Lord Blyton Behaviour Policy

Vision statement 5
Aims 5
Responsibilities and Expectations 6
Named Members 6
Legal Guidance and Responsibilities 6
Pupils/Students are expected to: 6
Parents and carers are expected to: 7
The Head’s responsibilities: 7
Governors are expected to: 7
Promoting good behaviour, self-discipline and respect 8
Bullying (including cyber bullying) 9
Physical Contact with Students 10
Behaviour Outside School 12
Travel to and from school 12
In the Community 12
Off-Site Visits 12
Behaviour Management 12
School/Classroom Expectations 12
Preventative and De-escalation Measures 12
Sanctions and Consequences 13
Managing Student Transition 13
Involvement with Outside Agencies 14
Use of Reasonable Force 14
Searching, Screening and Confiscation 14
Allegations against Staff 15
Violence to Staff 15
Monitoring and Evaluating 16
Complaints 16
Relationship with other School Policies 16
Communicating the Policy 16
Training 17
Supporting Documents 18
Appendix 1 19
What the law says: 19
Maintained schools 19
Academy schools 20
Home school agreements 20
Developing the behaviour policy 20
Appendix 2 21
School exclusion 21
Drugs: advice for schools 21
Associated resources 21
Legislative links 21
Appendix 3 22
Post Incident Support 22
Requesting police attendance for a violent incident in school 23
Media Relations 24

Vision statement

The school’s policy is set in the context of the broader South Tyneside behaviour strategy to ensure that South Tyneside’s children and families get the best start in life, remain healthy and aspire to a bright and prosperous future. To ensure everyone reaches their full potential, we work together to provide the best possible learning and recreation opportunities, with targeted protection, care and support for those in greatest need.

The behaviour strategy is particularly intended to ensure that all children and young people whose behaviour is preventing them from making progress and/or is inhibiting the progress of others are appropriately supported.

The South Tyneside SEND ranges give guidance on ensuring that the provision, systems and training are in place to effectively meet pupil’s needs. This supports schools in having a graduated response to pupil behaviour to ensure that low level behaviour does not escalate into high level behaviours too quickly and to recognise that ‘behaviours’ often cloud other needs that require addressing as a priority.

Aims

• To provide guidance for staff, parents, governors and other stakeholders on how we keep children/young people safe
• To provide a framework for our collective beliefs around human behaviour as it relates to children and young people
• To provide an inclusive model for our understanding of behaviour needs

Key Beliefs

• Children and young people want to behave well
• Behaviour is a means of communication – we must ensure that all pupils are supported to communicate their needs safely and appropriately
• With the right support and intervention children/young people can learn to improve their behaviour and manage well
• Mistakes are part of the learning process and we recognize that all of our children/young people are at different stages of the development process
• All adults can learn strategies to support young people to improve their behaviour
• Adults within the school can support the children in the school by the quality of our relationship with each other and them; the quality of our provision; a well informed understanding of pupil needs; the scaffolding we put in place; observation, evidence gathering and analysis – so that our interventions are well informed and planned; working in close partnership with parents and carers; and investing time to allow children/young people to practise and make mistakes

Responsibilities and Expectations

Named Members

The named member of school staff with the responsibility for this Policy and its implementation is:

Name:
Ms Joanne Atherton

Role: Head Teacher

The Governor/Trustee with designated responsibility for overseeing this Policy and associated procedures is:

Name Cllr Edward Malcolm

Role Chair of Governors

Legal Guidance and Responsibilities

The DfE guidance, ‘Behaviour and Discipline in Schools; Advice for Heads and school staff (January 2016)’ has been read and used to guide the school on the legal obligations, powers and responsibilities in terms of discipline and managing behaviour within the school.

“Governing bodies of maintained schools have a duty under section 175 of the Education Act 2002 requiring them to make arrangements to ensure that their functions are carried out with a view to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. The proprietors of Academies have a similar duty under paragraph 7 of Schedule 1 to the Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2010. They must ensure that arrangements are made to safeguard and promote the welfare of pupils .”

