Behaviour and anti-bullying

We want life at school to be enjoyable for every pupil. Pupils should be able to appreciate their lessons and make friends in a calm, friendly environment. We want to encourage good behaviour and discourage behaviour that undermines learning or confidence between pupils or pupils and staff.

We acknowledge good behaviour with praise and great behaviour with real rewards. We will impose consistent, clear and unavoidable sanctions for unacceptable behaviour. We will ensure that, whenever possible, pupils understand the consequences of choosing not to follow the behaviour policy and ensure that opportunities exist for pupils to learn to manage their behaviour in order to develop their moral compass.

At our Academy we have a policy of prevention. Preventing bullying is far easier than responding to incidents when they occur. To prevent bullying, we promote a common anti-bullying approach in which we are supportive of each other, provide positive role models and shared values, and are clear that we will not tolerate unacceptable behaviour.

If bullying is suspected or reported, the incident will be dealt with immediately by the member of staff who has been approached. We will record a clear account of the incident and share this with the parent/carer and the Head of School. We will support affected pupils by offering immediate and continuous support with a member of staff of their choice, working to restore self-esteem and confidence. We'll work with pupils guilty of bullying by discussing what happened and explaining why it was wrong, understanding why they became involved, and creating a strategy for change together with the pupil's parent/carer.

If you are concerned that your child could be experiencing bullying, please let us know as soon as you can and we will work together to resolve the situation.

We place great emphasis on acknowledging and rewarding demonstrations of our school values by awarding merits to students.

Merits are visible to parents and carers through the parent portal (MCAS) and their impact is greatest if you are able to celebrate your child’s achievement with them. Tutors review merits with their tutees every afternoon in form time. Below is a list of what might lead to a merit.

Students who earn 20 merits in a week will be awarded a ‘golden ticket’ which enters them for the termly prize draw. Students will also receive postcards home for particularly strong performance in their classes.

Badges are awarded each half term for excellent attendance, working hard, aiming high and acts of kindness as well as for outstanding performance in individual subjects and contributions to the school.

Our students show high levels of self-discipline. You can be confident that your child will be in an environment where corridors and playgrounds are safe places, teachers and students are respectful to each other and where your child’s progress is rapid because the lessons are focussed, calm and teachers can teach to a very high standard. Ark Soane has zero tolerance of any behaviour which might cause offence or harm or disrupt the learning or safety of others.

To ensure this, we will issue sanctions to students who do not meet the school’s expectations. Reflections – where students have an opportunity to reflect and think about how they can avoid repeating the same mistakes – are a fundamental part of our sanctions system.

Reflections can be set for 15, 30 or 45 minutes. However, it is also possible to accumulate more than one reflection in a day and students may be required to remain in reflection until 5pm. Students are always required to complete reflections on the day that they are given to ensure they have a fresh start the following day. Any student who misses a reflection is required to sit a 1-hour reflection the following day. Any student whose behaviour is persistently below standards in a week is required to sit a 2 hour reflection on Friday after school.

We expect, and appreciate, the support of parents with sanctions. We are strict – as we know that this creates the best possible environment for learning. If you have concerns then please make an appointment at the earliest opportunity to privately raise them – as we know we provide the greatest support for children when we are united

Parents will be informed through MCAS (My Child At School) if their child has a reflection. All reflections are sat on the same day. A poor response to receiving a sanction will result in it being escalated.