Behaviour, Engagement & Relationship Policy

This policy is presented in HTML to support accessibility needs and to work across multiple platforms. A full PDF copy is also available below.
Date Approved - September 2022
Full PDF Policy

History of Recent Policy Changes

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Origin of Change

Contents

Vision and Ethos

Lansdown Park Academy is a Pupil Referral Unit / Early Intervention Base based in Stockwood in South Bristol. We are proud to be part of the Cabot Learning Federation Trust having joined in the Summer of 2023

We provide education for pupils from KS1-3 who require additional support around their behaviour. Pupils receive a tailored curriculum that supports them to re-engage with education and to help prepare and plan for their next steps.

Our Engagement and Relationship policy aims to provide an overview of our approach to Behaviour particularly with pupils will an SEMH need. The policy supports our Vision and Mission Statement.

Our Vision and Mission allow pupils to Belong, Grow and Succeed

Our Vision

Lansdown Park Academy wants to see a world where every child is valued for who they are, inspired to realise their potential and empowered to achieve their dreams.  

Our Mission 

Is to provide a safe, inclusive and aspirational learning environment, where all pupils are prepared for their next steps and leave us with the skills to become well-rounded members of the community

These statements form the backbone to everything that happens at Lansdown Park Academy. From the curriculum to the environment and to the experiences that pupils receive while with us.

The aim of this policy is to act as a guide to daily practice within school. It seeks to outline how all children will be kept safe, cared for, included and supported to learn. We intend for our relational policy to outline high expectations for behaviour and clear pathways for resolving difficulties.

Proactive Strategies

At Lansdown Park Academy, our aim is to make our curriculum (by which we mean the pupil’s entire school experience and not just the subject-specific content they learn during lesson time) ‘irresistible’ so that pupils are inspired to be curious and engaged. We believe that, when all of the child’s basic needs are being met (and the learning is pitched to match their interests, their individual learning style and their level of understanding) the pupil’s behaviour will consistently contribute to a positive learning experience. This will reduce the need for teaching staff to actively employ reactive behaviour management strategies.

As well as the school-specific guidance located in this document, all staff are supported to make use of the Quality First Teaching Guidance and to implement strategies provided by professionals who have been involved in working with pupils and/or their families e.g. The LPA Outreach Team, EPs, SALTs, OTs, Social Care, CAMHS etc.

Sense of Connection and Belonging

In order to connect with adults, children need to experience attunement (meeting the child where they are emotionally, using attuning tones, facial expressions and body language, helping the child know that you get-it), mutuality (doing things together, alongside, experiencing another person with them so they feel they are not alone) and reciprocity (responding to and influencing each other).

We aim to connect with children at their developmental level and in a way that considers their stress level. Children who have had limited experience of connection will not be able to cope with activities which require reciprocity. They will need high levels of connection through being alongside others matching them in time and rhythm and the gentle introduction of turn taking.

 

Staff ensure that they are both physically and emotionally available for their pupils. Each pupil has a key adult with whom they connect each day. Opportunities are provided for each pupil to have undivided attention from this key adult, each day.

Staff will make a conscious effort to show each pupil that they are interested in them and that they like them. They will get to know pupil’s interests and try to hold onto key information to refer back to at a later date.

The high pupil to staff ratio at all times, allows more regular interactions between pupils and teachers, especially those which could be considered truly social and reciprocal as opposed to merely functional (discussing a child’s interests outside of school rather than their learning).

All ‘learning’ sessions of the day are interspersed with opportunities for free play. During this time, staff are active participants, consistently using these genuinely social environments to build more genuine, emotional connections with pupils as well as model skills needed to play such as communication, ability to compromise and conflict resolution. If anything, adult engagement during these sessions is even more essential to the pupil’s success than adult support during academic tasks.

 

Breaktimes and lunchtimes are led by class-based adults who are in regular contact with pupils so that behaviour is of as high a standard during these times as during lesson times. The sessions are well-planned to provide structured activities and opportunities to further build staff-pupil and pupil peer relationships.

Some pupils will also benefit from a sense of community involvement e.g. a specific task or role to contribute to the class or school community (being a monitor, leader or mentor).

Over the 12 to 16-week placements in the primary setting, staff gradually build up from shared experiences to turn-taking activities.

Within lesson plans, regular opportunities for expressive interactions are embedded e.g. Talk for Writing is the programme employed for the bulk of English writing sessions as it is underpinned by collaborative recitations and immersion in poetry and language.

Feeling Safe

Children need to feel safe and secure in order to engage socially, explore, play and learn. Children look first to the adults around them to gain a sense of safety. It is important that every child knows that they are safe through the adult’s ‘way of being’ with the child and the way they manage the environment as many cannot simply believe this to be true if told.

