The purpose of Co-op Academy Delius’ Positive Behaviour Policy is to reflect our beliefs that being able to self-regulate and manage their behaviour has a contributing factor on our pupils’ ability to engage with their learning. To help teach self-regulation and positive behaviour skills, we need to have an in-depth understanding of the complex needs of our individual pupils. We employ a holistic approach to ensure we are planning for the needs of all of our pupils with complex layered needs. This includes learners with Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities (PMLD), Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Severe Learning Disability (SLD), Speech, Language and Communication Need (SLCN), and Physical Disability (PD).

We consider that behaviours which challenge always occur for a reason and might be the only way a learner can communicate - they can occur for a myriad of reasons which may be very specific to the individual. Learners who display, or are at risk of displaying behaviours which challenge, might need support which involves both positive behaviour support and some form of restrictive intervention. Any restrictive intervention must be legally and ethically justified, be absolutely necessary to prevent serious harm, and be the least restrictive option.

At Co-op Academy Delius we believe that:

Our pupils want to have a positive experience at school
Behaviour is a means of communication - we must ensure that all learners are supported to communicate their needs safely and appropriately using their preferred communication systems.
With the right support and intervention, pupils can learn to self-regulate and manage their own behaviour.
Mistakes are part of the learning process and we recognise that all of our learners are at different stages of the developmental process.
All of our pupils have learning disabilities and other complex needs which impact on how they learn to regulate and manage their behaviour.
Staff members must be given the opportunity to learn, understand and have insight into why our learners become dysregulated, and reflect on how and why it impacts on their behaviour.
Staff members must work collaboratively with our learners, their families, and other professionals to develop strategies as part of a positive behaviour support plan.

Class teams can support our learners by:

By observing, gathering and analysing data on behaviour - to ensure our interventions are personalised, well informed and planned according to the needs of each individual within the context of their class and their needs.
To create bespoke and holistic Behaviour Support Plans when necessary, sharing these with families, and to reflect on these regularly as a team, updating and sharing this information.
To reflect on the use of the classroom and wider school environment and how this impacts on individual pupils’ behaviour, providing the safest and most positive regulation-friendly space possible.
To work in close partnership with all stakeholders - our pupils, their families, and other professionals e.g. Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Speech and Language Therapists, Social Care, CAMHS etc.

The resources, interventions and pedagogy to support positive behaviour for our learners:

A variety of individualised and accessible modes of communication (Total Communication)
Clear and realistic expectations
Rules and boundaries
Predictable routines and structure, with clear beginnings and endings
A clear Reward and Recognition system
A commitment to relationship reparation
Predictable responses to behaviour incidences, both positive and challenging.

This policy should be read in conjunction with the following policies (available on the Co-op Academy Trust website and the Co-op Academy Delius website):

Anti Bullying

Equality Statement and Objectives

Health and Safety

Positive Handling

Safeguarding and Child Protection

Special Educational Needs

Mental Health and Well-Being

Exclusions

This policy is underpinned by the following legislation and guidance:

Behaviour in Schools - Advice for Headteachers and School Staff

School suspensions and Permanent Exclusions

Searching, Screening and Confiscation - Advice for Schools

Keeping Children Safe in Education

Education Act (2002), as amended by Education Act (2011)

Education and Inspections Act (2006)

School Discipline [Pupil Exclusions and Reviews] – England – Regulations (2012)

Equality Act (2010, revised 2018)

In addition to this guidance, Co-op Academies recognises that although schools serve local communities and therefore design their behaviour and culture around their context, there are fundamental principles behind great school culture. These have been laid out here in our Behaviour Principles - and underpin the spirit and content of this policy.

Rules and Ways of Being

Co-op Academy Delius is underpinned by the values of the Co-op and all within the academy aspire to the Co-op Ways of Being:

Do What Matters Most

Be Yourself Always

Succeed Together

Show you Care

Our rules are:

Ask for help, however you can

our aim is to teach our pupils to communicate when they need help, no matter their needs or level of communication

Everyone needs to be safe

everyone deserves to be safe at school and at home, including you.
sometimes you might need help to keep you safe or the people around you safe
kind hands, kind feet, and kind mouths can help keep us safe

Try your best at all times

staff and parents of pupils at Co-op Delius will encourage the children to try their best to make productive and safe choices; when this is not the case, we will work collaboratively to make a plan to improve conduct on an individual and holistic scale.

