Behaviour at Oakhurst

At Oakhurst, we strive to create a safe, caring and happy environment where exemplary behaviour enables all to feel secure and respected within an atmosphere of learning. Everyone in our school is expected to maintain the highest standards of personal conduct, to accept responsibility for their behaviour and actions and encourage others to do the same.

We recognise that all individual children are at different stages of their social learning. Only through a consistent approach to supporting their behaviour will we be able to achieve an environment in which children can learn and develop as caring and responsible people.

The school’s behaviour policy outlines the purpose, nature, organisation and management of behaviour at Oakhurst Community Primary School. It is a document to support the enhanced development of positive relationships between children, adults working in school, parents and other members of the wider school community. The rigorous, fair and consistent implementation of our Behaviour Policy is everyone’s responsibility.

We encourage all of our parents and carers to read this policy so that they feel empowered to help support the school’s approach and high expectations.

Below, is a more succinct summary of the policy that parents and carers can use for reference.

A Research-Driven Approach

The central components of our approach toward behaviour come from a book that our staff read as part of their professional development. This book enabled the whole school community to reflect and to develop what we now hold as our approach to behaviour.

This book is ‘When the Adults Change, Everything Changes’ written by the author, Paul Dix.

Three Simple Rules

All of the children in our school, no matter their age, are able to know and understand our rules because there are only three of them:

Be Ready

Being ready means being ready to receive instructions, ready to make the next steps in your learning and being ready to face a challenge. Children who demonstrate being ready are using their senses as part of active listening.

Be Respectful

Being respectful means showing respect to everyone, without exception. This includes listening when somebody else is speaking - this includes children’s peers as well as adults throughout the school. It also means assigning value to the thoughts and ideas of others and recognising the efforts of other people, too. Being respectful also means allowing others to do their best learning by helping to create an environment conducive to learning.

Be Safe

Being safe means conducting yourself in a way that will not harm yourself or others. This applies to all activity throughout the school such as: choosing to walk whilst inside the building; following important safety steps when carrying out an investigation in science;  using kind hands, feet and words; seeking out an adult right away when seeing something dangerous and many other situations.

Rewards and Recognising Positive Behaviour Choices

Hot Chocolate Friday

Children who consistently demonstrate that they are following the school’s three rules may earn an exclusive ticket to ‘Hot Chocolate Friday’. This is a great experience where the children are able to drink hot chocolate and eat a biscuit while having a lovely chat with their peers alongside the Headteacher.

Pride of Oakhurst

Children who demonstrate a particular, extraordinary act aligned to one or more of our school values may earn the weekly title of ‘Pride of Oakhurst’. These children are celebrated in our whole school assembly each week which is held on a Friday. Their special acts are read aloud to the entire school community, they are invited out to the front and presented with a special certificate documenting their endeavours.

End of Term Treat

All children who uphold our three school rules over the course of each term are rewarded by attending the ‘End of Term Treat’. These are special activities, selected by the children themselves, that are run by our school staff in acknowledgement of the children’s efforts.

Providing Support and Presenting Consequences

Behaviour Scripts

When engaging with incidents of negative chosen behaviour, our staff use a set of behaviour scripts (the full, exact wording of these scripts can be found in the behaviour policy if you follow the link above). This ensures a fair and just approach.

Our behaviour scripts follow a five tier system:

1. Reminder
2. Caution
3. Final Warning
4. Self-Reflection
5. Repair

If children reach the ‘Repair’ Stage, they are no longer entitled to attend the End of Term Treat that term. Any further repeated incidents of ‘Repair’ result in temporary removal of certain playtime privileges. Our parents and carers are kept informed in a timely manner by their child’s class teacher following any incident of ‘Repair’.

An Overview of the Behaviour System