General expectations

Pupils are expected to:
• Conduct themselves around the school in a safe, sensible manner and show regard to others
• Adhere to the Policy whilst in school, off-site visits, and to and from school.
• Arrive on time to lessons
• Follow reasonable instructions given by staff
• Behave in a reasonable and polite manner to all staff and pupils
• Show respect for the opinions and beliefs of others
• Support other members of the school community in promoting the expectations of good behaviour
• Ensure school work and homework is well presented, completed to a high standard, and handed in on time.
• Follow the school rules

Staff are expected to:
• Endeavour to arrive on time to their lessons
• Create a swift and purposeful start to lessons
• Model appropriate behaviour and reinforce clear expectations of behaviour
• Deliver suitably planned and structured lessons which meet all individual needs
• Deal with incidents of inappropriate behaviour by following the school’s procedures
• Promote and reinforce positive behaviour in the classroom and about the school

Parents and carers are expected to:
• Work in partnership with staff to ensure good behaviour
• Inform staff of any concerns
• Respond to concerns raised by members of staff
• Ensure their child/children come to school correctly equipped and prepared to work

The Head’s responsibilities:
• Ensure a school behaviour policy is in place, approved by the Governing Body, published on the school website and reviewed annually.
• Ensure the policy is understood and adhered to by all staff.
• Ensure only authorised staff carry out physical interventions.
• Ensure that all staff know the physical intervention procedures, including who to report to and where and how they should be recorded.
• Make sure that adequate resources are available to ensure this policy is implemented.
• Ensure staff receive information, instruction and training, for example, ‘Team Teach’ ‘positive handling techniques, de-escalation, etc.
• Ensure individual student risk assessments and positive handling plans are put in place and regularly reviewed.
• Ensure all incidents where a physical intervention has been used are recorded and followed up.
• Decide when to work with other local agencies to assess the needs of students who display continuous disruptive behaviour.
• Provide pastoral care for staff accused of misconduct.

Governors are expected to:
• Set the behaviour principles upon which the school behaviour policy is placed, ensuring that the welfare of all pupils/students are properly safeguarded
• Ensure that policies designed to promote good behaviour and discipline on the part of its pupils and all members of the school community are reviewed on an annual basis.

Promoting good behaviour, self-discipline and respect

School staff will support children through the quality of their relationships with each other and with them – actively building trust and rapport, having high expectations, treating all with dignity and respect and communicating carefully and clearly in a way that is accessible to them and their current level of need. Where behaviour is other than might be expected staff should consider what might be behind the behaviour and why the child is behaving in that way, including seeking support from colleagues and wider professional networks to problem solve challenging behaviour

The quality of provision

If the school is able to meet each child at his/her point of need, it is more likely that they will not display challenging or unhelpful behaviour. This is achieved through accurately assessing and planning to meet the child/young person’s needs; supporting him/her to develop high levels of resilience and self-esteem. Actively teach behaviour for learning.

The scaffolding

Rules and structures support positive behaviour particularly where they are few in number, developmentally appropriate, communicated in a way that the child can understand, stated in the positive, regularly referred to and appropriate to the activity and developmental age.

SCHOOL RULES

Be polite and well-mannered to everyone.
Do as you are asked by an adult.
Look after each other and our school. No put downs, no teasing and no bad language.
Walk sensibly around school.
Keep hands, feet and other objects to yourself.

PLAYGROUND RULES

Do as you are asked by an adult.
Keep hands, feet and other objects to yourself.
Line up quietly and sensibly as soon as the bell rings.
Look after school equipment.
Look after each other and our school – no put downs, no teasing and no bad language.

Reparation

Children should wherever possible be given the opportunity to take responsibility for their actions and seek to repair with the other person/s involved affected.

