Behaviour and
Discipline Policy
Burton Hathow Preparatory School Including EYFS
Burton Hathow Preparatory School
May 2012
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DISCIPLINE / BEHAVIOUR POLICY
The aim of this document is to provide a framework from which Staff may
seek guidance in dealing with behaviour issues at Burton Preparatory
School.
At Burton Hathow Preparatory School we aim to provide....
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a happy and caring environment which is friendly, yet well
disciplined, in which every pupil receives positive encouragement to
succeed;
an environment which is safe, well resourced, stimulating and
welcoming to pupils, parents and staff;
a school culture which promotes self-esteem, politeness, respect
and consideration for others in society.
For the policy to be effective, it is important that all those concerned
(children, teachers and non-teaching staff) are aware of the principles
underlying the policy and ensure that it is consistently applied.
The principles of good citizenship outlined below form the basis of the
discipline policy.
This Behaviour Policy supports these school aims and gives clear discipline
and pastoral guidelines:
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to provide continuity of codes of conduct and the adoption of good
manners;
to positively encourage an attitude of self-discipline and trust;
to observe the school rules by fostering regard for other peoples'
feelings and needs and respect for property.
The over-riding expectation is that, gradually, the children will learn to
take responsibility for their own behaviour.
The main thrust of this policy is to encourage and praise the children for
what they do well, in order to encourage positive self-esteem and growing
self confidence. However, poor behaviour and attitudes will be dealt with
appropriately and the policy provides a range of sanctions for use by Staff
when necessary.
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May 2012
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School Ethos
We aim to build upon the foundations laid by parents, so we hope that
families joining Burton Hathow Preparatory School will support our ethos.
We value each child as an individual who has a role to play in the school
community. With rights come responsibilities, so all children are expected
to treat each other as they would wish to be treated and conduct
themselves as kind, caring members of our school and wider community.
We have a very simple adage that we ask all members of the school
family to adhere to: ‘Treat others the way you wish to be treated.’
Consequently children at Burton Hathow Preparatory School should:
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Be polite to everyone
Be kind to and considerate of others
Welcome newcomers into the school community
Treat each other, their possessions and the environment with respect
Try their best in every lesson
Be punctual
Be prepared for each lesson
Work sensibly without wasting their time or the time of others
Wear their uniform with pride
Our expectations of the children should be realistic. Our rewards and
sanctions take into account the individuality, additional needs and
maturity of the child.
Parents will be informed, consulted and encouraged to support any
reasonable action which is taken.
General Standards of Behaviour / Good Manners
All Staff must be familiar with the school rules. It is the responsibility of
all Staff to enforce these rules with any child who is failing to follow them.
Form teachers must find regular opportunities to remind their form of the
school rules and to reinforce good standards of behaviour.
The Head Teacher will also regularly remind all pupils of rules and good
manners in Assembly.
INCENTIVES TO ENCOURAGE GOOD BEHAVIOUR
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May 2012
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As a school, we look for positive behaviour and praise and continually
reinforce such behaviour so that we do not overlook the well behaved
child. It is, therefore, necessary to reward such behaviour, when
appropriate.
Golden Rules
The School Council, following discussions with their classmates, will look
to implement 10 Golden Rules. Five of the Golden Rules focus upon
creating a positive environment for learning in the classroom and five
focus upon the need to respect each other and the school environment.
Examples of things the council should consider.
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Put 100% effort into our learning.
Listen to our teachers and listen to each other.
Include each other in our learning.
Put our hands up to answer questions in lessons.
Be equipped for each lesson.
Respect the school environment.
Walk sensibly in corridors.
Keep our cloakrooms tidy.
Talk quietly in the Dining Room.
Share playground equipment.
Individual standards of behaviour
Children should be praised for good manners. In EYFS a card is awarded
once a week to children who have displayed very good manners. In the
rest of the school house points may be awarded for good behaviour and
manners. Pupils may also be sent to the Head Teacher receive special
praise. Pupils may be commended in Assembly
Rewards
The principles mentioned above are reinforced by rewarding good
behaviour, honest effort and improvement and, if necessary, disciplinary
measures.
