Behaviour Policy

Introduction

The Behaviour for Learning policy at Haydon Bridge High School is integral to delivering a high-quality educational experience for all students. Our approach to leading, supporting, encouraging and guiding students to become respectful, responsible and resilient is underpinned by a positive behaviour-for-learning principle that fosters a sense of belonging, instils self-discipline and ultimately develops a future generation to be proud of. The policy is written to uphold the right of all students to feel safe, to learn, and to be given fundamental respect and fair treatment. We believe positive behaviour for learning will develop when students are aware of their behaviour, own their behaviour and maintain a mutually respectful working relationship with their peers and staff.

The policy is non-discriminatory and expectations are clear.

Background

At Haydon Bridge High School we have clear systems and structures that support staff/student relationships. We encourage independent learning within a supportive structure that aims to develop our students as lifelong learners. Our systems and structures make a large school personal, providing the scaffolding for good learning, independence and character building.

This policy should be read alongside the following policies and procedures:

• Attendance Procedure
• Special Educational Needs & Disability Policy
• Health and Safety Policy
• Admissions Policy
• Complaints Procedure
• Equality Policy
• Child Protection Policy
• Online Safety Policy
• Home-School Agreement
• Uniform Policy
• Child-on-Child Abuse Policy

Additional information and guidance can also be sought from the DfE (Department for Education) documents – ‘Behaviour and discipline in schools: advice for Headteachers and school staff,’ January 2016 and ‘Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment between Children in Schools and Colleges,’ May 2018.

Values & Key Learning Behaviours

Everything that we do at Haydon Bridge High School is underpinned by the School’s core values of:

• Respect
• Responsibility
• Resilience

These values form the basis of all our decisions and processes throughout the school. It is our hope that anyone visiting the school will be able to identify our core values by the attitudes and behaviours they see as they spend time in our community. Under these values we have 9 positive learning behaviours and expect all staff and students to enact, reinforce and shape each of the behaviours in all aspects of school life.

Positive Learning Behaviours

Respect

• Use good manners.
• Actively listen and respond positively.
• Value difference.

Responsibility

• Self-regulate.
• Attend, be on time and engage.
• Create a calm and organised environment.

Resilience

• Seek help and accept support.
• Have courage, encourage others.
• Learn from mistakes.

At any point, if staff are not happy with the behaviour they see, they are to address it explicitly in a positive and encouraging way; otherwise, the message is that they accept it. When addressing behaviour that is deemed unacceptable, staff are encouraged to use the following four principles:

• Behaviour Awareness – Understanding how your actions, words, and attitudes affect yourself and others.
• Behaviour Ownership – Taking responsibility for your behaviour and the positive and negative consequences that come from it.
• Mutual Respect – Treating others with consideration, fairness, and valuing their thoughts and feelings.
• Working Relationship – A professional and cooperative connection between people working towards a shared goal.

The aim of the school is to ensure that all students remain as part of the school community whenever possible. However, when there is a serious breach of behaviour or if a student is persistently disruptive within the school community, it will regrettably lead to suspension and in the most severe circumstances could result in a permanent exclusion. In these instances, the school is committed to limiting the negative impact of a suspension by ensuring that appropriate reintegration into school is always undertaken and restorative practice applied. Behaviour support with a corrective approach will be a key aim of the reintegration.

Rationale

Expectations through our values are made clear continuously throughout the year. This is done through assemblies, lessons and also through bespoke support sessions. Students are encouraged to show respect for all members of the school community and are supported to take responsibility for putting things ‘right’ when things ‘go wrong’.

Haydon Bridge High School believes in setting high standards. We expect all our students to follow our policies in relation to Uniform, Relationships and Learning. Our classrooms are places of learning and we expect our students to take responsibility for their behaviour and their learning to ensure that the needs of all are met in order to get the best out of their learning opportunities.

The school believes that its approach to the management of student behaviour should primarily be an educative one. That is, we expect students to show respect for others and to take responsibility for themselves and their actions and to make genuine and positive contributions to the community.