Rights and Responsibilities

Co-op Academy Delius Community Council

Ensuring that this policy, as written, does not discriminate on any grounds, including but not limited to the protected characteristics as defined in the Equality Act 2010;
Promoting a whole-school culture where calm, dignity and structure encompass every space and activity;
Handling complaints regarding this policy.

Headteacher

The monitoring and implementation of this policy and of the behaviour procedures at the academy. This includes the policy’s effectiveness in addressing any anxiety-driven behaviours;
Establishing the standard of behaviour expected by students at the academy but recognising that for many students, their behaviour is linked to their disabling condition;
The day-to-day implementation of this policy;
Publishing this policy and making it available to staff, parents and students at least once a year;
reporting to the academy community council on the implementation of this policy.

Staff at Co-op Academy Delius

Adhering to this policy
Planning and reviewing support for students - including Behaviour Support Plans (BSPs) and BIPRAs.
Planning engaging and stimulating lessons to maximise participation and regulation.
Being responsible and accountable for the progress and development of the students in their class.
Recording behaviour incidents

Frequent Minor Incidents using Arbor.
More serious incidents using the Incident Reporting google form.
Safeguarding-linked behaviour incidents (e.g. inappropriate touch) via CPOMS.

Supporting pupils to regulate their emotions.
Attending all relevant CPD and keeping up to date with information regarding behaviour issues.
Working collaboratively within the academy and with outside agencies.

Parents

Supporting their child.
Informing the school of any changes in circumstances which may affect their child’s behaviour.
Working collaboratively.

Students

To try their best to keep themselves and everyone else safe at all times.
the right to an education, regardless of their needs.
The right to appropriate communication strategies to access the curriculum and to ask for help when needed.

Developing Positive Behaviour

The quality of staff relationships with pupils are crucial. Each adult is significant for our learners. To foster successful, enabling relationships we need to:

Actively build trust and rapport with all pupils
Have high expectations for all learners. When we demonstrate belief in them, it supports them to succeed. Succeed Together.
We treat learners with dignity and respect at all times by communicating carefully and clearly in a way that is accessible and appropriate.
Consider the function of the behaviour; why the pupil is behaving this way and need does it serve?
Identify the strengths of the learner and build on these.
Firmly hold appropriate and agreed boundaries and Behaviour Support Plans.
Seek support from the Behaviour Team, wider professional networks and problem solve behaviours that challenge.
Be continually respectful to all pupils; not talking about them over their heads or in front of other pupils.
We are non-judgmental about learners’ life experience, but we use behaviour data to inform our planning to support them.

The quality of the school-home relationship in relation to behaviour is also crucial. It is important that we:

Work jointly and plan with families to ensure consistency in our approaches. Behaviour Support Plans are co-created with families, the team around the child and are regularly reviewed. This includes any form for restrictive physical intervention used to keep the young person safe in incidences of extreme dysregulation.

The quality of relationships with other multidisciplinary professionals. It is essential that:

We work collaboratively with other professionals working with pupils to ensure their input into planning and interventions
We share up to date information with appropriate professionals to ensure consistency between different contexts and environments.

The quality of our provision for positive behaviour outcomes:

If we are able to support each pupil at their individual level of need and development, it is more likely that challenging, harmful or self-injurious behaviour will decrease.

To do this, we must:

Have communication systems and resources readily available when a pupil is becoming dysregulated.
Have a good understanding of pupils sensory processing needs and have appropriate strategies and resources available to support the learner to access sensory strategies that may support them to regulate.
Provide a classroom environment conducive to positive behaviour which enables all pupils to learn and regulate effectively.
Accurately assess and understand the learners’ needs by referring back to their EHCPs, Annual Review notes, and BSPs.
Support the learner to develop high self esteem, so that they believe that they can succeed.
Give frequent positive reinforcement when things are going well and minimal feedback for behaviour we wish to discourage.
Know what motivates each learner and use this as positive reinforcements.
Actively teach Behaviour for Learning.