Children who do not feel safe tend to be hyper vigilant and have difficulty regulating their emotions. This can lead to defensive behaviours which can be difficult to manage. These are not conscious choices and therefore cannot be mitigated through the use of external sanctions or rewards.

Children thrive on predictability and reliability. Every effort is made by staff to make daily routines as streamlined, rigorous and consistent as possible. This requires significant advance organisation so that each session of the day runs smoothly and predictably. Visual timetables and consistent lesson formats, as well as individual TEACCH workstations for independent learning slots, all help to develop these clear routines and structures.

Change, novelty, uncertainty and challenge will threaten the child’s sense of security so these things will need to be carefully managed through the following:

  • If an unexpected event happens or an expected event is cancelled, this is clearly and carefully explained to pupils (including validating and accepting any emotional responses to the disappointment/uncertainty)
  • Pupils are presented with tasks that gradually increase in challenge as their resilience improves
  • Unfamiliar tasks are presented kinaesthetically and with visual instructions that provide a starting point for the pupil
  • Tasks are broken down into manageable and achievable chunks and more open-ended tasks or those involving multiple steps before any feeling of success, are initially avoided
  • Social stories are used to prepare pupils for changes that are known to be approaching
Adults will consistently seek to become aware of the cues they are giving and how these can be interpreted by pupils. Every effort will be made to present safety cues at all times (even when faced with challenging behaviour), particularly facial expressions as well as frequency and modulation of the voice, such as interacting using a sing song/story telling voice with no trace of crossness. Adults will take care to ensure open and friendly body language.

Similarly, it is important for staff to anticipate situations that may be perceived as a threat, for example, unfamiliar sounds in the environment, unfamiliar people or situations, change in routine, unfamiliar or unexpected physical contact or sudden movement can all trigger feelings of fear. Sometimes just a lack of safety cues can trigger a defensive response.

Managing transitions, both large and small will be particularly important; even transitions such as moving from activity to activity within the classroom may need to be supported.

Clear boundaries are in place for behaviour, with expectations for how to act in different situations clearly displayed and communicated e.g. classroom rules.

Hunger/Thirst

Research suggests that children who arrive to school hungry, will lose, on average, an hour’s learning that day. Hungry children have been found to be noticeably more lethargic, less able to concentrate and more irritable.

All children in the Primary setting start the day by eating breakfast together. This is a good opportunity for staff and pupils to practise social skills and build relationships, as well as a means for ensuring all children have full stomachs before they attempt to engage with their learning.

Secondary pupils are given the opportunity for breakfast on arrival.

All children are offered a snack at break time and lunch at school.

Every pupil has access to a water bottle on the desks throughout the day. They are encouraged to drink water regularly as a means for quenching their thirst and regulating their body temperature, which can be calming.

Pupils will be especially encouraged to drink water after active sessions and as a means of transitioning back to a calm, seated situation.

Dietary requirements will be discussed and planned for during pupil induction

Sensory and Regulation

There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that children with insecure attachments have atypical sensory processing and, consequently, difficulty with self-regulation. Similarly, that sensory-informed interventions can have a significant, positive impact on pupil’s behaviour.

Over the course of their first few weeks, all pupils have a sensory needs assessment based on adult observation of their actions. This allows staff to plan proactive provision to meet these needs. These will be regularly updates based on continued observation of pupils’ behaviour and their provision adapted to meet these needs.

All settings have multiple, dedicated regulation spaces that pupils can use proactively to meet their individual sensory needs as well as responsively when showing signs of dysregulating or sensory overload. These can be found within classrooms, corridors, outside spaces and sensory/play rooms.

All primary pupils will engage in daily sensory circuits to help with meeting sensory needs and establishing clear routines with regards to returning to learning after unstructured times.

Pupils will have resources at their desks that support their individual sensory needs e.g. wobble cushions, weighted lap belts, chewellery etc.

Classrooms have been designed to be less stimulating than your typical mainstream, classroom, with intentionally low-stim personal workstations for children to use for independent work or times when they need less distractions or sensory input.

Sleep and Tiredness

Research suggests that sleep plays an important role in memory, both before and after learning a new skill, method or concept (negatively impacting acquisition, consolidation and recall). Lack of adequate sleep also affects mood, motivation, judgment, and our perception of events. Therefore, a pupil’s tiredness not only impacts their learning directly, with regards to their memory and concentration, but also indirectly, through impacting their social interactions (poor perception and judgement) and their capacity to interact positively and determinedly with learning tasks and activities (though mood and motivation).