Expectations in terms of both achievement and behaviour at Haydon Bridge High School are high for all students; they are challenged when these expectations are not met. They are challenged in a way that respects them as individuals and supports them to correct their behaviours and make amends to those affected. Through developing empathy for others, students learn to become more positive, supportive and contributing members of the school community.

De-escalation strategies

Where negative behaviour is present, staff members will implement de-escalation strategies to diffuse the situation. Our de-escalation strategies are based on a discipline with dignity philosophy, which includes:

• Using simple, direct language.
• Avoiding being defensive, e.g. if comments or insults are directed at the staff member.
• Providing adequate personal space and not blocking a student’s escape route.
• Showing open, accepting body language, e.g. not standing with their arms crossed.
• Reassuring the student and creating an outcome goal.
• Identifying any points of agreement to build a rapport.
• Offering the student a face-saving route out of confrontation, e.g. that if they stop the behaviour, then the consequences will be lessened.
• Rephrasing requests made up of negative words with positive phrases, e.g. “if you don’t return to your seat, I won’t help you with your work” becomes “if you return to your seat, I can help you with your work”.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Equality

At Haydon Bridge High School we endeavour to ensure that this policy is not directly or indirectly discriminatory. When reviewing, we assess and consult relevant stakeholders on the promotion of race, age, religion, gender, sexual orientation and disability equality and community cohesion, using an appropriate Equality Impact Assessment. The policy may be amended by agreement with the IEB as a result of such considerations.

With particular reference to students classified as having special educational needs or a disability, the school will endeavour to ensure that all reasonable adjustments are made and due consideration is given when making decisions regarding the application of the Relationships and Behaviour Policy. We regularly review the impact of the policy and its effectiveness through analysis of behaviour data and trends via Arbor.

Policy Aims

• To ensure that there is a shared understanding of the philosophy and principles that underpin behaviour expectations at Haydon Bridge High.
• To articulate and communicate the values, rights and responsibilities that underpin the development of relationships within our school.
• To support the building, maintaining and repairing of successful and positive learning relationships across the school.
• To support our holistic approach to school life that includes the development of rounded citizens as independent lifelong learners.

Rewards

Our aim is to work with students to ensure that they are engaged members of our community. All staff will use systematic praise and rewards to ensure that students know that they are valued. Praise is most often given verbally both in the classroom and around school. Praise Points are used by all staff to recognise effort and excellence in both curricular and non-curricular activities and are linked explicitly to the school’s three values of Respect, Responsibility and Resilience, along with school contribution. Teachers award ‘Learner of the Lesson’ to a student in every lesson. Learner of the Lesson is given to students who have been recognised as going ‘above and beyond’ in their work and overall contribution to the lesson. Achievement assemblies will take place for all year groups at the end of the academic year, acknowledging consistent endeavour of students across each subject and the wider contributions that they make to school. Prize auction assemblies will take place at the end of the Autumn term and Summer term, where students can bid their Praise Points in exchange for prizes. The Head of School’s Award is a prestigious award given to one student each week who has been nominated by staff for ‘daring to be different’; this can be for something they have achieved in school, or out of school. Students are awarded an additional ‘bulk’ of Praise Points for receiving no negative behaviour points each half term and for demonstrating positive behaviour for learning scores across the majority of their subjects.

The school recognises that praise is key to making students feel valued and ensuring that their work and efforts are celebrated. When giving praise, teachers ensure:

• They define the behaviour that is being rewarded.
• The praise is given immediately following the desired behaviour.
• How praise is given is varied.
• Praise is related to effort, not just work produced.
• Resilience and independence are encouraged.
• The praise given is always sincere.

Whilst it is important to receive praise from teachers, the school understands that peer praise is also effective for creating a positive, fun and supportive environment. Teachers encourage students to praise one another, and praise another student to the teacher, if they see them modelling good behaviour.

