Context for joining Behaviour Hubs
Laira Green Primary School sits amongst the 10% of most deprived neighbourhoods in the country (IMD). There are 236 children on roll with 49.1% children in receipt of Pupil Premium Funding for FSM. 24% children have an identified SEND need with the largest need being SEMH.
In January 2020 (under previous leadership) the school was graded as Requires Improvement in all areas. The Ofsted inspection report noted that ‘pupils’ behaviour and attitudes are not yet good. At times, pupils do not engage fully in their learning. Behaviour at playtime is not good enough’ and ‘In classes, most pupils follow instructions. Frequently, however, they get distracted. At social times, including on the playground, there is some misbehaviour. Staff do not manage this consistently well.’
A Requires Improvement Action Plan was put in place via the Local Authority however, soon after this, the pandemic began, and the action plan was no longer followed through. In January 2023 a new Headteacher was appointed to the school.
Behaviour challenges and goals
- To achieve absolute consistency across the school from every member of staff regardless of their role
- To develop a behaviour policy that would support teachers with managing behaviour effectively
- To improve overall behaviour across the school – including behaviour for learning so that teachers could teach without disruption
- There was a behaviour policy in place but it was not working. Staff were not all on board with the policy, did not believe in its efficacy and were demotivated
- There were no whole school rules – expectations varied from teacher to teacher as well as support staff
- Not all staff felt trained or empowered to respond to poor behaviour resulting in some behaviours being ignored and situations escalating
- Supporting the increasing number of children with SEMH needs was beginning to impact the learning of others and disrupting classrooms
- There were no records kept of children’s behaviour (positive and negative). This made identifying trends, patterns and triggers for individual pupils challenging.
Solutions to behaviour challenges
- The revised behaviour policy sets out very clearly five whole school rules which are underpinned by our three school values. Each rule is explicitly defined so that staff and children all know what the rule ‘looks like’, what the rule prevents, and what following the rule will lead to. There are very clear steps within the policy detailing sanctions and parental contact
- Whole staff INSET training to launch the policy was underpinned with the resources from the Behaviour Hubs programme – staff understood the why behind the policy
- Identical visuals were created for each classroom so that it is consistent for children. The language was scripted so that when a child is not following the rule – the adult knows what to say, and children with low language skills/processing difficulties were not at a disadvantage
- A strong SLT presence meant that staff felt very supported in the early days of implementation
- The needs of children with SEN needs have been considered in all aspects of the policy and where appropriate support and de-escalation plans are in place
- Behaviour is now monitored half termly and any patterns identified. Policy review meant that one or two tweaks were made but these were micro details.
Impact on behaviour
Staff, Pupils and parents have responded very positively to the revised policy. This has been voiced through stakeholder surveys.
The staff exit survey indicated that 100% of respondents thought there was a clear vision of what is meant by good behaviour and that the policy, rules and routines are easy to follow.
Children tell us that they ‘know what is expected of them’. They are proud of the school and older children voice that behaviour is better. All children can talk about and explain the five school rules and three school values.
In November 2023 we had a two-day Ofsted Inspection and were graded as ‘Good’ in all areas. The Ofsted inspection report noted that: ‘Leaders have established a culture where pupils feel they belong. Pupils know and respect the boundaries the school have put into place. Staff consistently remind pupils of the positive learning behaviours they expect. Pupils are rewarded for demonstrating these’.
The school is a calm place and as a result assessment demonstrates that outcomes are significantly improving for all children. Staff sickness levels have reduced and staff report that they are happy with improved behaviour and the positive impact on their ability to teach.
Next steps on your behaviour journey
- To continue to embed and sustain the behaviour strategy with all staff to guarantee consistency throughout the school day
- To continually monitor behaviour and revisit through staff CPD so that high expectations become habit
- To ensure a full ‘behaviour induction’ to new staff and pupils – Laira Green is a highly transient area with 18 new pupils in the last 3 months alone.