Our Policies
Behaviour Management
Our company’s mission is to engage, motivate and empower young people. We believe the use of positive behaviour strategies is the most fitting way to achieve this.
Both our students and our staff thrive on the positive relationships we establish with each other. It is our professional belief that it is through that strength of the quality relationships that the positive role modelling of behaviour is best fostered.
Philosophy:
Behaviours of our students can be positive and negative. It is our belief that the positive behaviour enhances our students’ learning and the negative inhibits their ability to progress. At Alt Prov, our aim is to reward positive behaviours and discourage the negative behaviours by helping students develop better strategies for coping with stress, leading to more appropriate and acceptable responses to social interactions and change. Some negative behaviour can be challenging and can become dangerous if it escalates to self-harm, harm of others (students, parents, staff, visitors, members of the public) or damage to property.
Influencing Factors:
Students thrive when there are clear expectations of their behaviour and when the factors influencing their behaviour are at the forefront of the staff thinking. This is why we ensure our staff to encourage these specific behaviours:
1. Kindness to others
2. Positive attitude
3. No bullying (including cyber bullying)
4. Helping to create a safe environment for everyone in and around it.
Rewards:
All rewards and consequences need to be relevant to the student to be effective. The effectiveness of this must be monitored over time. The emphasis should be placed on generating patterns of positive behaviour with a focus on reward, in order to prevent the need for consequential sanctions.
Consequences:
The school advocates a restorative approach rather than an authoritarian approach to applying consequences and dealing with conflict. This encourages students to take more ownership of and responsibility for their behaviour. Wherever possible, students should be given the opportunity to focus on ‘putting things right’ rather than being given a sanction. Any consequence needs to be effective and focused on supporting the student to improve their choices of behaviour in future situations. If a restorative approach is not possible, it might be appropriate for a student to miss part or all of their free choice time or break times. Further escalations in behaviour may result in being sat loss of privileges and having parents informed of behaviour at the end of the day. It is important that this is seen as a positive process of supporting the student and not a punishment. This is an opportunity for the student to calm down and then return to the activity and earn their time back for reward. During such period of isolation from the group, it is essential that communication is built/rebuilt between staff members and the student in question.
Bullying:
Bullying and victimising of others is not accepted at Alt Prov. When a student shows bullying behaviours towards others, this will be challenged, and this behaviour will be addressed where we will include any supportive measures the bully requires. Parents of both the bully and the victim will be informed of incidents and actions taken. If bullying becomes persistent, we will follow guidance in the Safeguarding Policy about Peer on Peer abuse.
Searches:
Alt Prov follows advice on conducting searches as per the Department of Education 2018 Guidance ‘Searching, Screening and Confiscation’.
School staff can search a student for any item should the student consent. If consent is not given, then a company director and staff authorised by them have a statutory power to search students or their possessions where they have reasonable grounds for suspecting that the student may have a prohibited item. Prohibited items include knives or weapons, alcohol, illegal drugs, stolen items, tobacco/e-cigarettes, fireworks, pornographic images, and any article that the member of staff suspects has been used to commit an offence, or is likely to be used to commit an offence, damage to property or injury to a person. Alt Prov staff can seize any prohibited item found as a result of the search. Depending on the item and the context of the situation, the school may have to report the item to the Police.
Mobile Phone:
Students are allowed to bring mobile phones into school as many of our students will use them during their travel to and from school. However, once school starts all phones must be handed in to class staff and will be locked away in a secure location until the end of the school day.
Equality Impact Assessment:
Under the Equality Act 2010 we have a duty not to discriminate against people based on their age, disability, gender, gender identity, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief and sexual orientation. This policy has been equality impact assessed and we believe that it is in line with the Equality Act 2010. As it is fair, it does not prioritise or disadvantage any student and it helps to promote equality at this school