Positive rewards to be applied are as follow:
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Verbal praise or comments in exercise books or planners
Verbal praise for good behaviour, courtesy and consideration
Incentive stamps or stickers for work and behaviour
House Points
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May 2012
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Prizes each term for House Points, contribution to extra-curricular,
community spirit and positive, can-do attitude
Annual prizes for major contributions in all the various areas of school
life
House Points may be awarded to children by any adult within the school.
House Points are recorded by the pupils in their planners. Form Teachers
keep a record to forward totals to the House Co-ordinator. House Points
are not just an individual award; they count towards a House total, so
that the House with the highest aggregate each term or year is the
winning House.
APPROPRIATE SANCTIONS
There are four main considerations when dealing with unacceptable
behaviour. The sanction should:
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be appropriate to the individual;
be fair and consistent;
all written tasks set should be educational and constructive;
physical punishment is not appropriate under any circumstances.
Staff have flexibility in the range of sanctions available. Sanctions range
from a simple reprimand to suspension / expulsion.
Should a child's behaviour be such that he/she is hindering the learning or
safety of other children then the following sanctions should be used.
1. Reprimand by teacher or non-teaching member of staff
2. The child’s name, if deemed sufficiently serious enough, is written
on the whiteboard.
3. If the disappointing behaviour continues, the child’s name is written
on the whiteboard again or underlined.
4. Should the child’s behaviour not improve, the name is written a
third time or underlined a second time.
5. The name or underlining is rubbed off the board if the pupil’s
behaviour improves.
6. If the name is written three times, the child will attend Detention
during Wednesday morning break. They are asked to write an
apology to the person who was most affected by their behaviour.
7. Request to re-do work or complete work appropriately
8. Deduction of a House Point(s). (Yellow or red card)
9. Loss of privilege for specific periods e.g. break times in order to
complete the task. Pupils detained in these circumstances must be
supervised.
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May 2012
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10. An appropriate positive task or punishment, such as tidying
11. Referral to Senior Teacher or, if appropriate, to the Head Teacher
12. Communication with parents, perhaps associated with the issue of a
Report Card. Report cards may be issued Form Tutors, members of
the management team, the Deputy Head or the Head Teacher
13. Specific short-term exclusion (for the remainder of a day or a
lunchtime)
14. Fixed term exclusion
15. Permanent exclusion. The Head Teacher and Board of Directors of
Burton Hathow Preparatory School reserve the right to require
parents to remove permanently their child from the School if the
Head Teacher considers that a child’s attendance, progress or
behaviour (including behaviour outside school) seriously
unsatisfactory and in the reasonable opinion of the Head Teacher
the removal is in the School’s best interests or those of that child or
other children. The Head Teacher may also, at his discretion,
require parents to remove or may suspend a child if the behaviour
of either or both parents is, in the opinion of the Head Teacher,
unreasonable and affects or is likely to affect adversely the child’s
or other children’s progress at Burton Preparatory School or the
well-being of school staff or to bring the school into disrepute.
16. Should the Head Teacher exercise his right as mentioned above,
parents will not be entitled to any refund or remission of fees or
supplemental charges due (whether paid or payable) and the
deposit will be forfeited. However, in such circumstances, fees in
lieu of notice will not be payable and any prepaid fees will be
refunded.
In addition, other strategies might be used. The child might:
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be re-directed to another area of the classroom;
work alongside an adult to prevent contact with friends.
Examples of behaviour that might receive the sanctions outlined above
include:
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breaking one of the Golden Rules;
not focusing on the task set;
wandering around the classroom unnecessarily;
preventing others from concentrating on their task;
deliberately annoying others;
calling out in the classroom.
deliberately annoying others;
name calling, unkind teasing;
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May 2012
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making fun of others – e.g. – work in class, family, hobbies,
appearance;
excluding each other because of looks, colour, race, belief, gender,
disability;
mistreating books, materials and/or school property;
refusing to follow instructions given by an adult;
dangerous play;
throwing things in anger.
In the playground or outside re the forest area or playing fields, the child
should:
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be re-directed to another area;
be isolated from the other children by remaining with an adult;
asked to write an apology to the person who was most affected by
their behaviour.
If there is a need to improve a pupil’s standard of work or behaviour,
parents should be informed. We need clear, communication between the
school and parents to ensure that the child is maintaining good standards
of work and making the progress they are capable of.
