Staff and Student Charter to meet expected high standards for learning
Staff will:
- Arrive punctually to classrooms and greet all students at the door.
- Ensure uniform is of the appropriate standard and issue instructions regarding the first activity to engage the students.
- Take the register using the lesson monitor system and report any missing students to the main office immediately.
- Set a seating plan to meet the needs of the group.
- Teachers will not accept students calling out and will promote the desired behaviour, allowing students the opportunity to forward their views when appropriate.
- Ensure students are informed of home learning.
- Take every opportunity to encourage, praise and empower the students, whilst supporting students as they look to make progress towards their targets.
- Review student performance, rewarding students via lesson monitor and providing them with this feedback at the end of the lesson. Teachers will only dismiss students if the room is tidy and uniform is correct.
- Ensure students follow the school rules and responsibilities at all times. All staff will challenge students when the expected high standards are not met.
- Model the high standards of behaviour expected from students and promote a culture of respect for all.
By choosing to come to our school, students will:
- Arrive punctually to classrooms with a positive attitude, fully equipped for lessons and ready to start learning.
- Wear the school uniform correctly and take pride in their appearance, both in school and when out in the community.
- Answer their name when the register is taken in a polite and respectful manner, ‘Here Sir/Miss’.
- Sit in their seat as directed by the teacher.
- Remain silent when the teacher is talking, listening to and concentrating on all instructions.
- Complete classwork and home learning to the best of their ability.
- Students will ensure that the room is tidy and that their uniform is correct, leaving the learning space in an orderly fashion.
- Behave safely in lessons, during movement between lessons and in their free time, following the rules and responsibilities.
- Treat all members of the school community with courtesy and respect. Respond to staff at their first request and follow all school rules, responsibilities and policies.
| By choosing to come to our school, students must follow our school rules of being ‘READY’, ‘RESPECTFUL’ and ‘SAFE’. These rules apply at all times, including to and from school, on all visits and on all occasions where the school is being represented. |
Lesson Monitor
Lesson monitor is a system that tracks students’ attitudes to learning in all lessons. The system works as follows:
- Students are registered in the classroom with a 2 (good) at the start of the lesson. We expect behaviour to be good.
- Teachers will use the ‘attitude to learning’ criteria to change the number dependent on
the student’s performance. - Where a 3, 4 or a 5 is recorded, a teacher will record a comment based on the student’s
performance. - Where a 4 or 5 is recorded, a sanction will be put in place by the teacher and may result in the student being removed from the lesson.
- Attitudes to learning will be monitored closely by members of staff and will contribute to
decisions made on praise, rewards, sanctions and interventions. - Lesson monitor will provide staff, students and parents/carers with an accurate picture of
a student’s performance in all lessons. - Students should strive to achieve an outstanding (1) in all lessons and will have the opportunity to reflect on their attitudes to learning during tutor time. Lesson monitor data will feed into the rewards system where students will be rewarded for achieving outstanding performance.
We also celebrate student achievement outside of lessons. Examples include, service to school, sporting representation and many other contributions. We will log this on our internal system and the students have the opportunity to win awards throughout the year. Awards include, Service to the School, Progress, Sport, Music, Drama and Citizenship.
Attitude to Learning criteria
| 1 – Outstanding |
| • You are hard-working, highly motivated and contribute fully to learning.
• You are enthusiastic and co-operative with staff and collaborate very effectively. • You take full responsibility for your own learning, show perseverance, meet all deadlines and complete work to the very best of your ability. • You complete research, preparation and home learning thoroughly and are fully equipped for lessons. |
| 2 – Good |
| • You are hard-working and present a positive attitude to learning.
• You are willing and co-operative with staff and collaborative with others. • You complete work to the best of your ability. • You are well-prepared and fully equipped for lessons with home learning completed |
| 3 – Requires improvement |
| • You do not always work to the best of your ability and sometimes need encouragement to stay on task and think for yourself.
• You are coasting and putting in variable effort. • You are not always fully prepared for lessons, you do not have all the required equipment and home learning is sometimes not completed or shows minimal effort. |
| 4 – Inadequate |
| • You need frequent reminders to stay on task.
• You do not meet the expected standards of behaviour or effort. • You are not prepared for lessons and need to accept more responsibility for your learning. • Your lack of effort and focus has a negative impact on your learning and sometimes that of others. |
| 5 – Unacceptable |
| • You do not involve yourself in the learning process without frequent prompting.
