RNIB Three Spires Academy
Policy to promote Positive Behaviour and Self
Esteem
“Enhancing the self esteem of children is now acknowledged as a key factor
in the promotion of more positive relationships, learning and behaviour within
the classroom”. Jenny Moseley (2001).
Context
This policy acknowledges that all pupils at RNIB Three Spires Academy and
in the Foundation Stage have Special Educational Needs but also recognises
that each is an individual with a unique personality and circumstances. The
academy has high expectations of all its pupils and their behaviour and
supports the development of their skills to enable them to be happy and
successful members of the school community. The school’s value system is
at the heart of the policy and applies to all adults, as well as pupils at school.
This policy also takes into account the issue of some children who may
present challenging behaviours and who need additional strategies and
support to enable them to develop their personal and social skills.
Aims
 To develop children’s ability to work and play together in a happy,
supportive environment that respects and values all individuals.
 To promote self-esteem and self-discipline in children.
 To ensure a positive and consistent approach to the management of
behaviour throughout the school, that recognises that it is the child’s
inappropriate behaviour that is not acceptable – not the child.
 To provide a broad and balanced curriculum, appropriate to the needs of
individuals and groups, that engages, challenges and rewards children
thus minimising the potential for challenging behaviour.
 To plan in-service training for staff to support the development of skills
needed to promote positive behaviour and self-esteem, and to deal with
challenging behaviour.
 To support and encourage staff to manage behaviours calmly and
consistency maintaining dignity and respect.
 To ensure the safety and well being of all children in our care is
paramount.
RNIB Three Spires Academy – Specialist Learning
Academy sponsor: RNIB Specialist Learning Trust, registered company number
8478985
Objectives
 To reward children for positive, appropriate behaviour and raise their self
esteem.
 To help children recognise their strengths and value themselves as
individuals.
 To teach children the skills needed to behave appropriately in a variety of
contexts.
 To encourage children to take responsibility for their own behaviour.
 To encourage children to abide by the class rules which they contribute to,
and which support the underpinning values of school life.
 To develop children’s ability to take into account the needs of others as
well as themselves and build positive relationships with peers and adults.
 To involve children in the setting, monitoring and evaluating of their targets
to develop personal and social skills. Many children at Three Spires
experience difficulty with the following interpersonal skills as a
consequence of their SEN
- Expressing an opinion
- Relating to others
- Coping with stress
- Trusting others
- Coping with anger
- Making decisions
- Managing feelings of affection and sexuality
 To support and counsel children through difficult times which may impact
on their behaviour.
 To provide regular, timetabled sessions to deliver a carefully planned
PSHE Curriculum and Circle Time that enables children to learn about and
discuss issues relating to behaviour and self-esteem.
School values
The following values have been agreed by pupils, staff and governors. They
underpin all that happens in our academy and are essential to all children and
adults that work and play here.
Everyone at RNIB Three Spires Academy has a right to:
 be safe
 recognition of themselves as unique individuals
 be treated with respect and dignity
 learn in a safe environment
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 be protected from harm and verbal abuse.
Classroom Management
 The values which underpin the school ethos contain the elements which
we all believe to be important to ensure a well ordered and happy school
and as such are reflected in all aspects of academy life.
 Class Rules are discussed and decided upon by the children and staff in
each individual class. They reflect the age and ability of the group and will
be positive statements about the expectations of all children. They relate
closely to the values of individuality, respect, learning and safety.
 Children know about the systems that are in place to promote good
behaviour and self esteem and staff are proactive in ensuring all children
are appropriately rewarded and praised for positive behaviour.
 Although the emphasis is on the promotion of positive behaviour, children
will also be made aware of the consequences of inappropriate and/or
consistently poor behaviour. In most classes this is reinforced through the
use of ‘smiley face’ charts, timers and golden time.
 Staff are aware of the complex needs of the children in their care and
particular regard is given to the emotional needs of children, many of
whom may have had a difficult start in life or who are ‘looked after’ children
(See also Policy for Looked After Children).
 In planning to meet the needs of the children in their class, teachers must
ensure that careful preparation is undertaken in order to avoid times when
children are unsure of what to do, or at break and lunchtimes.
The following points need careful consideration and planning in order to avoid
possible difficulties:
 Children understand what is expected of them at all times.
 A consistent approach to positive behaviour management is adopted
throughout school and staff support each other.
 Staff are aware of the communication difficulties of pupils and make every
effort to give clear instructions through the use of a total communication
approach including key language, signs or symbols.
 Work is appropriately planned and differentiated and delivered in a
stimulating way which engages children.
