms a foundation on which pupils can build pride in their studies and
enable them to understand key lesson objectives through their own work. In many lessons,
clear organisation and presentation empowers pupils when using information for analysis,
during calculations, or when revising.
Handwriting will be formally taught throughout the week, with all formations and joins
being competently modelled for the children.
The core aims of good presentation are:



To instill pride in children’s work
To ensure clarity of features of work
To support future learning
Quality of presentation should be encouraged at all times. There may be occasions when
presentation is not a significant feature of the work being completed, for example during
drafting of English work or when using jottings in numeracy, but it should always be
encouraged and rewarded.
Children in Foundation Stage, Year 1 through to 3, should write in pencil unless the teacher
has deemed them to be at a high standard in handwriting. When a pupil has showed
sustained good handwriting with a suitable tripod pencil grip, they can then use pen for
written work. A ‘Pen License’ will be awarded in Golden Worship. Pencil should be used at
all times for Maths work. In year 6 all children should write in pen, even though they may
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not have reached the appropriate standard by Y5. A ‘Home Pen License’ will be awarded in
Y6, for high standards of neat, joined writing and a consistent, tripod grip. The child can
than bring in their own ink pen and they receive an award in Golden Worship.
Drawings and diagrams should be completed, in all cases, in pencil. Straight lines are to be
drawn with rulers with the exception of art work. Felt pens are not to be used in exercise
books, coloured pencils only. Felt or marker pens may be required for activities such as
posters, and on paper that is to be glued into exercise books.
Paper that is glued into exercise books should be trimmed around the edges and glued
neatly to books, children should be trained and expected to do this themselves.
A4 exercise books should be used as far as possible.
Folders should be used for drafts of work, worksheets, or test practice sheets.
All work in books should follow the following format:
 Last work ‘ruled off’ in pencil, using a ruler
 Date written in full for written tasks i.e. Monday January 1st 2012 and numerically in
Maths 01/01/12
 WALT to be written clearly for all lessons when children are working in books.
 Any mistakes should be crossed out neatly with one line.
 In Maths children should follow mantra ‘one at the side, one in the middle’ when writing
many calculations so that both sides of the page are used.
Covers for exercise books should not be defaced in any way. The teacher writes the
child’s name and class and subject neatly on the front cover. Where project folders are
being made, covers may be added.
5. Special Educational Needs
Some children who are working at levels below what is expected for their age will have a
learning support plan. (LSP)
LSPs should focus on up to three key individual short-term targets only. Too many targets
will make the task unmanageable and confusing for the child. The targets should be
formulated termly, in collaboration with the parents.
Please see our SEND Report and Policy via the website, for more specific information.
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6. Homework
The aim of our homework policy is to promote learning beyond the school day. We
believe that homework not only reinforces classroom learning, it also helps
children and young people to develop skills and attitudes that they need for
successful lifelong learning. It should support the development of independent
learning skills, including the habits of enquiry and investigation, and it should help
to foster the role of parents and carers as co-educators of their children.
We will make every effort to combat disadvantage.
The allocation of time to be spent on homework at each key stage has been
informed by current guidelines which we interpret as:
 FS 5-10 mins Reading daily.
 Y1 10mins Reading, phonics & counting daily
 Y2 & Y3 10-15 mins Reading, spellings & Maths (including x tables) per
school day
 Y4 & Y5 15-20 mins Reading, spellings & Maths (including x tables) per
school day
 Y6 20-30 mins English & Maths, plus independent reading per school day
When working towards their national tests, Y6s may have other revision
homework in addition.
During end-of –term and ½ term holidays all children will be set a creative
‘project’ type homework activity to do for their next topic. These pieces of work
will form a classroom display for the new topic.
Teachers will view completed homework and monitor those children who regularly
do not complete it. Every effort will be made to address difficulties the children
or parents are having.
7.Behaviour Management
Our behaviour management, throughout the whole school, is strongly linked with the
Christian values we teach and model and through these, with core British values.
School rules (general)





