North East Wolverhampton
Academy
Excellence through Endeavour
Behaviour for Learning Policy
North East Wolverhampton Academy
Date of Development: Spring Term 2014
Date of Implementation: Summer Term 2014
Approved by Governors: 17.11.14
Planned Date for Policy Review: Summer Term 2015
North East Wolverhampton Academy believes in a positive learning culture, where everyone
has the right to feel safe, enjoy their learning, achieve to the best of their ability and be
treated with respect. Everyone has a responsibility for their own behaviour, to safeguard the
rights of other people and to treat others with respect.
Rationale
Our behaviour system will:
• Be followed by everyone
• Be clear and straightforward
• Be verbal and visual
• Be accessible to parents, staff and students
• Emphasise rewarding good behaviour
• Have clear expectations of staff and students
• Require us all to use a specific dialogue
• Not replace common sense
• Be used alongside many other well practised strategies
• Record behaviours and actions using SIMS
Communicating the behaviour policy to the Academy community
The Academy will ensure that students are aware that they are expected to adhere to the
Respect values and high standards of behaviour. The behaviour policy and behaviour
procedures are communicated through form tutors, assemblies, information within the
student planners and notices in classrooms. The behaviour policy will be available on the
Academy website. The Academy values its partnership with parents and expects parents to
support the Academy in maintaining its high standards of behaviour.
Equality Act
In relation to the Behaviour Policy and Code of Conduct, the Academy will have due regard
for the promotion of equality and ensure that its policies, expectations and sanctions do not
unlawfully discriminate.
Power to discipline beyond the school gate
Dealing with behaviour outside the Academy and when using technologies including ICT.
The Academy’s behaviour policy allows the Academy to regulate students behaviour where
the students are not in Academy or in the charge of the Academy e.g. in the immediate
vicinity of the Academy, on the journey to and from the Academy or when clearly identifiable
as a member of the Academy, when the behaviour is witnessed by a member of staff or
reported to the Academy. Students may be outside the Academy on Academy business
including for example Academy trips and educational visits, college courses, sporting
activities and work experience placements. In such circumstances, breaches of the
behaviour policy will be dealt with as if they had taken place in Academy.
The behaviour policy extends to when students are using technologies including mobile
phones and the internet.
For behaviour outside the Academy, but not on Academy business, including through the
use of the technologies such as mobile phones and the internet, the Academy may discipline
a student with a sanction, including an exclusion decided upon by the Principal, if there is a
clear link between that behaviour and maintaining good behaviour and discipline among the
student body as a whole.
The Principal will consider whether it is appropriate to notify the police of the actions taken
against a student. If the behaviour is criminal or poses a serious threat to a member of the
public, the police will be informed. In addition, the Academy will consider whether this
misbehaviour may be linked to the child suffering or being likely to suffer, significant harm. In
which case, the academy will follow its Safeguarding Policy.
The harassment of staff
The harassment, abuse or intimidation of staff, both on and off the premises, including via
the use of technologies such as mobile phones and the internet, is considered a serious
breach of the Academy’s behaviour policy.
The Code of Behaviour
We expect students to:
• Comply with instructions from staff, including support staff
• Respect all people and not to discriminate against others based on race, religion,
gender, sexual orientation or disability
• Attend the Academy regularly
• Arrive into the Academy and in class on time, ready to learn, with the correct
equipment
• Comply with the uniform policy and wear the uniform with pride
• Respect and take care of the Academy premises, buildings and property
• Respect the property of other people in the Academy community
• Keep work areas and social areas tidy, clean and free from litter
• Focus on their learning, taking a pride in their work, including presentation
• Complete homework and coursework assignments on time and to the best of their
ability
• Have due regard for the health and safety of others
• Comply with screening and searching for prohibited items if required
• Comply with the health and safety procedures and instructions in lessons and
around the building
• Safeguard themselves and others by not leaning over or playing near stairwells
• Use the dining facilities and social eating areas in a safe, orderly fashion
• Maintain safe practices in queues and large groups – with no play fighting, pushing
or pulling
• Make visitors to the Academy welcome
• Provide good example of behaviour to students in younger year groups
• Maintain a high standard of behaviour, on the way to and from the Academy, when
representing the Academy as well as when clearly identifiable as a member of the
Academy community
• Respect the Academy’s neighbours and the local community
The following are not allowed in the Academy:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Alcohol, illegal drugs, drug paraphernalia and substances
Aerosol cans, laser pens
Chewing gum
Cigarettes, cigarette paper, tobacco, cigarette lighters, matches etc.
