POLICIES
Smoke Free-Policy
Anti-bullying Policy
Golden Rules
Positive Behaviour Policy
Learning and Teaching Policy
Scale of Charges
SMOKE FREE POLICY
Purpose
This policy has been developed to protect all employees, service users, customers, and visitors from exposure to second-hand smoke and to assist compliance with the Health Act 2006.
Introduction
The medical and scientific evidence of the risks to health from exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS), or passive smoking, is now well established. Second-hand smoke is linked to an increased risk of heart disease, cancer and respiratory diseases, as well as many other illnesses and minor conditions.
The Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, Section 2(2)(e) places a duty on employers to provide a working environment for employees that is:
“so far as is reasonably practical, safe, without risk to health and adequate as regards to facilities and arrangements for welfare at work”
Given the health risks associated with second-hand smoke, and our commitment to health and safety, we are adopting a smoke free policy in order to protect our staff, children and visitors.
Aims of the Policy
This policy seeks to:
- Guarantee a healthy working environment, and protect the current and future health of employees, children and visitors
- Guarantee the rights of non-smokers to breathe air that is free from tobacco smoke
- Raise awareness of the dangers associated with exposure to tobacco smoke
- Take account of those who smoke and support anyone who wishes to stop.
Statement
ALL North Yorkshire County Council premises including external areas of premises are smoke-free areas. This means smoking is not be permitted throughout the entire workplace with no exceptions. There are NO external areas where employees and visitors can smoke.
These restrictions are applicable to all employees; all visitors, contractors and people making deliveries are also expected to abide by the smoke-free policy.
Informing people of the policy
Copies of this policy will be displayed on the staff notice board so that they are fully aware of all its components, including their responsibilities and those of the management. All employees will be provided with adequate notice of any amendments or alterations to the policy and their implementation date.
Information regarding the smoke-free policy will be integrated into the induction process for new staff, and details of the policy will also be supplied to potential employees during the recruitment process.
Clear signage will be displayed at the entrances to all buildings plus at other suitable places.
Staff members, such as receptionists, or anyone who is greeting external visitors, will inform them of the smoke free policy. Although it will be seen as their duty to perform this task, they are not expected to enter into any confrontation which may put their personal safety at risk.
Help for those who smoke
We recognise that smoking is highly addictive, and therefore pledge our willingness to support anyone who wishes to give up. Help can be provided by your local NHS Stop Smoking Service, which can be contacted on 0845 6032166
Enforcement of Policy and Disciplinary Procedure
Employees who deliberately breach the smoke-free policy will be subject to the standard staff disciplinary procedure.
Monitoring and Review of the Policy
This policy will be monitored and evaluated periodically every 12 months to ensure that it is working effectively. Employees will be given the opportunity to feedback comments during this evaluation period, and where appropriate, responses will be given on any major issues raised. The policy may also be amended if necessary.
The person with overall responsibility for implementation: Mrs A Daniel
Adopted : 27th June 2007
To be reviewed : June 2010
ANTI-BULLYING POLICY
The aim of the anti-bullying policy is to ensure that pupils learn in a supportive, caring and safe environment without fear of being bullied. Bullying is anti-social behaviour and affects everyone; it is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Only when all issues of bullying are addressed will pupils be able to fully benefit from the opportunities available at schools.
Bullying is defined as deliberately hurtful behaviour, repeated over a period of time, where it is difficult for those being bullied to defend themselves. The three main types of bullying are:
• physical (hitting, kicking, theft)
• verbal (name calling, racist remarks)
• indirect (spreading rumours, excluding someone from social
• groups)
Pupils who are being bullied may show changes in behaviour, such as becoming shy and nervous, feigning illness, taking unusual absences or clinging to adults. There may be evidence of changes in work patterns, lacking concentration or truanting from school. Pupils must be encouraged to report bullying in schools.
Schools' teaching and support staff must be alert to the signs of bullying and act promptly and firmly against it in accordance with school policy.
Statutory duty of schools
Head teachers have a legal duty under the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 to draw up procedures to prevent bullying among pupils and to bring these procedures to the attention of staff, parents and pupils.
