Behaviour

In June 2023, our Ofsted report stated:

“Everyone at this school is part of ‘Team Tunbury’. Leaders have created a collaborative community. There is a real spirit of togetherness and inclusion.”

“Pupils are happy. They talk with enthusiasm about their learning. Pupils feel safe here, and parents agree. Behaviour is calm and orderly in all classes.”

“Behaviour around the school, in the dining hall and in playgrounds is good. Pupils are courteous and polite to each other and to adults.”

In July 2023, we reviewed our Behaviour Policy to make it simpler and clearer for parents/carers, staff and children.

In July 2024, all of our surveys (Parent Survey, Staff Survey and Pupil Survey) said that children’s behaviour had improved this academic year.

Please read the Behaviour Policy to find out more. As well as this, children from our School Council have made this video to explain the Team Tunbury approach to behaviour:

At Tunbury Primary School, we believe:

Everyone is expected to maintain the highest standards of personal conduct, to accept responsibility for their behaviour and encourage others to do the same.
Behaviour is most effectively addressed through a consistent and calm approach, built from strong relationships.
It is important to develop self-discipline and problem solving.
All adults take responsibility for behaviour and support each other collectively, making sure to follow-up personally.
That we all have emotions and feeling, which we can better regulate by learning strategies and tools, so we are calm, alert and learning.
Good relationships will improve community cohesion.
All children should be able to attend Tunbury Primary School happily and view it as a safe place.

Our Expectations:

There are many expectations (behavioural norms) in society, but we feel that most of these can be covered by four key words. These are referred to consistently using the following language when discussing behaviour. They are:

Ready – being ready to learn and participate, being punctual and having the correct equipment, uniform and attitude.
Respect – for themselves, each other, the school and the environment.
Safe – is the action or behaviour choice keeping themselves or others safe?
Fair – is the choice they are making fair for others or themselves? Does this impinge on others’ individual liberties?

Being Ready, showing Respect, being Safe and Fair are expected of all Tunbury children at all times. In learning situations, we also expect children to show our learning behaviours:

Active listening and engagement
Good collaboration and teamwork
Enthusiastic, “give it a go” attitude
A sense of pride in themselves, their achievements and their school
Creative and imaginative thinking
Risk taking and learning from failure

What do we expect from children when they make a mistake?

We know that children will make mistakes and are not perfect, but we do expect them work to put things right and develop self-discipline. To help them with this, we ask that children follow these three steps when they have made a mistake.

Own their behaviour– Children need to see their role and what they have chosen to do in a negative behaviour situation – others may have played a part, but children should reflect and be honest about their role/actions.
Understand cause and effect – Children need to understand that the choice and actions they make have a consequence, which can be positive, such as rewards and achievement, or negative, such as sanctions.
Proactively make a change – Once children have made a mistake, we want them to be proactive and make a change to their behaviour. This could be how they deal with similar situations or emotions.

How can you support us?

Our Home School Agreement states that as a Tunbury family, you will support the school’s behaviour policy. This means

You support your child to meet our four expectations of being Ready, showing Respect, being Safe and Fair by praising them when they achieve this and following up if they make a mistake.
You promote our learning values with children, through engagement in their learning and attitudes to learning.
You provide a good role model for your child, by always treating staff and all children with respect and courtesy.
We work as a team in the best interest of children by following up and supporting behaviour. You could use the model above to structure the conversation.

Thank you for your support – it is much appreciated and makes a huge difference to our children.

How do we address behaviour?

At Tunbury, we believe that praise and positive recognition is key to promoting a culture of good behaviour over the long term.

We use a variety of techniques to promote expected behaviour. For example, your child may tell you about recognition boards and verbal and written praise.

We also wish to promote, acknowledge and reward where pupils go ‘above and beyond’ as we feel this attitude will best support them in the future. We define ‘above and beyond’ behaviour as:

Doing something that exceeds our expectations
Persevering to overcome something difficult
Do something really kind for others

We will reward these incidents with team points, a phone call home, a Tunbury Award or even a postcard landing on your doorstep. We ask that you support these achievements with children and highlight the ‘above and beyond’ behaviour they show.

If your child does not follow our expectations, we may need to use a sanction. Sanctions should be applied immediately, where possible, and always followed up with a restorative conversation. It is important that the member of staff who starts the process of sanction should also be present for the restorative conversation, to ensure that the relationships and respect can be maintained.

Details on how we use and record sanctions can be found in our behaviour policy.

If you have any questions about behaviour regarding your child, your first point of contact should always be their class teacher.