HARRINGTON PUBLIC SCHOOL
School Discipline Policy- reviewed February, 2009
We at Harrington Public School believe that for discipline to be effective and to have a
positive, life-long effect, then students must take full responsibility for their own behaviour.
Preamble
The following management system has been developed using an extensive collaborative consultation
process including all the stake holders, teachers, parents, students and the wider community. Using best
practice, Quality Teaching, NSW Professional Standards and NSW DET discipline guidelines, this plan also
recognizes the individual needs of Harrington Public School and its students.
Our school prides itself on being inclusive and seeks to support students with special needs (physical,
intellectual, medical and mental) and this is reflected in our core values. Our school is flexible and our staff
understands that we are not all the same and therefore we cannot treat everyone the same.
Quality teaching practices at Harrington include developing positive relationships with students, making
learning meaningful and interesting and establishing quality teaching environments with explicating stated
goals and expectations, while using lots of praise and encouragement. Modeling consistent and caring
behavior by teachers, student leaders, parents and community members is the most powerfully effective way
for students to learn to care for each other and discover the benefits of positive relationships. We believe that
strategies and practices to recognise and reinforce student achievement and positive behaviour are generally
much more effective in the management of behaviour than the use of negative comments or consequences.
The use of appropriate rewards and consequences are essential components of the school discipline policy.
Rewards and consequences should be appropriate for the age and developmental level of students as well as
consistently and fairly applied, avoiding any gender or cultural bias.
We recognize that our primary focus for discipline should be as a learning process with restitution of
positive relationships between students, students and teachers and students with the wider community, as the
priority. Students feel safe when they are provided with clear, consistent routines and expectations. Our
students are explicitly taught the school rules and how they are applied in all possible contexts.
The School Rules, developed in consultation with the community and students and reflecting the school
values statement, are:
1. Always behave safely and responsibly.
2. Show respect by being courteous and cooperative at all times to everyone.
3. Attend school every day in uniform and prepared to actively engage in learning.
4. Care for each other and property belonging to yourself, the school and others.
Students will see the rules as:
 BE SAFE
- I keep my hands to myself.
- I stay inside the boundaries.
- I play safe games.
- I play by the rules.
 BE RESPECTFUL
- I control what I do and say.
- I work quietly and allow others to work and learn.
- I accept people for who they are.
- I raise my hand and wait.
- I speak courteously to everyone.
- I always cooperate with teachers, tutors and visitors.
 BE PREPARED TO LEARN
- I listen to and follow teacher instructions.
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- I have all my equipment and books ready.
- I actively participate in all learning tasks.
BE CARING
- I look after school property.
- I look after my property.
- I look after the property of others.
- I care for the environment and all living things.
- I look after myself.
Strategies and practices to promote positive student behaviour, including specific
strategies to maintain a climate of respect
At Harrington we believe that students are much more likely to willingly behave in an appropriate manner
when they feel that school is a place where they belong, are cared for, experience success, are able to make
some decisions and enjoy themselves.
Our students feel that they belong because:
 the school fosters a strong sense of community;
 students and their families are made to feel welcome;
 students’ gender, class, ability, language and cultural background are included in all aspects of school;
and
 students, staff and parents actively cooperate in joint activities that they all value e.g. sports, school
performances and grounds improvement.
Students who feel alienated are more likely to disengage from learning, be absent
from school or drop out. At Harrington students feel cared for because all staff:
 know every student’s names and pronounce them correctly;
 display care, by speaking in a friendly tone, smiling, making eye contact etc;
 show appropriate personal interest in students;
 are sensitive and supportive when students are hurt or upset;
 provide individual attention or extra help when needed;
 avoid ever ridiculing or demeaning students;
 set clear limits and boundaries, and are firm and persistent when students test them; and
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do not accept hurtful behaviour towards students by other students.
Students who feel rejected are more likely to dislike school and learning, seek any
attention even if it is negative, hurt others and look for acceptance in negative
groups. At Harrington we endeavour to ensure that students have every opportunity to experience success
because our teachers:
 set high and achievable expectations;
 are developing competencies for students in the basic skills of literacy, numeracy and technology;
 provide a learning program that is high in Intellectual Quality, Significance and a Quality Learning
Environment;
 display an enjoyment for teaching and continually communicate confidence in our students’ ability to
learn;
 differentiate the curriculum to suit students’ varying abilities and needs;
 ensure assessment provides frequent, informative and constructive feedback; and
 provide planned and systematic support for students experiencing difficulty.
Students who fail are more likely to give up, avoid, disrupt and act out. Students at Harrington are able to
make decisions because:
 they are given responsibilities in the classroom and/or school;
 they have opportunities to participate in forums such as classroom meetings, sharing circles, SRC and
school committees;
 their feedback and suggestions on significant issues are sought and responded to; and
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they are held accountable for their behaviour and required to make explicit choices about future
behaviour when they misbehave.
Students who feel powerless are more likely to be defiant, challenge staff and find
ways of exerting power over other students. Students who don’t enjoy school are more likely to find
inappropriate ways of enjoying themselves. Students will enjoy themselves at Harrington because staff
ensure that:
 they feel that they belong, are cared for, experience success and have opportunities to participate
appropriately in decisions affecting them
 there is humour and fun
 the school day is varied, interesting, well paced and actively involving.
