Behaviour

At Boughton-under-Blean & Dunkirk Methodist Primary School, we aim to develop excellent standards of behaviour through our ‘BuB Way’ behaviour curriculum. This curriculum clearly defines the behaviours and habits that we expect pupils to demonstrate and is underpinned by our Christian values of friendship, trust, justice, perseverance and forgiveness. We want to support our pupils to grow into adults who are kind, polite and respectful and who put others before themselves. We believe that as pupils practise these behaviours, over time they become automatic routines that positively shape how they feel about themselves and how other people perceive them. As the philosopher Aristotle stated, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

The Bub Way behaviour curriculum also draws upon guidance from the Department for Education’s ‘Behaviour in Schools’ (September 2022) which states:

• Good behaviour in schools is central to a good education. Schools need to manage behaviour well so they can provide calm, safe and supportive environments which children and young people want to attend and where they can learn and thrive. Being taught how to behave well and appropriately within the context they’re in is vital for all pupils to succeed personally.
• A behaviour curriculum defines the expected behaviours in school, rather than only a list of prohibited behaviours. It is centred on what successful behaviour looks like and defines it clearly for all parties. A behaviour curriculum does not need to be exhaustive, but represent the key habits and routines required in the school.

We teach explicitly the behaviours we expect so that it is easy for pupils to behave. We aim to ensure that excellent behaviour is a minimum expectation for all. We have clear and concise rules, routines, rewards and sanctions that everyone follows. We ensure that all adults are calm, consistent and fair in their response to behaviour.

It’s a way to teach pupils ‘how we do things around here’.

There are three overarching behaviour principles which form the ‘BuB Way’:

Relentless Routines

We will teach and re-inforce these overarching behaviour principles using our ‘Relentless Routines’.

Adaptations

While this curriculum is for all pupils, it will be applied differently in different year groups depending on pupils’ ages and may be applied differently depending on individual pupil’s SEND needs. We need to acknowledge that reaching these high standards of behaviour will be harder for some children than it is for their peers. This doesn’t mean we lower our expectations; it means we scaffold to help them succeed. A good scaffold can be considered a reasonable adjustment. Some of these adjustments can be adapted, or slowly removed over time. Some of them are features of good, inclusive practice and don’t ever need changing or removing. Examples may include visual timetables, preparing for transitions or change, pre-teaching, individual reward charts or specific behaviour plans.

Praise and Rewards

We believe that outstanding behaviours and attitudes to learning are achieved through positive reinforcement and that excellence should be rewarded. We use a combination of verbal praise and extrinsic rewards to show that pupils are valued, recognised and noticed.

Examples of praise and rewards the school will use include:

• Immediate verbal praise
• Public display of pupils demonstrating positive behaviours on class recognition board
• Earning house points for meeting or exceeding behaviour expectations
• Postcards/ notes home praising pupils
• Public celebration of pupils consistently demonstrating good behaviour in celebration assemblies
• Invitation to ‘Always’ hot chocolate with Mr Way

Sanctions

We believe that all pupils are capable of excellent behaviour but there will be times where mistakes are made. We wish to make children understand that their actions matter. We want to encourage pupils to think about their behaviour and to change it in the future. We also want other pupils to see that there are consequences to misbehaviour. Sanctions must be timely, fair and consistent. School staff will work hard to explain the reason for a sanction to a child. This may be immediate or in a restorative conversation following a sanction.

Sanctions the school will use will include:

• Anonymous re-direction e.g. I am waiting for 2 more pairs of eyes …
• Reminders and correction of behaviours
• A slip sent home to parents for continued disruption
• Time out of the classroom with a member of SLT
• Individual behaviour plan

Most behaviour issues can be responded to by following the rewards and sanctions outlined above. However there are some examples of specific behaviour that will result in a different or more immediate response. These include child on child sexual violence or harassment, online behaviour incidents and bullying. Such incidents will need to be reported to a member of the safeguarding team and dealt with according to safeguarding and anti-bullying procedures set out in these policies.