Behaviour and Relationships at Donisthorpe Primary School

At Donisthorpe Primary School, we want to create an environment that is safe, where everyone feels respected and where children come into each lesson ready to engage in learning. Everyone in our school is expected to maintain the highest standards of personal conduct, to accept responsibility for their behaviour and encourage others to do the same.

We recognise that each individual child is at a different stage of 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.

Our Core Beliefs

• Behaviour can change and every child can be successful
• Positive, targeted praise is more likely to change behaviour than blaming and punishing
• Reinforcing good behaviour helps children feel good about themselves
• An effective reward system and celebrating success helps to further increase children’s self-esteem enabling them to achieve even more
• Understanding each child’s needs and their individual circumstances helps us to act in the fairest way possible for that child, at that moment

We recognise that clear structures of predictable outcomes have the best impact on behaviour. Our school’s principles for behaviour set out the rules, relentless routines, and visible consistencies that all children and staff follow. It is based on the work of Paul Dix and his book ‘When the adults change, everything changes’. Good behaviour is recognised sincerely rather than just rewarded. Children are praised publicly and reminded in private.
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Our school has three simple rules: ‘Be Ready, Be Respectful, Be Safe’, these are applicable to a wide variety of situations. These rules, and our characteristics of effective learning are displayed in each classroom and are explicitly taught and modelled by all members of our school community.

Our Behaviour and Relationships Policy is based on these Five Pillars:

• Consistent, calm adult behaviour
• First attention for best conduct
• Relentless routines
• Scripting difficult interventions
• Restorative follow up

A copy of our behaviour policy is available here.

Every week on a Friday, we hold a Special Mentions Assembly. Children receive a Special Mention certificate for impressing their teacher (or another adult)- this may be because of the hard work in class, being kind in the playground, sharing, showing an improvement in behaviour or any other positive reason. During our Friday assembly, we also give out a Positive Pig certificate, for children that have demonstrated our focus character muscle over the past week.
 
Last week, we gave out our first Donisthorpe Star certificates. These new awards will be given out to one child per class each week. The award is for those children who are always setting a great example of The Donisthorpe Way, day in, day out. We notice your fantastic effort and behaviour at all times, so thank you children! 

Characteristics of effective learning

We call this Positive Pig! 

These skills are explicitly taught as the children progress through the school.
EYFS
Kindness Listening
Year 1
Teamwork Honesty
Year 2
Fairness Questioning
Year 3
Confidence Improving
Year 4
Risk-taking Perseverance
Year 5
Appreciation Acceptance
Year 6
Resilience Empathy

Mrs Susan Heath is our SEND Coordinator if you have any questions or concerns linked to special educational needs, she can be contacted to via the school office on 01530 270371.

more information about SEND