Children/young people with exceptional behavioural and or SEN needs

The majority of children respond appropriately when staff work within the guidelines but some of our children need additional support to learn to manage their behaviour. This is achieved through:
• Working within this policy
• Putting in additional scaffolding tailored to the specific needs of the child/young person
• Multi agency review
• Observation in a range of contexts
• Making the routines/strategies more detailed
• Drawing up a Risk Assessment and Positive Handling Plan detailing action to be taken when identified behaviours occur – shared with the child/young person, parent and other staff
• Drawing on additional resources from beyond the school, e.g. CAMHS, EP support and medical specialists
• Parental and family support to implement changes in strategies

Bullying (including cyber bullying)

• Bullying is not tolerated and should never be ignored.
• All instances of bullying must be recorded
• Parents/carers should be informed by staff via telephone or face to face contact
• Every instance needs to be addressed, in line with this policy, which each child/young person involved taking responsibility for his/her actions, apologizing and agreeing to stop/change the behaviour causing concern
• Children/young people need to be supported to develop age appropriate E-literacy so that they are able to keep themselves safe on line and report cyber-bullying
Further guidance is available in the school’s Anti-Bullying Policy

Discriminatory language/incidents

• Although they are quite rare incidents which include elements of racism, homophobia, sexism or those which are related to disability, gender presentation or religion are not acceptable within our school’s community
• They should be dealt with in line with this Policy with further advice and a co-ordinated response from the Senior Leadership Team
• They must be recorded appropriately, including any follow-up action
• Some children use discriminatory language without understanding its impact and this must be viewed as an opportunity to teach children how to be respectful to each other
If the school feel children are being abused through extremism or being radicalised, the school will inform the local authority and consult directly with the police Prevent Team and seek advice.

Further guidance is available in the school’s Equalities Policy

Restraint & Physical Contact

Under Section 93 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006, all staff members and any other person whom the head has given the responsibility to be in charge or in control of children may use reasonable force to prevent children committing an offence, injuring themselves or others, or damaging property, and to maintain good order and discipline during teaching sessions and otherwise.

• Force should rarely be used, usually only as a last resort, and only after all other interventions have been exhausted.
• Except in exceptional circumstances, restraint should only be used by staff who have had the recognised Team Teach training, and this is up to date.
• It should only be used if the child is putting himself/herself or others in danger and where failure to intervene would constitute neglect
• All restraints must be recorded in the school’s incident recording system
• Where a child/young person has required restraint or is deemed likely to need restraint as part of an ongoing behaviour management plan an Individual Risk Assessment and Positive Handling Plan should be carried out, including assessing the possible consequences of using particular Team-Teaching methods.
• Update the child’s Behaviour plan including the Team Teach Physical interventions which have been successful/ alternative strategies to avoid such intervention
• If restraint is used parents/carers should be contacted before the child arrives home. Staff having used restraint should be debriefed by a member of the school senior leadership team.

Physical Contact with Students

The school recognises that there are occasions when physical contact (other than reasonable force) with a pupil is proper and necessary, such as:
• holding the hand of the student
• comforting or congratulating a student
• demonstrating how to use equipment
• demonstrating techniques
• provide first aid

Restricting Liberties

Pupils may never be locked in a room alone without support and supervision, denied food and/or drink or denied access to a toilet.

In exceptional circumstances a pupil may be secluded in a safe place to reduce overall risk to him/herself or others. Senior staff will be involved, and parents informed.

