Bluebell Park
Behaviour Policy
Behaviour Policy
Bluebell Park Mission Statement
‘Lean about our world, care for others and celebrate achievement’
Bluebell Park Aims
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To provide an excellent education in a supportive environment
To provide a broad and balanced curriculum through effective teaching strategies which are
relevant to every pupil
For parents, pupils, staff and other professionals to enhance the life of Bluebell Park
To promote and support inclusive educational opportunities for pupils both within Bluebell Park
and other learning environment
For the life and work of Bluebell Park to be valued as an integral part of the community
This policy document Pays full and due regard to The Keeping Children Safe in Education: Statutory
Guidance for Schools and Colleges (2014) (2016) and contains the following sections:
- The rewards system
- Pastoral support
- Functions of behaviour
- Consequences versus punishments
- The discipline procedure
- The recording system for serious incidents
- Procedures to follow when pupils abscond
- Procedures for positive handling
- Home school agreement (appendix 3)
THE REWARDS SYSTEM
The intention of this system is help achieve our aim of encourage positive behaviour and discourage
inappropriate behaviour. The following systems generally apply but there are students who rewards
systems are very individual to their needs for example students with Autism Spectrum Condition, these
systems should be highlighted on the individuals PHP
The following system is followed in Primary Classes
Children in these classes are often at the earliest developmental levels and therefore require their
rewards to be strong and immediate. Therefore rewards are given within the classroom situation,
paired with praise and affection. These children are included in the whole school celebration and
Primary department assemblies where praise is also given in accordance with their overall behaviour
for the week and the star pupils will have their names and photographs displayed. Classes in the
Primary Department use Star Prize time where each pupil is able to choose an individual motivator
which they earn through gaining stars for desired behaviour. These behaviours are displayed visually
so that the pupils are aware of what behaviours are being encouraged e.g. good sitting, good speaking
etc.
The following procedures operate for the Secondary classes and Post 16
1. All children within these classes are provided with “Team Points”, which are available at all times
within the school.
2. Any teacher who takes one of these classes should award, at the end of each lesson, ONE team
point to each pupil whose behaviour and effort have been good. In exceptional circumstances, for
remarkably improved behaviour and effort, two team points may be awarded.
3. At ‘Team’ time the Team point earned by individuals are added to the ‘Team’ totals. The team with
the most points are acknowledged.
4. Teaching assistants and other non-teaching staff should award ‘Team Points’ when they have had
charge of a child or a group of children for a lesson.
5. Any member of staff may award the occasional ‘Team’ points if they witness a child doing
something commendable outside of normal lessons.
6. Please try to award ‘Team Points’ for behaviour and work which is good for that particular child,
rather than good in absolute terms. By so doing, we may avoid the situation where the same two or
three children in a class regularly dominate the charts, while the others get dispirited and stop
trying.
7. Many children set great store by their tokens and become adept at manipulating staff in order to get
them. New staff should be alert for this, and should stick rigidly to these guidelines. Staff should not
use the promise of tokens as a bribe.
8. The awarding of ‘Team Point’ should always be accompanied by verbal praise or other reward.
Tokens augment our normal disciplinary and reward procedures; if they ever replace those
procedures the system will become cold, impersonal and ineffective. For many children, verbal
praise (or even a smile) from staff will be at least as valuable as a team point.
The following system is followed by some pupils
a) The student and teacher together discuss a suitable objective or target.
b) A decision is reached as to the time span for achieving this. For some students one week may be a
suitable period whilst for others half a term may be more appropriate.
c) Together, a suitable reward is agreed upon. Once again this can be anything that is appropriate for some students something tangible may be required such as a book token or a set of crayons,
while for others the opportunity to be allowed to help a less able pupil in another classroom might be
a more effective motivator.
SCHOOL COUNSELLORS
Springfield/Elms Federation has two trained counsellors who are available to counsel students, this
can be accessed by staff referrals and students can also refer themselves. This may be on a one off
basis or part of a regular planned program.
PARENT SUPPORT TEAM
There are TA’s who will link with parents looking at particular behavioural issues at home. An aim of
this is to increase the consistency of effective strategies used in the two settings. The TA’s will link with
class staff and will share strategies that may be working at home as well. The TA’s may carry out
home visits to look at what strategies may helpful within the home environment.
FUNCTIONS OF BEHAVIOUR
All staff should aim to understand the purpose of each individual’s behaviour. When trying to
understand this we must be aware of our own personal experiences and viewpoints and that these are
not necessarily shared by the children we work with. The function of the behaviour may be linked to a
particular syndrome or disability and therefore we must ensure that we do not discriminate against a
child when dealing with these. For some pupils the function may be very difficult to discover, often for
the pupils with ASC it may be linked to a sensory integration difficulty. Consequences should be linked
to the individual’s behaviour and level of understanding. What is a negative consequence for one child
may be a reward for another and this should be carefully considered. The consequences for behaviour
should be outlined on the Students PHP. It is important to recognise that positive consequences can
be enforced.