The aims of the reward system are to:

• Reinforce the ethos of the school by developing shared values and encouraging positive patterns of behaviour.
• Provide positive reinforcement and incentives to all students.
• Develop students’ intrinsic motivation to learn.
• Help to improve students’ attendance, punctuality, attitude to learning and achievement.
• Reward students who do the right thing in school every day.
• Provide a cohesive and consistent system applied throughout the school.
• Improve the communication between home and school regarding positive behaviour through the information available for parents to view on Arbor

As with praise, the school understands that providing rewards after certain behaviour means that students are more likely to model the same behaviour again. For rewards to be effective, the school recognises that they need to be:

• Immediate – immediately rewarded following good behaviour.
• Consistent – consistently rewarded to maintain the behaviour.
• Achievable – keeping rewards achievable to maintain attention and motivation.
• Fair – making sure all students are fairly rewarded.

Examples of how Praise Points are ‘valued’ can be found below:

Praise Points

Praise Points should only be awarded through Arbor by teaching staff.

Relationship Management

The school’s behaviour support structure follows the principles that have been highlighted above. It aims to develop accountability relating to behaviour issues as follows:

• Unacceptable behaviour in the classroom is dealt with by the class teacher.
• Addressing characteristic behaviour is supported by the year group and wider pastoral team.
• Higher-level incidents are dealt with by middle and senior leaders through a series of hierarchical sanctions.

All key behaviour incidents are logged electronically via Arbor and as such the school is able to monitor behaviour systematically. This is done by teaching staff, Curriculum Leaders, Year Group Teams and Leadership Team.

Uniform

At Haydon Bridge High School we want our students to have pride in the school uniform as valued members of our school community. We expect all students to arrive at school in the correct uniform, with the correct PE kit when required, to help foster that sense of identity and pride in the school. In cases where students do not comply with the uniform policy they will receive sanctions while being supported to ensure that they are quickly able to meet the uniform requirements of the school. In extreme cases, in line with the DfE guidance, students may be sent home for not complying with the uniform. Persistent non-compliance with the uniform policy may result in students working in the Restorative Learning Zone in isolation from the wider school community.

Items not allowed in School

Banned items include any controlled substance such as (but not exclusively) vapes, vape liquid, cigarettes, tobacco, alcohol, illegal drugs or controlled substances. Articles that are suspected of being used to ‘bully’ or intimidate another member of the school community will be confiscated. If held on an electronic device, they may be deleted. We do not allow chewing gum or the consumption of high-sugar and high-caffeine drinks including ‘fizzy’ drinks. The evidence suggests that these drinks can contribute to poor concentration levels and also poor achievement. Students caught with these on the school site will have them confiscated.

Mobile Devices and Online Behaviour

If mobile devices are brought to school, they are the student’s responsibility. They must be switched off and in a bag during tutor time, lessons and travel time and during social times. Year 7 and Year 8 will have their phones collected in the morning and handed back at the end of the school day. Students who choose not to follow this protocol will have their device confiscated until the end of the school day and collected by parents. The school accepts no responsibility whatsoever for theft, loss, damage or health effects (potential or actual) relating to such electronic devices. It is the responsibility of parents and students to ensure their electronic devices are properly insured. This also applies to headphones and smartwatches.

Students must not engage in any online activity that may be construed as bullying or as defamatory to staff, students or members of the community. Students must not act in any way that negatively impacts the good name and reputation of the school. This applies within school and from any location outside school. Students must follow these rules when posting on social networking sites, sharing videos or images, sending emails, texts, picture messages, instant messages, chat room conversations, etc. The school may choose to involve the police in cases of cyber bullying or inappropriate online activities. The passing on of pornographic images (“sexting”) is illegal. In all instances, the school will liaise with the police.

Students must not use their mobile devices to record or share any instances of anti-social behaviour witnessed in school. Students must not create, post or share defamatory videos or online material about students or staff of the school. Any mobile phone/device usage deemed inappropriate and anti-social will result, in the first instance, in a term-long ban, followed by a school-life ban if inappropriate use continues.

We operate on an escalation basis for inappropriate mobile phone use, so that students have the chance to reflect and learn from their mistakes. The stepped approach is outlined below:

• First incident: Phone confiscated and returned to the student at the end of the school day.
• Second incident: Student placed on a six-week (half-term) phone ban, requiring the phone to be handed into Reception each morning and collected at the end of the day.
• Further incidents: Continued six-week phone bans will apply.

Refusal to comply with these expectations will be treated as a failure to follow reasonable instructions and as defiance under the school’s Behaviour Policy.

