STL2C7 – Support positive behaviour in a learning environment for children

and young people

1.1– Identify policies and procedures for behaviour in a learning environment:

1.2) Describe how policies and procedures are applied to support children and
young people’s behavioural development:

The policies and procedures that apply to behaviour in a learning environment

are the following:
Behaviour policy: it refers to what behaviour is expected from pupils and how
to deal with inappropriate behaviour. Barlby Bridge Community Primary
School explains that good behaviour is extremely important to enable teachers
to teach and learners to learn. The school expects pupils to listen carefully to
each other; follow instructions; speak politely to everyone; be kind and
respectful and always try their hardest and do their best. It also states that in
return pupils will have from the school a safe environment free from
disruption, bullying, discrimination, aggression or harassment. The
headteacher ensures that the staff working with pupils who display challenging
behaviour receives adequate support and training.
The policy also outlines what unacceptable behaviour is ( when it prevents
school staff from carrying out their duties; it prevents other pupils from
learning; when there is verbal and/or physical abuse; when there is bullying;
when there is a deliberate misuse of ICT resources; when a pupil leaves the
school without permission and when it compromises everyone’s safety) and
that individual behaviour plans and risk assessments will be put into practice,
together with the support from families. If needed, the pupil can be referred to
the prevention services and external agencies, like social care, and even be
excluded from school.
On the other hand, good behaviour is recognised through many rewards. There
is reward time (also called golden time, where children can do an activity they
enjoy doing, like reading a book, drawing); praise certificates; golden tickets
when children succeeded in following the school rules; kindness tickets when
children’s good behaviour and acts of kindness are recognised and also the
good work assembly recognition, where parents are invited to attend and
children are praised for their good work or good behaviour in front of the
whole school. Staff is also trained in giving descriptive praise. This is when you
tell the child exactly what it is that they did and you liked, e.g., “well done for
following our rule on listening to me”.
My setting uses a zone board system where each classroom has a board
divided into colours (green, red, yellow and gold) displayed in the front of the
room. Each child has a star with their name on it. At the beginning of the day,
all pupils have their stars in the green section. When good behaviour is
achieved, the pupil moves to the golden section. If there is bad behaviour, then
the star is moved into the yellow section. In this case, if the child persists with
disruptive behaviour, the teacher gives warnings and reminds the child of the
school rules. If the child is moved into the red section, then the presence of a
senior member of staff might be required to talk to the child. Before this last
step happens, I usually see the teachers giving children some time out, asking
children to change their seating position (if they are unsettled sitting down, the
teacher might ask them to stand up or sit on a chair next to them), keeping
children off breaks and giving them plenty of warnings. It might be required to
speak to the parents, especially if the disruptive behaviour is regularly.

Anti- bullying policy: it offers guidelines on how to deal with bullying. Barlby
Bridge Community Primary School states that there are seven types of bullying:
emotional; physical; racial; sexual; homophobic; direct or indirect verbal and
cyber. The actions that are taken to prevent bullying mainly rely on prevention
work. Staff and parents should be aware of any signs of bullying. If a child is
being bullied, they might be unwilling to go to school and they can change
their behaviour and become withdrawn or more aggressive, as some examples.
The curriculum will be used to reinforce the ethos of the school. Subjects like
PSHE discuss bullying and work on how to promote equality and opportunity.
The setting also holds an annual anti-bullying week and an E-safety week
where cyber bullying is discussed. On its website, there is a section called
Staying Safe Online, where both pupils and parents can read some
recommendations. Class and general assemblies also allow discussing the topic
and there is at least one assembly each week in my setting.
The school encourages pupils to report any case to an adult and a record of
this is written by the teacher in the bullying log and a copy is given to the
headteacher who will then follow the policy in responding to the incident.
Depending on the nature of the bullying, it could be recorded in the Incidents
Book (e.g., if it relates to any of the protected characteristics of the Equality
Act, like age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership,
pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation).
The reason for keeping a record of incidents is to monitor to ensure it will not
happen again.
Whenever possible, a restorative approach is followed, where the pupils
involved have the opportunity to explain what happened, discuss their
thoughts and emotions and how it affected others. This is a chance for
apologies and to repair any harm caused.

Code of Conduct: it refers to the school’s expectations of behaviour from

pupils. The Code of Conduct, or the school rules, state what behaviour is
expected and what behaviour is not expected. E.g.: Children should always
show friendship, kindness and care to others. In my setting, the code of
conduct is in the behaviour policy. It is expected from pupils that they listen
carefully to each other; follow instructions; speak politely to everyone; be kind
and respectful; always try their hardest and do their best.

Attendance policy: it refers to the standards expected from the school on

attendance and how the school acknowledges good attendance and what steps
the school takes on the occasion of poor attendance.
Good attendance is celebrated weekly during assemblies and rewarded with a
certificate (Gold, Silver and Bronze) at the end of each term. There is a draw to
receive a prize. General classroom attendance is also praised. Barlby Bridge
Community Primary School heavily emphasizes the importance of good
attendance and this is reminded at regular newsletters sent to all the families.
In the event of a child persistently arriving late, the school first sends a letter to
the family reminding of the importance of being punctual and attend school
every day. If this does not change the situation, the school organises a meeting
with the parents and think of strategies to follow to improve attendance. Fines
could be issued if the absence is considered unauthorized. If needed, the
headteacher will refer the pupil to the Prevention Team or the local authority.
Inappropriate behaviour/ dealing with conflict and behaviour that challenges:
it refers to the sanctions when inappropriate behaviour happens. It is outlined
in the Behaviour policy in my setting, as described above.