Discussions are had with parents about establishing effective bedtime routines so pupils are well rested when they arrive at school. Concerns are followed up with social care where appropriate

All pupils are taught about the Zones of Regulation so that they understand the need to be in the blue zone when trying to fall asleep as well as how to move themselves from another zone into that blue zone at bedtime.

Movement breaks and sensory circuits help to stop pupils feeling sleepy, sluggish or lethargic.

In extreme circumstances, e.g. if children are exhausted because of troubling situations at home, pupils can be allowed to nap in a safe, cosy corner for a short period of time.

Pupils are taught about the benefits of sleep.

Concentration/Focus

Many of our pupils have a very limited capacity to focus, normally as a result of either an attention deficit or, even more commonly, due to hypervigilance. Some pupils will also have significant pressures that are weighing on their mind, reducing their capacity for effective executive functions such as working memory. There is also a link between the time a pupil will spend focused on an activity and that pupil’s resilience. As a result of their lack of secure base, many of our students struggle to persevere or take risks in order to complete a task for fear of getting it wrong.

Activities are selected, which help children to feel safe and secure and reduce the need for hypervigilance (to some extent)

Learning activities are broken up into small, manageable chunks with ‘brain breaks’ (activities that do not require significant cognitive application and boost the feeling of togetherness) in between.

Every day contains multiple planned opportunities to ‘fill up the cup’ for each child (e.g. through stress-free play, sensory activities, games and chats with key adults etc) and ensure they are better equipped to handle the typical stresses of the day (learning tasks, navigating social situations etc)

Children have aids for concentration and active listening resources such as manipulatives to use when following along with teacher input.

Identify and Cater for Underlying Needs

The majority of pupils referred to LPA are registered as having SEND. For most, this is loosely defined under the SEMH umbrella. Most referring schools report that they have been unable to truly assess the learning and communication needs of the pupil as a result of their difficulties with behaviour and lack of consistent engagement.

High staff to pupil ratio and the use of highly-experienced and qualified staff, allow more identification of needs through observation than in a mainstream setting.

Regular training is given to all primary staff regarding assessment for learning techniques that can identify gaps in education as well as how to discriminate between these and signs of underlying specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia or C&I needs.

Classroom practice and the culture of the school as a whole are tailored to generally meet the needs of pupils with C&I and SEMH difficulties as standard.

All pupils undergo assessments at that start, middle and end of both outreach and in-reach placements. These include progression tool assessments for identifying C&I difficulties as well as Boxall profiles, LPA Competencies and SDQ to identify SEMH needs.

All pupils are set rolling targets regarding the outcomes of these assessments and staff are aware of opportunities and strategies that can be employed to support pupils to meet these needs.

Pupils will be referred to specialists where sufficient evidence of an underlying need exists.

Accessibility/Communication

Many of our pupils struggle with their literacy skills. Most have a reading age significantly below their chronological age and many more have severely limited vocabularies, as a result of their disrupted educations and their disadvantaged backgrounds. Therefore, they can often feel lost, confused or out of control in a classroom setting as they don’t fully understand what is being discussed or what is expected of them.

Primary staff at LPA are relentlessly committed to ensuring children are able to learn to read. Until a clear point of fluency and comprehension has been achieved, pupil’s will be supported to ‘read to learn’ during other lessons so that this does not become a barrier to success in these other areas of the curriculum. E.g. Voice notes or videos may be used to remind pupils of methods and instructions rather than written examples or steps to success.

Any written instructions are supported visually or through voice recordings for pupils to listen to more than once.

General instructions given to a group or class are repeated as necessary and using different simple phrases. Some pupils receive personal repeats of instructions as standard practice with no irritation or chastisement.

Success criteria is represented visually wherever possible.

All children have manipulatives to support their mathematical understanding and word mats etc to support their independent learning in English.

There are clear areas of the classroom and school and expectations for their use is conveyed in pictures.

Unless discussing emotions with children who display insecure avoidant attachment, staff will try to steer clear of using idioms or figurative language and stick to literal phrases.

All staff will use lanyards to consistently, pictorially provide reminders regarding behaviour agreements.

Social stories are used to communicate expectations or problem solve tricky situations with pupils, including incidents of unwanted behaviour.