In cases where poor behaviour continues and it is felt that a child may not
be a good ambassador for Burton Hathow Preparatory School, a pupil may
be removed from school teams as a sanction. Parents will be informed if
this is the case.
The Head Teacher should be consulted at the earliest stage appropriate, if
sanctions beyond the loss of House Points are to be applied.
Yellow Card
Staff will need to use their judgement relating to the incident and the age
and development of the child concerned.
A yellow card is given for the following reasons:
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continued disappointing behaviour in the classroom despite actions
outlined above;
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May 2012
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continued disappointing behaviour in the playground despite actions
outlined above;
failure to demonstrate good manners or behaviour – e.g. in the
corridors or Dining Room – despite repeated warnings;
poor appearance despite repeated warnings;
regularly forgetting homework/homework diary or homework is
regularly incomplete;
name calling, unkind teasing;
making fun of others – e.g. – work in class, family, hobbies,
appearance;
excluding each other because of looks, colour, race, belief, gender,
disability;
mistreating books, materials and/or school property;
refusing to follow instructions given by an adult;
dangerous play;
throwing things in anger.
Children give the yellow card to their form tutor and discuss the reason
why they have been given a yellow card and consider how to avoid
receiving another yellow card. A suitable sanction might be agreed – e.g.
staying in at playtime. The form teacher will keep the yellow card and
record the reason why it was given.
If a child receives three yellow cards in one term, the form teacher will
inform the Head. They will talk to the pupil together. The pupil’s parents
will also be informed.
Red Card
Staff will need to use their judgement relating to the incident and the age
and development of the child concerned.
A red card is given for the following reasons:
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persistent behaviour described above;
swearing (heard by an adult);
stealing;
hitting;
any form of bullying – refer to Anti-Bullying Policy;
deliberately hurting another pupil physically and/or emotionally;
behaviour which deliberately hurts others because of their looks,
race, gender, colour, beliefs or disability;
inciting children to hurt others verbally or physically;
possession of inappropriate material – e.g. photographs,
magazines, DVDs, video games of an adult nature.
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May 2012
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A red card is given for serious misbehaviour. If a red card is given, the
child’s form teacher will be informed. They will then inform the Head. The
teacher and Head will discuss the child’s behaviour with the child. An
appropriate sanction may be given – e.g. staying in for a number of break
times, writing a letter of apology. The pupil’s parents will also be
informed.
If a second red card is awarded during one term, the teacher and Head
will again talk to the pupil together. The pupil’s parents will be informed.
If a third red card is issued during one term, the pupils’ parents will be
invited to school to discuss concerns and further strategies to use to
support their son/daughter.
Longer term sanctions
In consultation with the Head Teacher, SLT and parents, behaviour
targets may be set or a Report Card might be used.
Behaviour targets, using the format of an IEP, may be introduced if a
pattern of offences occurs from a particular child. Behaviour targets need
to reinforce positive behaviour and be achievable, measurable and run for
a pre-agreed period. These are issued in the form of a ‘Contract’ between
the School and child. Parents must be informed of the reasons for
Contract.
Report Card 
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The child is issued with a Report Card and informed of the rules and
time period.
The card is carried by the pupil. It is signed by all relevant staff.
The card may be used to record behaviour in lessons / playground /
dining room / homework.
Regular monitoring of the card is carried out by Form Teacher,
Senior Teachers and the Head.
Appropriate further action to be taken depending on progress.
Should the behaviour necessitate, then the SLT will discuss the possibility
of suspension or expulsion but discussions involving the parents to
establish what is right for the child and school. Examples of such
behaviour include:
Parents have the right to have any such decision reviewed.
Recording
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May 2012
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‘Pupil Concerns’ is an item on the agenda of weekly staff meetings.
These concerns might include aspects of a child’s behaviour. Any
concerns are recorded in the minutes.
A Behaviour Log is accessed via the Pupil Info Database. Staff
should record a brief description of any incident that is reported to
them and any actions taken. They should note any further relevant
information and keep these records in case detailed evidence is
needed at a later date.
The Head keeps written records of any cases that are referred.
Parents are informed and consulted if their child's behaviour is a
cause for concern. All communication with parents is recorded.
Drawn up May 2012
Next review December 2012
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May 2012
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