The Redstart Learning Partnership endeavours to create the conditions for a calm and happy community where effective learning can take place. We believe in the importance of all children and staff feeling safe and happy in school. We champion positive relationships between:
We believe that by creating an overwhelmingly positive environment, we will give all of our children a better chance of success.
We strongly believe in the power of relationships, and that all interactions are the opportunity for a positive intervention. We believe that all children need to feel safe and emotionally supported in school for any chance of academic success.
The culture and ethos of our schools are built upon proven research that shows that by adopting our approach we are supporting the current, and future, positive mental health and resilience of our children and the community we serve, which will enable them to engage fully in life and learning. This approach, in particular, will support the many children in our schools who have suffered significant trauma in their lives and will be impacted by Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) (Appendix A).
We recognise the impact of trauma on brain development and are mindful that children’s responses are sometimes due to unavoidable chemical reactions in their brains, rather than ‘negative choices’.
We believe it is important that our schools provide a clear, consistent and empathetic approach to behaviour which can be adopted by all members of the school community. Therefore, we strongly believe in ‘boundaries with empathy’.
Whole school:
Children:
Adults in the school:
Parents and Carers
In order to create the best possible environment to support positive choices and behaviours, and support Trauma informed approaches we ask all staff to adopt a ‘whole school approach’ to support SEMH and behaviour. This approach is summarised in two supporting guides:
As part of their induction, all staff will watch ‘Our Approach to SEMH’ presentation and our ‘Building Relationship’ presentation which explains the rationale behind our approach. For a summary of this presentation please see Appendix D. This will allow all staff to have a clear understanding of our expectations around supporting pupils’ social, emotional and mental health and to ensure a consistent approach. Some of these strategies are listed below.
We understand the importance of positive recognition in preventing unwanted behaviours. We are mindful of our use of behaviour-specific praise and focus on the ‘magic 5:1 ratio’ of positive-to-negative interactions. The 5:1 ratio theory is that for every criticism or complaint the teacher issues, they should aim to give five specific compliments, approval statements and positive comments or non-verbal gestures. These positive comments could be specific compliments, approval statements or non-verbal gestures. At times praise may need to be tailored in relation to the individual. For example, if a pupil struggles to settle after a break and does so well, this should be noticed and praised. Praise should be explicit, explaining what value they have shown, or what positive choice they have made. All staff should reward positive choices with immediate praise.
When discussing any behaviour with children, adults will do so in a Trauma Informed way by being empathic, nurturing and non-judgemental regardless of the behaviour that they exhibit.
Adults will support children to make positive choices through the use of ‘Positive Language’ and when appropriate discuss with the child the potential consequences of their actions. This will not be issued as a threat but a supportive empathetic reminder of the boundaries that are in place. Staff can use ‘Scripts for consequences’ (Appendix H) to support them with this.
When discussing behaviour with pupils, adults should refer to whole school concepts such as the Zones of Regulations. Although an appropriate sanction might be used, we believe that quality ‘reflection’ with an emotionally available adult is a more important and effective intervention to prevent further similar, unwanted behaviours. In this conversation the staff member should try to establish the child’s concern- what led to the child becoming distressed/making negative choices, the adults concern- how their actions are impacting on the well-being of others and finally a solution moving forward. This is a ‘collaborative problem- solving approach’ and where possible will be used after all distressed/challenging behaviours.
When a pupil is in a heightened state of distress or anxiety, they will not be able to hear or engage in these conversations. In these instances, adults will support the pupil to make a positive choice and their main focus will be to make sure the pupil, and everyone else, is safe. Where possible, adults should empathise with the emotion driving the behaviour, name this emotion and explain it is okay, but the behaviour is not. This should avoid a toxic shame spiral. In cases of distressed behaviours, staff should follow the CARE approach. Once the pupil is calm and safe, then staff can proceed with the reflection stage/collaborative problem- solving approach and putting in place a possible consequence or sanction.
Adults should never use threatening body language towards children and where possible, adults should use a calm and supportive tone when addressing behaviour and should very rarely shout at a child; this would normally be reserved for a situation where a child is in immediate danger or attention needs to be gained from across the playground.
We must ensure that we use appropriate sanctions which are age appropriate, fair and consistent. Where possible we ‘avoid ‘punitive’ sanctions and will always explain why the sanction is being applied and how it relates to their actions. We will also address what change in behaviour is required to avoid future incidents. We are also mindful that it is the behaviour rather than the child that is being identified as unwanted i.e. I am concerned that your behaviour is currently unsafe’. We also believe that we must apply a sense of proportion to all situations and that the sanction is appropriate to the offence.
In the most extreme situations the sanction could be a suspension or an exclusion. This will follow the statutory guidance for those with legal responsibilities in relation to exclusion (2017). This document can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-exclusion or there will be a copy in the school office.
After a suspension there will always be a re-integration meeting with the child, parent/carer and a senior member of staff.
TRLP has adopted the procedure at Appendix I in relation to Child-on-Child abuse.
