Dear families
Across all the 3-18 Education Trust schools, a new Relational Behaviour policy is being adopted, and before it is finalised, we are seeking views of all stakeholders. We have sought views from staff and the School Council so far, and now we would like to gather thoughts of parents and carers.
Attached is a link to an easy-to-read one-page summary of the policy, including a link to both the full policy document and an appendix specific to Coleham with details on how the policy is utilised here at Coleham School. There will be elements in the full policy that only apply to secondary contexts.
For many schools, this is a drastic change from a more rules-based, punitive & consequence-led policy, to one that understands behaviour as communication, context of children and using the 4 Rs: REGULATE, RELATE, REASON & REPAIR. It also refers to ‘natural consequences’ rather than formal detentions, negative behaviour marks etc.
For us at Coleham, we have moved away from that behaviourist approach of behaviour x = punishment y some years ago and we are fully into a relational approach where we employ the 4Rs I our general practice. As a result, staff are expert in understanding behaviour and well-versed in acting appropriately. Behaviour is generally strong across the school and we are able to tackle any extreme difficulty in a much more measured and successful way.
With this in mind, we would like to invite you to read through the documents and give feedback via the MS Forms link below. We are not asking for feedback or comments on specific behaviour incidents, but rather the policy, it’s aims and appropriateness. If you have concerns around specific incidents, then please contact your child’s teacher to find a resolution.
The survey form will be open until 6:00 pm Saturday 28th February. We will listen to all comments and consider useful suggestions in the finalisation of the policy.
Kindest regards
Coleham School