CONSEQUENCES VERSUS PUNISHMENT
Consequences are outcomes – negative or positive - of a person’s action. By their nature, they gauge
our behaviour because we as humans strive for positive outcomes or consequences. Punishment is
the authoritative imposition of something negative or unpleasant on a person in response to behaviour
deemed wrong by an individual or group. (Wikipedia definitions 2011) We do not use punishments in
The Elms but instead try to use consequences which are linked to the behaviour and are outlined to
the student prior to being used, wherever possible. The student needs to be aware of what the
consequence of both appropriate and inappropriate behaviour will be, in order to teach them to
regulate their own behaviour i.e. if you finish your work then you will get a team point but if you carry
on disturbing others and not doing your work you will have to finish it at playtime. Ideally the student
will learn to make the right choice but they have to have the chance to make the right decision and
adjust their behaviour accordingly.
DISCIPLINE PROCEDURE
We seek to preserve a happy and orderly atmosphere in the school through a climate of mutual
respect and care. It is hoped that discipline need not become a major issue, but that instead a
combination of the broad, balanced and relevant curriculum; imaginative lesson preparation;
differentiated work; rewards systems, and the skill of staff in defusing situations, will usually head off
trouble before it begins. Nevertheless staff need to know what to do about indiscipline on those
occasions when it does emerge.
To help deal with indiscipline, staff have at their disposal the following alternatives:
1. The use of a range of communication methods to reinforce messages e.g. symbols, photos, objects
of reference etc.
2. The quality of staff relationships with the child.
3. The option of setting and supervising extra work for the child at break times or lunch times or using
detention during break times, especially for unacceptable behaviour in the playground.
4. Giving the child the opportunity of ‘Time Out’, i.e. removing a child from participating actively in
class activity for a short specified amount of time, whilst still maintaining supervision and support.
5. For particular pupils a more formal behaviour modification programme may be necessary in
consultation the Leadership Team and/or other professionals.
6. The use of Safespaces may be used for particular pupils where they need the low distraction and
safe environment they provide. This will be highlighted within their PHP’s. Pupils will ideally ask to
go into the Safespace where they will be closely monitored by staff. There may be occasions where
a pupil will need to be supported into the Safespace such as when they are endangering
themselves or others through their behaviour. Often the use of the Safespace will reduce the
duration of a crisis as it removes the pupil from the attention of others which may be the function of
the behaviour. The Safespace will be used in conjunction with the Safespace policy and any use will
be recorded on the appropriate forms. These will be monitored by the SLT.
7. Staff may use a home/school book or a phone call to inform parents of their child’s behaviour for
that particular day. This can also be used to help support parents who are having problems with
their child’s behaviour at home.
Serious incidents or persistent challenging behaviour which is causing serious concern is monitored by
the SLT via the incident data base and the PHP is reviewed.
If there is no improvement or the situation continues to deteriorate parent/carers will be contacted to
discuss ways forward and determine whether any other agencies should be involved. In extreme
circumstances it may be necessary to consider exclusions. Only the Head Teacher has the authority to
exclude a pupil (or the SLT in the Head’s absence) and the exclusion must be for a fixed period of time
not exceeding 45 days in any one school year. The parents should be notified in writing (following
verbal notification if this is appropriate) and they must be told that they may make representations to
the Governing Body and the LEA. The Head Teacher will inform the Governors and LEA of any
exclusion. If the period of exclusion is to be extended the parents, Governors and LEA must be
informed. If the exclusion is a permanent one, the parents must also be reminded in writing of all the
warnings and procedures which preceded it. Once again, they have the right to make representations
to Governors and the LEA. It is very rare that exclusions are used at Bluebell Park and these are
always considered on an individual pupil basis as for some pupils it may actually be a reward.
POSITIVE HANDLING
All students who attend the school should have a Positive Handling Plan (PHP’s). These plans should
be constantly reviewed and formalised at annual reviews. Copies of the plans should be sent home
and copies kept in each student behaviour folder. Parents/Carers have opportunities to amend PHPs
in consultation with school staff.
