Code of Behaviour

Good behaviour is based on good relations between parents/guardians, child and school.

In St. Malachy’s Girls’ School, we hope to foster this ideal in co-operation with our parents/guardians. We have adopted a positive code of behaviour with emphasis on encouragement and reward so that good behaviour can prevail in our school.

The Board of Management of the school has ultimate responsibility for behaviour in the school. Within the school, the overall day to day responsibility for behaviour rests with the Principal. Each teacher has the responsibility for the maintenance of good behaviour and good order within his/her classroom while sharing a common responsibility for good behaviour within the school premises.

Parents/guardians can support the school by encouraging their children to understand the need for school rules, and by communicating any relevant concerns to the school.

Rationale

Presentation Primary School staff deemed it necessary to audit and review our existing Code of Behaviour for the following reasons:

Following the publication of the NEWB Guidelines for schools 2008.
This policy will help to promote positive behaviour and to allow the school to function in an orderly and harmonious way. It will enhance the learning environment where the children can make progress in all aspects of their development.
It is a requirement under the Education Welfare Act 2000, Section 23

Relationship to Characteristic Spirit of the School

The education of the children at St. Malachy’s Girls’ School is a task shared between the partners who are elements of the school community. This comprises of Board of Management, school staff, parents and pupils, parish community and appropriate outside agencies. All of these partners are committed to creating in our school a caring environment where the talents of each child are valued, and each child is nurtured to develop his or her potential both spiritual and temporal. We place a strong emphasis on a close spirit of co-operation between home, school and parish. The purposes of education are many. The school aims at promoting the full and harmonious development of all aspects of the person of the pupil, including his or her relationship with God, with other people and with the environment.

Aims of the Code:

To ensure an educational environment that is guided by our vision statement; ‘Mol an Óige agus Tiocfaidh Sí’ (praise the child and she/he will grow)
To create a positive learning environment that encourages and reinforces good behaviour
To promote self-esteem and positive relationships
To encourage consistency of response to both positive and negative behaviour
To foster a sense of responsibility and self-discipline in pupils and to support good behaviour patterns based on consideration and respect for the rights of others
To facilitate the education and development of every child
To foster caring attitudes to one another and to the environment
To enable teachers to teach without disruption
To ensure that the school's expectations and strategies are widely known and understood through the parent’s handbook, availability of policies and an ethos of open communication
To encourage the involvement of both home and school in the implementation of this policy

Guidelines for Behaviour in the School

The school recognises the variety of differences that exist between children and the need to tolerate these differences. It is agreed that a high standard of behaviour requires a strong sense of community within the school and a high level of co-operation among staff and between staff, parents and pupils. Every effort will be made to ensure that the code of behaviour is implemented in a reasonable, fair and consistent manner. The limits of behaviour are clearly defined and children become familiar with the consequences of behaviour beyond these limits. The over-riding principle governing this code is respect – respect for ourselves and others and their property.

Responsibility of Adults

The adults encountered by the children at school have an important responsibility to model high standards of behaviour, both in their dealings with the children and with each other, as their example has an important influence on the children.

As adults we should aim to:

Create a positive climate with realistic expectations.
Promote positive behaviour, through example, honesty and courtesy.
Provide a caring and effective learning environment.
Encourage relationships based on kindness, respect and understanding of the needs of others.
Ensure fair treatment for all regardless of age, gender, race, ability and disability.
Show appreciation of the efforts and contribution of all.
To discourage physical aggression and encourage ‘Kind Hands, Kind Words, Kind Feet’.

A Code of Conduct for staff, pupils and volunteers ensures that the rights of all are upheld. New staff and substitutes are briefed on all policies and practices within the school by the Principal.

Whole School Approach to Promoting Positive Behaviour

The Board of Management and the Principal have overall responsibility for the implementation and on-going monitoring of this policy. However, all staff members have responsibility for their own classes and for the general school population when on yard duty or on any organised out-of-school activity. Senior students have a role to play in modelling good behaviour and parents or other members of the school community may make comments or suggestions through their representatives on the Board of Management or directly to the Principal. The school values the support and co-operation of parents in the promotion of this strategy. The policy shall apply to all students during all school related activities.