Whole School Commitment

  • Each day there is a staff briefing in the morning so that staff can share any important contextual or safeguarding information that may be relevant for supporting specific individual or groups of pupils as well as for staff to share approaches or plans that will be implemented with individuals, groups or in response to a whole school concern e.g. tactic for combating a recent spate of pupils sneaking in mobile phones etc. These concerns/approaches are then followed up and evaluated at the de-brief at the end of each day. This also provides the opportunity to raise any concerns regarding behaviour and wellbeing that have occurred during the day and troubleshoot as a team around possible actions.
  • All staff receive weekly CPD. These sessions are often dedicated to safeguarding (including specific contextual issues in our local community such as knife crime) as well as training around supporting pupil’s mental health and managing behaviour through a relational, attachment-aware approach. Primary staff will meet at an additional point each week to focus on primary-age issues, particularly meeting early development needs with regards to behaviour and SEMH needs.
  • When staff are concerned about a pupil’s behaviour, engagement and/or wellbeing, they are encouraged to request a formal ‘working group’ with relevant members of staff. These are designed to be empathetic, supportive and solution-focused discussions, where staff can seek ideas from their colleagues, with a range of different forms of experience and expertise, in a non-judgemental environment.
  • Behaviour, like safeguarding, is considered to be everyone’s responsibility. It is absolutely essential that ALL staff are aware of the approaches and systems used in school so that pupils receive a consistent response from all adults. All new staff will have significant training on theses approaches during induction and continued support with implementation throughout their first term. For this reason, all primary staff must be familiar with each pupil’s PSP, in order to know how to manage situations where an individual child may be at risk of entering crisis.

Responsive Strategies

The art and skill of teaching lies in the use of everyday interactions which actively maintain relationships in the classroom and promote a calm, harmonious and supportive learning environment. It is normal for children of all ages to be playful, challenge authority (to mess about) and to test boundaries. Most children will, at some point, overstep a boundary and will need reminding about agreements and expectations. Our relationships, and the relational skills we utilise should be our first port of call at these times. Skilled interactions can successfully resolve low level disruption without the need to escalate.

Every child will face challenges and at times experience strong emotions which block their access to learning and good social interaction. Catching these emotions and regulating the child so that these emotions do not become overwhelming is integral to keeping the child and classroom calm.

We know that the pupils who access our provision are likely to overstep boundaries more regularly than pupils in mainstream primary settings. When this occurs, the following procedures should be followed. Sometimes, the steps will be worked through rapidly and the interaction with the child will be brief. At other times, when the ‘distressed’ behaviour is more severe and/or the response to attempts to de-escalate are less positive and/or the risk of re-escalation seems particularly high, this process could take a minimum of 45 minutes.

Co-Regulation

Unhelpful, harmful or challenging behaviour is usually the result of strong emotions which have been triggered in the moment or which underpin adaptive behaviours. In order to maintain a calm learning environment and also to support children to process their feelings and emotions in order to regulate their behaviour, we need to be able to regulate them in the moment and provide them with experiences which will support the development of self-regulation skills.

State of Regulation Potential Displayed Behaviours Responsive Co-regulation Specific Tools at LPA
Calm

Safe/socially engaged

Calm Safe/socially engaged Steady heart/breathing rate. Calm state of arousal. Open to social engagement. Expressive facial expression and voice prosody. Able to listen, process language and engage in thinking to learn. Maximise expressive social engagement. Fully engage and connect using the face, voice, movement. Encourage listening and expressive responses. Engage thinking skills to reflect and make connections. Introduce gentle challenge through play/activity. Enrichment days weekly

One-to-one social time with key adult

Active adults during peer social times

Emotion coaching

Expressive group activities using rhythm and repetition.

Mild Stress Alert/Agitated/

Withdrawn

Slightly raised heart/breathing rate. Signs of agitation, frustration, anxiety. Raised hypervigilance. Lack of focus, easily distracted. Increased mobilisation. Early signs of needing to take control or helplessness. Connect through eye contact, movement and facial expression. Express calmness through storytelling prosody and open facial expression. Attune to mood, intensity and energy of the child. Respond by being more animated to attune to agitation, increase intensity to attune to anger, be gentle and delicate to attune to sadness. Respond empathically and validate feelings. Use calming, soothing and regulatory activities. Emotion coaching

Mirror and Match

Zones of Regulation

Modelling conflict resolution/managing emotions

Use sensory activities which are known to soothe pupils – based on observation assessment

Whole class/group sensory breaks

Dysregulated

Mobilised

 

 

High levels of arousal/

distress. Hyper vigilant.

Difficulty listening and focusing. Mobilised – fidgeting, jumping, running, climbing

etc. Raised voice with lack of prosody. Decreased expressivity.

Threatening behaviour.

Oppositional behaviour.

Reduce social demands whilst remaining present. Provide individual attention.

Convey adult containment. Let them know you are able to ‘hold’ their dysregulation by remaining

regulated. Convey your calm and regulated state by being confident and contained.

