Student Behaviour Management Policies

This policy reflects Henley High School’s values of:

Respect, responsibility, equity, accountability, creativity and honesty.

Our school must be a safe, caring and orderly learning environment in which the rights of all students to learn and all teachers to teach must be supported.

We believe that:

The greater the consistency of approach to discipline between teachers the better they are able to support each other, students and their parents/carers.

Our approach to behaviour management is consistent across the school and is aligned with DECD policy.

Teachers have the right to teach and students have the right to learn. Our teachers plan and implement a classroom management plan, which outlines consequences for inappropriate behaviour as well as reinforcing appropriate behaviour.
Students should accept responsibility for their own behaviour. Behaviour occurs as a result of choices, conscious or unconscious, which are based on the student’s perception of the best way to satisfy a particular need. In our classrooms we display behaviour expectations and students will be helped to meet these through consistent approaches.
Good behaviour management is based on rules that are maintained consistently. The classroom management plan is for all students and operates fairly and predictably for them.
All behaviour has consequences, which affect future opportunities. Good behaviour management provides students with a choice by making clear the consequences that result from particular behaviours. Students need opportunities to alter inappropriate behaviour. Classroom management plans are discussed with students at the commencement of each semester/term/year. A “step” warning system is used, when appropriate, so that students can exercise a choice about continuing inappropriate behaviour before a consequence occurs.
Inappropriate behaviour requires a response which protects the rights of students who want to learn, supports the rights of teachers to teach, and offers the students involved a chance to learn how to make a more appropriate choice in the future. We consistently; refer to classroom rules and HHS’s school values, provide students with the opportunity to behave appropriately, use consequences that are previously understood by students, apply consequences firmly but without use of physical or verbal aggression, use admin staff to remove an unwilling student from a class.
The relationship between the student and the teacher is at the heart of learning and that disciplining and confronting disruptive behaviour is initially the teacher’s responsibility. Other staff will not become involved unless requested or the administration staff deems it necessary.
Students should not be allowed to engage in behaviour that is not in the best interest of themselves or the best interests of others. We operate a supervised “Focus Room” for students who move beyond the full range of classroom management steps.
Appropriate behaviour applies equally to out of lesson times such as recess, lunch, on buses travelling to and from school and on excursions and camps. Recess/Lunch and after school detention systems are in place to provide consequences in such circumstances.
Teachers have the right to behaviour management support from members of the administration team. The admin team will provide support in developing classroom management plans, focus room organisation, record keeping, parent contact and interview, suspension, exclusion and external referrals and follow up counselling of students.

Our school is committed to and takes responsibility for social justice and the implication for our school. In particular every student has the right to access education free from impediment caused by inappropriate behaviour by others.

Every student has the opportunity to develop appropriate behaviour which allows them to work harmoniously in the various situations in which they find themselves in the school environment.

PROCEDURES

Work Completion at Henley High School

The completion of student work at Henley High School forms the basis of student’s achievement and is vital in the development of their learning.

Completion of assignments is the student’s responsibility and needs to be done by the due date. If work cannot be completed extensions can only be given where the reason for the extension is clear, can be validated and there is evidence the student has made some progress with the work. The extension must be negotiated before the deadline expires.

Reasons for granting the extension can include:

The student is sick or injured
Unexpected misadventure of a personal or family nature
Physical or mental disabilities
Unreasonable work demands resulting from an imbalance in the number of assignments or tests at a given time
Work to be completed is in line with intervention plan
Other reasonable factors that impact on a student’s wellbeing and these reasons are verified by a parent note.

If work is not completed the student will do lunchtime detentions until work is finished. Failure to attend these sessions at school will result in Saturday morning detention. If this is not adhered student behaviour management code will be applied.

Process

Parents and students will receive an email informing them that work is not completed and of their child’s attendance at the work completion centre is required
Students who do not attend the Work Completion Centre will be required to attend school on Saturday morning from 9:00 – 11:00 AM to complete required work. An email will be sent to both parents and students informing them of this requirement.
Failure to attend on Saturday will result in the student behaviour management code being applied which will lead to consequences as given by the Year Level Manager. This could include internal or external suspension or other consequences as seen fit.

Classroom Behaviour

Teachers will display the common classroom expectations in their classrooms. They will also discuss their classroom behaviour management plan at the commencement of the semester/term/year and as required.