Searching Students

The school has the power to search for and, where appropriate, confiscate prohibited items. These include blades, knives or weapons, alcohol, illegal drugs, ‘legal highs’, stolen items, vapes, tobacco and cigarette papers, fireworks, pornographic images or any article that the member of staff reasonably suspects has been, or is likely to be, used to commit an offence, or to cause personal injury to, or damage to the property of, any person (including the student).

Members of the school’s Leadership and wider pastoral team have been authorised by the Head of School (or deputising member of SLT in their absence) when appropriate, to search students, their bags and their property including their lockers. Whilst school staff will attempt to work with and gain consent from the student, the school has the right to search without their permission. Any illegal or banned items found on students may be confiscated and destroyed or passed to the police. Students responsible for bringing any illegal or banned items to school will also receive a sanction in line with school systems. In such cases, the police may be informed. The process for searching students is covered by the Department for Education, ‘Searching, screening and confiscation’, July 2022 (Searching, Screening and Confiscation).

Anti-Bullying

Bullying can happen to anyone at any age. Being bullied at the school is unacceptable. The school is keen to differentiate between argument, shared aggravation and real bullying. In schools there are often disputes and arguments between young people who resort to verbal abuse and sometimes fight to resolve differences of opinion. Where mutual harassment is established, both parties must accept responsibility for their actions. Nobody has the right to hurt someone or make them feel bad. If a Haydon Bridge High School student is being bullied by another student from the school, either in the school, out of the school or online, the school will use its procedures to deal with it. This may involve the police. The school will work with students, often in a restorative way, to ensure that all parties are engaged with the process and that the bullying stops. Whilst the school encourages face-to-face conversations it is also aware that at times this may be difficult. Any incident of bullying should be reported immediately to the year group teams.

Specific types of bullying include those relating to:

• Race, religion, culture or gender
• SEN or disabilities
• Appearance or health conditions
• Sexual orientation and gender identity
• Young carers or looked after children or otherwise related to home circumstances
• Sexist or sexual bullying

Bullying can take place between students, between students and staff, parents and staff or between staff; by individuals or groups; face-to-face, indirectly or using a range of cyber bullying methods.

Acts of bullying often involve an imbalance of power between the perpetrator and the victim, and can include:

• Name-calling
• Taunting
• Mocking
• Making offensive comments
• Kicking
• Hitting
• Pushing
• Taking belongings
• Inappropriate text messaging and emailing
• Sending offensive or degrading images by phone or via the internet e.g. via social networking sites
• Producing graffiti
• Gossiping
• Excluding people from groups
• Spreading hurtful and/or untruthful rumours

Cyber bullying can be defined as the use of information and communications technology and mobile devices deliberately to upset someone else. Cyber bullying that occurs while students are under the school’s direct supervision will be dealt with in line with this policy. In cases where cyber bullying occurs while students are outside our direct supervision, parents will be encouraged to report these incidents to the police as criminal laws may apply.

Child-on-Child Abuse

As a school, we take child-on-child abuse very seriously and will always treat these incidents as a potential safeguarding situation. This includes ensuring that all parties are appropriately supported within the boundaries of the latest guidance and that, where necessary, the school will involve the police and the Safeguarding Hub. All incidents of child-on-child abuse will be overseen by the school’s Designated Safeguarding Lead or their deputy. Please refer to the school’s Child-on-Child Abuse Policy for further detail.

Use of Reasonable Force

On the rare occasions that students’ behaviour is such that force may need to be used, all possible de-escalation techniques will be used before reasonable force is considered. Staff are not encouraged to use reasonable force unless absolutely necessary in order to prevent harm. Reasonable force is used to prevent students from committing a criminal offence, injuring themselves or others, causing damage to property or engaging in behaviours that are prejudicial to the good discipline of the school. On these occasions, the force used will be reasonable and proportionate to the circumstances of the incident and the seriousness of the behaviour, potential or otherwise.