Recognition

Class teams should consistently employ the Co-op Academy Delius Reward and Recognition system, rewarding pupils for a range of different positive outcomes, including behaviour. This will reinforce positive behaviour outcomes.

Some pupils may also need bespoke, motivator based rewards which are based on instant-reward as delayed gratification may be difficult to achieve initially. These should be well planned out and a consistent approach used with the view to extending the time between rewards as the goal of the approach.

6. Classroom Strategies and Expectations

In some classrooms, Classroom Rules are appropriate to promote, support and reinforce positive behaviour. These should be:

Few in number
Where developmentally appropriate, agreed collaboratively with the learners.
Communicated in a way that the learners can understand - e.g. visual displays using boardmaker symbols, objects of reference, social stories etc.
Positive - i.e. what we can do as opposed to what we should not be doing - ‘kind hands’ not ‘no hitting’.
Regularly referred to by the class team
Appropriate to the developmental level of the pupils.

Routines and structure are essential in supporting our pupils to understand expectations and to help predict the world around them, lessening anxieties. Class teams should:

Help embed routines and structure through appropriate communication strategies such as visual timetables, touch cues, objects of reference, verbal cues and sound signifiers.
Once structure and routines are established and pupils are well regulated, staff teams should reflect on how to support pupils to adapt to changes in routine in a safe, planned out and supportive manner.

Communication and Social Interaction Needs

Communication is at the heart of our curriculum and is essential to help develop our pupils' self-regulation skills to help them manage their behaviour. To support a pupil who has become dysregulated we should aim to understand the function of the behaviour e.g. what is being communicated/ what sensory need is not being met? Class teams need to have strategies in place to support learners to express how they are feeling and how we can meet their needs proactively. Class teams need to consider the following and how it can impact on our learners’ ability to regulate and manage their behaviour positively:

Communication devices and strategies should work both ways: to give instructions and also allow pupils to have a voice, make choices and express their needs.
That our pupils often need processing time.
Some pupils have difficulty with verbal and non-verbal communication (body-language, gesture)
Difficulties in comprehending social rules and conventions
Difficulty in understanding their own emotions and being able to express these
Difficulty in understanding others’ emotions
Difficulty in predicting what will happen next - causing anxiety
Lack awareness of danger
Difficulty in adapting to new or unfamiliar situations
Difficulty in managing social relationships and/or interactions with peers including friendships and falling-out / bullying.

Class teams should employ a Total Communication approach for all pupils, utilising alternative and augmentative communication. Staff recognise that:

Visuals are permanent - spoken language disappears
Visuals allow time for language processing
Visuals prepare students for transitions allowing them to feel less anxious and self-regulate better.
Visuals help build independence, confidence and self-esteem.
Visuals are transferable between different contexts.
Visuals are useful when pupils are dysregulated as they replace the need for social interaction which can aid de-escalation.

7. Expectations Around the Academy

Expectations for pupil conduct around the academy closely mirror the expectations for within the classrooms.

Those pupils who can transition more independently (although never unsupervised), are expected to transition using quiet voices and to walk from one location to another. These rules are discussed in their classrooms and are specific to the cognition level of the learners.

All staff are trained, through induction, CPD, or Team Teach, to support other team members if a behaviour incident is occuring.

8. Expectations outside of School

Pupils are Co-op Delius are expected to represent the academy and refrain from bringing the school into disrepute to the best of their ability.

The school’s responsibility is to staff every excursion appropriately to be able to promote and manage positive outcomes for all.

9. Consequences

Although Co-op Academy Delius does everything they can to mitigate the need for consequences and sanctions, we know that students do make mistakes. If a student’s conduct falls below the expectations laid out in this policy (including expectations inside and outside school) the following consequences would apply:

It is important for learners to clearly link a specific behaviour with its consequence, however we do not endorse sanctions or punishments. For example, if a pupil disrupted an activity which made others feel unsafe, that learner would have a break, they would be supported by an adult to consider their actions, when ready they would apologise to the group and then continue with the activity.

The consequence needs to be a natural consequence to support the learners’ understanding of both positive and negative consequences.

Reparation

We encourage our pupils and staff to always be given the opportunity to repair after a challenging incident, ‘turning it round’ and starting afresh. What this looks like can differ for individual pupils, from a discussion, to walking out to the buses together at the end of the day. There is a section of each Behaviour Support Plan to accommodate this.

