A Whole-school Behaviour Policy

A Practical Guide

Roy Lund, Lund, Roy

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN: 9780367088545
• eBook ISBN: 9781317960539
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

The text aims to provide schools with a framework for reviewing, developing and implementing a whole school of behaviour policy, which is fully in accordance with the ethos of the establishment and the school development plan and also with the OFSTED inspection evaluation criteria.

Section 1

Chapter 1

School ethos and effectiveness

Schools are institutions for teaching and learning and the standards of these are increasingly being judged, not least by OFSTED (OFSTED, 1995d). Teaching and learning cannot take place if pupils in the group are behaving inappropriately. Effective teaching and learning is more likely to take place within an environment where all members of the school community understand, and work within, an effective whole-school behaviour policy based on a set of shared values and a positive ethos.

The ‘effective schools’ research demonstrates clearly that there are certain factors in schools which make a difference to the general ethos of the school and hence to teaching and learning; these are shown in Table 1.1.

Table 1.1 Eleven factors for effective schools (from Sammons, et al., 1995, p. 8)

1. Professional leadership	Firm and purposeful A participative approach The leading professional
2. Shared vision and goals	Unity of purpose Consistency of practice Collegiality and collaboration
3. A learning environment	An orderly atmosphere An attractive working environment
4. Concentration on teaching and learning	Maximisation of learning time Academic emphasis Focus on achievement
5. Purposeful teaching	Efficient organisation Clarity of purpose Structured lessons Adaptive practice
6. High expectations	High expectations all round Communicating expectations Providing intellectual challenge
7. Positive reinforcement	Clear and fair discipline Feedback
8. Monitoring progress	Monitoring pupil performance Evaluating school performance
9. Pupil rights and responsibilities	Raising pupil self-esteem Positions of responsibility Control of work
10. Home-school partnership	Parental involvement in their children’s learning
11. A learning organisation	School-based staff development

The majority of school effectiveness studies have focused on teaching and learning and not on personal and social factors – the factors usually associated with behaviour and the management of behaviour. However, it will be noted all these 11 factors can be related to behaviour:

1. Professional leadership

Any behaviour policy is likely to be unsuccessful unless there is a ‘Key Person’ (KP) appointed by the senior management team (SMT) committed to the policy and the values which underpin it. This member of the SMT should be responsible for reviewing and evaluating the policy and for supporting staff through the process of its development and implementation.

2. Shared vision and goals

Effective policies are those which are based on shared values, consensus and ownership by the whole-school community.

3. A learning environment

Shared routines, in learning and behaviour, both in the classroom and around the school, give a sense of security to the children and teachers and encourage a stable working environment and appropriate behaviour.

4. Concentration on teaching and learning

A work-orientated environment, in which all children are encouraged to achieve in learning, promotes appropriate behaviour. Within this, each individual’s unique, personal contribution is valued.

5. Purposeful teaching

Disaffection is often caused by the apparent irrelevance of what is being taught, both from the perspective of some teachers as well as from the perspective of some pupils. Inappropriate behaviour, which affects teaching and learning, rarely occurs where there is stimulating teaching, differentiated according to the learning, cultural, social and emotional needs of each individual child.

6. High expectations

Children need to feel that their abilities are being stretched but at the same time need to experience personal success in learning. This is more effective if they are helped to achieve their own personal targets.

7. Positive reinforcement

The system of rewards, sanctions and punishments should be seen to be fair and owned by the whole-school community. The effect of the celebration of achievement is to motivate the children to learn and to behave appropriately. (For some children, achievement must be celebrated in a way which does not give publicity.)

8. Monitoring progress

Realistic individual targets for children in learning and behaviour help to promote achievement. Targets are more effective if children and their parents/carers are involved in developing them.

9. Pupil rights and responsibilities

Children with high self-esteem tend to behave appropriately (see Chapter 2, Teaching and learning). High self-esteem can be encouraged by the setting of realistic targets for learning and behaviour for each child and by the celebration of success.

Children need to feel valued as persons.

Children have a right for their achievements to be valued and have a responsibility to value the achievements of others.

Children need to know who they can turn to with their worries and to have the confidence that they will be listened to and treated seriously.

Rules about behaviour are more likely to be accepted by the children if they are given the responsibility of helping to develop them.

10. Home–school partnership

Behaviour policies are more likely to be effective if they are understood, accepted and supported by parents/carers. Parents/carers can have an important role in setting targets for and celebrating success in, achievements in learning and behaviour.

11. A learning organization

Shared enjoyment in teaching and learning leads to appropriate behaviour. Most children who are stimulated by the teaching on offer and motivated to learn, do not behave inappropriately.

Behaviour and effective schools

Adults working in schools spend a great deal of time worrying about and attempting to control, the behaviour of a few individual children. If, however, whole-school behaviour policies are developed and introduced which are based on shared values and positive beliefs about success in teaching and learning and appropriate behaviour, then there will be very few children whose behaviour remains inappropriate (see Chapter 9, The difficult pupil).

However, behaviour management and discipline in general is only a small part of a school’s behaviour policy. Behaviour policies are about enabling all members of the school community to feel valued, to have their achievements valued and to behave appropriately towards each other. This is why the starting point for the development of the whole-school behaviour policy, as outlined in Chapter 10, The process of developing and implementing a whole-school behaviour policy, is the school’s shared values.

The following basic principles of what makes an effective school are highlighted in Discipline in Schools (DES, 1989a) and in the effective schools research:

• Policies based on the shared values of the school community and which are owned by the whole school are likely to be more effective.

• Acceptable behaviour is more likely if there are clear routines and procedures governing teaching and learning within the classroom and activities outside the classroom.

• All members of the school community need to own and understand the framework of rewards, sanctions and punishments.

• There is a clear relationship between success in learning, high self-esteem and appropriate behaviour.

• Teachers with high self-esteem enable their pupils to raise their self-esteem.

• School staff who are able to reflect positively on their own practice and who feel supported by their Senior Management Team (SMT) and their colleagues, are more likely to have high self-esteem.

• Staff need to feel confident that they have a range of strategies available to deal with particularly difficult behaviour within the framework of an overall policy.

• There is considerable expertise within the staff of each school which should be shared.

Chapters 2–9 raise issues which schools need to consider in their review and development of a whole-school behaviour policy.

Chapter 2

Teaching and learning

Children who behave inappropriately in the teaching and learning situation have often failed in personal relationships and in learning.

The relationship between teacher and child is a very special one, founded on mutual respect and trust. The situation can be likened to the nurturing relationship betwe...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• What this book is about and how to use it
• Section 1 The Context
• Chapter 1 School ethos and effectiveness
• Chapter 2 Teaching and learning
• Chapter 3 Rewards and sanctions
• Chapter 4 Bullying
• Chapter 5 Pupil and staff protection
• Chapter 6 Equal opportunities
• Chapter 7 Involving parents
• Chapter 8 Support for all
• Chapter 9 The difficult pupil
• Section 2 The Practical Framework
• Chapter 10 The process of developing and implementing a whole-school behaviour policy
• Chapter 11 Establishing shared values
• Chapter 12 Reviewing the operation of the current behaviour policy
• Chapter 13 Developing a whole-school behaviour policy
• Chapter 14 Implementing a whole-school behaviour policy
• Appendix I A sample policy for behaviour
• Appendix II Useful organizations
• Appendix III Courses and training
• References and Further Reading
• Index