Students identified, through review, as exhibiting ‘at-risk’ behaviours will have appropriate risk assessments and ‘Positive Handling Plans’ in place that clearly identify techniques and preferred handling strategies to be used if required. An unforeseen event may require an emergency response and a positive handling plan will be produced following such an incident. The emphasis is on de-escalation of conflict by proven techniques. All incidents involving the use of physical intervention will be recorded in the log held in the Head of School’s office, as well as communicated to the Designated Safeguarding Lead. We will also inform the parent. Support for students and staff following an incident will be available from staff within Learning Provision.

See link below to the DfE’s guidance on the Use of Reasonable Force (April 2026). Use of reasonable force and other restrictive interventions guidance

Allegations of Abuse against Staff

Allegations of abuse are taken seriously. Haydon Bridge High School will ensure that allegations are dealt with quickly and in a fair and consistent way that provides effective protection for the child and supports the person who is the subject of the allegation. Northumberland guidelines will be followed. Every effort will be made to maintain confidentiality and guard against unwanted publicity while an allegation is being investigated. Suspension will not be used as an automatic response when an allegation has been reported.

Disciplinary action will be taken against students who are found to have made unfounded or malicious accusations against school staff. In line with the school’s positive behaviour approach, the student will normally have a chance to rectify and learn from the situation.

Permanent Exclusion & Suspensions

The behaviour system in school is hierarchical and wherever possible restorative approaches will be used to attempt to repair any harm done by an incident when appropriate so that students can be reintegrated positively into the school community.

In a small minority of cases, a student may receive a suspension or permanent exclusion; these are used only as a last resort or if the incident in question is deemed to be so serious that no other option is available that protects the welfare and well-being of those in the school. One-off incidents or persistent disruption may lead to suspension from the school or permanent exclusion. The Executive Head of Haydon Bridge can suspend or permanently exclude a student on disciplinary grounds. A student may be suspended for one or more fixed periods (up to a maximum of 45 school days in a single academic year) or permanently excluded.

A student’s behaviour inside or outside school (if a link to school is evident) can be considered grounds for a suspension or permanent exclusion. Any decision of the school, including suspension or permanent exclusion, will be made in line with the principles of administrative law, i.e., that it is: lawful (with respect to the legislation relating directly to suspensions and permanent exclusions and a school’s wider legal duties, including the Human Rights Act 1998, the Children and Families Act 2014 and the Equality Act 2010); reasonable; fair; and proportionate.

When establishing the facts in relation to a suspension or permanent exclusion decision, the Executive Head will apply the civil standard of proof, i.e., ‘on the balance of probabilities’ it is more likely than not that a fact is true, rather than the criminal standard of ‘beyond reasonable doubt.’ This means that the Head of School will accept that something happened if it is more likely that it happened than that it did not happen. The Executive Head will take account of their legal duty of care when sending a student home following a suspension or permanent exclusion.

The reasons below may warrant permanent exclusion, although this list is non-exhaustive and is intended to offer examples rather than be complete or definitive.

• Pre-meditated serious physical assault against a member of the school community
• Persistent verbal abuse or threatening behaviour against a member of the school community
• Use, threat or possession of an offensive weapon or item that has been prohibited by the school’s behaviour policy
• Dealing, using and/or providing illegal substances such as drugs
• Persistent disruptive behaviour
• Persistent bullying
• Persistent abuse based on race, sexual orientation, gender or any other protected characteristic
• Posting of online content that knowingly will harm, bring into disrepute or disrupt the school community

Exclusions – the Right of Appeal and Legal Duties

Depending on the type of exclusion, in most cases, parents have the right to make representations to the IEB. In all cases of permanent exclusion, parents have the additional right to appeal to an independent appeal panel.

Behaviour, Responsibility and Accountability

The behaviour support system is the operational way in which the principles of this policy are implemented. The early actions within the system are used to deter students from exhibiting poor behaviour and maintain a positive learning relationship with school staff. As behaviour incidents are recorded centrally on Arbor, the pastoral teams are able to interrogate the data to get the whole picture and individual portraits.

The data will form part of departmental meeting discussions and conversations between the Curriculum Leader and the SLT link using the Arbor online data system.

