Classroom Behaviour Management and Behaviour Procedures Policy

Aims

The following policy is intended to guide all personnel within school:
- As to the types of teaching strategies we support and ones which we do not condone. We acknowledge the long term negative effects of punishment and instead strive to promote positive behaviour through a method of discipline that teaches and encourages our students to participate in a democratically respectful environment.
- The types of behaviour which we expect to see from our children, the ways in which we will encourage and reward good behaviour and sanction misbehaviour are herein outlined. It is important that children are treated consistently, with all adults in school having the same understanding of acceptable behaviours, following the same reward system and exercising the same sanctions for misbehaviour.
As well as keeping in mind our vision statement we should at all times, in relation to behaviour, be aware of the paragraph in our school philosophy statement that reads: ' We will promote a caring ethos throughout the school (between children, staff and parents) so there is an atmosphere of mutual respect and co-operation.'
Good behaviour follows naturally when children see the need for it, when they are treated with respect and when they see good role models in the behaviour of the adults around them. We need to be aware as adults that we are powerful influences (for good and bad) upon the children in our care and this influence can be experienced by the children even when we are not conscious or aware of it.

Objectives

Behaviour

We aim to uphold the important rights of everyone at IBSB. These rights include:
- The right to communicate ideas, feelings and needs.
- The right to move safely around the school.
- The right to work and learn.
- The right to feel secure at all times and, if disputes occur, to have them settled positively, fairly and non-aggressively.
The implications of these rights and the “Golden Rules” will be discussed with classes. The Golden Rules are:
- Don’t lie, don’t cheat and don’t steal.
- No chewing gum.
- Wear school uniform / follow the dress code.
- Use mobile phones only during break times.
- Drinks and snacks to be consumed only during break times.
- Lunch should be consumed only in the lunch room.
- Be punctual to lessons.
- Leave bags tidily in classrooms during break times.
- Be quiet before and during assemblies.
- Look after your own property.
We believe that discipline is more effective when there is no element of judgement. For this reason we acknowledge the educational benefits of making mistakes and learning from natural consequences.
Rules will be displayed prominently in classrooms, and referred to regularly, so that children will be quite clear as to expectations and their behaviour.
- These will need to be different for children of different age groups so that the rules are clear and in appropriate language for the children concerned.
It must be made clear to children that the expectations are the same whether they are in the classroom or out, whether it is their teacher or any other adult within school - acceptable behaviour is expected in all aspects of school life.
Each teacher should make concerted efforts to catch students being good. We believe we can shape the behaviour of students by rewarding and praising good behaviour when it is observed.

We encourage and support the following strategies towards disciplining children.

Strategies for Avoiding Power Struggles…

Use non verbal communication; non verbal gestures to ask for silence, to ask students to start writing or non verbal gestures to ask a student to move can all achieve co operation and avoid power struggle.
Write instructionson the board instead of giving them orally, this could include for example, ‘I would like everyone to sit quietly.’ If children continue to talk, you can simply tap the board with a pen and ask the class, ‘Are we currently following this instruction.’
Describe desirable behavioras an indirect instruction instead of directly giving orders. For example, ‘Sitting quietly’ ‘Walking in a line’ ‘Pack up quietly’
Use curiosity questions: These are questions that encourage the students to find solutions for themselves instead of being given instructions. Examples include, ‘What do we need to do to prepare for the lesson’ instead of ‘Sit down and be quiet.’
Use discretion: When giving instructions to individual students, approach the student and whisper the instructions in the students ear. This gives them the opportunity to avoid embarrassment.
Give choices: Word your instructions in a manner that gives the child a choice without being disrespectful. An example could include, ‘I know I can’t force you to cooperate so I’m going to say, you have the choice to either leave the room when I ask you, or you can choose not to take it personally when I take this issue to Mr Ciprian’
Make promises not warnings: A warning provokes fear and aggression, instead explain to the child what action you are going to take if they continue their behaviour. This can be delivered in a calm and respectful way.
Give the child an opportunity to contribute: Power struggle is linked to a child’s attempt to gain autonomy, therefore give the child responsibility for an area of the class, for example, put the child in charge of handing out books, or perhaps making sure the class sit in a seating arrangement.

Strategies for dealing with Attention Seeking…

Give only due attention: Attention seeking is when a child attempts to get attention at an undue or inappropriate time. Therefore when a child is attention seeking, ignore them. If you have to speak to them, do not give them eye contact. Then come back and give them the full attention when they are quieter. This takes some time, but will in the long term stop the negative behavior.
Catch them out when behaving: Quite simply, ignore the bad behavior and give full acknowledgement when they are behaving positively. Use physical touch on the shoulders and talk with them when they are on task.

