Scarcliffe Primary School

Our Behaviour Principles

At Scarcliffe we have adopted a policy of positively reinforcing the standards of behaviour which we are seeking to achieve throughout the school.  Our vision and ethos promote a happy, friendly environment in which we all Strive to Shine. Striving to Shine refers to both academic and non-academic behaviour, both in and out of the classroom.  One of our values states:

We should all be respectful and caring to others.

It is every child's entitlement to feel they are in an environment that is safe, encouraging positive behaviour and correcting unacceptable behaviour fairly but firmly. Children are encouraged to take pride in their school and the way they behave around school.  Below are our school's behaviour principles:

Our Behaviour Principles

• Everyone at our school has the right to be respected and to feel safe. Nobody else has the right to conduct themselves in a way which makes someone else feel unsafe or not respected.
• We all have high expectations in terms of how children at Scarcliffe should behave and conduct themselves. These expectations are explicitly shared with all pupils.
• Staff understand that all behaviours (positive or otherwise) are a form of communication.
• As staff, it is our role to find out what children are trying to communicate through their behaviour. Questions we might consider include: Is the child bored?  Is the work they are doing too easy?  Is the work too challenging?  Is the child experiencing difficulties outside of class – at home or with their peers?  Is this behaviour out of character?
• Children come to school to learn academic subjects, but crucially, they come to school to learn how to behave in order for them to become good citizens. We have a key role in shaping this aspect of our pupils’ development.
• The vast majority of people respond to positive praise and reinforcements. This approach also makes classrooms a more positive and supportive environment to be in. 
• Much like other aspects of schooling, some children need additional support in terms of their behaviour. As a school, we will endeavour to provide children with the support, interventions and structures they need in order for them to be able to succeed.
• When dealing with a behaviour incident, staff will endeavour to identify the trigger which led to the behaviour and will then work with the pupil to decide on the consequence / repair.
• We believe behaviours are a choice. We help children to understand the alternative choices they can make so they can decide which might be the best one.
• We will support children in making better choices by helping them to recognise triggers.
• When dealing with a behaviour issue, we will work hard to support the victim and the perpetrator.
• We will not make assumptions about what has happened. We will ask key questions:

1. What happened?
2. How did that make you feel?
3. What could you do better next time?

• We will work closely with parents and carers as partners and will keep them informed if significant behaviour incidents occur.
• Staff will promote and demonstrate positive behaviours and will foster a positive culture in school.
• Staff will respond to children with clear boundaries about what is inappropriate, safe and acceptable – both in terms of learning behaviours and pupil conduct. They will focus on this during the establishment phase and will frequently remind their class about their expectations. 
• Children need to be given the opportunity to calm down in a safe, calm space before behaviour incidents are addressed.
• Staff will endeavour to understand behaviour triggers for individual children and will use effective de-escalation techniques to maintain high levels of good behaviour.
• We understand that children will make mistakes in terms of their behaviour and we praise them for their honesty in owning their behaviour.

To see our full behaviour policy, please click here.