At Gedney Church End Primary Academy, we believe that excellent behaviour creates the conditions in which every child can feel safe, happy and ready to learn. We have high expectations of all our pupils and work together to create a calm, respectful and inclusive school community where everyone is valued.

We want children to develop the skills they need to make positive choices, build strong relationships and take increasing responsibility for their own behaviour. Our expectations are reinforced throughout school life, including through lessons, assemblies, class discussions and opportunities for reflection. Pupils are expected to be polite, respectful and considerate, to follow the instructions of adults, to take care of our school environment and to show respect towards one another, staff, visitors and the wider community.

Recognising Positive Behaviour

We believe that positive behaviour should be noticed, encouraged and celebrated. Staff use praise and recognition throughout the school day to help children understand the behaviours and attitudes that enable them and others to succeed.

Positive behaviour and achievement may be recognised through verbal praise, Class Dojo points, stickers and certificates, Celebration Assemblies, special responsibilities, class and whole-school rewards and our Values Awards. 

When Things Go Wrong

Children are learning how to manage relationships, emotions and behaviour, and sometimes they will make mistakes. When this happens, our approach is designed to help children understand what has happened, recognise the impact of their choices and learn how to make better choices in the future.

Where behaviour falls below our expectations, staff respond consistently, fairly and proportionately. Appropriate consequences may be used, particularly where behaviour is serious or repeated, alongside opportunities to reflect, repair relationships and move forward positively.

We also recognise that behaviour can sometimes communicate an unmet need. Where a child is experiencing ongoing difficulties, we seek to understand the reasons behind their behaviour and provide appropriate support. This may include targeted intervention, mentoring or coaching, reflection time, pastoral support plans and advice from other professionals where appropriate. We take account of children's individual circumstances, including special educational needs and disabilities, while maintaining clear expectations for our whole school community. 

Working in Partnership with Families

Positive behaviour is most successfully developed when school and home work together. We ask parents and carers to support the school's expectations and encourage open communication whenever there are concerns.

We will communicate with families about their child's behaviour where appropriate, whether that is to share and celebrate success or to work together when additional support is needed. We encourage parents and carers to speak to us if there are circumstances that may be affecting their child's wellbeing or behaviour so that we can provide the right support at the right time. 

Bullying

We want every child to feel safe, included and accepted at Gedney Church End. Bullying is taken extremely seriously and is not tolerated.

Bullying is behaviour which is deliberately hurtful, repeated over time and involves an imbalance of power. It can take different forms, including physical, verbal, psychological or online behaviour. 

It is important for children to understand the difference between bullying and other situations that can occur as they learn to manage friendships and relationships. Children may occasionally disagree, fall out, say something unkind or make a poor choice. These incidents still matter and will be addressed by staff, but a one-off disagreement or incident is not necessarily bullying.

Where bullying is reported or suspected, we will take it seriously, establish what has happened, record the incident, support the child who has been affected and take appropriate action with the child or children responsible. Consequences will reflect the seriousness of the behaviour, alongside work to help children understand the impact of their actions and prevent the behaviour from happening again. 

Above all, we want our children to know that if something is worrying them, they should tell a trusted adult. We will listen and take their concerns seriously.

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Find out more

Our full Behaviour Policy provides further information about our expectations, rewards, consequences and the support available to pupils.