Strategies for dealing with a rowdy class…

Be unpredictable: Doing something unpredictable can maintain the attention of the class, this could include teaching while walking around the room or teaching from the back of the room. Teaching while standing beside a student who is likely to be talkative can be effective. Other strategies include using PowerPoint with sound effects, using related music as a lesson starter or intriguing tasks that provoke the curiosity of the student. The idea is to keep it fresh!
Fight fire with fire: an example of behavior such as note passing could include a teacher writing a note of their own say, ‘STOP PASSING NOTES’ and then to pass the note around the class. Another example is to ignore the noise and begin teaching but to speak very quietly so that the students will have to stop talking to hear what you are saying.

Use humor; A good sense of humor and personal stories makes a teacher interesting and also builds a relationship with the students. Making a short joke or a short funny story and then bring the conversation back onto the topic of the lesson is a good way to redirect the attention of the students.
Go with what works; any respectful dignified method of making a class quiet is worth trying again.

We do not condone the following strategies for disciplining children.

Public humiliation: this includes, shouting at children, embarrassing punishments, unreasonable criticism, publically highlighting failures, writing names on the board, and disrespectful use of humour and sarcasm. These types of behaviour can encourage children to give up on learning or seek revenge. Long term effects can include damage to the individuals self esteem or social withdrawal.

Unrelated punishment: this may include, break time detentions for not understanding lesson material or writing lines for arriving late to class. This approach is often perceived as unfair and can create deep resentment and anger towards a teacher which can have long term effects on the child in their future.

Intimidation: this may include, continuous staring at a child for being talkative, making unreasonable threats to the child, shouting aggressively, blackmailing, or insulting the child. Children have a right to learn in an environment without fear. This type of approach invites rebellion as all human beings tend to eventually turn against authority figures that they perceive to be tyrannical.

Dismissal of rights:Teachers should expect to explain the reasons behind their requests. If a child objects to an assigned task then the reasons for the task should be explained. However, this is should be done at a time which is convenient to the teacher and student and it is understood that there may be times when “Please, for now, start the task and will explain the reasons soon” is necessary. The important point though, is that we, as teachers, should be required to answer these questions and students’ rights should not be dismissed out of hand.

Disrespecting the individuality of the child:this includes, telling the child what they are feeling, aggressively forcing our beliefs and values onto the child , unnecessary violation of privacy e.g. opening text messages on a student’s mobile phone, publically discussing students’ academic performance or relationships in front of other students. Children have a great need for privacy as part of the individuation process. If we consider the word education, in its original meaning in Ancient Greece, to educate meant to ‘bring forward’ not to ‘stuff in.’

Furthermore we strongly oppose the following methods of disciplining children.

Corporal Punishment:this includes, slapping, hitting, spanking or any other method of physically assaulting a child as a means to punish them. This method teaches children that physical violence is an acceptable method of handling difficult situations. Children model their behaviour on the adult figures in their lives. Discipline through violence teaches children to be violent, discipline through mutual patience and respect teaches children to be patient and respectful.

Promoting bigotry:this includes racist, sexist, or homophobic humour. This includes making statements that encourage children to support the oppression of the identities of other people. As an International school we have a duty to promote the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As children will model the adults in their lives, we must act with integrity, professionalism and with a healthy worldview.

Unhealthy relationships:this includes, offering exclusive privileges to certain students that creates an imbalance in fairness. Having personal relationships or personal friendships with a student that transcends the professional requirements of the institution. This can also include spending inappropriate time with students that compromises the teacher-student relationship. Our role as teachers is to be friendly well wishers, not friends.

Rewards and Sanctions

Rewards

Praise the good behaviour of others or find a way to praise the individual’s good behaviour if possible.
A merit system will be used to award good behaviour and academic effort and achievement in classes.
- The students will collect merits throughout the year and bronze, silver, gold and platinum certificates will be awarded by the relevant Head of School (200 merits = bronze, 350 = silver, 650 = gold, 1500 = platinum) In addition a diamond certificate will be awarded for the student with the most merits at the end of the year. Merits will be awarded taking into account the following criteria: classroom contribution (1 to 3 merits), homework (1 to 5 merits) and test results (1 to 5 merits). Merits will be recorded on weekly basis in the school data base according to the weekly merit/warning sheet subject teachers have to submit to a designated coordinator. The students will also keep a record of their merits in their students profile folder and in their homework diaries.
A house points system will also be used to reward students involvement in extra curricular activities and school life, (see house system policy).

Sanctions

In the case where students do not demonstrate good behaviour in the school a hierarchy of sanctions (detailed below) will be followed. This is necessary in order to promote a good educational environment where the highest standards of teaching and learning can be achieved.