Strategies for Good Behaviour

Lord Blyton Primary follows the Assertive Discipline Method of behaviour management. It must be complemented by appropriate classroom management, teaching styles and positive role modelling by staff.
As a result of assertive discipline training the school rules were developed and agreed. There are three sets of rules, school rules, class rules and playground rules.
The children’s good behaviour is rewarded in a number of ways such as stickers, house points, letters sent home, certificates and Star of the Week Awards.
If the children do not follow the school rules there are a set of consequences. Each child is given a reminder of the rules before being issued with a consequence. The consequences vary in severity.
• Warning – Consequence
• Missed play time- the class teacher must remain with the child at all times
• Time out of class – the child must be sent to another classroom with appropriate work to complete.
• Telephone call to parents with child present
• Teacher meeting with parents
• Senior Leadership Team -meeting with parents
• Severe Behaviour— sent immediately to Head teacher
We have a house point system, which is meant to reward children
positively for achievements reached. The system recognises the child’s accumulation of house points leading to the presentation of personal awards as well as contributing to the house total.

It is the responsibility of class teachers or Classroom Assistant to deal with minor incidents which occur in the classroom.

More serious incidents can be dealt with by the teacher but must be recorded on the Dojo system.

Senior members of staff will become involved if a pupil’s behaviour is causing concerns in a number of areas or repeatedly in one area. They will ensure possibly underlying issues are identified and appropriate pastoral/SEN support put in place.

Members of the senior leadership team are available throughout the school day to support staff or remove pupils from lessons where there is serious disruption.

The Head Teacher (or a member of staff deputising for her in her absence) is the only member of staff who can sanction a fixed term or permanent exclusion. In the case of all exclusions, parents/guardians are informed in writing of the reasons for the exclusion and their right to appeal in accordance with the statutory guidance.

Fixed Period and Permanent Exclusions

Informal exclusions or any sending home of pupils for disciplinary reasons other than through exclusion are illegal. Parents must not be encouraged to home educate a child in order to avoid exclusion.

In occasional cases the head teacher may feel that they have to exclude a child, however, such decisions are not taken lightly and will be determined on an individual basis in conjunction with the Chair of Governors and other Senior Staff.

Behaviour Outside School

Travel to and from school
The expectations in this Policy apply whilst students are travelling to and from school.

In the Community
The school will respond and give advice to all non-criminal inappropriate behaviour and bullying which occurs anywhere off the school premises when this is reported to the school. Responses and sanctions will be in line with this policy and will involve the student’s parents or carers if appropriate. Staff will discipline the student on the school premises or in a place where the student is under the lawful charge of the staff member, in-line with this policy and legal requirements.

Off-Site Visits
The expectations in this Policy apply whilst students, staff, volunteers and helpers are involved in any off-site school visit.

Behaviour Management

School/Classroom Expectations
These have been compiled in consultation with all students. These expectations occur in all classrooms and in all areas of the school. They are the same in all areas of the school and every classroom.

Preventative and De-escalation Measures

Sanctions and Consequences

STAGE	BEHAVIOUR	SANCTIONS AND CONSEQUENCES
1	Low level inappropriate behaviours: 1. calling out 2. interrupting when others are talking	Apply positive strategies to encourage appropriate behaviours in-line with the school’s ethos.
2	Medium level inappropriate behaviours: 1. petty theft 2. persistent disruptive behaviour	Apply positive strategies and sanctions to encourage appropriate behaviours in-line with the school’s ethos. Class teacher to talk to parent and pupils Record incidents/log. Lose time at break time.
3	Higher level inappropriate behaviours: 1. serious challenge to authority 2. harming someone 3. Threatening behaviour including phone calls, social media, etc. See ICT/Media policy.	Apply positive strategies and sanctions to encourage appropriate behaviours in-line with the school’s ethos. Behaviour Plan in place, advice from outside agencies upon targets, strategies and interventions. Report card Risk Assessment
4	Serious inappropriate behaviours: 1. bullying – physical and emotional 2. extreme danger of violence 3. leaving school boundaries 4. bringing banned substances or items into school	Involvement of outside agencies. PHP set up. Individual Pupil Risk Assessment (IPRA) implemented. Fixed term exclusion. Permanent exclusion.

Managing Student Transition

The school carefully manage the transition of pupils as they progress from one year group to the next and, to a greater extent, from Key Stage to Key Stage. Pupils have transition sessions with their new class and teacher, and the school hold handover transition meetings at every move to enable clear communication for staff. The school are especially careful in ensuring that transitions for students with particular needs are fully prepared at each stage both internally and externally.