• You seem unprepared to learn and often stop others learning too. • You do not meet the expectations regarding behaviour and your response to correction is negative. – You are removed from lesson due to this disruption to teaching and learning and breach of school rules- |
Rewards
A school ethos of encouragement is central to the promotion of desirable behaviour. Rewards are an integral means of achieving this. Students value praise and positive reinforcement, which will enhance their self-esteem, confidence and motivation.
It is important that a culture of celebration is achieved and students need to be aware that they are respected and valued. At Sir Thomas Boteler Church of England High School, we aspire to promote and acknowledge outstanding behaviour rather than merely deter inappropriate behaviour that impacts students’ learning and feeling of safety.
We have rewards systems in place to recognise students’ achievements, with the systems focusing on rewards that are earned and are equally accessible for all. All staff will aim to reward students on a daily basis by seeking every opportunity to praise students, giving positive, encouraging feedback. We want students to be proud of themselves and their achievements.
We celebrate student’s success in many ways, this includes:
- Work put on display and articles in the Boteler Bulletin
- Phone calls home
- Teacher praise postcards
- Praise and present awards in assemblies
- Prizes for competitions
- Lesson monitor rewards centre
- House achievement points
- Annual Awards Evenings
- Progress prizes awarded
- Certificates in recognition of outstanding and improved attendance
- Departmental awards
- Meeting with the Headteacher
| Consequence system
We adopt the consequence system to address behaviour and attitudes that compromise effective teaching and learning in the classroom. |
Detentions
As a school we do set detentions as part of the consequence system in lessons and when there are breaches of the school behaviour policy. The member of staff must act reasonably and the punishment must be proportionate when imposing a detention, as with any disciplinary penalty. When imposing detentions, we follow the guidance from the DfE.
Detentions will be imposed when other management tools have been unsuccessful. Teachers will use detention time to conduct restorative conversations.
In addition, when deciding the timing, the teacher should consider whether suitable travel arrangements can be made by the parent/carer for the student. It does not matter if making these arrangements would create inconvenience. However, a detention should not be sanctioned should the student’s safety be compromised.
Parents and carers should note that:
Teachers have a legal power to detain students. Detentions can be held at break and lunchtime without notifying the parent/carer. With break and lunchtime detentions, staff should allow reasonable time for the student to eat, drink and use the toilet.
Where possible, detentions will be carried out on the same day, with parents/carers informed via our text message system. Staff may also send a detention letter, an email or make a telephone call. All members of staff, including support staff can impose detentions.
Searching a student
School staff can search a student for any banned items. There is no legal requirement for staff to receive training before undertaking a “without consent search”.
Our school enforces a strict ban on chewing gum, E-cigarettes/Vapes, aerosol cans, fizzy drinks, energy drinks and other potentially dangerous items, which have a detrimental effect on school discipline or endanger others. Members of staff, by law, may confiscate or retain a student’s property as part of a disciplinary action, such as mobile phones and non-compliant items of uniform.
Headteachers and authorised school staff may also use force as is reasonable given the circumstances when conducting a search for knives or weapons, alcohol, illegal drugs, stolen items, tobacco, fireworks, pornographic images or articles that they reasonably suspect have been or are likely to be used to commit an offence or cause harm. Force may not be used to search for other items banned under the school rules.
In the event of weapons, knives, alcohol, illegal substances and stolen items being found, the items can be seized, photographed and the police contacted (where appropriate). More information can be found in the DfE publication ‘Screening, Searching and Confiscation. Advice for Schools’ (July 2022).
Students’ conduct outside the school gates
In certain circumstances teachers have a statutory power to discipline students for misbehaving outside of the school premises. Section 89 (5) of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 gives Headteachers a specific statutory power to regulate students’ behaviour in these circumstances “to such an extent as is reasonable”.
The examples of misbehaviour that can be duly punished are when the child is:
- Taking part in any school-organised or school-related activity
- Travelling to and from school
- Wearing school uniform
- In some other way identifiable as a student at the school.
Misbehaviour at any time can also be punished when:
- The misbehaviour could have repercussions for the orderly running of the school
- Poses a threat to another student or member of the public
- Could adversely affect the reputation of the school.
In the event of such behaviour occurring, a full investigation will take place with the disciplinary penalty being appropriate and proportionate to the circumstance.
Sanctions to address serious or persistent misbehaviour
In certain circumstances we may need to employ serious sanctions such as removal from lessons for a set period of time (isolation), step-out placement at another school, suspension or permanent exclusion. Further information can be found in the school behaviour policy by clicking here.