Addendum to the Behaviour For Learning Policy in response to the wider opening of schools during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Meanwood C.E. Primary School
Date: 28th May 2020
Date shared with Governors: 2/6/20
Date shared with Staff: 5/6/20
Date published on the School Website: 5/6/20
1. Introduction
1.1 Following schools being closed to the majority of pupils, the Department for Education have announced a phased-re-opening of Primary Schools starting with the introduction of Year 6,1 and Rec pupils with possible guidance on re-opening for other year groups to follow.
1.2 This addendum to the Behaviour For Learning Policy details adaptations made after 1st June 2020 rather than providing the typical school day experienced up to April 2020.
1.3 To make it easy to read, this addendum talks about teachers. But when we use the word teachers we also mean other staff with responsibility for pupils.
1.4 This policy appendix is guided by the Department for Education Guidance released throughout May 2020 regarding the re-opening of schools and other education establishments.
1.5 This policy addendum is specifically intended to:
1.6 Once agreed by Governors, the information in this policy addendum will be communicated:
2. What we expect pupils to do during this time
2.1 Pupils must only use the entrance/exit they have been assigned to enter/leave the school building.
2.2 Pupils must sanitise their hands on entering the school building.
2.3 Pupils must walk directly to the classroom they have been assigned. Pupils are not permitted to move around the building freely or open any closed door.
2.4 Pupils must sanitise their hands on entering the classroom.
2.5 Pupils must walk directly to their assigned desk. Pupils must only sit at their assigned desk. Pupils must not touch any desk assigned to another pupil or any equipment on a desk assigned to another pupil.
2.6 Pupils must only enter their designated area during break time
2.7 Pupils must meet our expected behaviour in class which is set out in the Behaviour For Learning Policy.
2.8 Pupils must not attempt to make physical contact with any other person.
2.9 Pupils must not attempt to deliberately move within 2 metres of any other person. If they do, we will remind them of social distancing rules
2.10 Pupils must not deliberately, unnecessarily or maliciously perform actions associated with symptoms of Covid-19, for example but not limited to, spitting, coughing and/or sneezing or any action that could spread germs.
2.11 Pupils must follow the government guidance when needing to cough or sneeze by covering their mouth and nose with a tissue or coughing or sneezing into their arm.
2.12 Due to the movement of teachers, rather than pupils, between classrooms, there may be short periods of time where pupils will be unaccompanied. Pupils must continue to meet the expectations that have been detailed and explained to them during these times.
We appreciate that the guidance states that Reception children cannot be expected to distance socially. In our school, they do not have assigned desks either
3. What we expect our teachers to do during this time
3.1 We expect all of our teachers to address any behaviour that is unacceptable, that breaks our school rules or from a child who doesn’t follow a reasonable instruction.
3.2 Teachers will address poor behaviour by speaking to the pupil and giving them an instruction to stop the witnessed behaviour before informing a member of the Senior Leadership Team of the poor behaviour witnessed.
3.3 Where the behaviour of a pupil makes us worried that they could cause harm to themselves or another person the pupil will be removed from the class by a member of the Senior Leadership Team.
4. The actions we may take when a pupil misbehaves during this time
4.1 Any pupil that cannot cooperate with our expectations and guidelines will be directed to return home and will continue with home-learning until further notice. This period will last until the Headteacher decides they can safely return to school.
4.2 Any pupil that displays behaviours that demonstrate they are not willing to cooperate with us in maintaining a safe environment will be deemed to have committed a serious breach of the school’s Behaviour For Learning Policy and therefore an additional sanction, detailed in the school’s Behaviour For Learning Policy may be considered.
4.3 The following are some examples of what we consider to be unacceptable behaviour (additional to the list in Section 4 of the Behaviour Policy) specific to the context of the phased return delivery of face-to-face sessions, though the list is not exhaustive:
5. Behaviour outside the school during this time
5.1 Pupils must not congregate in groups with others beyond their household before or after school.
5.2 Pupils must leave the school site when directed and once through the gate make their way directly to their home.
5.3 Failure to follow these instructions outside of school during this time could result in the pupil being directed to complete home-learning until further notice and not return for face-to-face sessions.
6. School leaders have prepared an extensive risk assessment to make sure that our children and staff stay safe in school. Without our wider school community all adhering to the government guidance on social distancing, the measures we take in school will be completely undermined. Concerns have been raised about the behaviour of adults in and around Meanwood; that others may not always have been following social distancing rules.
Even if the Government’s message about social contact changes, we would always aim to follow the current messages in school, and equally expect families to do so out of school. This is especially the case if your child is in Rec, Yr 1 or Yr 6 and attending school.
You are now able to meet in groups of up to six people from different households outside as long as you remain two metres apart. This means that parents and carers must ensure their child stays two metres away from other people – children hugging and hand-holding, games like tig, tackling in football should all be avoided. The only people to enter a home should be members of that household. It is against the law for anybody to stay overnight in a home that is not their own.
If a child says something that indicates they or someone in their household has not followed Government guidelines, we’ll do some or all of the following:
Equally, if an adult says something that indicates another family may not have followed government guidelines, we’ll follow this up too.
Ultimately, we may have to ask a parent / carer to collect their child from school and they may lose their child’s place in the bubble. This is because our school is close to capacity in terms of numbers in bubbles.
We’d do this reluctantly, but this would be fair to other families in school who are following the guidance, many of whom are key workers and have less choice about whether their child should attend school, too. This is for the safety of all.
These facts and instructions only form part of the school’s overall plan to ensure that the children transition back to school safely. Our school ethos will be even more important than ever as we adjust to our new normal.
Helen Eagles
June 2020