Implementation
Schools
The following steps may be taken when dealing with incidents:
If bullying is suspected or reported, the incident will be dealt with immediately by the member of staff who has been approached. A clear account of the incident will be recorded and given to the head teacher. The head teacher will interview all concerned and will record the incident. Class teachers will be kept informed and if it persists they will advise the Headteacher. Parents will be kept informed Punitive measures will be used as appropriate and in consultation will all parties concerned
Pupils
Pupils who have been bullied will be supported by:
Pupils who have bullied will be helped by:
discussing what happened discovering why the pupil became involved establishing the wrong doing and need to change informing parents or guardians to help change the attitude of the pupil
The following disciplinary steps can be taken:
official warnings to cease offending detention exclusion from certain areas of school premises minor fixed-term exclusion major fixed-term exclusion permanent exclusion
Within the curriculum the school will raise the awareness of the nature of bullying through inclusion in PSHCE, circle time and assemblies in an attempt to eradicate such behaviour.
Monitoring, evaluation and review
The school will review this policy annually and assess its implementation and effectiveness. The policy will be promoted and implemented throughout the school.
Agreed: July 2006
Reviewed: June 2007
Golden Rules in Golden Classrooms = Golden Time and a Golden School!
- Golden Time is given to all children who keep the Golden Rules
- The Golden Rules:
- I am gentle……..I don’t hurt others
- I am kind and helpful…………..I don’t hurt anyone’s feelings
- I listen ………………………. I don’t interrupt
- I am honest …………………….. I always tell the truth
- I work hard…….. I don’t waste anyone’s time and am always ready to learn
- I look after property ………………………….I don’t waste or damage things
Will be displayed in all classrooms and other appropriate places. They will be discussed at length at the beginning of each year with new classes and whenever appropriate at other times. Will be understood and known by all children and all adults who work in school who will reinforce them constantly. They may be produced on laminated, credit card sized cards for each child which could also used for other things; Huff and Puff, registration etc.
- When a child breaks a Golden Rule they will be issued quietly with a Warning Card which will remain ‘in play’ for however long the adult considers appropriate, but no longer than the duration of the current session. If the child chooses to continue to break the rule, they will lose 15 minutes of Golden Time. If they choose to return to keeping the Golden rules, the card is quietly taken away and no Golden Time is lost. A teacher’s record is kept of all Golden Time lost. Children can earn back up to 10 minutes of every 15 minutes lost by choosing to behave better and through discussion/contract with the teacher.
- Children will lose all Golden Time instantly for:
- Fighting
- Hitting/kicking
- Biting
- Damage to property
- Swearing
- All forms of bullying with the chance to earn back up to half of it by changing their behaviour and choosing to keep the Golden Rules.
- Children who lose Golden Time will go to their activity and watch a sandtimer for the lost time period.
- Teachers can choose to introduce other Golden features to their classroom, eg:
- Golden cushion
- Gold coins collected in a treasure chest
- Gold trophy
- Golden news book
- Golden drum roll
- Golden raffle
- Golden Post box
- Golden Peace symbol/table
POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR POLICY
Riccall Community Primary School Aims
Be the best that we can be
- To have fun and be excited by new discoveries every day
- To have the courage to try new things and the confidence to learn from all our experiences
- To take pride in our school and all that we achieve together
- To be kind in what we say and considerate in what we do
- To lead healthy lives and keep ourselves safe
- To care for other people and the world we live in
- To aim high and reach for the sky
We aim to develop the whole child during their time at Riccall School, having as much concern for their development as a responsible and caring member of society, as for their academic progress.
The School Aims form the basis of Riccall’s Positive Behaviour Policy. They have been created after thorough consultation with children, all staff and governors at Riccall School.