All staff are accountable for the behaviour of students in and around the school at all times. We have systems in place that aim to support all staff to do this whilst expecting each of us to fulfil our own responsibility in this aspect of school life. The behaviour support guidance provides an overview of the actions to take when behaviour is not at the level expected at Haydon Bridge High School. It contains many specific examples but is not an exhaustive list.

Behaviour Support System

At Haydon Bridge, we implement a positive behaviour principle whereby acceptable behaviour is reinforced and celebrated, while unacceptable behaviour provides an opportunity for it to be rectified and corrected. The following document will provide a system to support all staff to shape and guide our young people as they contribute and thrive within our school and wider community. The principle of being firm but fair, with logical and measured consequences, will always be employed.

Overview of Approach

• Students will always be made aware of their behaviour, why it’s unacceptable and how they should behave.
• Students will be given time and support to reflect on their behaviour and reset.
• Students will be given time to put right what they have done wrong.
• Students and staff will be given time to rebuild and restore a mutually respectful working relationship through supportive restorative conversations.
• Learning time lost due to unacceptable behaviour will be made up at a set time as determined by the member of staff involved.
• Ultimately, if students are unwilling to work with us all as a school community, to interact positively and collaboratively, then suspension and permanent exclusions will still be used to enable the school community to function positively.
• The reintegration process will be used to ensure students are reset and ready to rejoin the school community in a positive and productive way.

Systems Summary

Drop-ins

SLT, the Pastoral Team and other key staff can be contacted via the missingstudent@hbhs.co.uk email when a solution to disruptive behaviour cannot be found or when support is needed with students in your class, after reasonable strategies and attempts have been used to re-engage the student positively in their learning. The purpose of the drop-in request is to allow another member of staff (such as a designated member of staff, Middle Leader or member of SLT, etc.) to reset the student positively through a reflective dialogue about their behaviour choices, so they can return to the lesson.

Lesson Withdrawal

If a student is withdrawn from a lesson due to an unsuccessful reset or because the level of disruption they are causing is seriously harming their own or others’ right to learn, the member of staff must contact home to discuss the incident and arrange a catch-up session. Once confirmed with parents, the member of staff will log this on Arbor with key information about the reason for the catch-up, length of time and date of the Dinner Time Catch-Up Session. This should be arranged within 24 hours of the incident where possible. The catch-up session takes place in the Reflection Zone at lunchtime, and staff are encouraged to attend the session to meet with students and restore the relationship. If this is not possible, the restorative conversation should take place prior to the start of the next lesson at a convenient point (i.e. whilst entering the class or completing the Bell Task activity). The classroom teacher will need to enter the details onto Arbor once it is arranged. If there is anything to note from the contact home, an entry should be made in the comments section of the log.

Dinner Time Catch-Up Session

Any learning time lost because of unacceptable behaviour will be caught up during lunchtime in the Reflection Zone. Work will be dropped off at the Reflection Zone by the teacher for student completion. Staff are encouraged to attend the Reflection Zone to meet with students and restore the relationship prior to the next timetabled lesson.

Failure to attend the catch-up will result in an automatic rollover to the next day. Parents will be informed via text message/email and students will be collected and taken to the catch-up. Failure to attend the second catch-up will be taken as defiance and students will be set a 2-hour SLT catch-up on a Tuesday or Thursday by their pastoral teams.

If a student is absent on the day of their arranged catch-up, it will be rearranged.

Regulation Time Out

As a planned strategy to support positive behaviour, up to five minutes may be given for the student to regulate their emotions and be ready to reintegrate into learning.

Follow-up Conversations

Unacceptable behaviour should result in a follow-up conversation that makes students aware of their behaviour and models appropriate behaviour. This can happen at any point prior to the next lesson, for example as students are lining up for the start of their next lesson, to reduce workload on staff.

Restorative Learning Zone (formerly Restart)

The Restorative Learning Zone is an area where students are placed when a higher-level consequence is required (see appendix 2). Students will be placed in the Restorative Learning Zone for a set period from the time they enter, for example, from period 2 on one day until period 2 the following day. Students will have a specific timetable to follow in the RLZ. Where possible, students will engage in work from their curriculum for the subjects that they will not be attending that day. Paper copies or an alternative online programme will be provided to the students to work on, so they do not fall behind in their education.