Behaviour

Give a verbal warning (up to 3) then give a written warning.
- As a suggestion the teacher can also withdraw a break time, supervised by the teacher who gave the warning. The misbehaviour should be discussed with the student during this period so that the student is fully aware of their misbehaviour. The fact that this break was withdrawn should be recorded in a student’s diary (if not available then it should be demanded by a deadline. If this is not met then a written warning should be given).
The written warnings are put on a merits/warning sheet. This sheet is submitted weekly to a designated coordinator and recorded in a database and in their Student Planners.

Each warning should also be recorded in a student’s diary. Each student should have their diaries with them during each lesson, if not then this is a possible warning in itself.

If a teacher believes that more than two warnings are necessary in one lesson then an incident sheet needs to be completed.
If a student receives more than 3 warnings in a week they will be obliged to attend a behaviour committee run by senior members of staff. This committee:
- Is held weekly
- Will discuss individual misbehaviour.
- Will follow the guidelines below:
  - 1 detention per warningheld during breaks or lunch times 12:50 – 1:05 and supervised by a member of staff on the committee (if 3 warnings are given by an individual teacher then that teacher will hold the detentions).
  - Also a 10 minute detention held after school on a Monday – if student goes home by school bus then the relevant driver will be asked to wait.
    - During this time their misbehaviour may be discussed further and sanctions (listed below in Possible sanctions list) given.
    - During the detentions each student’s planner will be checked (to see if their warnings have been recorded by teachers) and an entry made as to the attendance to a behaviour committee (if the student does not have it with them then breaks will continue to be removed until they do).
  - If misbehaviour occurs during these detentions,( they are missed or attended late) then the extra detentions will be given and if necessary, warnings.

If a student attends 3 or more behaviour committees in a half term then:
- A Saturday morning detention will be given.
- Parents will be informed by phone and / or a letter inviting them into school to discuss their child’s behaviour.
- Students will be placed on a weekly lesson by lesson monitoring sheet with targets set by student in collaboration with their form teacher, a member of the behaviour committee and parents.
  - This sheet is to be collected by the student from their form teacher when they arrive in the morning at the beginning of the week and submitted at the end of each the day / morning registration the next morning to their form teacher and a designated staff member of the behaviour committee. Students are required to give the sheet to their teacher at the beginning of each lesson / break and to collect it at the end of each lesson / period.
  - The monitoring sheets are kept by the students themselves in their student planners (a plastic folder will be available in their planners) after they have been seen by their form teacher.
  - The monitoring sheets can also be used at the discretion of form teachers in special cases.
  - Comments will be written for:
- Not working hard enough in the lesson.
- Misbehaviour or lack of punctuality by individual subject and form teachers.
- Not collecting the sheet at the beginning of the week.
- Not submitting the sheet to a teacher at the beginning of a lesson or collecting it at the end.
- Not submitting the sheet to a form teacher by the morning registration of the next day they attend school.
- Not keeping their sheets in their student planners.
  - Students will be removed from the monitoring sheet if they complete 130 consecutive sessions (2 weeks worth) with no fails (this includes breaks and lessons).
  - If a student consistently fails their targets on the weekly monitoring sheet or appears a further 3 times in one half term in the behaviour committee then they are on the point of suspension of up to one week.
  - If a student runs through this entire procedure twice then they are on the point of permanent exclusion.

Behavioural Consequences for students who are obliged to attend the behaviour committee will meet the following criteria:

To be reasonable.
To be related to the behavioural incident.
To be respectful to the student and member of staff.
To have an educational benefit.

We feel that the consequences above can only be beneficial if students are punctual and act in a respectful manner.

Misbehaviours include (N.B. This is not an exhaustive list but does cover the types of behaviour which are considered to be inappropriate.

Physical abuse of others.
Verbal abuse of others (including swearing and demeaning others)
Theft or destruction of other people’s property (including the schools)
Lying or cheating
Not following other reasonable classroom rules set by individual teachers.
Breaking the golden rules of the school.
Not wearing school uniform or following the dress code.

The school reserves the right to miss out any of the strategies above if the behaviour is deemed severe (severity differs from one circumstance to another). Possible severe behaviours may include:

Physical or severe verbal abuse of others.
Severe theft or destruction of other people’s property (including the schools)

Again this list is not exhaustive but does cover the types of behaviour which are considered to be inappropriate.

Homework

If a student does not complete homework then this should be recorded on the merits/warning sheet but warnings will not be given for this.
Instead they will be obliged to attend school on the next Saturday morning and complete their homework then. Parents should be informed of this fact through comments written by the relevant teacher (teacher for whom the homework was not completed for) in their planners.
- If a student cannot attend the next Saturday morning then parents should notify through the student planner which Saturday can be attended.
- This will be supervised by a member of the behaviour committee or any member of staff if agreed.
- If a student does not attend then a warning will be given and asked to attend on the next Saturday morning. Parents should also be informed and necessary arrangements made.