When a student behaves inappropriately:

Step 1:
A verbal warning explaining the inappropriate behaviour and reiterating the classroom expectations will be given.

Step 2:
A classroom consequence will be given and this most likely will be to move the seating and/or yard duty at recess or lunch. A yard duty slip is used for this process. At this point, if inappropriate behaviour persists and it is clear that the student has no intention to change.

Step 3:
Option 1: An after school detention is given for continual refusal to follow a reasonable request OR

Option 2: The student will be sent to the Front Office for the remainder of the lesson or for time out as determined by the class teacher.

The subject teacher must notify the Front Office of the subject and reason for the student being sent out on the yellow Focus Room Referral slip or by phone. The teacher is required to provide adequate and appropriate work and resources for the remainder of the lesson.

The Front Office staff will email or send a letter (if the parent does not have an email address) to the parent, informing them of the referral.

The subject teacher must check that the student has reported to the Front Office following the lesson. The teacher is also expected to follow up with the student as the student will be expected to return to their next class with the subject teacher.

If the student has not reported to the Front Office, the student must be reported to the Sub-School Manager (Years 8-11) or the Year Level Manager for Year 12’s.

Step 4:
When a student behaves in a manner that seriously threatens the safety and welfare of students or teachers, he/she may be sent immediately to the Front Office where he/she will remain until the sub school manager, year level manager, assistant principal or administration can be contacted. The appropriate course of action can then be advised to the subject teacher for the next course of action.

Explanation of Option 2 and Step 4.
The purpose of the Front Office referral is to provide a supervised area for students to reflect on their behaviour and to complete work that is being done in class.

Year level and sub school managers will regularly check student behaviour reports in Scholaris and the Front Office referral data base in order to monitor behaviour concerns and to report to parents when appropriate.

Following a Front Office referral, the subject teacher will work through consequences for uncooperative classroom behaviour with the students and the support of the year level or sub school managers. This must involve communication with parent/caregivers.

Internal / External Suspension

After the third referral to the front office in a term, or evidence of any form of bullying or harassment, students may be internally suspended.
On the second internal suspension students may be externally suspended by the year level or sub school manager or middle school assistant principal, following DECD policy.
External suspension may be invoked immediately and without prior history for severe offences.

Exclusion

Exclusion will generally be recommended to the Principal where a student has accumulated four external suspensions or a total of 15 days of external suspension. A member of the admin. team, in conjunction with the district behaviour support manager, will manage the exclusion in line with DECD policy.
Exclusion may be invoked immediately and without prior history for violent or illegal actions.

Recess/Lunch Yard Duty

Individual teachers manage recess/lunch yard duty during which students may be asked to collect rubbish. The teacher will give a yard duty slip to the student. Often the detention will occur when the teacher is on yard duty. Lunch/recess detention is used as a consequence for such things as; low level inappropriate behaviour, littering, lateness, incomplete diaries, minor damage to school property, no equipment or being in an out of bounds area. Students have 2 days to complete this yard duty or an after school detention will result.

After School Detention

After school detention is used as a consequence for such things as; persistent not completion of homework, class work or assignments, being persistently late to school, not following school procedures such as signing in or out, truancy, being out of school grounds, non-completion of detention, non compliance with with complying with teacher classroom instructions and non-compliance with the laptop contract without reasonable explanation.
Teachers are required to provide a ‘Requirement to Attend Detention Form’. Parents, student and issuing teacher sign this form giving at least 24 hour’s notice and then log the detention in the Scholaris Detention database. This signed form is presented to the supervising teacher in after school detention.
This detention is held from 3.15 to 4:00pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Students can negotiate a change in detention day by consulting with either the teacher who assigned it or the relevant admin staff member.
Where a detention is not attended a further two detentions will be issued by the teacher who assigned it. The supervising Detention Room teacher is required to inform the issuing teacher of any non-attendance of student as all follow up is to be made by the issuing teacher. If either of these detentions is not attended the teacher reports to the Year Level/Sub School Managers and an internal suspension may result.

Lesson check

Where it is deemed appropriate, Year Level/Sub School Managers will place students on a lesson check report to monitor their behaviour and work effort on a daily basis. Year Level/ Sub School Manager will contact parents/carers.