Weapons and offensive weapons such as BB guns, knives, catapults etc.
Fireworks and other dangerous/noxious items
Stolen property
Pornographic images
Any other item that can be detrimental to the smooth running of the Academy
•
Materials of any format that are discriminatory against those protected under the
Equality Act eg: racist or homophobic literature
•
Promotion of any radical ideologies and extremism of any kind
Sanctions
Where students choose not to respond to the academies high standards of behaviour and
breach the behaviour policy, then students must accept that consequences will be imposed.
Within the Behaviour for Learning policy, there are stepped levels of recorded inappropriate
behaviours ranging from C1 – through to C4, with stepped levels of sanctions. Students who
do not comply at one level move up to the next. (Appendix A). For more serious breaches of
discipline the decision regarding which sanctions to impose will take into account a number
of factors including: the nature of the incident, a student’s age, any religious requirements
that may affect them, provocation and any special educational needs or disability they may
have as well as the individual student’s behaviour record. Incidents of this nature are
stepped from C5 – C8. (Appendix A)
Additional information regarding sanctions
Under the Education and Inspections Act 2006, staff have specific legal power to impose
detentions outside school hours.
Parental consent is not required for a detention to go ahead and parents cannot over-rule
the Academy’s decision to issue a detention for a student under the age of 18.
Although notice is not necessary for an after school detention, we will endeavour to give
parents notice.
If a student does not attend a detention that has been set; disrupts or refuses to stay in a
detention then a further or higher level sanction may be imposed, which might be a fixed
term exclusion, imposed by the Principal.
Confiscation of inappropriate items
Under the general powers to discipline, members of staff may confiscate, retain or dispose
of a student’s property,
Items that may be confiscated:
• An item that poses a threat to others or that is on the prohibited list above
• An item that disrupts learning eg a student using a mobile phone or other hand held
device in class
• Items that are not allowed in a venue used for a public examination or during controlled
assessments
• Items that are against Academy uniform rules
• Items that are counter to the ethos of the Academy
• Items that are illegal for a child to have eg racist or pornographic materials
• Items that disrupt the smooth running of the Academy
Tracking behaviour and managing persistent breaches of the Academy behaviour
policy
The academy monitors breaches of the Academy behaviour policy electronically. This
enables the Academy to identify individual students with persistent poor behaviour.
If a student is identified as continuing to misbehave by breaching the academy’s behaviour
code, despite sanctions having been imposed, then the academy will work on various
behaviour management strategies to refocus the student.
The Academy has various strategies to support students in changing their behaviour. The
choice of which strategies to employ is based on an assessment of an individual student’s
needs but might include any of the following:
• The Academy engaging with the parents
• Regular reviews, including interim reports
• Close monitoring including different levels of monitoring reports
• Changing tutor group or teaching group
• Consideration by the faculty for support
• Providing ‘time out’ opportunities if appropriate
•Parents and the academy
• ‘At risk of permanent exclusion’ meetings
• Mediation meetings
• Meeting with the governors’ discipline committee
• Referral to a specific support such as the Education Welfare Officer, Children’s
Services, Educational Psychological, Child Adolescent Mental Health Service,
• A managed move to another local school with the consent of all parties
Multi-agency approach
The Academy has a multi-agency approach to support students who display continuous
disruptive behaviour. Therefore, some students are already referred to specific staff and/or
agencies such as Specialist CAMHS or the Educational Psychologist. For students who are
not already referred, parents will be encouraged to support the Academy’s
recommendations that they agree to a specialist referral to assess whether the behaviour is
due to any unmet underlying educational or other need.
Exclusions
The ultimate sanction available to the Principal is exclusion – including permanent exclusion.
The decision to exclude is never taken lightly. Only the Principal can exclude a student.