- Our aims will be displayed around the school and regularly referred to
- Our aims will often be the focus within assemblies or be referred to in assemblies
- Our aims will be explained and re-explained as necessary so that all children understand what they mean in practice
- Children will help formulate classroom rules using their understanding of our School Aims to help them
- Our aims will be consistently and regularly reinforced and children will be praised regularly when they achieve them
All children at Riccall will also follow the Golden Rules:
- I am gentle… … I don’t hurt others
- I am kind and helpful… … I don’t hurt anyone’s feelings
- I listen… … I don’t interrupt
- I am honest… … I always tell the truth
- I work hard… … I don’t waste anyone’s time and am always ready to learn
- I look after property… … I don’t waste or damage things
For more information see our Golden Rules and Golden Time Policy.
CELEBRATING ACHIEVEMENT
All staff will acknowledge and reward good behaviour in the following ways:
- Regular and spontaneous praise for examples of positive behaviour.
- Use of class reward systems such as stars or stickers.
- Send children who have behaved well to the deputy head or headteacher for praise.
- Student of the week.
Children receive a gold certificate and gold card, sit on the bench at the front of the hall and their success is recorded on a whole school display and on the school web site.
Gold Card privileges
- Can go to the front of the tuck shop queue
- Can go out to play first
- Can go first to lunch
- Can go to the front of the school meal queue
- Can be first to go home
- MSA stickers for children showing good behaviour during the lunch break
- Praise pads, attractive praise notes that can be sent home to parents to celebrate their child’s achievement
- Golden Time, an hour on Fridays when children can choose an activity they would like to do as a reward for good behaviour. Children who have misbehaved miss Golden Time although they can earn back the privilege with good behaviour.
- A Kindness Tree in the main entrance, kindnesses or examples of positive behaviour seen around the school can be nominated by any adult or reported by a child to an adult; details are written on a leaf, read out in Gold Card Assembly and hung on the tree for everyone to see. When the tree is full the leaves are stuck into a book as a record of all the kindnesses that have been noticed.
PROCEDURES FOR INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOUR
It was agreed that all sanctions should be seen as being the choice of the child misbehaving. For example, ‘You have a choice, you can either let Johnny get on with his work in peace or you can sit in the space on Jack’s table.’ We want the children to take responsibility for their behaviour. Sometimes sanctions will need to be modified for different children. All children need to know what is expected of them and be clear about the consequences.
- Make sure children understand which behaviour is inappropriate and why. Describe/model an appropriate alternative
- Repeat above and remind children that if they choose to behave inappropriately the consequence will be that they
- Work on their own
- Move to a different seat
- Complete their work at home or at break when appropriate
- Carry out the promised action reiterating that is the behaviour that is inappropriate
- Missing 5 minutes of playtime ( children need some time for exercise and fresh air or the sanction can be counter-productive)
- Lose Golden Time*
- Move children to work in classroom with deputy headteacher or assistant head.
- Work with headteacher
- Headteacher to contact parents*
- Start a home/school diary and begin a behaviour plan
- Invite parents to regular meetings
- Involve appropriate support services including the Educational Psychologist, the Behaviour Support Teacher and the Educational Social Worker
- Miss a series of break times over an extended time
- Exclusion from school at lunchtimes**
- Temporary exclusion for a fixed period**
- Permanent exclusion**
*Certain behaviours result in immediate referral to headteacher and contact with parents. These behaviours should be recorded in the incident books kept in the staff.
These include:
- Fighting
- Hitting/kicking
- Biting
- Damage to property
- Swearing
- All forms of bullying
These behaviours will result in children automatically losing the whole of their Golden Time. There is no tolerance of any form of swearing, physical aggression, racist or homophobic abuse towards others. Children can earn up to half of their Golden Time back with good behaviour.
** Any form of exclusion would involve the Governing Body
Reviewed: June 2007
Amended: Yes
To be reviewed: June 2008
LEARNING AND TEACHING POLICY
Learning is “the most gloriously messy unstructured, mysterious process known to man.”
John Abbott, President of the 21st Century Learning Initiative
Key principles of learning
- Learning involves making personal sense of information and experiences.
- We make sense by making connections between what we already know and new inputs.
- Learning is an active process, done by people and not to them.
- Learning is essentially a reflective process.