10. Further Intervention and Support

Sensory Processing

Sensory processing needs can impact a learners’ ability to self-regulate and manage their behaviour. Sensory processing is the ability to register, discriminate, adapt and respond appropriately, both physically and emotionally to sensory input from the environment. Class teams should ensure that they:

Organise the environment clearly, with visual cues and signposts
Speak clearly, slowly and calmly, giving processing time.
Sensory processing needs should inform suitable learning environment adjustments and support understanding pupil actions.
Support pupil needs through sensory circuits daily, providing a class sensory toolkit, and referring pupils to the Sensory Team for a sensory profile if their sensory needs are having a continuous negative impact on their learning. This referral may result in access to the Engine Room resource area for additional sensory processing support, or a referral for Sensory Occupational Therapist intervention.
Monitor physical and emotional well-being of pupils and recognise signals of being distressed, unwell, in pain or upset.

Self-injurious Behaviour

Self injurious behaviour is when a pupil physically harms themselves. This may be head-banging on floors, walls or other surfaces, hand or arm biting, hair pulling, eye gouging, face or head slapping, skin picking, scratching or pinching, forceful head shaking, to name a few. The pupil may have no other way to communicate their needs, wants or impulses. Head slapping or banging may be a way of telling us that they are frustrated, anxious, a way of making sure they don’t have to complete a task they don’t like, or because they are in pain and the head banging alleviates this. Hand biting may be due to excitement or because they require additional tactile input on their body to manage their sensory needs. Chin punching might be because then a learner has a helmet put on and their hearing is muffled, making the environment sounds lessen. Or because they’re experiencing tooth pain.

When self-injurious behaviour occurs, staff should work collaboratively with families and other professionals to find ways to prevent or replace this behaviour.

Respond quickly and consistently when a learner self-injures.
Keep responses low-key. Limit verbal comments, facial expressions and other displays of emotion. Speak calmly and clearly in a neutral tone of voice.
Reduce demands: the task may be too difficult or overwhelming.
Remove physical and sensory discomforts - consider sensory processing issues.
Redirect and distract - use communication strategies.
Provide light physical guidance - e.g. gently guide their hand away from their head
Use barriers: place a barrier between the learner and the object that is causing harm. For biting, provide another object to bite like a chewy. Forehead slapping, a pillow or a cushion between the head and hand.
Consider physical interventions - working closely with other professionals and families when there is a risk of serious harm, consider the use of helmets, arm gaiters, or gloves to protect a pupil. These also may reduce the sensory experience and frequency of the behaviour. Physical restraints are very restrictive and should always be used under the guidance of a specialist/ therapist to ensure they are used safely and appropriately, and with a plan to fade out their use over time. Physical restraints to address the cause of the behaviour, so they must never be used in isolation without teaching the learner new skills which address the reason for the behaviour.

Behaviours which challenge

The majority of pupils will respond positively when class teams work within these guidelines, but some pupils may need additional support at different times in their school career and will exhibit behaviours which challenge.

The Behaviour Team will support on behaviours which challenge by:

Monitoring behaviours through the Frequent Minor Behaviours Form and Incident Form data.
Termly Behaviour Team meetings and strategies.
Monitoring Behaviour Support Plans.
Termly Team Teach twilight sessions for all staff.
Attending RAMP risk assessment meetings .
Holding multidisciplinary meetings with other professionals around specific behaviours
Working closely with the Sensory Team to support behaviours.
Working closely with families
Attending EHCP annual reviews

Bullying (including cyberbullying)

We do not tolerate bullying, but we acknowledge that some of our learners may not fully understand how their behaviour impacts on others or be experienced as bullying
Bullying should never be ignored
All instances of bullying must be recorded on the behaviour recording forms and on CPOMS
Parents and carers should be informed via telephone or face to face
Every instance needs to be addressed, in line with this policy, with each learner involved taking responsibility for his/her actions, apologising and agreeing to stop/change the behaviour causing concern.
Learners need to be supported to develop age-appropriate level online literacy so that they are able to keep themselves safe online and report cyber bullying - we do this through our Computing curriculum, our PSED curriculum, and our termly Online Safety Days.
We deliver opportunities for families to learn about online safety and how to manage this at home.

