Rules
- Be kind to one another.
- Play safely in the playground.
- Remember to say please and thank you.
- Always tell the truth.
- Listen to all teachers and people who work in the school.
- Take care of belongings.
- Walk in school.
- Use an indoor voice.
What is Positive Discipline?
Our Positive Discipline Policy is based on a balance between the 4Rs –
1. Rights
2. Responsibilities
3. Rules
4. Routines
The Positive Discipline Policy exists to safeguard the essential rights of all members of the school community, to promote personal responsibility and to ensure the observance of necessary rules and routines.
Rights
The basic rights of all can be expressed briefly.
The right:
- To feel safe at school.
- To be able to learn (and teach) to the best of one’s ability.
- To be treated with dignity and respect.
Positive Strategies in Managing Behaviour
Least to most intrusive
In dealing with children, there are many positive strategies that can be effective in preventing and limiting poor behaviour. The following list is not in a strict order from first to last, but is based on the “least-to-most intrusive” principle. Here are some of the least intrusive teacher interventions, the kind that will be used before consequences are applied.
- Reminding class/individual of expectations before start of activity.
- Using gestures or warning looks.
- Tactically ignoring unwanted behaviour, while noticing and affirming desirable behaviour.
- Distracting and diverting a child in order to keep him on task.
- Calling a child’s name…pausing…giving instruction.
- Allowing take-up time, after giving instructions.
- Partially agreeing with pupil’s excuses, while insisting on rule reminder.
- Silently issuing a ‘stop-and-think’ card.
- Verbal warning.
- Keeping a child back for follow-up.
Consequences
Immediate Consequencesmay include: Loss of Golden Time Re-location in classroom Time Out, within the room Time Out in a neighbouring classroom |
Managing the Playground Physical aggression Racial abuse Abusive swearing Dangerous play that risks injury |
Deferred Consequences
Follow-up after lesson: the child is prompted by the teacher to reflect on their behaviour. A task done after lesson to make restitution, i.e. related to wrongdoing. Loss of whole playtime to reflect on behaviour. The 4 Ws sheet, is used to help the child address the issues. This is often sent home, to be signed by the parent with a note outlining the reason for this task having to be done. Loss of whole playtime, extra work administered. This is used when a second loss of playtime is required (repeated behaviour). |
Due process for dealing with persistently poor behaviour If no improvement ensues, we move to the next step.
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When children do not respond to these positive stimuli, consequences will follow:
The same progression from least-to-most-intrusive teacher intervention follows, with the following caveat. Some behaviour needs to be dealt with on the spot, because of its seriousness. Most bullying, for example, takes place out of the classroom. Time Out - the immediate loss of the right to play – will be applied in the following cases. 
The certainty rather than the severity of the consequence is the important thing.
After each one of the following steps, there will be some time lapse to allow for improved behaviour.This page is: Edinburgh Academy / juniorschool / information / discipline.htm