It is the policy of this school to actively promote good behaviour. Children learn best by being rewarded. It is more positive to praise a child doing the proper thing than to constantly scold the child who misbehaves. As part of our on-going efforts to promote positive behaviour, time will be allocated at some staff meetings for discussion regarding the implementation of the code and development of positive behaviour strategies. Staff will be given opportunities to share their experience of both positive and negative behaviour and to learn from collective wisdom.

Our vision statement is ‘Mol an Óige agus Tiocfaidh Sí.’

We use the following strategies to promote Positive Behaviour;

Praise & recognition
RESPECT Approach
Positive play in the playground
Buddy systems and the “Buddy Bench”
Stamp & sticker systems
Traffic light systems
Class Dojo
Assembly – reinforcement lessons and acknowledgement of positive behaviour
Whole school acknowledgement of positive behaviour
Reward systems in the class for positive behaviour (additional yard time, Golden time, Homework Passes, etc)
Behaviour contracts
Visit to another teacher or the Principal for praise of good behaviour or neat work
Variation motivational strategies & reward systems within each classroom

To facilitate new members of staff in becoming familiar with practices within the school, discussion regarding the implementation of the code will always form part of the first staff meeting held each September. A copy of the code will be included in all teachers’ documents. The code will also be given to parents whenever they enrol a child in the school.

General School Rules

For their own safety and that of others, children should:

Be careful coming to and going from school.
Always walk while in the school building.
Remain seated at all times in class and while eating lunch.
Always show respect for fellow pupils
Bring a note of explanation following absences.
Never leave the school without the permission of the Principal.

Each child should care for herself by:

Respecting herself and her property, always keeping her school bag, books and copies in good order.
Being in school before the bell rings at 9.05am.
Showing respect for the school and wearing her school uniform every day.
Being aware of personal cleanliness.
Bringing a sensible, nutritional lunch each day according to the School Healthy Lunch Policy.
Doing her best in school by listening carefully, working as hard as she can and by completing her homework.

Each child should care for others by:

Being kind and respectful to teachers and fellow pupils, by being mannerly and polite, by taking turns and by remaining silent and orderly in the class line.
Behaving well in class so that all pupils have equal opportunity to learn.
Keeping the school clean and tidy, showing respect for the property of fellow pupils, the school building and grounds.
Being truthful and honest at all times.

Bullying

No child should ever bully others, should never allow others to bully them and if it happens should immediately tell a parent or teacher. Bullying is always UNACCEPTABLE.

Classroom

Children should stand and greet all visitors to the classroom; otherwise they should sit in the seats provided, until given permission to do otherwise.
They should never leave the classroom without the teacher’s permission.
They should co-operate in keeping the classroom tidy and never bring chewing gum to school.
If a child is sent on a message to another classroom, she should knock on the door, enter, and give the message, politely to the teacher. She should never address the class without the teacher’s permission. When going to the office, she should knock and wait until told to enter. However if the office door is ajar she may knock and enter.
If a child wishes to speak to a teacher, she should raise her hand and wait until the teacher addresses her.

Corridor

When leaving the classroom, the first girl stands at the door until the teacher checks the corridor and gives permission to the class to leave.
Children always walk, never run, in single file on the left side of the corridor.
Talking or shouting is not allowed on the corridor.
Children should not wait at classroom doors for friends or go down through the school to the Infants’ School.

School Yard

Children should go to the toilet before going out to play. In the interest of hygiene, food should never be brought into the toilets.
The children must play in the main school yard at all times under the supervision of a teacher.
When the bell rings, the children should move in an orderly manner to their class lines and remain in silence until the teacher on duty tells them to move into their classrooms.
Litter should always be put in bins provided in the yard.
Dangerous games or equipment are not allowed in the schoolyard.
Children should wear shoes suitable for playing on a tarmacadam surface at all times. High heels are strictly forbidden.