Discriminatory Language / Incidents

Although very rare, incidents which include elements of racism, homophobia, sexism or those which are related to disability, gender presentation or religion are not acceptable within our school’s community.

Incidents should:

Be dealt with in line with this Policy with further advice and a coordinated response from the Senior Leadership Team.
Be recorded on CPOMS
Be understood that some learners use discriminatory language without understanding its impact and this must be viewed as an opportunity to teach pupils how to be respectful to each other.
Be considered for a further referral to another team potentially for radicalisation or sexualisation reasons.

Further guidance in the academy Equalities Policy.

11. Child on Child Abuse

Co-op Academy Delius is committed to ensuring a climate of safety for all students by challenging inappropriate behaviour between peers. We have a zero tolerance approach of all forms of child on child abuse including (but not limited to):

Bullying (including cyberbullying, prejudice-based and discriminatory bullying)
Abuse in intimate personal relationships between peers
Physical abuse such as hitting, kicking, shaking, biting, hair pulling, or otherwise causing physical harm (this may include an online element which facilitates, threatens and / or encourages physical abuse)
Sexual violence, such as rape, assault by penetration and sexual assault (this may include an online element which facilitates, threatens and / or encourages physical abuse)
Sexual harassment, such as sexual comments, remarks, jokes and online sexual harassment, which may be standalone or part of a broader pattern of abuse
Causing someone to engage in sexual activity without consent, such as forcing someone to strip, touch themselves sexually, or to engage in sexual activity with a third party
Consensual and non-consensual sharing of nudes and semi nude images and / or videos (also known as sexting or youth produced sexual imagery)
Upskirting, which typically involves taking a picture under a person’s clothing without their permission, with the intention of viewing their genitals or buttocks to obtain sexual gratification, or cause the victim humiliation, distress or alarm
Initiation / hazing type violence and rituals (this could include activities involving harassment, abuse or humiliation used as a way of initiating a person into a group and may also include an online element

Where there are any reports of child on child abuse, including sexual violence and sexual harassment, we will follow the guidance set out in Keeping Children Safe in Education. The Academy maintains a zero tolerance approach to all forms of child on child abuse and always maintain the attitude ‘it could happen here’. We will always take any reports or disclosures seriously. Any sanctions for child on child abuse will be proportionate, considered, supportive and will be decided on a case by case basis. Sanctions could include managing the incident internally, referring to early help, referring to children’s social care or reporting the incident to the police. Serious incidents could result in permanent exclusion. The Academy will not tolerate behaviour of this nature, whilst also not demonising anyone – we will support and listen to all of the pupils involved. The alleged perpetrator(s) will be offered support so that they can change their behaviour.

For more information on how we deal with child on child abuse please see:

Co-op Delius Anti Bullying Policy.

Co-op Delius Child Protection Policy.

Keeping Children Safe in Education

12. Suspensions

We do not believe that exclusions are an effective way to support learners with SEND. As such, we will always try to adapt and personalise provision to support our learners to enable them to access education.

In extremely exceptional circumstances, it may be necessary to exclude a learner for a fixed period of time and this would be considered very carefully.

Exceptional circumstances include, but are not limited to:

Incidents where the safety of the learner, other learners or staff is seriously compromised.
Incidents of knife crime or the deliberate use of weapons in school
Incidents of sexual violence
Incidents of significant deliberate damage to property

Decisions to exclude a pupil would be made on an individual basis and would be a reasonable and measured response.

The reintegration process following a suspension would be bespoke to the pupil and their needs. For example. a pupil with ASD will need a very clear timetable to reintegrate.

Further information on suspensions can be found in the Trust’s Exclusion policy. For further information on consequences for different behaviours see appendix i

13. Permanent Exclusion

Permanent exclusion is a last resort. A Headteacher may decide to permanently exclude a student for persistent disruptive behaviour, where despite the school's best effort, a student insists on breaching the school's behaviour policy. A permanent exclusion could also be the consequence for a first 'one off' offence, based on the severity of the behaviour. One off offences may include:

Serious actual or threatened violence against another student or member of staff (including online threats or abuse)
Assault on a student or member of staff
Sexual abuse or assault
Supplying or using an illegal drug
Carrying an offensive weapon (including any article made or adapted for causing injury)
Serious one off incidents including ‘Hate’ incidents / crime or bullying

Further information on permanent exclusions can be found in the Trust’s Exclusion policy.