Stay on task
Do as you are asked the first time
Speak and act with care
Walk around school safely and courteously
Take responsibility for yourself, your belongings and other people.
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Golden Rules (for behaviour)
 Be kind
 Be gentle
 Try your best
The school rules are displayed around school. The ‘Golden Rules’ are displayed prominently
in all teaching areas.
Rewards
Gold Tokens
Gold tokens are given to children who have produced good pieces of work. These are kept
by the child and when they have 15, a ‘Gold Certificate’ is awarded in Golden Worship on a
Friday. Parents of recipients of gold certificates are personally invited to Golden Worship
by text. Recipients of Gold Certificates are entered into a draw and at the end of each ½
term, 4 winners are drawn to receive a prize.
Colour team tokens
Children are allocated colour teams when they join the school. The teams are Rowan (Red),
Beech (blue), Yew (yellow) and Oak (green). Siblings are allocated the same colour team.
Each child may be awarded team tokens to contribute to their team for good behaviour or
conduct around school. In each class there are tubes to collect the tokens for each team.
School Council count them all up on a Thurday and the winning team is awarded the cup in
Golden Worship. The children of the winning team are able to bring a small toy into school
to play with during ‘Golden Play’ in the afternoon on Fridays.
A display of the running totals is displayed in the hall and the appropriate coloured ribbons
are tied around the cup.
Achievement Certificates
Each teacher chooses someone to receive this award every week for effort and work of a
high standard. Teachers keep a record so that every child receives this award once, before
anyone receives it twice. Recipients are introduced by the teachers in Friday’s Golden
Worship and certificates and stickers are awarded.
Good Friend award.
Each week the children in each class vote for a class-mate that who has demonstrated our
current Christian value. This is announced in Friday’s Golden Worship and certificates and
stickers are awarded.
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All staff may award children within their class by other individual methods that they feel
are appropriate and motivational.
At the end of the year children are recognised for outstanding contributions to school life,
excellent progress and achievement in a our Leavers’ Church Service.
Sanctions
Teachers and support staff should actively promote good behaviour through positive
praise. The Golden rules of:
 Be kind
 Be gentle
 Try your best
Should be reinforced at all times and children should be encouraged to reflect on their
behaviour in terms of the teaching of Christian values.
With behaviour issues, school uses a ‘reminder, warning and sanction’, 3-step system.
A visual display should be in all classes with children’s names on a positive image in
a high position. Children breaking any of the school rules first receive a verbal
reminder; referring to the broken rule. If they continue they have a recorded
warning- their name or picture is moved down on a visual display. If the unwanted
behavior continues, the child is given a sanction; often some time ‘payed back’ at
playtime. The child’s name is also moved down to another position on a visual chart
and their name is turned away. Children have a ‘clean slate’ at lunchtime.
Any child receiving more than one sanction per a.m./p.m. should be seen by the
Headteacher. This will be recorded in the school’s behavior book. Any racist or
homophobic incidents will also be recorded.
Any child who receives a sanction should miss part of their Golden Time play on
Friday. This amount of time should be proportionate and decided by the teacher.
If poor behavior continues to be a concern, further measures could include:
 Verbal information to parents/carers
 Individual behaviour support measures e.g. sticker charts/ enhanced
rewards
 Written communication with parents/carers
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

Meetings with parents/carers
Bans from lunchtime and afterschool clubs.
Lunchtime
Mid- day supervisors will support positive play by encouraging and showing
children how to play games and ensuring that there is a range of outdoor
equipment for the children to use.
MDS will also follow a ‘reminder, warning and sanction’ 3-step process, with the
sanction being 5 minutes against the wall, facing away.
The Headteacher or Senior Teacher should be informed about persistent
behaviour issues.
High level disruption
This can include:

Deliberate and intentional lack of respect to other people (refusal, answering back,
inappropriate use if language or force.)

Deliberate and intentional lack of respect for property belonging to other people,
(stealing, taking without consent, defacing.)

Persistent and deliberate time wasting, impacting on the learning of others.
In the first incidence, parents will be notified by letter and if necessary, invited into
school to attend a behaviour conference. As a result of this meeting, a behaviour support
plan will be formulated. This will include specific targets and the support to be provided by
school and home.
Should the disruptive behaviour still not improve to acceptable standards, the school may
seek external support but fixed term or permanent exclusion my result.
If this high level disruptive behaviour is largely or wholly taking place at lunchtime,
lunchtime, collection by parents, between 12-1p.m. may be required in order to safeguard
the welfare of the other children and to prevent the need for a fixed term or permanent
exclusion.
Amended
Amended
Amended
Amended
31.1.14 Lisa Gilchrist
28.8.14 Lisa Gilchrist
14.11.15 Lisa Gilchrist
June ‘16 Lisa Gilchrist
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