Other exclusion-related activities, including the investigation, may be delegated to other
staff.
When making decisions on exclusions and administering the exclusion procedure, the
Principal must comply with the law and must also have regard to the current guidance.
If a student has been involved in a serious incident at the Academy that breaches the
Academy behaviour policy which incorporates the code of behaviour, the Principal may
decide to exclude the student from the Academy. This means that for the period of exclusion
the student cannot attend the Academy or come near to the Academy premises. Exclusions
may be fixed term exclusions, which means that the student may return to the Academy
once the exclusion has been served, or a permanent exclusion which means that the
student may never return to the North East Wolverhampton Academy.
A student may be excluded after being involved in a single or ‘one off’ incident that is a
serious breach of the behaviour code. Examples of such an incident could include:
]• Drug and alcohol related incidents
• Incidents involving cigarettes, tobacco, cigarette lighters or matches
• Incidents involving offensive weapons
• Stealing
• Swearing at teachers or other staff; threatening staff
• Serious actual or threatened violence against another student or member of staff
• Destructive behaviour
• Deliberate damage to academy property or the property of other members of the
Academy community
•Incidents impacting on the health and safety of other students or members of staff
• Bringing the reputation of the academy into disrepute
Or a student may be excluded for persistent poor behaviour. In the case of student with a
history of poor behaviour, a relatively minor offence might also trigger an exclusion.
Examples of persistent poor behaviour may include:
• Persistent disruption of lessons
• Persistent bullying
• Persistent refusal to comply with instructions
The above lists are by no means exhaustive and merely indicate the type of incident which
may lead to exclusion.
Education during exclusions
When students are excluded the Head of Year will provide work for them to do at home. This
will be collected and returned to Head of Year.
If an exclusion is longer than five days then arrangements will be made for the student to
receive appropriate education equivalent to full-time education from the sixth day. This will
usually be off-site.
Public examinations during an exclusion period
The Academy will make arrangements for excluded students, including permanently
excluded students, to sit any public examination that fall within the exclusion period.
However, the examination may be supervised in isolation or held at another examination
centre for example at another local school.
Where a child should be during exclusions
Parents have a duty to ensure that when their child is excluded that he/she is not present in
a public place during school hours during the first five days of an exclusion, unless there is
reasonable justification for this. It will be for parents to show reasonable justification. If
parents do allow their child in a public place then they may receive a penalty notice from the
LA. They must also ensure that their child does not come to the academy during the period
of exclusion, especially to meet friends, at the end of the Academy day.
Appendix A
Behaviour for learning:
Consequences
If there is a behavioural issue the consequences system will apply. This will apply to
students at any time that they are in Academy uniform.
Consequences will be displayed in all classrooms and corridors.
C1 - If a student ignores the Academy Respect Values outside of lesson a verbal
warning will be issued by the member of staff. The member of staff will state to the
student that they are not following the Academy Respect Values because of their
behaviour and tell the student this is their first warning. This is the students’
opportunity to change their behaviour. When in a classroom the students name will
be written on the board.
C2 – If a student continues to ignore the Academy Respect Values a second warning
will be issued. Where possible a written warning will be issued.
C3 – If a student continues to behave in an unacceptable manner, they will be issued
a 30 minute detention and where possible they will be removed to another
classroom.
C4 –A student who continues to ignore the Academy Respect Values may be placed
in withdrawal by HoY/P.O. Parents/carers will be informed that their child has been
placed in withdrawal, the reason why and will also give notice of a detention being
issued.When in withdrawal the student must complete a restorative piece of writing
surrounding the circumstances that lead them to a C5. In addition to being placed in
withdrawal the student will be issued a 60 min HoD detention (superseding the
previous 30min subject detention), where possible on the same day that they are
removed from the lesson.
C5 – If a student persistently fails to adhere to the Academy Respect Values a 90
minute ALT detention will be issued.
C6 – C6 will result in internal exclusion for a fixed period of time.
C7- C7will result in external exclusion for a fixed period of time.
C8 – C8 as a result of a critical incident or an accumulation of serious incidents will
result in the permanent exclusion of a student.