 Equipment is easily accessible and stored by children as appropriate to
their age and needs.
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 Children are monitored as they move around school and potentially difficult
times are well supervised e.g. beginning and end of playtimes, early
morning and end of day, toileting routines, etc.
 Visual timetables are used to prepare children for the day ahead.
 Children are prepared when there is a change to classroom routines or
when there is a change to the staffing arrangements in their class.
 Some children find lunchtimes/playtimes difficult and should be given the
option of being able to access lunchtime clubs or engage in structured
activities.
 Sharing of intervention plans and positive handling plans with all relevant
parties.
Off site management of pupils
 Off site activities and visits are an integral part of the curriculum. They
require a safe and structured context to be provided and expectations for
pupil behaviour should be clearly outlined. Children should know that they
are expected to be well behaved when out of school and that safety is
paramount.
 If a child’s behaviour is a cause for concern before a trip takes place then
various options should be explored, for instance the provision of an extra
member of staff to provide support or the child’s parent or carer may be
asked to accompany them. These options should be discussed with the
headteacher or member of the Senior Leadership Team prior to the visit.
 Coventry City Council EVOLVE online risk assessment should be
completed before the class leaves the school site. This will be checked by
the EVC leader and the headteacher. In the event of problematic
behaviour by a child whilst out of school a number of options are open to
staff.
These include:
 Removing the child to the minibus – it is strongly recommended that two
members of staff accompany the child to the minibus. A decision on the
safety of the rest of the group will determine whether:
 The trip is abandoned and the whole group return to school
or
 The child is returned to school either by staff on the trip or
additional help is obtained by telephoning school.
It is essential that a mobile phone is carried at all times on leaving the
school premises.
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Strategies to promote positive behaviour and self
esteem
Behaviour is more likely to improve if children feel good about themselves
and the environment in which they learn. The following systems promote and
reward achievement in academic work and personal and social skills:
 Regular praise and positive remarks about acts of consideration
 PSHE is taught as a discrete subject and includes work on tolerance,
valuing differences and mutual respect.
 Class based systems using stamps, stickers, ‘caught you being good
cards’ etc. appropriate to the age and needs of the children.
 Stamps collected to work towards a gold star certificate and reward from
the Headteacher or member of SLT.
 Whole school assembly on Friday recognises and celebrates
achievements when children show their certificates and/or work. Children
then put their names on the ‘Stars of the Week’ board and their names are
put in the ‘Stars of the Week’ book. Certificates are then taken home.
Parents are informed of the stars of the week in the fortnightly gazette.
 Golden Time is an important part of class timetables and children earn the
right to participate in this by their good behaviour. Individual class systems
are in place which are delivered consistently by all staff.
Circle Time
Circle Time should be planned on a regular basis and used as an opportunity
to address behaviour and self-esteem issues, as well as being a vehicle for
the consolidation of PSHE topics. The frequency and length of circle times
will vary depending on the age and developmental needs of the children. IEP
targets are reviewed as part of Circle Time with peers supporting each other
in deciding if their target has been met. Rewards are given for targets which
are achieved.
Dealing with Challenging Behaviour
Children challenge for all sorts of reasons. It is vital that staff take the time to
get to know the children in their care and try to understand what their
behaviour is communicating.
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It is important that lessons are well structured and that all staff and children
know what is expected. Children will challenge in their behaviour if work is
not planned to match their needs or expectations are unrealistic.
Children need to know class routines and understand the class rules. The
consequences of inappropriate and/or continuous poor behaviour need to be
dealt with consistently throughout school and within the context of the whole
school policy.
The following should be used by all adults within school when dealing with
inappropriate behaviour:
 Stay calm and try and diffuse the situation using distraction e.g. change of
staff or activity.
 Ask for, and accept help from other members of staff
 Reminder of the class rules and sanctions
 Reprimands and sanctions should be applied fairly, be understood by the
pupil and likely to include:
- verbal reprimand in private
- loss of privileges
- loss of break time
- carrying out meaningful tasks.
 Withdrawal of golden time.
 A ‘time out’ period within the classroom or another class if necessary.
 Removal of child to a member of SLT for a calming down time. It may be
necessary for a member of the class staff to stay with the child to support
SLT.
 The withdrawal of the curriculum or a planned offsite activity as a
punishment is not permissible within the framework of this policy.
 The aim is always to de-escalate the situation and get the child back into
class as soon as possible.
 If behaviour is a persistent problem then it should be monitored by the
class team and discussed with Senior Leadership Team in order to try and
identify a pattern or particular set of circumstances.