- Learning is affected by an individual’s motivation.
- Learning can be affected by physical factors.
- Learning happens in different ways and learners may have a preference for visual, auditory or kinaesthetic processes.
Rationale for the Learning and Teaching Policy
To ensure that all staff, parents and governors have a common understanding of the core principles and practice of learning and teaching at Riccall C.P. School. A brief child friendly version of this policy will be written for the children too.
School Aims
All the learning and teaching at Riccall CP School reflects the values highlighted in the school aims.
Riccall Community Primary School Aims
Be the best that we can be
- To have fun and be excited by new discoveries every day
- To have the courage to try new things and the confidence to learn from all our experiences
- To take pride in our school and all that we achieve together
- To be kind in what we say and considerate in what we do
- To lead healthy lives and keep ourselves safe
- To care for other people and the world we live in
- To aim high and reach for the sky
Children learn best when they:
- are happy
- are curious and enthusiastic
- know the class and school routines and feel secure
- understand the expectations for good behaviour and are clear about the sanctions
- are able to achieve success and gain approval
- are aware of their own targets for improvement within a culture of high expectations
- are able to work at an appropriate level for their ability, with both challenge and support
- clearly understand the task
- are confident and feel able to take risks and make mistakes
- are taught by professionals who have energy and enthusiasm
- are supported at home
Good planning and teaching:
- focuses on the learning process
- is themed, creative and cross curricular whenever possible and appropriate
- has clear objectives highlighting what children are to learn and how these will be achieved, working towards clear success criteria children have discussed
- reflects prior assessments and feedback from children, Teaching Assistants and parents
- ensures a progression of skills and knowledge across the curriculum
- provides for the teaching of basic skills separately when necessary
- is flexible and activities may be extended, shortened or diverted to optimise children’s learning experiences
- shows how children’s learning can be extended or supported to suit children who work at different rate
- incorporates at least the minimal requirements from the National Curriculum programmes of study and the Early Learning Goals in the Foundation Stage
- involves learning in the outdoor environment as well as in the classroom
- identifies opportunities for dialogic talk, problem solving, team work, thinking skills, social and emotional skills, brain gym, massage and play from Reception to Year 6
- includes provision for a range of learning styles
- uses ICT to enhance delivery and application of skills and knowledge
- provides opportunities for children to work individually, in pairs, in small groups and as a whole class, and where appropriate with children from different age groups
- identifies children’s ideas and questions
- is shared and developed with Teaching Assistants to enhance their effectiveness with the children
- provides good communication with voluntary helpers
- is succinct and efficient, everythingdoes not have to be written down
The Learning Environment should be:
- clean, comfortable and well ventilated with drinking water available at all times
- calm and peaceful at times and stimulating and busy at other times
- reflecting the class identity and ethos with displays of the class rules and rewards systems
- promoting the School Aims and Golden Time
- well stocked with appropriate resources including ICT
- well organised and accessible, labelling consistently throughout school to be ‘Dyslexia friendly’
- promoting equal opportunities
- highlighting children’s targets and celebrating their successes at all levels through creative display
- instructive with displays of helpful vocabulary and informative stimulus displays
- flexible to allow for different seating arrangements and space for drama and role play
Further Information and Guidance
The following documents also contain information that may be helpful in understanding the Learning and Teaching Policy.
- Home School Agreement
- Positive Behaviour Policy
- Assessment Policy
- Equal Opportunities Policy
- Homework Policy
- Curriculum Policy
- Volunteer Handbook
- Support Staff Handbook
- SEN Policy
Monitoring and review
The Learning and Teaching Policy will be reviewed annually.
Adopted: June 2007
To be reviewed: January 2009
SCALE OF CHARGES
Swimming pool: £20 for a session (9am -12 noon, 12noon – 3pm or 3.15pm – 6pm)
Hall: £20 per hour for the first hour and £10 thereafter.
Photocopying: 15p per sheet (including VAT)
Agreed by the Finance and Staffing Commmittee on January 30th 2008. To be reviewed January 2009.