Lunchtime

Lunchtime is from 12.30pm to 1.00pm each day. All children will remain in school for lunch. They will eat their lunch in the classrooms, remaining seated at all times. When finished eating children should put all rubbish into their lunch boxes to be taken home. There will be a supervised toilet time and a ten minute play time in the yard on fine days. One teacher will be on duty in the school yard at all times.
Children will bring a packed lunch to school. In the case of a child forgetting to bring her lunch she will inform the class teacher by 11.00am so that the parents may be contacted.
No child may leave the school for any reason unless she is collected by a parent or guardian and has the permission of the principal.

Homework

It is the policy of this school to give homework, but not at weekends. If homework is not being done or incomplete the child must have a signed note from a parent or guardian. If homework is not being done on a regular basis the child’s parents shall be contacted in order to appraise them of the situation.

Class Rules

At the beginning of each academic year, the class teacher will draft a list of class rules with the children, based closely on the “Golden Rules”. The children will, with the guidance of the teacher, devise the rules and a class contract will be drawn up and signed by the students. Class rules will be kept to a minimum and are devised with regard for the health, safety and welfare of all members of the school community. Where possible they emphasise positive behaviour (e.g. ‘Walk’ and not, ‘Don’t run’). Rules will be applied in a fair and consistent manner, with due regard to the age of the pupils and to individual difference. Where difficulties arise, parents will be contacted at an early stage.

Incentives/Reward System

Part of the vision of St. Malachy’s Girls’ School is to help children achieve their personal best and thus prepare them for further education, life and work. We recognise that there are many different forms of intelligence and similarly that children use a variety of approaches to solve problems. Our reward system seeks to provide encouragement to all children of all abilities and talents. Children will be encouraged, praised and listened to by adults in the school. Praise is earned by the maintenance of good standards as well as by particularly noteworthy personal achievements. Rates of praise for behaviour should be as high as for work.

The following are some samples of how praise might be given:

A quiet word or gesture to show approval
A comment in a pupil’s copy or homework journal
A visit to another member of Staff or to the Principal for commendation
A word of praise in front of a group or class
Delegating some special responsibility or privilege
A mention to parent, written or verbal communication
‘Bualadh Bos’ in class or special mention at our weekly assembly in the hall.

Field trips, annual school tours and our end of year special event will be reserved for those who have consistently strived to behave well.

There are various reward and incentive systems in operation throughout St. Malachy’s Girls’ school:

The Star/Stamp Systems operate as follows:
Each child will get one stamp/star if their behaviour/effort is deemed good
This stamp system will enable teachers to continually monitor, encourage and reward good behaviour throughout the school year
If a school rule is broken, a teacher will take away the stamp/star
Any teacher may withhold stamps/stars from a pupil in school at any time
A child will usually receive one warning and then will lose her stamp/star for any further misbehaviour
The children can then redeem their stars/stamps in exchange for homework passes and stationary if they reach the required number of stars/stamps

The Class Dojo points system works on a similar basis:

Each child will get one Dojo point if their behaviour/effort is deemed good
This Dojo points system will enable teachers to continually monitor, encourage and reward good behaviour throughout the school year
If a school rule is broken, a teacher will take away the Dojo point
Any teacher may withhold Dojo points from a pupil in school at any time
A child will usually receive one warning and then will lose her Dojo points for any further misbehaviour
The children can then redeem their Dojo points in the Dojo shop where they can purchase homework passes and stationary if they reach the required number of points

In both systems:

If low scoring continues the teacher will meet with the child’s parents/guardian
If there is no improvement following parent/teacher meeting and if low scoring continues the class teacher and Principal will meet with parent/guardian to come to an agreement on how to move forward
If there is no improvement at this stage the parent/guardian will be called to meet with the Principal and the Chairperson of the Board of Management where the situation will be discussed in detail. Guidelines will be drawn up for future behaviour in the school and playground.
The school reserves the right to arrange a meeting with the parents/guardians of a child at any time, should the child’s behaviour be deemed to be unacceptable.
If a parent refuses to meet with a class teacher the matter will be referred to the Principal. Any refusal to meet with the Principal and/or Chairperson will automatically be referred to the Board of Management and regarded as a serious breach of co-operation in our school behaviour policy.

