Strike System

BEHAVIOUR POLICY

Over the past few months we have heard a great deal in the national media about the impact that low level misconduct can have upon lessons.  Whilst relatively minor in isolation, the cumulative effect of such acts of misconduct can be significant.  Whilst we are fortunate to have generally very good behaviour within Lawrence Sheriff, we are not exempt from developments that are taking place within society as a whole. For this reason we feel that the whole school needs to work towards a common set of behavioural expectations, as set out below:

We expect students to behave at all times with courtesy and consideration to others for example:

A.       Show respect to others - no name calling, swearing or bullying.

B.       Enter and leave the classroom appropriately, under the supervision of a teacher.

C.      Come to lessons equipped and prepared to work.

D.      Arrive on time to registration and lessons.

E.       Follow instructions from staff quickly and politely.

F.       Be in correct uniform and smart throughout the day.

G.      Treat the environment with respect, disposing of litter appropriately.

H.      Food and drink to be consumed in designated areas.

I.         No tampering with, or damage to, school or other pupils’ property.

Phones, electrical equipment, cameras etc are NOT to be used on the school site.

Appropriate sanctions will be applied for failure to observe these expectations.

Failure to meet the expectations set out above will result in a series of consequences, common across all lessons within the school. After a warning, a pupil will first be issued with one and then two "strikes". A third "strike" will lead to the student being immediately removed from the lesson (on the basis that it represents several acts of wilful disobedience in the course of one lesson - significantly more than the school is willing to accept). This system is summarised below:

FAILURE TO FOLLOW OUR EXPECTATIONS - low level disruption

• FIRST FAILURE:                   receives a “strike”

• SECOND FAILURE:              receives a second “strike”

• THIRD FAILURE:                  receives a third “strike” – internal suspension for rest of session/lesson with HOD / Head of Year (Student to then report to Pastoral Office to be issued with report card)

However, we will not only be checking upon the number of "strikes" received within a single lesson. If a student has collected "strikes" in a number of different lessons, the total will be checked at the end of the week and the following steps taken:

Arguing with a member of staff or another serious offence will always lead to an instant removal from lessons – sent to Head of Department/Key Stage to assess level of tariff

Five or More "Strikes" in a Week:

Lunchtime detention with Pastoral Co-Ordinator. Possible parental interview with tutor.

Ten or More "Strikes" in a Week:

Internal suspension for one day.  No representation of the school if and as appropriate.  Parental interview with Pastoral Manager and/or Head/Deputy Head of Key Stage.

Fifteen or More "Strikes" in a Week:

Fixed term exclusion for one day. Parental interview with Head, Deputy Head or Assistant Head. No representation of school as appropriate.

A large number of strikes accumulated over a month/half-term period

The number of strikes that students incur will be monitored and further appropriate sanctions will be applied where necessary.

The thinking behind this is simple: it is not acceptable that students should engage in low-level disruption in a series of lessons. Hence if they collect a number of strikes during the week, then this also must have a consequence. 

ACADEMIC – We expect students to:

A.     Remain on task throughout the lesson.

B.     Meet homework and coursework deadlines.

C.    Come to lessons prepared to work.  Audio equipment/games should not be brought into school since it provides an inappropriate distraction.

ACADEMIC SANCTIONS

 Stage 1     Failure to hand in work - teacher to deal using lunchtime detention

 Stage 2     Repeat of or failure to comply with Level 1 – refer to Head of Department for a detention plus a note to parents and form tutor.

 Stage 3     Repeat of or failure to comply with Level 2 – after school detention supervised by heads and assistant heads of key stages on a rota basis.

 Stage 4     Repeat of or failure to comply with Level 3 – after school detention with Deputy headteacher, Assistant headteacher (Pastoral) and Assistant headteacher (Sixth Form).

 Stage 5     Repeat of or failure to comply with Level 4 – Parental interview with headteacher.  Warning given that further incidents will lead to a fixed-term exclusion.  Detention with headteacher on either a Saturday or training day.

As part of the behavioural review, we have also established a series of agreed tariffs for serious disciplinary offences. Whilst we obviously hope never to have to use these sanctions, it is perhaps  helpful if everyone in the school community is aware of what will happen if specific offences occur:

EXCLUSIONS

Assaulting Another Student:

Up to 5 Days Fixed Term Exclusion

Arguing With A Member Of Staff:

Up to 2 Days Fixed Term Exclusion 

Insolence To A Member Of Staff:

Up to 4 Days Fixed Term Exclusion

Bringing School Into Disrepute:

Up to 3 Days Fixed Term Exclusion

Smoking (Years 7-11):

Up to 2 days Internal Suspension

Caught Off Site:

After School Detention, plus Parental Letter

        Damage to Property will result in the student having to compensate for the damage to be repaired plus an appropriate punishment.

        These are guidelines only and members of the Senior Leadership Team reserve the right to use their professional discretion in deciding what is an appropriate response to a disciplinary issue.