Rules and boundaries policies: it is also part of the Behaviour policy in my

setting as it was described above.

Rewards and sanctions: it refers to how the school praises and acknowledges
good behaviour and how the school deals with inappropriate behaviour and
when the rules are not followed. It is outlined in the Behaviour policy in my
setting, as described above.

1.3) Identify negative and positive influences on behaviour:

- Parental influences: usually parents and guardians have the closest contact
with the child and this is likely to have the deepest impact on children’s
behaviour. Parents are role models and they have their expectations on
behaviour. House rules and parenting styles are also responsible for many
aspects of children’s behaviour.
- Siblings influences: siblings also have a deep impact on behaviour because of
the fact they usually live together and are in close contact. Siblings have
different personalities and the way parents raise their children influences both
positively and negatively. Emotions, like jealousy, can make children behave in
a certain way.
- Friends influences: friends have their own set of expectations. Especially in
teenagers, the need to correspond to these expectations relate to being
accepted by friends. Children can do something wrong because they are
copying their friend’s actions or because they know their friends will like what
they are doing.
- Boyfriend and girlfriend influences: the expectations can lead to acting
inappropriately for their age but it is positive when interests are shared and
they feel valued and loved.
- Cultural, social (including local community), economical influences: culture
refers to the set of beliefs and values that a wide community accepts. It
dictates what attitudes are expected from people. Depending on your culture,
your local community and even the economical situation of your family,
children display a certain behaviour which is the behaviour of your community,
of the way children are being raised.
- Media and Internet influences: we live in an era where information is quickly
passed on and shared. This is good because information and guidance are
usually accessible for all, but it can also lead to some confusion because of the
amount of information, which can sometimes be contradictory. Social media
has a deep impact on children and young people because it is expected from
friends that you are in social media and that you behave in a certain way to be
accepted by your friends. Parents must supervise their children on social media
because there can be cyber bullying and other dangers like radicalisation and
also to ensure that social media is not causing mental health issues, like
problems with self-esteem.
- Religious and belief influences: religion provides a set of values and guidance
on how to behave. What we believe determines our actions. Christians, for
example, believe in the concept of heaven-hell. Following the code of conduct
and acting morally and ethically can bring happiness and comfort because of
the idea of doing what is right and of eventually going to heaven one day, but
it can also create fear that can stop you from doing certain things because you
think you will go to hell if you do them. It depends very much on how you
interpret the concepts of your religion and on the person who is transmitting
the concepts of the Church to support the community.
- Stage of development influences: each stage of development comes with
their behavioural patterns due to the emotional, social and physical changes.
For example, adolescents are eager to pursue their independence and express
their opinions. Children who experience a delay in their development can show
some issues in their behaviour.
- School or college influences: children spend many hours of their day at school
and they need to follow the rules and behaviour expectations from their
schools. As seen above, assemblies and curriculum subjects like PSHE, discuss
these expectations impacting on how pupils think and behave.
1.4) Describe ways to support children and young people to overcome negative
influences on behaviour:
There are several ways in which we can help children overcome negative
influences. An important one is to build a positive relationship with children
and young adults. When we know the pupils, they feel more comfortable with
us. It is easier for us to look out for a change in behaviour and to support them.
If you have a positive relationship with pupils, you become more approachable
for them. They know that you listen to them and you are interested in their
lives. A positive relationship is fundamental to promote good behaviour.
Allow children and young people an opportunity to discuss issues is also very
important. In the curriculum, PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic
Education) lessons, as well as carpet time and assemblies, are good
opportunities offered to discuss different issues that can impact behaviour.
Offer counselling. Depending on the school, there can be a place you can go
and speak to an adult who will give you counselling. In my setting, children did
an activity where they had to write the name of two adults who they trust so
that they can approach these adults if they need help. One adult had to be a
member of the school staff and the other had to be a family member.
Be a role model. Children spend many hours a day at school. You must follow
the school rules as well, so be punctual and speak politely, as examples, are
great ways to demonstrate the behaviour you want them to follow.
To conclude, being open, giving them opportunities to talk, offering them
guidance, without judging or criticizing, help them go through any issues they
could be having.
Reference:
Barlby Bridge Community School website – policies. Available at:
https://barlbybridge.n-yorks.sch.uk/policies-2/ (Accessed: 12/02/2020)

Burnham, L (2018) Cache Level 2 Certificate in Supporting Teaching and

Learning. London: Hodder Education

West Hill Primary School website – Code of Conduct and School Rules. Available
at: https://www.west-hill-primary.devon.sch.uk/parentspupils/code-of-
conduct-school-rules/ (Accessed: 12/02/2020)

Bibliography:
Barlby Bridge Community School website – policies. Available at:
https://barlbybridge.n-yorks.sch.uk/policies-2/ (Accessed: 12/02/2020)

Burnham, L (2018) Cache Level 2 Certificate in Supporting Teaching and

Learning. London: Hodder Education

Monk Prayogshala blog (May 16/2016) – How Religion Influences Behaviour.

Available at: https://www.monkprayogshala.in/blog/2016/5/15/how-religion-
influences-behaviour-1 (Accessed: 01/03/2020)

West Hill Primary School website – Code of Conduct and School Rules. Available
at: https://www.west-hill-primary.devon.sch.uk/parentspupils/code-of-
conduct-school-rules/ (Accessed: 12/02/2020)