Use quiet, calm sounds and tones which are expressive and confident.

Reduce language – give short clear directions. Avoid questions and choices.

Use predictable routine. Reduce sensory input, lights, noise. Use sensory soothing.

Refer to individual pupil PSP

Use of scripts

Change of face and self-regulation to enable containment

Use of visuals

Subtly direct to sensory activities that match need

Mirror and match

Give attention

Distract where appropriate

Individual sensory break/whole class break (maintain needed adult attention)

Reduce stress before attempting to discuss problem (not accessing executive function here)

Dysregulated Immobilised Lowered heart/breathing rate. Reduced energy. Shuts off from surroundings/ dissociates. Depressed state. Immobile/frozen. May feel faint. Gentle, soft and delicate manner of coming close, making them aware of your presence and support. Use comforting and predictable voice. Use invited touch to soothe. Singing, humming, music. Use sensory soothing. Calm and gentle reassurance. Use close contact techniques

Use story books

Use sensory techniques identified on personal assessment.

Move other children away

Reduce stress before attempting to discuss problem (not accessing executive function here)

Crisis The child’s behaviour means that they or other people are not safe. An individualised plan of action which outlines action to be taken in the event of unsafe behaviour. This may include advice from outside agencies. The plan should be shared with the child and include their views as to what helps and with all staff working with the child. Roles and responsibilities should be clear. If the plan includes physical intervention staff should have had the appropriate training. Adults need to provide high levels of containment through their way of being – having a plan can help Follow information on pupil passport – including advice from SALT, CAMHS, EP etc.

Ensure all staff are aware of the plan.

Use change of face and self-regulation techniques to prioritise own mental and physical health before containing.

Staff to keep up to date with TeamTeach training and use this when de-escalating a child in crisis and if safe handling is required.

Follow up with parents and raise at debrief. Complete bound book where appropriate.

The above table was adapted from the Devon County Council and Babcock ‘Guidance for Developing Relational Policy and Practice’.

Rewards and Sanctions

Lansdown Park Academy uses the relational approach before sanctions are considered. However following some incidents, there will need to be a response from the school in order to ensure that everyone is kept safe.

In some serious cases Suspension and Exclusion may be used to ensure the safety of staff and students and the effective running of the school. See our Suspensions and Exclusions Policy for details.

In Secondary celebration events are used to recognise positives while phone calls are used to keep parents / carers updated on progress.

For Primary age pupils our relational approach thinks in terms of providing positive and effective feedback. Children who have experienced attachment insecurity or trauma have not always developed internal control and therefore the external control systems of rewards are less likely to impact positively on their behaviour. Systems which use public displays of behaviour are not always helpful as pupils can become stigmatised or focused on their ego e.g. displaying behaviour to deliberately show they ‘don’t care’ about the reward system.

Each pupil will have a ‘Success Book’ in which staff will ensure to write only positive, specific praise at multiple points throughout the day. Effort should be made to ensure these are visually stimulating through the use of stamps, stickers and certificates. Pupils should be encouraged to look through the books with their key adults as often as possible as moral boosters and to show their families and home school adults regularly. Students should not compare books or be compared against others. Nothing from books should be shared with the whole class unless permission is first granted from the pupil themselves. At the start of term, the pupils can decorate their success books with cut outs/stickers/doodles. These will then be protected using a plastic covering so the books are seen as valued and less likely to become damaged.

There is extensive research which suggests that the most effective feedback meets the following criteria:

  • Specific – “You stayed really focused today even when it got tricky” rather than ‘You were great today”. This leads to greater understanding of exactly what they should be doing.
  • Activity involving rather than ego involving – “It was kind and thoughtful of you to let others go first,” rather than, “You are kind”. This leads to a belief that things are not fixed, everyone can behave well on some days and make mistakes on others. What you do makes the difference.
  • Individual and does not allow comparisons between children – a quiet word giving feedback or a postcard home rather than a public announcement. This leads to children being reflective about their own behaviour without being influenced by the response of other children or the need to protect their ego.
  • Identifies clear next steps – “You need to wait to take your turn when talking in a group,” rather than, “You need to be better next time”. This supports children to understand expectations and focus on their actions.

Resolving Conflict

When using a relational approach in school, restorative conversations will be the norm when there is minor conflict or disagreement. There will be opportunities for restorative conversations daily whenever two people engage in conversation around a difficulty. This will support the development of a caring and restorative ethos and will support the resolution of worries and disagreements as and when they arise, rather than allowing them to build into bigger conflicts.

When we engage in restorative conversations we need to be mindful of our relational skills (safety cues, curiosity, empathy, containment, soothing etc.)

All adults at LPA need to be skilled in taking part in restorative conversations. Belinda Hopkins describes a good restorative listener and communicator as someone who does the following:

Following an incident or when there is conflict between people, time needs to be spent sharing understanding and coming to an outcome which helps to repair relationships. This involves an encounter between all those involved where a restorative exploration of the problem, conflict or incident is used to support all people involved to share their story, thoughts and feelings, understand other peoples’ stories, thoughts and feelings and come to a shared understanding of what needs to happen to meet the needs of all people involved. Restorative actions, ideally decided by those involved, can be explored as part of the process – be these letters of apology, agreements to support change or actions that show a willingness to repair the relationship.

There are a variety of structures for this type of restorative exploration. At LPA, staff utilise the four key methods outlined by Belinda Hopkins in her book ‘Just Schools’, dependent on the situation and numbers of people involved: restorative mediation to resolve conflict/problems, problem solving circles, restorative mediation following harm and restorative conferencing.

  • Restorative mediation to resolve conflict/problems is a process involving a neutral third party whose role is to support two people involved in conflict to come to a mutually acceptable resolution or at least find a way forward. Successful outcomes can sometimes be found if the problem is recognised as a shared one which the disputants can work together on resolving.
  • Problem solving circles are useful when there is a problem to be discussed as a group, a conflict that needs addressing or an event that has caused distress to the whole group. Problem solving circles can be a valuable community building process. The process itself as well as the content can develop people’s restorative skills and provide important relational experience.
  • Restorative mediation following harm is different to the previous structures described: in this case, one person has accepted responsibility, at least to some extent, for the harm caused to the other. A key issue here is to ensure that the process does not re-victimise the person harmed. Children will need reassurance that meeting those who have hurt them will be safe and likely to make matters better and not worse. Facilitators also need to ensure that the process does not shame the child who has caused harm. Shame would be detrimental to both the restorative process and the development of the child. Shame can lead to feelings of worthlessness and helplessness and does not help the child to learn from their mistakes and repair things. Guilt however can be a helpful feeling, supporting the child to think about their actions as a mistake that they have the potential to rectify.

Warning – All those involved must do so voluntarily. If there is no clear benefit to this form of restorative discussion, it is likely to do more harm.

  • A restorative conference usually involves a group of people who have been harmed meeting with those who have harmed them. The purpose is to seek understanding of each other’s perspectives and come to a mutual agreement which will repair the harm caused as much as possible.

Following the use of a restorative exploration it can be helpful for the adults to reflect on:

  • What was the behaviour communicating?
  • How are the unmet needs being addressed?
  • What skills does the child need to develop?
  • What additional learning opportunities are in place to enable this?
  • What suggestions do the children have to support the repairing of the relationship?

It is also important for the adults to update any details on the child’s pupil passport.

Individual/Group Interventions

As pupils have been referred to LPA in order to avoid the risk of permanent exclusion or having been permanently excluded, we can assume that key behavioural themes and areas of difficulty will be shared with LPA staff at the initial meetings. These will be used in combination with the results from the baseline assessments to determine which interventions will be most impactful for each pupil and a bespoke timetable will be drawn up. This will be flexible and adapted to meet the pupil’s changing needs as defined through skilled staff observations and continued assessment.

Intervention Suitable For Area of Need Delivered By How Often
 

Drawing and Talking

 

 

5+

 

SEMH

Attachment

 

Trained D&T Practitioners

 

 

Weekly for 12 weeks (30 min)

 

Lego Therapy

 

 

5+

 

Social Communication

 

HLTAs

 

Twice Weekly (45min – 1hr)

 

 

Starving the Anger Gremlin

 

 

5-9/9+

 

Self-Regulation

Anger

 

HLTAs/Learning Mentors

 

Weekly for 12 weeks (30 min)

 

Starving the Anxiety Gremlin

 

 

5-9/9+

 

Anxiety

 

HLTAs/Learning Mentors

 

Weekly for 12 weeks (30 min)

 

Nurture Group

 

EYFS +

 

SEMH

 

Nurture Lead

 

Twice Weekly as Intervention

 

 

Thrive

 

EYFS +

 

SEMH/Attachment

 

Thrive Practitioner

 

 

Twice Weekly as Intervention

 

 

ELSA

 

Secondary

 

 

Emotional Literacy

 

ELSA trained staff

 

Weekly

 

Mental Health Support

 

Secondary Mental Health Mental Health Lead Weekly
 

School Nurse

 

 

Secondary

 

Various medical support

 

 

School Nurse

 

Weekly Drop In

 

Zones of Regulation

 

 

EYFS +

 

Identifying and Regulating emotion

 

All staff

 

Weekly / Daily

 

All children will engage with sensory circuits and Zones of Regulation interventions in class as well as twice-weekly PSHCE lessons which are contextual and responsive to what is occurring both inside school (e.g. friendship difficulties, pupil’s personal growth) and in the wider community (county lines and grooming). The ethos and holistic approaches that underpin both Thrive and Nurture approaches are also embedded into the daily classroom practice and the wider culture of the school.

Some pupils will be referred to outside agencies and services. A list of those we use regularly can be found below:

  • SALT
  • Educational Psychologists
  • Equine Therapy
  • Off the Record
  • CAMHs
  • Leading Lights
  • Young Bristol (Local Youth Club Links)
  • School Nurse

Working in Partnership

As well as working with outside agencies, LPA staff know that clear and consistent communication between all stakeholders is essential for the success of the pupil, particularly with regards to those pupils with insecure attachments. LPA staff will interact with staff from the referring school, parents/carers and the pupils themselves in the following ways:

Mainstream Setting/Referring School

  • Referral paperwork
  • Initial meeting
  • Midpoint review meeting and written report
  • Exit meeting and written report
  • Visits and Showcases
  • Staged transition at both the start and end of the 12/16 week programme
  • Outreach support to share effective strategies and provision prior to and during the student’s return

Parents and Carers

  • Engagement meeting at the start of the programme and each new term
  • Tour of the school prior to accepting place
  • Midpoint review meeting and written report
  • Exit meeting and written report (including assessment data)
  • Most importantly, daily verbal contact with staff at either drop off or pick up
  • Phone calls made to report on any significant incidents – positive or negative
  • Involvement in restorative conversations where appropriate
  • Certificates and positive notes sent home to provide positive feedback about pupil’s effort, attitude and achievements
  • Involvement in PATH
  • Invited to attend class showcases
  • All written plans are shared with parents e.g. Pupil Passports

Children and Young People

  • Attendance at midpoint and exit meetings
  • Simple questions/templates used to gain pupil voice for midpoint and exit meetings/reports
  • Fortnightly conferencing between pupil and teacher to review targets
  • Success book to help remind pupils of their successes and provide specific, positive feedback
  • Involvement in PATH
  • Involvement in adapting their pupil passports where appropriate
  • Involvement in restorative conversations
  • Pupils help make big decisions with regards to their school experience e.g. voting for new playground equipment, voting for and planning trips/enrichment activities and deciding on class rules etc

Serious Incidents

Serious Incidents may be referred to the schools Suspension and Exclusion Policy.

Whilst sanctions are avoided these may be used in serious cases to maintain the safe and effective running of the school.

Safe Handling/Using Reasonable Force

At LPA, all staff have a legal power to use reasonable force to physically guide or restrain children, when the danger is immediate or all de-escalation tactics have been skilfully employed yet ineffective. This may include passive physical contact, such as standing between pupils or blocking a pupil’s path, or active physical contact such as directing a pupil out of a classroom.

Restraint means to hold back physically or to bring a pupil under control. It should only be used in more extreme circumstances, for example when two pupils are fighting and refuse to separate without physical intervention or a child is about to run in front of a speeding vehicle. The decision on whether or not to physically intervene is down to the professional judgement of the staff member concerned and should always depend on the individual circumstances (dynamic risk assessment).

We would expect staff to use reasonable force in the following circumstances:

  • To prevent pupils from committing an offence
  • To prevent pupils from causing physical harm to themselves or others
  • To prevent significant damage to property
  • 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.

Any member of staff who has used reasonable force must inform the Head Teacher or Deputy Head Teacher as soon as possible and record the incident in the central log located in the Head’s office. A member of staff will then inform parents of the use of force and the full extent of the situation. A restorative conversation may need to happen between those pupils involved and/or the staff involved in the safe handling.

Physical Contact

It is not illegal to touch a pupil. There are occasions when physical contact, other than reasonable force, with a pupil is proper and necessary.

At LPA, we believe that touching a pupil might be proper or necessary in the following situations:

Holding the hand of the child when walking around school or on trips (normally younger or more vulnerable pupils)

  • Comforting a distressed pupil;
  • A pupil is being congratulated or praised;
  • Demonstrating how to use a musical instrument;
  • To unobtrusively remind pupils with insecure attachments of your presence in a way that is comforting and mitigates hypervigilance/attention-needing behaviour that disrupts learning (e.g. hand on shoulder whilst giving teacher input);
  • Whilst playing certain games e.g. tag;
  • Providing deep pressure touch for pupils who require this for co-regulation e.g. during sensory circuits or when pupils are in a heightened state (this will be part of their agreed plan);
  • Demonstrating exercises or techniques during PE lessons or sports
  • coaching; and
  • To give first aid.

Complaints Procedure

(i) All complaints about the use of force should be thoroughly, speedily and appropriately investigated.

(ii) Where a member of staff has acted within the law – that is, they have used reasonable force in order to prevent injury, damage to property or disorder – this will provide a defence to any criminal prosecution or other civil or public law action.

(iii) When a complaint is made the onus is on the person making the complaint to prove that his/her allegations are true – it is not for the member of staff to show that he/she has acted reasonably.

(iv) Suspension must not be an automatic response when a member of staff has been accused of using excessive force. Schools should refer to the “Dealing with Allegations of Abuse against Teachers and Other Staff” guidance where an allegation of using excessive force is made against a teacher. This guidance makes clear that a person must not be suspended automatically, or without careful thought.

DPS Policy for Behaviour and the Safe Handling of Children January 2015 11/11

(v) Schools must consider carefully whether the circumstances of the case warrant a person being suspended until the allegation is resolved or whether alternative arrangements are more appropriate.

(vi) If a decision is taken to suspend a teacher, the school should ensure that the teacher has access to a named contact who can provide support.

(vii) Governing bodies should always consider whether a teacher has acted within the law when reaching a decision on whether or not to take disciplinary action against the teacher.

(viii) As employers, schools and local authorities have a duty of care towards their employees. It is important that schools provide appropriate pastoral care to any member of staff who is subject to a formal allegation following a use of force incident.

Acts of Discrimination (e.g. racism, homophobia, ableism, sexism etc)

Although acts of discrimination from pupils will be interpreted as serious incidents, a similar restorative approach will be utilised as, at LPA, we believe that education is the best way to overcome these prejudices.

PSHCE sessions will include discussions around discrimination and celebrating differences proactively, as well as the opportunities to respond to incidences as the occur.

Where necessary, parents will also be involved in restorative conversations after incidents of discrimination.

All serious behaviour incidents are reported to SLT and the larger staff team during de-brief and recorded. This includes all acts of discrimination. The Head Teacher will complete the racial incident log and inform the local authority as well as keep a record of how the school has responded to the incident and record the actions that were taken along with the outcomes of the investigation.

For any incidents of a serious nature, or which could be considered a hate crime, pupils will need to be reported to the police.

Pupils Conduct Outside the School Gates

LPA staff will make use of the proactive and responsive strategies outlined in this document in response to non-criminal challenging behaviour and bullying which occurs off the school premises and which is witnessed by a staff member or reported to the school. This includes the following situations:

Misbehaviour when the pupil is:

  • taking part in any school-organised or school-related activity or
  • travelling to or from school or
  • wearing school uniform or
  • in some other way identifiable as a pupil at the school.

 Misbehaviour at any time, whether or not the conditions above apply, that:

  • could have repercussions for the orderly running of the school or
  • poses a threat to another pupil or member of the public or
  • could adversely affect the reputation of the school.

In some situations, for example, when pupils have been involved in contextual safeguarding incidents in the community such as knife crime or county lines, school will liaise with community police and local charities/advocates to improve our education in these areas. It may be appropriate to ask for support and resources to help staff deliver some specific anti-knife crime lessons for example or for LPA staff to invite advocates or police officers in to speak with classes, individuals or groups of children about these crimes, whether as informal discussions or workshops.

Discussions with parents will be a priority when illegal activities or associations with known criminals are believed to have occurred outside of school. Literature will be given to parents and information passed to social care as appropriate and to ensure parents are supported to help their children avoid criminal activity in the community.

Monitoring and Evaluation

Monitoring and evaluating is an ongoing process and a range of strategies are used to monitor the effectiveness of policy and practice.

  • Staff meetings to discuss procedures, share concerns and to update staff on relevant initiatives.
  • School Self Evaluation processes allow scrutiny of procedures through learning walks, lesson observation and pupil voice. Any amendments will be made or actions taken where necessary.
  • External audits of behaviour policy and practices may be requested.

Outcomes from whole staff discussions, year team discussions and the on-going observations are reported annually to the governing body. These outcomes are used to determine the priorities for development.

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Lansdown Park Academy
Stockwood Lane
Stockwood
Bristol
BS14 8SJ
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Lansdown Park Academy is proud to be part of the Cabot Learning Federation. 
Registered Company: Cabot Learning Federation
Company No: 06207590