The school have good communicative relationships with local secondary schools and pupils are encouraged to attend taster days and visit prospective new schools. Relevant staff will also visit our school and liaise with the Headteacher, Child and Family manager and Class teacher in order to ensure smooth transition for students. Not only are students prepared for the academic transition of moving to secondary school, but also the social side.

Enhanced transition arrangements are in place for those pupils who may need significant extra support for transition to be successful. Identification of such pupils starts in Y5 and an enhanced transition plan is put in place. This is part of ongoing liaison between primary and secondary schools. The Transition mentors from the Local Authority work with identified pupils. The Healthy Minds Team and Life Cycle also offer support.

Involvement with Outside Agencies

The school will undertake reviews of the needs of pupils and involve external agencies, such as the Behaviour Support Specialist Teachers, Educational Psychology Service, Healthy Minds Team, Life Cycle, Occupational Therapy and Speech and Language Therapy where it is deemed by the school to be appropriate and beneficial to the student to do so. This will be discussed with the parent/carer beforehand and signed consent will be necessary in order to engage outside agency involvement.

Use of Reasonable Force

The school does not encourage the use of force and it will be used rarely. There is no definition of when it is reasonable to use force, as every situation is different and will have to be judged by the staff member in charge at that time. The degree of force used will be the minimum needed and proportional to the situation.

All incidents involving the use of force will be recorded by staff involved as soon as possible after the incident and copies will be given to the class teacher and Head.

It is good practice for schools to speak to parents about serious incidents involving the use of force and to consider how best to record such serious incidents. It is up to schools to decide whether it is appropriate to report the use of force to parents.
In deciding what a serious incident is, teachers should use their professional judgement and consider the:

• pupil’s behaviour and level of risk presented at the time of the incident;
• degree of force used;
• effect on the pupil or member of staff; and
• the child’s age.

Searching, Screening and Confiscation

The guidance provided in the Education and Inspection Act 2006 and the ‘Searching, screening and confiscation Advice for Heads, school staff and governing bodies’ January 2018 , states that staff are authorised to use confiscation as a disciplinary sanction if it is lawful.

This means that staff may confiscate or seize items in possession of a pupil that are illegal or banned from school, see ‘School expectations – all members of the school community’; the first priority being to ensure that pupils and adults are in a safe and secure environment when they are in school. Any items that may jeopardise the safety of others or themselves will be taken from the pupils without notice.

A staff member can search a pupil with the pupils permission to look for any item that are illegal or banned from the school. It is only the head, or a staff member who has been authorised by the head, who has the power to search a pupil without the pupil’s consent if they suspect they are in possession of illegal items.

The member of staff must be of the same sex as the pupil being searched; and there must be a witness (also a staff member) and, if possible, they should be the same sex as the pupil being searched.

There is a limited exception to this rule. You can carry out a search of a pupil of the opposite sex to you and / or without a witness present, but only where you reasonably believe that there is a risk that serious harm will be caused to a person if you do not conduct the search immediately and where it is not reasonably practicable to summon another member of staff.

Section 93 of the Education Act 2011 states that staff have the legal right to seize an electronic device to examine any data or files on the device if there is good reason to do so. These data or files may be erased before returning the item to the owner if they believe there is good reason to do so.

Allegations against Staff

Allegations against staff will be taken seriously and will be dealt with quickly and in a fair and consistent manner which provides effective protection for the student and supports the person who is the subject of the allegation. Every effort will be made to maintain confidentiality and guard against publicity while an allegation is being investigated. Suspension will not be used as an automatic response when an allegation has been reported. Appropriate pastoral care will be provided to any member of staff who is subject to a formal allegation

(Allegation against Staff Policy is available).

