Discipline Plan
What is Discipline? Class Plan Out of Class Plan
Incentive - Rewards 0 General
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In parent and student surveys carried out, the majority of parents and students have indicated strong support for the School Discipline Plan and the need for its continuation.

Our school wide Discipline Plan has been in operation for several years and we have found it to be very successful in that:

  1. It reduces the number of students breaking school rules.
  2. The children appreciate knowing the rules and the consequences if they break them.
  3. The plan results in a more consistent monitoring of rules by the staff.
  4. The Discipline Plan incorporates positive aspect to it and students are rewarded for desirable behaviour.

Our aim is to have:

  1. A School Discipline Plan that all children and parents understand - this involves both the rules, consequences (punishments) and rewards.
  2. A uniform set of basic rules and consequences throughout the school for all students. Individual classes may also have some additional rules which the children will be made aware of.
  3. A reward system in operation for children who respect and abide by the rules.
WHAT IS DISCIPLINE?

We don’t see discipline as punishment but a process to help students learn self control and have self-discipline over their behaviour.

The underlying message that this plan focuses on is CHOICE. If the children choose to carry out in appropriate behaviour then they choose the consequence of their behaviour.

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It is important that the Discipline Plan does not only punish misbehaviour but recognises children who abide by the rules.

The rules and consequences decided upon will be displayed in the classroom.

The following is an outline of the School’s Discipline Plan.

CLASS PLAN
All classes will have the following rules in place.
Pupils:

  1. Follow instructions the first time.
  2. Be on time and ready to work.
  3. Leave others and their belonging alone.
Other rules can be included at the classroom teacher's discretion. There is a maximum of 6 rules.

The consequences for not abiding by the rules are:
       First Offence: the pupil's name on the board which is a warning.
       Second Offence: a cross next to the pupil's name - 15 minutes working for the teacher in his/her classroom or in Finishing School (after school detention supervised by a teacher)
       Third Offence: another cross next to the pupil's name - 30 minutes in Finishing School. The second and third offences are not accumulative eg for the third offence it is 30 minutes in Finishing School.
       Fourth Offence: a third cross next to the pupil's name - the child is sent to another class with work to carry on with for a period eg interval - lunchtime, plus 30 minutes Finishing School.
       Fifth Offence: a fourth cross. The child is taken to the Principal/DP by the teacher.
       Sixth Offence: another cross. Parents are contacted and the Principal is advised of this.

Children who attend Finishing School are able to:

  1. Ring their parents before going to Finishing School
  2. Take home a note indicating they have been at Finishing School and the length of time.  These must be signed by parents and returned to school the following day.  This is so we know parents are aware their child has attended Finishing School and the reason for it.

For bus pupils (students legally entitled to travel to and from school by bus), the second and third offence must be carried out (15/30 minutes of work) at the desks next to the staff room at interval and/or lunchtimes.

There is a severity clause. If the offence is of a serious nature, the first 4 / 5 punishments are by-passed and the student goes straight to the Deputy Principal/Principal or the parents are contacted.

Consequence marks are wiped at the end of each day.

Parents of children who attend 'Finishing School' 5 times in the first half term or 7 times in a term will be advised by the Deputy Principal in a letter in an effort to remedy the problem. We believe that if parents and the school work together, the change for success is greatly enhanced. We have also found that the majority of parents appreciate being told early if their children are in trouble at school.

Incentives (positive consequences) are an important part of the plan and are decided upon within syndicates, by class teachers. They are for children who do not get their names on the board or punishments (second to sixth offence) over a set period of time. There is also a weekly Canteen draw. In addition to this, 2 certificates are awarded to students in each class on a weekly basis. Their names are read out in formal assembly on Friday and they are then acknowledged in the weekly newsletter.

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OUT OF CLASS (Playground) PLAN
The following rules apply to all children.
  1. Stay within the boundaries of the school unless given permission to leave.
  2. Don't run on the concrete or play in toilet areas
  3. Stay out of classrooms at interval and lunchtime unless under supervision.
  4. Get into suitable clothing when playing contact sport.
  5. Use common sense when playing games so as not to cause injury to others.
  6. Act at all times in a sportsmanlike considerate manner.
  7. Chewing gum, spitting and obscene language are prohibited.
The consequences for not abiding by the rules are:
  • 15 minutes ‘time out’ in an area next to the classroom.
If a student continually breaks the rules or the misbehaviour is extremely serious he/she will have this time increased or put in isolation for a period of time (isolation is by the Dental Clinic)
As with the Class Discipline, parents will be advised of continual or serious playground misbehaviour.

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INCENTIVE - Rewards
Twice a term, children who haven’t been in the Time Out area or attended Finishing School have a half hour extended interval.
During the day children who show behaviour we believe should be fostered, are issued with ‘Silver Tokens’.  At the end of each term, class, Deputy Principal's and Principal Awards are presented.
GENERAL
An additional Severity Clause will operate where students, because of serious misdemeanours or continual misbehaviour will miss out on socials, class and school trips and other privileges deemed necessary by staff. Although the Discipline Plan appears complicated the children very quickly become familiar with it. Only a small percentage of children do end up being punished and the reward part of the programme is very successful.

It is important that all parents/caregivers read the Discipline Plan because the rules and consequences apply to all children and are School Policy. If there are aspects of the programme you disagree with or want clarification on, please contact the Deputy Principal or me.

Phil Straw
Principal

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