The timetable may include 1:1 education/restorative work with the behaviour team during set times (i.e. period 3 for an hour of school service and period 4 etc). During this time, students will be supervised whilst they support site staff, departments and cleaners contributing positively to the school environment ‘giving back’. It is expected that, when a student attends the RLZ, a restorative meeting will take place with the member of staff involved. Staff will have an opportunity to attend a meeting at either social time or after school. If the member of staff does not attend the restorative meeting, the meeting will still take place with the behaviour team staff and any documentation returned to staff. Once this has happened, students will then be able to return to their next lesson, having fully restored the relationship with the member of staff. It is expected that students are well behaved and adhere to the behaviour expectations of the zone, which are made clear to all students. In line with the chance, choice, consequence system, students will receive warnings for any infringement of the zone rules. If a student works their way through the escalation system for persistent disruptive behaviour, this can, in some cases, lead to removal to SLT offices or suspension.

Reflection Zone

The Reflection Zone is a quiet area where students can sit and regulate emotions following an incident. Year group teams and the engagement team will be on hand to support students to make positive behaviour changes. The Reflection Zone will be used when a student is removed from a lesson following a drop-in. A student will complete their work from the lesson. The Reflection Zone will also be used for students to quietly write statements, or as an area for students to work when they have been removed from the school community pending an investigation.

Rewards/Awards

All staff are encouraged to catch students being good and award Praise Points and/or use an individual classroom reward/award system linked to one of the nine core behaviours or wider school contribution on Arbor.

Social Time Removal

Catch-ups will be issued to students who arrive late to tutor/assembly time or who fail to meet the school’s expectations of equipment or uniform. Anti-social behaviour including lateness will result in time spent in a dinnertime catch-up. During these catch-ups, students will be escorted to the designated classroom by a member of staff. If they refuse to attend, they will be placed in the RLZ for a 24-hour period, due to defiance.

Restorative Conversation

A restorative conversation should, where possible, take place prior to the student attending the lesson where a behaviour incident has occurred. This may be facilitated by the Engagement Team, Middle Leader or Pastoral Team where appropriate.

Reports

Positive behaviour reports will be used to support students who require extended support from the year team or curriculum area to help facilitate behaviour change. All students who have been suspended will complete a period on a positive behaviour report to help monitor their return. Students who are persistently late may be put on a punctuality report until punctuality has improved.

Behaviour Reset Programme

The behaviour reset programme provides an additional approach to intervention at a stage when a student has had a number of high-level consequences in a short period of time, which have not resulted in a positive behaviour change. Students can be placed on the reset programme following a referral and approval by the pastoral team and appropriate SLT member. Prior to students being admitted onto the programme, there will be a meeting with parents. The programme will last between three and six weeks depending upon the level of intervention needed. The aim of the programme is to successfully and gradually reintegrate students into the school community. At each stage, there will be an increased level of independence and self-regulation required by students. This reintegration will be supported by the pastoral team, learning provision and engagement team staff (see behaviour reset document for further information).

Expected Practices to Support Positive Behaviour within the Classroom

There are expected practices that have been introduced to support a positive behaviour approach in the classroom. These establish a consistent approach to lateness and questioning. We also have a recommended way in which to manage noise levels that will result in a positive learning environment for all. It is expected that all staff use these practices, resulting in a common language and approach in every classroom. The practices are as follows:

Late protocol – If students are late, a simple meet, greet and show to the seat routine is used to avoid conflict and ensure a sharp start to learning. The lateness will be addressed at an appropriate time, preferably at the end of the lesson.

Questioning – There are two ways students answer questions as part of a whole-class Q&A session. The first is cold calling, where the teacher will select the student to answer the question; the second is a hands-up approach. The two approaches support a positive learning environment where students are expected to actively listen and avoid calling out.

Exit and Entry Routines – Teachers are expected to supervise corridors, greet students and manage orderly exit and entry into their classrooms/learning areas. Students are not to pack away until two minutes before the end of the lesson, to maximise learning time. Students are to stand in silence and wait to be dismissed in an orderly fashion.

