Governors’ Written Statement of Behaviour Principles

This statement of behaviour principles is made by the governing body of Lady Margaret Primary School in accordance with Section 88 (1) of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 (EIA).

The governors of Lady Margaret Primary School expect the head of school to

Determine which behaviours are not acceptable and to decide on sanctions for whatever is unacceptable, including the use of suspensions (agreed in advance with the executive head), if appropriate
Ensure that the behaviour policy is shared with staff, parents and governors
Ensure a clear sanction ladder in place, agreed by staff and shared with parents and governors
Have in place,strategies and interventions to ensure children with challenging behaviour, including those connected with SEND / with Education Health Care Plans (EHCP), are working to improve their inappropriate behaviour
Ensure that rewards, sanctions and reasonable force are used consistently by staff, in line with the behaviour policy and restraint policy
Ensure that exclusions will only be used as a last resort, the processes involved in permanent and fixed-term suspensions are followed in line with the policy
Provide information and analysis to governors on behaviour incidents once a term

The governors of Lady Margaret Primary School expect pupils in the school

To be well behaved and respectful towards one another and towards adults and visitors
Understand they have the right to feel safe, valued and respected, and learn free from the disruption of others (in line with Unicef’s Rights Respecting Agenda)
Are free from any form of discrimination including sexual orientation, racist, gender, gender identification, disability or religion
Understand the behaviour policy
To be working within the codes of conduct set by the class teacher and senior leaders, at the start of each academic year

The governors of Lady Margaret Primary School expect staff in the school

Are free from any form of discrimination
To lead by example, modelling good behaviour and dealing with inappropriate behaviour
Understand and adhere to the behaviour policy
To help pupils to take responsibility for their actions
To have class codes of conduct(rules)set out, and to be working within the codes set, at the start of each academic year, whether at whole school, year group, class or individual level
To be working within the behaviour codes set by senior leaders, at the start of each academic year, whether at whole school, year group, or individual level
To record on the schools pupil management information system “SIMS” and reported to the Governing Body termly
To ensure all systems are followed in the event of serious incident
Follow the clear sanction ladder in place, agreed by staff and shared with parents and governors
To use rewards as the bedrock of the schools promotion of positive behaviour
To understand and value children’s rights in line with Unicef’s Right Respecting Agenda and educate pupils in this regard

Additionally, the governors would expect the following:

Screening and searching pupils(including identifying in the school rules items which are banned and which may be searched for)

Pupils should not be bringing dangerous items e.g. knives etc. from home and if it is suspected that any dangerous item has been brought to school, the governors would expect the head of school (or a senior leader) and one other person to take steps, including searching a pupil’s bag, to ensure that nothing unsafe is in school.

The power to use reasonable force or make other physical contact

If a member of staff, suitably trained, needs to use reasonable force to contain a child who may be a danger to him/ herself or may be a danger to others, then reasonable force should be used. Staff are ‘team teach’ trained to restrain pupils and work in line with positive handling policy

The power to discipline beyond the school gate

Disciplining beyond the school gate covers the school’s response to all non-criminal bad behaviour and bullying, including on line, which occurs anywhere off the school premises and which is witnessed by a member of staff or reported to the school. The governing body must be satisfied that the measures proposed by the head teacher are lawful.

The governing body will need to ask the head of school to consider what the school’s response should be to:

Any inappropriate behaviour when the child is:

taking part in any school organised or school related activity
travelling to or from school
wearing school uniform
in some other way identifiable as a pupil at the school

Or, misbehaviour at any time, whether or not the conditions above apply, that:

could have repercussions for the orderly running of the school
poses a threat to another pupil or member of the public
could adversely affect the reputation of the school

In all of these circumstances, the head of school (in consultation with EHT) should also consider whether it is appropriate to notify the police or anti-social behaviour coordinator in their local authority of the actions taken against a pupil. If the behaviour is criminal or poses a serious threat to a member of the public, the police should always be informed. In addition, school staff should consider whether the misbehaviour may be linked to the child suffering, or being likely to suffer, significant harm. In this case the school staff should follow its safeguarding policy.

A multi-agency assessment should be considered for pupils who display continuous disruptive behaviour.

The governors expect the headteacher to consider a multi-agency assessment for those children who are displaying frequent disruptive behaviour.

The governors are aware that, when they give policy content guidance to the head of school, the governing body must not seek to hinder teachers powers by including ‘no searching’ or ‘no contact’ policies or to restrict their power to discipline pupils for misbehaviour outside of school.

The governing board also emphasise that violence or threatening behaviour will not be tolerated in any circumstances.

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Approved by:
Full Governing Body

Published:
19th September 2023

Last reviewed on:
September 2024

Next review due by:
September 2025