Strategies and practices to recognise and reinforce student achievement
The staff at Harrington Public School believe that for discipline to be effective and to have a positive, lifelong effect, then students must take full responsibility for their own behaviour. All students must eventually
come to the belief that positive behaviour is intrinsically gratifying. Students need to be led into intrinsic
motivation through extrinsic gratification. Children at Harrington are initially guided extrinsically with
regular rewards for demonstrating care for each other and positive behaviour through:
 Teacher praise
- providing ongoing positive feedback to students for appropriate behaviour
- smile or encouraging comments
- acknowledging effort;
 recognising contributions to the community at assemblies and special school activities;
 recognising students’ achievements at assemblies and special school activities;
 contacting parents or carers, in person, by letter, telephone or email;
 recognising citizenship in the local community by individual or group participation in special events;
 acknowledging student achievements in the local media and in school newsletters;
 provide programs that develop self-discipline, self-evaluation, communication and conflict resolution
skills e.g.
i. peer mediation
ii. peer support
iii. sharing circles
iv. Rock and Water;
 insist that students take responsibility for their own behaviours;
 provide appropriate scaffolds to enable students to recognize the consequences for their actions;
 Star of the Week
- Star of the Week is awarded at each whole school fortnightly assembly.
- Star of the Week is chosen by the class teacher, who is rostered on for the assembly performance
- The student who has been chosen takes home the A3 Pro forma and fills in the questions and colours
the certificate.
- Their photo is taken and the certificate is laminated.
- The students read their certificate at assembly.
- The certificate is displayed in the front office;
 Kylie’s Munchies Vouchers
- At each whole school fortnightly assembly three students are chosen by the Principal for citizenship
in the playground. e.g. cleaning up the playground, helping others, being courteous.
- Each student is given a voucher which can be redeemed at the Kylie’s Munchies Take Away in
Harrington;
 Principal’s Privilege:
- Each week 1 student from each class is chosen for active citizenship recognition, e.g. fair play,
caring for others, consistent compliance to reasonable expectations.
- Blue certificates are handed out at Monday morning assembly, names recorded in staff room.
- At the end of the term the principal takes this group of students to lunch e.g. Hot Chips on the
Breakwall.
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- Term 4: principals privilege reward will occur at the end of week 4 and at the end of week 9;
Assembly Incentive (Rocket Charts)
- At each assembly (Morning, Recess & Lunch) a class is chosen for excellence in lining up, that is the
first to have each class member lining up in class lines and each student is on a dot with no gaps,
hands in the air and ready to listen.
- The class who achieves this first receives a star sticker on their Rocket Chart.
- The first class to achieve 20 stickers receives a whole class reward;
Hat Draw
- At the end of recess and lunch students names are drawn from the Hat Draw Tub, if the student is
wearing a school hat they receive half an icy-pole.
- At recess 2 names are drawn and at lunch 4 names are drawn;
Passive Play
- During lunch students are allowed to participate in Passive Play.
- A teacher’s aid sets up the plastic mat and chalk boards under the pine trees near the deck. Students
are to pack away when first bell is rung.
- The Passive Play box is kept in the 1-2-3 classroom.
- Students having issues in the playground may be directed to Passive Play;
Peer recognition;
Keep Australia Beautiful badges are presented to students who help keep our playground clean;
Citizenship awards; and
Commendation at assemblies and special school activities
MERIT AWARDS – for meritorious care/co-operation/effort or achievement. These will be presented
at the school assembly, by teaching staff directly or by recommendation.
5 award cards earn at Silver Certificate
10 award cards earn a Gold Certificate
5 Gold Badges earn a framed certificate of commendation.
Strategies and practices to manage inappropriate student behaviour
Different behaviours require different levels of intervention. It is more effective to
manage inappropriate behaviour when it is first noticed or at its lowest level. The type
of intervention used should be determined by the intensity, frequency and duration of
the inappropriate behaviour within the learning context.
At the class level, strategies to manage inappropriate behaviour will include:
 teaching acceptable behaviours;
 verbal redirection to an appropriate activity or behaviour;
 cueing, e.g. referring a student to the class rules that are posted on the wall;
 setting limits for students by stating a positive direction first and then giving a simple choice or
consequence direction;
 time-out in the learning context;
 evaluating individual student learning and support needs for necessary curriculum accommodations and
reasonable adjustments;
 meeting with parents or carers to develop appropriate intervention;
 developing and implementing individual behaviour plans; and
 mentoring.
At the school level, strategies may include support such as:
 counselling to resolve issues and provide the student with appropriate strategies to deal with problem
situations;
 programs to resolve student conflict such as peer mediation;
 supervised detention
- Minor – on the library verandah
- Serious – outside the staffroom window
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restitution or school service (The Education Act 1990 allows schools to include in their discipline
policies a requirement that students who have caused property damage, or who have seriously
misbehaved, perform reasonable work or service for the school);
using a time-out room in extreme circumstances where a student is acting in an unsafe, hostile or
aggressive manner that is directed at themselves, other people or property;
individual behaviour management plans will be developed when necessary; and
suspension or expulsion from school consistent with Suspension and Expulsion of School Students Procedures .
Parents or carers are formally notified, in writing, of serious breaches of the school rules or discipline code.
Students, with teacher negotiation, will complete an Incident Report which:
 includes the consequences of their behaviour;
 includes the possible consequences of any future breaches which may include suspension or expulsion
in serious instances;
 will be sent home for the parents to comment and sign; and
 will then be filed at the school.