Behaviour and Attitudes

In order to be able to think about behaviour and attitudes we must also think about the education of a pupil’s ‘character’. We need to be clear that the relationships that we have with children, their families and each other, are the living proof of what emotional intelligence and resilience looks like. Only with a strong relationship are we able to do the work of character education. 

Through a varied character education programme:

• Pupils will leave with the knowledge and skills to lead healthy, safe lives and the ability to manage the different relationships they will experience. Pupils will be able to not only communicate how they are feeling but self-manage their own well-being and actively seek other avenues of support should they need it.
• Pupils will become role models within society and will understand why this positive behaviour is important. They will act in ways that not only benefit themselves but the community as a whole, understanding the value of giving back.
• Pupils will leave with the skills to be successful in their academic studies so they can live lives of choice and opportunity. They will have access to opportunities that enrich their understanding of the world in which they live and understand the importance of education, actively seeking opportunities to further it.
• They will be able to make informed decisions about their lives and have clear, achievable and aspirational plans for their futures.

As pupils navigate these decisions, a programme of support will also be offered to guide pupils during their development until they are able to independently make decisions that positively impact their future. The benchmarks for this development can be seen below and the implementation of the different aspects of this programme can be seen throughout this document.

Ensuring good behaviour

Full further information please see the Reach Academy Behaviour Policy.

A key intention of the character education programme at Reach is to make sure that pupils leave Reach Academy knowing how to behave in society and can become positive role models within it. Outstanding behaviour is not only vital in the wider world but also within school to allow the pupils to be successful and allow others to learn in a positive learning environment. That said, learning such behaviours takes time and it is important to teach pupils how to behave, forming these behaviours as a habit, as opposed to just telling them. The reward and sanction system at Reach Academy is intended to teach pupils how to behave both in school and beyond, working alongside our behaviour policy and form curriculum (below). The foundations of  the implementation of this system can be seen below.

Consistency

Consistency is key to support pupils in building positive behaviours as a habit. Pupils need to be aware that the same behaviours will result in the same reward or consequence in all of their lessons and that the expectations of their behaviour will be the same at all points of the school day. In order to achieve this Reach operates a shared language across all phases within the school with any adjustments according to age made explicit to pupils during transitions. The foundations of the behaviour system, merits and demerits, are used across all phases in the school so pupils are clear when their behaviour is positive or negative. This, alongside a strong reward system (below) will encourage pupils to continue to demonstrate positive behaviours as routine. A centralised behaviour system also serves to show pupils that they are responsible for their actions equally at all points in the school day and they will be held to account as such.

Rewards

It is important to use positive reinforcement to teach pupils how to behave alongside the use of sanctions. Pupils need to be aware that their actions can have both positive and negative outcomes and, by using a system of rewards, pupils will continue to demonstrate the positive actions until they become routine. Again, this has been planned throughout the school to use the same language and adapt to the age of the pupils. There is a reward stream for the individual and one for the team to show pupils the importance of working for themselves  but also the contribution they can have as part of a wider team or community.

In phases 1 and 2, a team is awarded a marble for the class demonstrating the values collectively. This marble is added to a jar and once full the team is awarded a Reach Prize as a class. The class will be constantly working towards this reward, it is just a matter of how quickly they can achieve it. This develops in phase 3 to the Reach Score in which the team is given a score at the end of each class based on the values and, at the end of term, if the average is over 4.6, the team receives the Reach Prize. The development here is that the team may not receive the Reach Prize and will instead spend time working with their form teacher to reflect on the team performance to improve next term. 

Alongside this there is a system of individual reward. Pupils in phase 1 and 2 will often receive immediate praise in the class to also share with their families at home. This is to reinforce the positive behaviours that are expected and constantly refer to them to build positive routines. This can include merits certificates or values certificates. This system develops in phase 3 and 4 to a payslip system in which pupils are given a payslip each week summarising all of their positive and negative behaviours across all lessons and given an overall score. These scores can determine various rewards over a period of time allowing pupils to reflect on their own behaviours and work towards desired goals. Over a week if a score of 75 is met pupils will be able to go to enrichment, over a term they will receive a wristband depending on their average and, over a year, if a score of 100 is achieved they will get to attend the residential trip. This teaches the pupil that they are accountable for their behaviour not just in the short term but over a much longer period and should be demonstrating the positive behaviours expected of them constantly. 

Growing Responsibility

As pupils develop they are held to greater account for their behaviours. As an all-through school, we have designed our sanction system to take the age of the pupil into account when they are given consequences for their behaviour. This includes the length of the consequence and how long a consequence remains with the pupil. An example of this is the demerit system. Across all phases, 3 demerits will trigger a sanction however the length of time a pupil has a demerit for changes depending on age alongside the length of the consequence. 

Impact

We analyse data in a number of ways to direct intervention where required. This can include analysing positive and negative behaviours at a pupil, group, teacher or class level for trends as well as looking at payslip scores to direct intervention such as through coaching. Data is analysed weekly for short term intervention and in greater detail each cycle to create action plans for the forthcoming cycle. This directly informs the pastoral team where to direct intensive coaching (below) to direct intervention to the pupils who are struggling most at that specific time.