Bus Behaviour

Expectations on the bus are no different to the expectations within the whole-school environment. It is the students’ responsibility, with the support of the bus company, school and parents, to behave in a safe and respectful way. Students must comply with the following rules:

• Students wear seatbelts at all times and do not under any circumstances move seats when in transit.
• Students use good manners and respond positively towards bus staff.
• Language on the bus is positive and the older students on the bus set a good example for the younger members of the bus community. This also covers the use of inappropriate gestures to the wider public.
• There should be no food or drink consumed on the bus and therefore no litter.
• Bullying behaviour will not be tolerated. Students are encouraged to celebrate difference.
• Behaviour at all times must not distract the bus driver from their duties and noise levels should be below a normal conversational level.
• If put in place, students are to sit in the seat allocated as per the official seating plan.

Behaviour not in line with the above expectations may result in a bus ban and/or a higher-level sanction. Students will be supported to correct their behaviour and rebuild a positive relationship with the bus company and/or driver. In cases where behaviour does not improve or a single incident has taken place that risks the welfare of a student or others, a bus ban may be issued for a fixed period of time.

Whole-School Events

As a school, we wholeheartedly believe in the positive benefits of students attending activities, events, sporting fixtures, trips and visits, etc., to enhance both their educational outcomes and their personal development and character. Any student taking part in an off-site event organised by the school will be held to the same standards and principles outlined in this behaviour policy. In the limited circumstances where there has been a serious breach of the school behaviour policy, it may be necessary for the child to be collected by a parent/designated adult to return them to school/home pending investigation. It is not a reasonable adjustment to expect the safety and wellbeing of all other students on the trip to be jeopardised by the poor behaviour of another student. Key behaviour expectations for residential trips will be outlined in the parent information session.

Whole-School Events: Behaviour Expectations & Eligibility

Throughout the academic year, key events (such as Year 11 Leavers’ Day and the Year 11 Prom) are important and memorable milestones in a student’s school journey. These events are designed to celebrate students’ achievements, personal growth and contributions to the school community. Attendance is a privilege, not an entitlement. As such, participation is dependent on students consistently upholding the high standards of Respect, Responsibility and Resilience expected throughout Haydon Bridge High School.

Eligibility and the Right to Withdraw Invitation

The school reserves the right to withdraw the invitation to attend any whole-school event (e.g. Leavers’ Day or Prom) if behaviour consistently falls below the expectations set out within this Behaviour for Learning Policy.

Where behaviour concerns escalate, the school may determine that attendance at these celebratory events is no longer appropriate, as participation should reflect a student’s readiness to represent the school positively and allow the smooth running of the event.

Restorative & Supportive Approach

In line with the school’s restorative ethos, students will always be supported to understand the impact of their behaviour and provided with opportunities to improve. However, if improvements are not sustained or a student continues to demonstrate behaviour that contradicts school expectations, the school may still withdraw participation to ensure that these events remain safe, positive and celebratory for all.

Off-Site Direction Reintegration Process

As part of the behaviour improvement strategies and interventions used to support students whose negative behaviour becomes persistent and characteristic over time, an ‘off-site direction’ may be used to place a student in an alternative educational establishment or school for a fixed period of time. An off-site direction would be used as an intervention once a number of different strategies had been tried without success, such as year-group-level monitoring, engagement team support and mentoring, reset programme, SLT-level monitoring, etc. The off-site direction process can be used for a set of specific reasons such as where a student is at risk of permanent exclusion from the current school, where the student is posing a risk to the welfare of others at their current school, where a student refuses to attend their current school, etc.

The off-site direction process may be used to offer a student a fresh start and a new opportunity to manage their behaviour in a way that does not negatively affect their own welfare and education or that of others through a more structured and less disruptive process.

As students enter HBHS from another school, as part of the off-site direction process, or return from a managed move, they will complete a phased reintegration process to ensure that the HBHS positive behaviour expectations are fully understood as a means of reducing the likelihood of a student being permanently excluded in the future.

Appendix 1: Flowchart of classroom management strategies

Appendix 2 – Behaviour for Learning Escalation Table (reasonable and proportionate adjustments will be applied where needed)