Unacceptable Behaviour

Three levels of misbehaviour are recognised: Minor, Serious and Gross. All everyday instances of a minor nature are dealt with by the class teacher, or the supervising teacher at break-times. In cases of repeated serious misbehaviour or single instances of gross misbehaviour parents will be involved at an early stage and invited to meet the teacher and/or the principal to discuss their child’s behaviour.

Examples of minor misbehaviour include:

Bringing electronic equipment or mobile-phones to school
Not wearing appropriate uniform; bringing in chewing-gum
Not following instructions.

Examples of serious misbehaviour include:

Behaviour that is hurtful (including bullying, harassment, discrimination and victimisation)
Behaviour that interferes with teaching and learning
Threats or physical hurt to another person
Damage to property
Theft
Bringing dangerous equipment to school
Leaving school/school activities without permission.

Examples of gross misbehaviour include:

Assault on a teacher or pupil
Serious Theft
Serious Damage to property
Serious bullying

Bullying is repeated aggression – physical, verbal or emotional - conducted by an individual or group against another or others.

PHYSICAL: includes pushing, shoving, punching, kicking, poking, tripping, etc.
VERBAL: name calling which hurts, insults or humiliates.
EMOTIONAL: threats or persistent hurtful remarks regarding sensitive areas e.g. appearance, dress, progress, colour, culture and disability. Isolating or shunning a child. Threats to extort money or possessions. “Cyber/text” bullying.

The school takes particular care to intervene early in responding to the needs, fears or anxieties of individual members in a sensitive manner.

Issues in relation to Bullying are explored continually during SPHE lessons and using Circle Time, Drama etc.

Should a parent/guardian have any concerns which need to be discussed with a teacher, all staff members are more than willing to facilitate a meeting, made through the proper channels i.e. a phone call to the office, or a note to the class teacher to arrange a convenient time for both parties. The first person to be informed should be the class teacher.

This arrangement ensures that all concerns are dealt with in a dignified, meaningful manner, without infringing on valuable teaching time.

Isolated incidents of aggressive behaviour, while not to be condoned, cannot be described as bullying.

Incidents of bullying will be dealt with in the same manner as breaches of discipline – already outlined in our Code of Behaviour.

In the case where a parent reports a bullying incident, the school reserves the right to inform the relevant parties of the identity of the person making the complaint, when this is deemed necessary.

Sanctions

The purpose of a sanction is to bring about a change in behaviour by:

Helping students to learn that their behaviour is unacceptable
Helping them to recognise the effect of their actions and behaviour on others
Helping students (in ways appropriate to their age and development) to understand that they have choices about their own behaviour and that all choices have consequences
Helping them to learn to take responsibility for their behaviour.

A sanction may also:

Reinforce the boundaries set out in the code of behaviour
Signal to other students and to staff that their wellbeing is being protected.

In instances of more serious breaches of school standards, sanctions may be needed to:

Prevent serious disruption of teaching and learning
Keep the student, or other students or adults, safe.

The following steps will be taken when a child behaves inappropriately. The list is by no means exhaustive. Teachers may put in place alternative measures bearing in mind the circumstances involved. The aim of any sanction is to prevent the behaviour occurring again and if necessary to help the pupil devise strategies for this.

Reasoning with pupil
Verbal reprimand including advice on how to improve
Temporary separation from peers within class and/or temporary removal to another class
Prescribing extra work/ writing out the story of what happened
Loss of privileges
Detention during break or after school
Communication with parents
Referral to Principal
Principal communicating with parents
Exclusion (Suspension or Expulsion) from school (in accordance with Rule 130 of the Rules for National Schools as amended by circular and Education Welfare Act 2000)

Usually sanctions will relate as closely as possible to the behaviour.

Suspension and Expulsion

Before serious sanctions such as detention, suspension or expulsion are used, the normal channels of communication between school and parents will be utilised. Where it is proposed to detain a pupil after school hours, the parents or guardians will be notified. Communication with parents may be verbal or by letter depending on the circumstances.