14. Searching, Screening and Confiscation

The Headteacher has statutory power to search pupils and possessions if there are reasonable grounds to suspect pupils have prohibited items. Searches may also be carried out by members of staff and contractors authorised by the Headteacher. All authorised staff will be up to date with screening and searching procedures as laid out in government guidance . When conducting searches, the Headteacher will consider the age and ability of students and make reasonable adjustments where necessary. Where possible searches will be conducted with the student present and away from other students (unless there is reason to believe that significant harm could happen if we wait).

The school can search a student for any item with their consent and in their presence (e.g. turning out pockets / looking in bags). Staff have the power to search (without consent) if they have reason to believe a student possesses any of the following items:

knives and weapons
alcohol
illegal drugs
stolen items
tobacco and cigarette papers
cigarettes
e-cigarettes
lighters and matches
fireworks
pornographic images
any article that has been or is likely to be used to commit an offence , cause personal injury or damage to property

Wherever possible, searches will be carried out by two authorised members of staff, or contractor by staff members of the same gender as the student, and with the student present as a witness. Searches that require physical contact or use of force will always be a last resort. Where the risk is considered significant, they will be conducted by a trained member of staff of the same sex as the pupil, or, if possible, and preferably, by a family member. If this is not possible (due to urgency of the situation) searches will be conducted by a permanent member of staff, with the appropriate training, of the same sex and an appropriate adult (of the same sex). In all cases, only outer clothing will be searched (pockets, bags, shoes etc). No member of the school community will conduct a search that reveals a student’s underwear or skin (beyond shirt sleeves).

Staff will confiscate and retain a student’s property if it is a banned item or any item being used to cause harm to self or others, damage to property, or disruption to the maintaining of a purposeful learning environment. For any confiscated item that is not deemed to be dangerous or potentially / known to be illegal, the confiscating staff member is required to make a proportionate and fair decision about what happens next with the item, for example:

returning the item to the student at the end of that lesson
returning the item to the student at the end of that day
escalating the issue to a member of the year team / senior leadership team
discussing with the student’s family about how best to return or dispose of the item

Retention of, damage to or disposal of a student’s personal property should not be used as a sanction and confiscation, including how the confiscation is followed up, should only be used to ensure the maintenance of a safe and purposeful learning environment.

Mobile Phones / Devices

Pupils are not permitted to bring mobile phones to school or on school transport. These will be confiscated, their parents contacted, and the phones returned. Some children use a device to help them regulate on their journey into school. These are put away as soon as the child arrives at school and are not removed from their bags during the school day. If there are any issues around this, parents are contacted and the device is no longer kept with the child.

Screening

If a student refuses to be screened, the school may refuse to have the student on the premises. Health and safety legislation requires a school to be managed in a way which does not expose students or staff to risks to their health and safety and this would include making reasonable rules as a condition of admittance.
If a student fails to comply, and the school does not let the student in, the student’s absence will be treated as unauthorised. The student should comply with the rules and attend.

Power to use reasonable force

Members of staff have the power to use reasonable force to prevent students committing an offence, injuring themselves or others, or damaging property, and to maintain good order and discipline in the classroom. Headteachers and authorised school staff may also use such force as is reasonable given the circumstances when conducting a search without consent for knives or weapons, alcohol, illegal drugs, stolen items, tobacco and cigarette papers, fireworks, pornographic images or articles that have been or could be used to commit an offence or cause harm.

The academy follows all DfE guidance for searching, screening and confiscation which can be found here:

Searching, Screening and Confiscation - Advice for Schools

Please also see the Co-op Academies Trust Positive Handling Policy for the process of searching and screening and use of reasonable force (available on the school website).

Appendix I - Behaviour Incident Flowchart

Our academy records Frequent Minor Behaviour Incidents on Arbor and more serious Behaviour Incidents on Google Forms.

The Behaviour Incident Flowchart can be used to determine where an incident should be recorded.

Behaviour Incident Flowchart

Co-op Academies Trust - Behaviour Policy