The plans include the following:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Trigger behaviours
What the behaviour looks like
Diversions / Distractions / Praise points
De-escalation tools
Medical conditions
Students preferred physical intervention
factors to consider when debriefing
recording of incidents
The following options are NOT available to staff for dealing with indiscipline:
a) Corporal punishment. Hitting children, or handling them in such a way as to hurt or frighten them, is
not allowed by the school, the LEA or the law of the land. At times, staff may need to physically
hold children for their own or others’ safety. If a child is physically attacking another, or injuring
himself, or about to run across a road, staff may have little option but to use whatever minimum
force is necessary to restrain him. On the other hand, there may be times when it is better to let a
child run off, or run from the classroom, rather than use substantial force to control him. All staff
have undertaken appropriate training in the TEAM TEACH approach to equip them with the skills
needed to hold pupils safely.
b) Unsupervised exclusion from a lesson or seclusion, where a student is forced to spend time alone
against their will. Children should never be sent to stand outside a classroom without close
supervision.
c) Exclusion from school activities. The temptation to punish a child by excluding him/her from a trip, or
from swimming, is sometimes very great. But such activities are not intended as treats: they are a
legitimate part of our curriculum and should therefore not be withdrawn lightly. Exceptions can be
made where a child’s behaviour in a particular activity warrants suspension for a time from that
activity, or is likely to endanger him/herself or others.
PROCEDURES FOR HOLDING STUDENTS
Within Knowsley the TEAM TEACH approach to holistic behaviour management is the preferred
training provider in this area and the school has adopted this approach.
TEAM TEACH methods are the only endorsed holding procedures for the school and all staff should
adhere to the principles of the training they received. The Head Teacher will keep an up to date list of
staff who are trained and authorised to use Team Teach methods. Staff should have exhausted all
other behaviour management techniques before resorting to a physical one, however there may be
occasions when crisis point is reached without the opportunity to use other intervention techniques.
Whenever a holding technique is used the following principles should be adhered to:
1. Remove the pupil from the classroom situation to a quiet place if possible where adequate seating
is available if it is not possible to remove all other children from the classroom.
2. Call upon another adult for help and to act as a witness and/or critical friend.
3. During a crisis situation the minimum of restraint should be used only if the pupil is at risk of injuring
himself/herself, injuring others or causing severe damage to property. The holds used should be
applied as a gradual and graded response, used in conjunction with verbal and non-verbal deescalation techniques (refer to Appendix 2). If the pupil frequently loses self control, then a
behaviour plan should be drawn up for the pupil detailing any specific de-escalation skills and holds
to be used. This plan will be shared with parents. Only holds recognised by TEAM TEACH should
be used.
4. All staff should be aware that other adults can be called upon for help, advice and support, and to
remove pupils for debriefing. It is recognised that some staff may have built up strong relationships
with certain pupils and in times of crisis these pupils will relate better to them. Senior staff should
be available to assist in crisis situations and to help counsel pupils and staff.
5. Staff should support each other during every incident. If a pupil is being held, then the supporting
member of staff will take over and offer “more help” if the person holding needs it, this may be
because they can see problems occurring that the person holding is unaware of.
6. There is a potential for injury within any physical technique, although Team Teach does not use
pain compliant techniques all staff should be able to show that minimal force was used and any
injury should be reported immediately.
7. After any incident a serious or minor incident report should be completed (see Appendix 2 for
serious incident format and minor incident duplicate book. Once completed the reports should be
passed to the AHT who will monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of this approach. Each serious
incident report must be cross referenced to the bound and numbered book.
8. Debriefing should take place as soon as possible after every incident, for both the pupil and staff but
only when they are both ready
9. The purpose of the debriefing is to teach pupils to control their own behaviour, to do this staff should
use the HELP method of debriefing:
Hear
their side of the story first
Explain
Why staff took the action they did
Link
To show how feelings drive behaviour
Plan
Together to find better ways
Although debriefing maybe quite difficult to achieve with some of our pupils, staff should still show that
they aimed to debrief them and be recorded on the serious incident report. Even if the only thing our
pupils gain from this process is that following and incident they eventually learn that someone is going
to talk to them, then the process has been successful. It is not the case that there is no point doing a
debriefing with certain students because they won’t understand. Staff can use communication aids
such as symbols alongside their skills and knowledge to aid success.
RECORDING UNACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOUR AND SERIOUS INCIDENTS
The following system is used to record serious incidents of unacceptable behaviour.
 A bound and numbered serious incident log book has been formulated by Knowsley Council.
Information should be entered into the log book usually within 2 hours following the incident. A
serious incident form (appendix 2) should then be completed as soon as possible following an
incident but only when the member of staff has recovered. The completed incident forms are
handed to Assistant Head Teacher responsible for behaviour and kept in a central file and then
entered into the serious incident data base where the incidents can be analysed.
