An update here on our Behaviour policy – which in the modern style we now refer to as our Relationships Policy. We are sharing this, not in response to any particular incident, but as part of our commitment to be transparent and up-front about school life. It should not be read as a threat, but hopefully something that will be welcomed as part of our determination to maintain the exceptional (Ofsted Outstanding and as good now as it was then) behaviour and attitudes of our children. Your children.
Firstly, we ought to celebrate the consistently fantastic behaviour of the vast majority of Parkdale children. It compares favourably to anywhere and remains one of the reasons we have waiting lists of children wanting to move here from other schools. Visitors to our school repeatedly comment on it and t remains something we are extremely proud of. We have a constantly evolving system of rewards for those who consistently meet our expectations and many, many of our children go above and beyond and actually exceed those.
However, like every school, we sometimes face more challenging behaviour and have to deal with that. We are lucky that this is so unusual here and recognise that it will be just the same, even in ‘leafier’ schools – some of the worst behaviour I (Mr H) have experienced has been in village schools and those in the smart, most desirable suburbs! Of course, in some inner city schools it is a massive challenge. Things that bother us here and that we deal with probably don’t even make it onto the radar, such are the volume and severity of the issues. Everywhere, it would probably be fair to say, this has become more of an issue post-Covid, with more children who had their Early Years disrupted showing signs of emotional dysregulation.
We have a well established, largely effective Behaviour Pathway and this usually does the job. To be honest, most children never even encounter it.
What the pathway does not seem to currently be dealing with so well is repeated, persistent and unimproving breaking of school rules and disruption to learning – things that in isolation would not amount to escalation to say suspension or exclusion, but that put together are disruptive to a happy school life for all of us.
We have plans to address this swiftly. Next week, Governors will consider a change to policy to clarify that persistent disruption and rule breaking that is not rectified through our main pathway and shows insufficient improvement after support has been put in place can lead to suspension and that if improvements are not seen post-suspension, that may lead to permanent exclusion.
The latter, permanent exclusion, is a huge step but is one schools are expected to take if they have done all they can to be supportive and that has not had the expected impact. We will be putting into place a further pathway for children who have become at risk of ‘perm-ex’, with clearly defined time-lines for review and expected improvement.
Any actions we take will be in line with guidance and direction from the DfE. The following excerpts very much continue to underpin our approach.
Aim
Good behaviour in schools is essential to ensure that all pupils benefit from the opportunities provided by education. The government recognises that school exclusions, managed moves and off-site direction are essential behaviour management tools for headteachers and can be used to establish high standards of behaviour in schools and maintain the safety of school communities. For the vast majority of pupils, suspensions1 and permanent exclusions may not be necessary, as other strategies can manage their behaviour. If these approaches towards behaviour management have been exhausted, then suspensions and permanent exclusions will sometimes be necessary as a last resort. This is to ensure that other pupils and teaching staff can work in safety and are respected.Schools and local authorities should not adopt a ‘no exclusion’ policy as an end in itself. This can lead to perverse incentives for schools not to exclude even when exclusion may be a way for a pupil to access alternative provision which will help ensure an excluded pupil remains engaged in education. In some cases, a ‘no exclusion’ policy can present safeguarding issues and expose staff and pupils to unreasonable risks
Under the Education and Inspections Act 2006, headteachers of maintained schools and pupil referral units must determine measures to be taken9 with a view to:
• promoting self discipline and proper regard for authority among pupils,
• encouraging good behaviour and respect for others on the part of pupils and, in particular, preventing all forms of bullying among pupils,
• securing that the standard of behaviour of pupils is acceptable,
• securing that pupils complete any tasks reasonably assigned to them in connection with their education, and
• otherwise regulating the conduct of pupils.