Violence to Staff

The school takes a serious view of any incidence of violence against its employees and takes responsibility for protecting all of its employees from acts of violence and aggression. Such acts must never become an acceptable hazard of working in a school or local government.

A system of reporting and monitoring incidents of violence and aggression towards employees has been adopted so that appropriate action can be taken to improve safety for employees in the workplace.

See 3.11 Violence to staff -Health and Safety Manual 2017

Where any injury has occurred, the school will complete a Health and Safety Incident Form AR1/V1 for staff and AR2 for students following the STC Policy ‘3.15 Accident Reporting’ Health and Safety Manual 2017.

Monitoring and Evaluating

The school will regularly monitor the behaviour system to ensure expectations, rewards and sanctions are appropriate and effective. The Headteacher will discuss any pupil’s behaviour with them where there are numerous incidents. Parent’s may be informed. The information from our monitoring procedures will be used to identify good practice and to identify opportunities for staff professional development.

The Head Teacher will annually review the Behaviour Policy as a whole.

Information and feedback regarding the effectiveness of this policy across the school is sourced from informal discussions and reports from members of the school community; from classroom and playground observations; questionnaires from parent/carers, staff and students; formal data such as the number of students receiving sanctions; number of individual behaviour plans in place and through specific monitoring by staff and governors.

Complaints

Complaints can be made to the Headteacher of the Chair of Governor’s in writing.

Communicating the Policy

For the Policy to be successfully implemented it is essential that its contents are communicated effectively to all members of the school community. The school believes that parental support and acknowledgment of how behaviour is managed within the school will enhance the effective partnership between home and school.

The school works with parent/carers and students so that effective learning communities can be established. The school will report behaviour, appropriate and inappropriate, to parent/carers regularly. Parents are encouraged to communicate with the school if they have a concern about their student’s behaviour or well-being, initially with their class teacher.

• The policy and school expectations will be reviewed at the beginning of each academic year in conjunction with all staff and pupils.
• School expectations will be placed in prominent places in all areas of the school and also in the Home/School Agreement information.
• For clarification on any of any points in the Policy, parent/carers, volunteers and students are asked to contact a member of staff.

Training

All staff will receive information, instruction and training in order to understand and implement the requirements of this policy.
Where required by the risk assessment, staff will be entitled to training in ‘Team Teach’ ‘positive handling techniques, de-escalation, etc. with regular and frequent refresher courses.
New staff and others who have not been trained, for whatever reason, should not engage in positive handling unless absolutely necessary (under a general duty of care).
Staff training needs are identified through the performance management programme and development opportunities are provided accordingly. Teachers should discuss their training needs at appraisal or as issues arise, depending on importance.

Signed by:

____________________ Chair of governors

Date_____________________

J Atherton______________________ Head

Date_May 2021_____________________

This policy will be reviewed annually and will be publicised to all staff, parents, students and governors. It will be available from the school office as well as through the school’s website.

Supporting Documents

As well as the policies and documents referred to within this policy, the following documents have been used in order to provide compulsory and legal guidelines for managing behaviour in school.

• Behaviour and Discipline in Schools. Advice for heads and school staff. January 2016

• The Education Act 2011

• The Education and Inspections Act 2006

• Use of Reasonable Force. Advice for Heads, staff and governing bodies. July 2013

• Screening, Searching and Confiscation. January 2018

• The Equality Act 2010

Appendix 1

The DfE 2016 guidance “Behaviour and Discipline in Schools: A guide for Heads and School Staff” should be used when adapting this template to ensure your Behaviour Policy remains compliant:

“The school behaviour policy

What the law says:
Maintained schools

The head teacher must set out measures in the behaviour policy which aim to:
• promote good behaviour, self-discipline and respect;
• prevent bullying;
• ensure that students complete assigned work;
and which
• regulate the conduct of students.
When deciding what these measures should be, the head teacher must take account of the governing body’s statement of behaviour principles. The head teacher must have regard to any guidance or notification provided by the governing body which may include the following:
• screening and searching students;
• the power to use reasonable force and other physical contact;
• the power to discipline beyond the school gate;
• when to work with other local agencies to assess the needs of students who display continuous disruptive behaviour; and
• pastoral care for staff accused of misconduct.
The head teacher must decide the standard of behaviour expected of students at the school. He or she must also determine the school rules and any disciplinary penalties for breaking the rules.
Teachers’ powers to discipline include the power to discipline students even when they are not at school or in the charge of a member of staff.
The head teacher must publicise the school behaviour policy, in writing, to staff, parents and students at least once a year.
The school’s behaviour policy must be published on its website (School Information (England) Regulations 2008). Where they do not have a website the governing body should make arrangements for the behaviour policy to be put on a website and to make the address and details (of the website) known to parents.

Academy schools

The proprietor of an Academy is required to ensure that a written policy to promote good behaviour among students is drawn up and effectively implemented. The policy must set out the disciplinary sanctions to be adopted if a student misbehaves. The proprietor is also required to ensure that an effective anti-bullying strategy is drawn up and implemented. The behaviour policy should be made available to parents on request.
While Academies are not required by law to publish their behaviour policy on their website, it is good practice to do so.

Home school agreements

The standard of behaviour expected of all students must be included in the school’s home-school agreement which parents must be asked to sign following their student’s admission to a school. PRUs and AP Academies are not required to have home-school agreements. Further advice on home school agreements is available – see Associated Resources section below for a link.

Developing the behaviour policy

It is vital that the behaviour policy is clear, that it is well understood by staff, parents and students, and that it is consistently applied. In developing the behaviour policy, the head teacher should reflect on the following ten key aspects of school practice that, when effective, contribute to improving the quality of student behaviour:

1) A consistent approach to behaviour management;
2) Strong school leadership;
3) Classroom management;
4) Rewards and sanctions;
5) Behaviour strategies and the teaching of good behaviour;
6) Staff development and support;
7) Student support systems;
8) Liaison with parents and other agencies;
9) Managing student transition; and
10) Organisation and facilities.

The school’s behaviour policy should set out the disciplinary action that will be taken against students who are found to have made malicious accusations against school staff.
The behaviour policy should acknowledge the school’s legal duties under the Equality Act 2010, in respect of safeguarding and in respect of students with special educational needs (SEN).”

Appendix 2

School exclusionWe understand that taking the decision to permanently exclude a pupil at your school is not one that you will be taking lightly. The school exclusion project has put together a short guide to help you through this process.
https://schoolexclusionproject.com/headteachers-guide-to-exclusion/

Statutory guidance on the exclusion of pupils from local-authority-maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-exclusion

Drugs: advice for schools
Guidance for school leaders and staff on managing drugs, drug-related incidents within schools and pastoral support for pupils.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/drugs-advice-for-schools

Drug, alcohol, substance abuse services in South Tyneside
https://www.southtyneside.gov.uk/article/57977/Drug-and-alcohol-abuse

Associated resources

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/use-of-reasonable-force-in-schools
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/searching-screening-and-confiscation
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-exclusion
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education–2
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25
Charlie Taylor, the Government’s former expert adviser on behaviour, has produced a checklist on the basics of classroom management. Teachers can use it to develop between five and ten essential actions to encourage good behaviour in students. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/good-behaviour-in-schools-checklist-for-teachers
G104 Managing Violent and Abusive Visitors to Schools.
Health and Safety Manual 2017
https://www.southtyneside.gov.uk/article/35878/Young-people-and-radicalisation-and-extremism

Legislative links

School Standards and Framework Act 1998
Education and Inspections Act 2006
The School Information (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2016
Equality Act 2010
The Education (Independent School Standards) (Amended) (England) Regulations 2014
Education Act 2011
The Schools (Specification and Disposal of Articles) Regulations 2012
The School Behaviour (Determination and Publicising of Measures in Academies) Regulations 2012

Appendix 3

Post Incident Support

The school will ensure that the student and the member of staff have immediate access to first aid for any signs of injury – this must be recorded.