 For Minor incidents staff should complete a Minor incident report and give a copy to the Assistant
Head Teacher responsible for behaviour and the information will be entered onto the data base for
analysis.
 It is the responsibility of the class teacher to bring any incidents to the attention of their department
Assistant Head.
 Any serious incidents should be reported to a Leadership Team member as soon as possible and a
letter informing parents/carers that a physical intervention has been used with their child should be
sent home.
 At the weekly leadership meeting there is a regular agenda item to look at and discuss incidents.
 The Head Teacher will regularly inform the governors, at their meetings, of the situation in school
regarding discipline.
PROCEDURES TO FOLLOW WHEN PUPILS ABSCOND
These procedures are to be followed when more able pupils leave the premises without permission.
Obviously, if the pupil is less able, staff will make every effort to find the pupil as quickly as possible
and escort him or her back to school.
1. Report the name of the pupil to a senior member of staff after making sure the pupil really has left
the premises.
2. Record the incident, noting time, reason for the pupil leaving if known, and direction he or she was
last seen heading towards.
3. The senior member of staff will make the decision when to contact the police, the pupil’s
parents/guardians and the social worker if one is assigned to the pupil, based on their knowledge of
the pupil and the circumstances.
4. If the pupil returns to school after this, all agencies and parents must be informed immediately and
the pupil should be counselled by a senior member of staff.
5. All incidences of pupils absconding will be reported in writing to the parents/guardians on the same
day wherever possible.
All classes have advice sheets in class highlighting the appropriate actions that should be followed.
Appendix 1
Bluebell Park
Positive Handling Plan
Student’s Name:
Date of Plan:
Review Date of plan:
What does the behaviour look like?
Stage 1 Anxiety Behaviours Stage 2 Defensive Behaviours
Stage 3 Crisis Behaviours
What are common triggers?
Diversions and distractions / Praise points (what is a success for the individual)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
De-escalation skills
Try
Verbal advice and support
Giving space
Reassurance
Help scripts
Negotiation
Choices
Humour
Consequences
Planned ignoring
Take up time
Time-out
Supportive touch
Transfer adult
Success reminded
Simple listening
Acknowledgement
Apologising
Avoid
Notes
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
Agreeing
Removing audience
Others:
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
Any medical conditions to be taken into account before using Physical interventions?
Preferred method Physical intervention?
Intermediate
Friendly escort
Single elbow
Figure of four
Double elbow
Single elbow in seats
T Wrap
T Wrap to seats
Seats to T Wrap
T Wrap to ground
Cradle
Others
Try
Avoid
Advanced
Front Ground Recovery
Back Ground Recovery
Shield
Others:
Notes
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
Are there any factors to consider when debriefing? E.g. Communication aids, staff etc.
Here
Explain
Link
Plan
How should we record incidents and who should we inform?
Headteacher:
Parents/Guardian:
Social services (if applicable)
Educational Psychologist
Name:
Name:
Name:
Name:
Child
Other
Name:
Name:
Appendix 2
Bluebell Park
Serious Incident Report
Seen by head:
Section A
Name of Student:
Date of incident:
Name of staff involved:
Danger to self
Severe damage to property
Describe lead up to incident:
De-escalation techniques
Verbal advice & Support
Distraction
Time out offered
Time out directed
Transfer adult
Choices limits & consequences
Reassurance
Appropriate behaviour
Praise Points
Other
Date seen by head:
Log number:
Year group:
Time:
Location:
Names of witnesses and/or other Students
involved:
Reason for intervention
Danger to others
Severe disruption to other pupils
C.A.L.M talking
Options offered
Planned ignoring
Success reminded
Contingent touch
Persuasion
Step Away
Negotiation
Take up time
Please specify:
Details of incident:
Section B (To be completed if Physical controls were used)
Positive handling strategies used & rate (1=Not Effective 10=Very Effective)
Guided escort
Friendly hold
Single elbow
Double elbow
Figure of four
Shield
Cradle
Wrap
Chair wrap
Floor wrap
Advanced skills used (please specify):
Breathing Monitored
Number of staff involved
Duration of physical intervention
Section C Medical intervention if yes please complete an accident/incident form
Injury suffered by child
Please specify:
Treatment required
Please specify:
Injury suffered by staff
Please specify:
Treatment required
Please specify:
Injury suffered by others
Please specify:
Treatment required
Please specify:
Action taken
Return to class
Exclusion
Referred to police
Time-out room
Withdrawal room
Contacted home
Other
Please specify:
Section D Follow up
Repair & Reflection
Staff debriefing
Here
Explain
Link
Plan
Pupils behaviour Target
Witness signatures
Tick for agree
Cross
Signed:
Date:
Independent advisor: