Behaviour Management

Students at Gorge Road School will know expectations for behaviour as they relate to the school's values of Respect, Responsibility, Resourcefulness and Resiliency (4Rs), and be aware of the rewards/consequences of appropriate and inappropriate behaviour.

·       Teachers maintain positive learning environments and relationships with students.

·       We make a clear statement of acceptable and unacceptable behaviour known to all staff, parents, and students. 

·       All members of the school, including the students, have a responsibility to recognise bullying or harrassment and to take action.

·       We consistently apply a discipline plan in all cases of unacceptable behaviour.

·       The school actions the procedures outlined by the Ministry of Education for the stand-down, suspension, or exclusion of students, in cases of extreme and persistent behaviour.

·       Individual programmes and strategies for students with particular behaviour difficulties are devised with parents and staff, and outside agencies if necessary, and these students may be dealt with outside the school's behaviour plan. 

Parents' concerns about student behaviour

If a parent has a concern about an incident at school, the parent should contact the school and the school will deal with the concern. 

The school believes that parents should not approach other children or parents about school behaviour incidents.

Stand-down, Suspension, and Exclusion Procedures

From time to time it is necessary to stand down or suspend a student from school for his/her own safety and/or to enable other students to pursue their education without severe and/or repeated interruption from another student. A student so stood down or suspended continues to have a right to an education and is required to attend until the age of 16.

These definitions are taken from the Ministry of Education website:

Stand-down 

The formal removal of a student from school for a specified period. Stand-downs of a particular student can total no more than five school days in a term or ten school days in a year.

Suspension 

The formal removal of a student from school until the board of trustees decides the outcome at a suspension meeting. Following a suspension, the board may decide to:

• lift the suspension without conditions

• lift the suspension with reasonable conditions

• extend the suspension with reasonable conditions for a reasonable period

• exclude the student.

Exclusion

 The formal removal of a student aged under 16 from the school.

The principal is usually the person with the delegated authority to stand-down or suspend a student, and there is a clear procedure which must be followed. The principles of natural justice must be applied to any process leading to stand down or suspend a student. There must be sufficient grounds to warrant any stand-down or suspension, and the rights of the student and any parent/caregiver must be recognised throughout the process. 

We will follow the Ministry of Education's Stand-downs, suspensions, exclusions and expulsions guidelines in any case of stand-down, suspension, or exclusion.