For gross misbehaviour or repeated instances of serious misbehaviour suspension may be considered. Parents concerned will be invited to come to the school to discuss their child’s case. Aggressive, threatening or violent behaviour towards a teacher or pupil will be regarded as serious or gross misbehaviour.

Where there are repeated instances of serious misbehaviour, the Chairperson of the Board of Management will be informed and the parents will be requested in writing to attend at the school to meet the Chairperson and the principal. If the parents do not give an undertaking that the pupil will behave in an acceptable manner in the future the pupil may be suspended for a period. Prior to suspension, where possible, the Principal may review the case in consultation with teachers and other members of the school community involved, with due regard to records of previous misbehaviours, their pattern and context, sanctions and other interventions used and their outcomes and any relevant medical information. Suspension will be in accordance with the Rules for National Schools and the Education Welfare Act 2000.

In the case of gross misbehaviour, where it is necessary to ensure that order and discipline are maintained and to secure the safety of the pupils, the Board may authorise the Chairperson or Principal to sanction an immediate suspension for a period not exceeding three school days, pending a discussion of the matter with the parents.

Expulsion may be considered in an extreme case, in accordance with the Rule for National Schools and the Education Welfare Act 2000. Before suspending or expelling a pupil, the Board shall notify the Education Welfare Officer in writing in accordance with Section 24 of the Education Welfare Act.

Removal of Suspension (Reinstatement)

Following or during a period of suspension, the parent/s may apply to have the pupil reinstated to the school. The parent/s must give a satisfactory undertaking that a suspended pupil will behave in accordance with the school code and the Principal must be satisfied that the pupil’s reinstatement will not constitute a risk to the pupil’s own safety or that of the other pupils or staff. The Principal will facilitate the preparation of a behaviour plan for the pupil if required and will re-admit the pupil formally to the class.

Children with Special Needs

All children are required to comply with the code of behaviour. However the school recognises that children with special needs may require assistance in understanding certain rules. Specialised behaviour plans will be put in place in consultation with parents and the class teacher, learning support/ resource teacher, and or principal will work closely with home to ensure that optimal support is given. Cognitive development will be taken into account at all times. Professional advice from psychological assessments will be invaluable.

The children in the class or school may be taught strategies to assist a pupil with special needs adhere to the rules and thus provide peer support. This will be done in a supportive and safe way, acknowledging and respecting the difference in all individuals.

Communicating with Parents

Communicating with parents is central to maintaining a positive approach to dealing with children. Parents and teachers should develop a joint strategy to address specific difficulties, in addition to sharing a broader philosophy which can be implemented at home and in school.

A high level of co-operation and open communication is seen as an important factor encouraging positive behaviour in the school. Structures and channels designed to maintain a high level of communication among staff and between staff, pupils and parents have been established and are being reviewed regularly.

Parents are encouraged to talk in confidence to teachers about any significant developments in a child’s life (in the past or present), which may affect the child’s behaviour.

The following methods of communication are to be used within the school:

Informal/formal parent/teacher
Through children’s homework journal
Letters/notes from school to home and from home to school
Newsletters/school web-site/e-mails
Text a Parent service (Komeer App)

Keeping Records

In line with the school’s policy on record keeping, and data protection legislation, records in relation to pupils’ behaviour are kept in a secure filing cabinet. Copies of all communications with parents/guardians will be retained in the school. Records of more serious incidents are recorded in a specific journal and are retained until students reach 21 years. Class teachers shred personal records at the end of each year.

Procedures for Notification of Pupil Absences from School

Parents must notify the school in writing of a student’s absence and the reason for this absence. Parents will be informed in writing when their child has been absent for 12+ days of school. Under current legislation, the Educational Welfare Officer will be informed when a child has been absent for 20 days in a school year.

Success Criteria

This policy will be deemed to be successful when the following are observed:

Positive behaviour in class rooms, playground and school environment
Practices and procedures listed in this policy being consistently implemented by teachers
Positive feedback from teachers, parents and pupils.

Ratified by the Board of Management of St. Malachy’s Girls’ School on......