 Involvement and support of other services may be appropriate e.g. the
Learning Disabilities Team, OT etc
 There should be communication with the family to discuss possible
reasons or circumstances for the behaviour. They should be aware of any
difficulties school is finding. It may be necessary to hold a review meeting
and request an amendment to a child’s statement to include an objective
for behaviour, so ensuring that targets are set to meet this.
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 An individual behaviour plan may be written in consultation with the
parents and class team.
 For some pupils it may be necessary to write a P.H.P. (Personal Handling
Plan) This should be shared with parents and all staff involved with the
child and be reviewed every 3 months.
 Fixed term exclusions should follow the LA guidelines.
 Physical Intervention with Children.
 The information in this section of the policy is based on the LA guidelines
“Behaviour Management and Physical Intervention with Children” April
2004.
 Usually children within Three Spires respond well to the structures that are
in place within school. They know what is expected of them and they
behave well. It is also acknowledged that there are rare occasions when
children are out of control and need to be removed from a difficult
situation.
 In exceptional circumstances staff may need to take action which
necessitates the use of reasonable force.
 Guidance on the use of ‘Reasonable Force’ is written in DfEE Circular
10/98. This makes it clear that there is no legal definition of ‘reasonable
force’ so it is therefore not possible to set out comprehensively when it is
reasonable to use force or the degree of force that may be reasonably
used. It will always depend on the circumstances of the case.
 Staff have been trained in the Team Teach approach where the focus is on
de-escalation techniques. The use of reasonable force is only ever as a
last resort and only the minimum amount of force should ever be used.
 The headteacher keeps a list of all staff who have undertaken training and
are authorised to use approved techniques to move children. This will be
reviewed regularly.
 Training is accredited and staff’s qualifications will be renewed as
necessary. A minimum of 12 hours training is deemed necessary for a
special school setting. New staff will be given the opportunity to train as a
priority as courses become available.
Any physical intervention must:
 Be proportionate in scale and nature to both the behaviour of the individual
and the nature of the harm they cause
 Take due account of all the circumstances, including any known history of
other events involving the individual to be controlled
 Use the minimum necessary force
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 Be applied by staff who are able to use safely techniques with which they
are familiar and which are described in the pupils individual behaviour plan
 Where possible be part of carefully planned responses to individual
children known to be at risk of self-harm or of harming others.
The use of force is likely to be legally defensible when it is required to
prevent:
 self-harming
 injury to other children or staff
 damage to property
 an offence being committed
 behaviour that is prejudicial to the maintenance of good order and
discipline within school or among any of its pupils
 any intervention should be recorded as part of an incident log. This should
be recorded in the bound incident book kept in the admin office. (Appendix
3)
 Following an incident time should be made for repair and reflection when
both pupil and staff consider their actions.
Bullying
At RNIB Three Spires Academy bullying is not acceptable. Children are
entitled to come here without fear of humiliation, abuse or victimisation. We
aim to provide a happy environment where children feel safe and know that
an adult will take action should bullying arise.
There is a difference between bullying-like behaviour in a one-off incident,
and repeated acts of bullying over a period of time where the same individual
finds it hard to defend himself/herself and becomes a victim. The children
understand what bulling is and partake in PSHE sessions and circle time
activities to promote awareness. The school council also have an active role
in supporting and educating their peers with this.
Bullying can take on a variety of forms including:
 physical bullying
 verbal bullying
 emotional bullying
 racist bullying
 homophobic bullying
 cyber bullying.
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Any bullying behavior is deemed to be inappropriate and will be challenged
by staff.
The school will proactively work towards stopping bullying and raising
awareness of bullying by:
 encouraging and listening to children talk about problems
 teaching personal and social skills as appropriate to the age and
development of the children
 focussing specific work in PSHE lessons to address this issue
 whole school awareness raising in assembly time
 Discussions by the school council
 incidents of reported bullying will be taken seriously by all staff and
information acted upon.
In instances of bullying the following steps should be taken depending on the
nature and severity of the incident:
 discuss with the bully(ies) how they have made others unhappy, the
consequence of their actions, and how this can be put right
 inform the Senior Management Team/Headteacher if there are serious
concerns
 inform families if appropriate
 share information with all staff if the situation/children need monitoring
 ensure the victim(s) knows that the incident has been dealt with.
If a child is physically hurt by another pupil this must be reported to a
member of SLT and recorded in the school incident book. Parents
should also be informed.
For further information see the Anti Bullying Policy.
September 2012
Agreed by SLT
Signed:
Date:
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Reviewed Dates
Amendments
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