The school will give the student time to become calm while staff continue to supervise him/her. When the student regains complete composure, a senior member of our staff (or his/her nominee) will discuss the incident with the student and try to ascertain the reason for its occurrence. The student will be given an opportunity to explain things from his/her point of view. The school will take all necessary steps to re-establish the relationship between the student and the member(s) of staff involved in the incident.

In cases where it is not possible to speak to the student on the same day as the incident occurred, the school will ensure a debrief takes place as soon as possible after the student returns to school.

All members of staff involved will be allowed a period to debrief and recover from the incident. This may involve access to external support. A senior member of school staff (or his/her nominee) will provide support to the member of staff involved.

The Head will be informed at the earliest possible opportunity of any incidents where physical intervention or restraint has been used. The Head (or his/her nominee) will initiate the recording process and the school will review each incident to ensure that any necessary lessons are learned.

The school will:

a) Inform parents/carers of any incident involving physical intervention as soon as possible after the incident and whenever practicable on the day of the incident before the student arrives home.

b) Help the student develop strategies to avoid such crisis points in the future and inform relevant staff about these strategies and their roles;

c) Ensure that staff and students affected by the incident have continuing support as long as necessary in respect of:
• physical consequences
• emotional stress or loss of confidence
• analysis and reflection of the incident

Further information to help provide support after an incident can be accessed via the HSE webpages.
Requesting police attendance for a violent incident in school

This section is focussed primarily on the police response to incidents of violence by a student or students, either towards other students, staff, or school property.

There may be occasions when staff will need to call the police to attend school premises to deal with an incident (INSERT: school procedure for making the decision to call the police and names of senior members of staff) should be followed.
When making the call, sufficient information should be provided to the police to enable the call handler to assess the Threat, Harm and Risk the incident poses, to ensure an appropriate response can be provided. This should include:

a) Details of the student(s) involved including date of birth and address
b) Current demeanour including any known substance misuse
c) Any known threat to staff/officers e.g. weapons used, type of violence, size/build of student etc.
d) Behavioural history of a similar nature, or lack of
e) Medical issues including mental health
f) Details of the incident leading to the call to police
g) Action already taken by staff and the result
h) Are there any methods which have previously worked with the student?
i) Preferred outcome e.g. removal from school premises

Upon arrival of an officer, it should not be assumed that the officer has been given all of the information that has been passed to the call handler, and this information – see point 2 -may need to be reiterated to the officer to allow them to deal with the incident effectively. Ensure any change in circumstances since the call was made is also relayed to the officer.
Should the situation allow, a conversation should take place between the staff member who has best knowledge of the incident, a senior member of staff, and the officer. During this conversation the information collected in point 2 should be provided to the officer.
It is also important to discuss with the officer what your mutual expectations are. Do you want the officer merely to be present in case they are required? Do you want them to take control of the situation immediately? Are you able to assist the officer in restraining the student, if required? It must be appreciated that officers have a legal duty to keep the peace and seek to prevent injury or damage to property. It may therefore become necessary for the officer(s) to take action which had not been previously discussed.
The police do not expect staff members to be mere observers. Equally, police officers must not be obstructed in their lawful duty. Any staff involved in the incident should explain to the officer what their training limits are e.g. Team Teach.

Where appropriate the police and school will complete a review of the incident

Media Relations

The Press team deals with all reactive enquiries from the media and may need to communicate with you to pull together information to respond to these correctly. The Press team is also responsible for organising press photography and coordinating permission to film or photograph on Council property.

If a journalist contacts the school or a member of the school community directly, please take a message and give them the contact details of the Press team:

Telephone: 0191 424 7382

Email: press.enquiries@southtyneside.gov.uk

Lord Blyton Primary School