Sanctions used by the school

The overwhelming majority of our students behave very respectfully and value their learning as well as that of others, and will rarely receive any significant level of sanction.  Many will never receive any sanction at all and almost all receive far more rewards than they do sanctions many times over.

However, the information below should help you understanding how and why sanctions are used as part of our behaviour policy and in the day to day running of a successful school.  Details provided below are not exhaustive and do not include special arrangements made by agreement with parents/carers to support an individual student.

 

Misbehaviour in lessons

Misbehaviours that disrupt the flow of the lesson and the ability of other students in the lesson to concentrate, such as off-task talking, are unacceptable.  Whilst these may seem minor, over time they can seriously damage classroom learning and hence the quality of education on offer to all.

Any misbehaviour in lessons will initially be dealt with by the subject teacher.  Low level concerns will be dealt with following classroom procedures.  This can lead to teacher or department detentions or referral to the Subject Leader for further action if necessary. 

In rare instances where a student persistently does not respond to advice or support from teachers to improve their behaviour in lessons, departments may use a mixture of approaches to address matters.  These could include department reports, department detentions, exclusion from lessons to work elsewhere, parent/carer meetings and/or referral to the attached Leadership Team member for further action if necessary.

Issues that are picked up for noting would include: 

  • Talking whilst the teacher is talking or whilst work is in progress
  • Calling out
  • Inattention
  • Chewing in class

At both KS3 and KS4, incidents can be noted on IRIS, our school reward and behaviour system, together with the level of sanction set.    This allows parents/carers to see what rewards and/or sanctions your child is accruing.

 

Misbehaviour on the way to/from school or out of lessons:

We expect our students to behave responsibly and sensibly at all times when representing the school or in school uniform.  If there is any instance where this is not the case, the school will sanction accordingly.  Where investigations are required, the Year Team will normally carry these out.  Sanctions can include but are not limited to:

  • removal from social time (breaks/lunchtimes)
  • detentions at an appropriate level for the offence
  • Internal or Leadership exclusion
  • suspension
  • restricted access to certain activities
  • removal of privileges

 

Detentions

These are of varying length and can be set by individual staff as appropriate.  In addition detentions are also run by tutors, the Year Teams, departments and the Leadership Team. There are also ‘Key Stage Detentions’ – these are reserved for serious offences which otherwise may reach exclusion threshold.  They take place between 3pm and 5pm on a Friday.  Students are given work to complete in all detentions so that time is used purposefully.  Details on types of detention are provided below.

After school, detentions up to 30 minutes in length can be set without prior warning.  However, we will expect students to let parents/carers know that they are going to be late leaving school for delays greater than 15 minutes, where this might cause concern.  

If a student misses a shorter detention without an appropriate reason for doing so (such as emergency ill health or a medical appointment), the detention is escalated to a 90 minute detention.  If students then miss the 90 minute detention, they can be issued with a day’s internal exclusion with the 90 minute detention sat at the end of this day.  This process helps ensure that students take smaller detentions seriously, meet with relevant staff to address any issues and helps prevent any behavioural issue from escalating.

For detentions greater than 30 minutes at the end of the day, parents/carers will usually receive an email or other contact the day before, and also be able to view these on IRIS where the detention is a Year, Department, School, Leadership or Key Stage Detention.  There may be occasions when the detention will be scheduled for after school on the same day; in these instances, parents/carers will be contacted during the school day so that they are aware of the detention and its reason.

Detentions can be given at breaktime, lunchtime or after school.  They can also be set at other times where this is agreed with parents/carers in advance. 

If a student is detained at lunchtime, time is allowed for the student to purchase and eat their lunch.

Logging on to IRIS allows parents/carers to see any forthcoming detentions and the reason for the detention.   

For more information on detention procedures, please click here.  

Types of Detention

Departmental detentions can be given for a range of matters including lack of homework or behavioural or effort issues in lessons.

Year detentions can be given for 'out of lesson' offences such as: poor behaviour in the playground, disrespectful behaviour to staff or other students, repeated failure to fulfil uniform requirements, bringing in banned items or repeated lateness to lessons/school.  They can also be given for forgetting equipment regularly.

School detentions will also be given where students fail to attend other detentions or as part of a punishment for a more serious offence. School detentions take place each week and last for one hour. They are monitored by senior teachers and regarded as a serious sanction.

Leadership detentions are issued for failing to attend lesser detentions.  All Leadership detentions last for 90 minutes. These are administered by the Leadership Team of the school and this is a very serious sanction. Failure to attend the Leadership 90 minute detentions usually results in exclusion from school and the need to complete the leadership detention on return.  Persistent failure to attend Leadership detentions undermines the orderly running of the school and can lead to suspension.

Key Stage detentions are rarely used, but will apply where the Leadership Team deems them appropriate given the nature of the offence and other circumstances.  These are usually 2 hours in duration on a Friday evening and are reserved for serious offences. 

Where detentions are notified to parents/carers in advance, it should be noted that this notification is to inform parents/carers of the detention and the reason for it having been given.  The school does not require parent/carer agreement to set a detention for students.  However, if there are reasons why a particular date causes difficulty, then we would encourage parents/carers to let us know. 

 

Internal Exclusion

A serious misdemeanour will result in an internal exclusion where the child is isolated from their peers to work under staff supervision for the period of the exclusion. An internal exclusion may last for two periods or be up to two days. Parents/carers will be informed of any internal exclusion as part of the discussion of the circumstances. 

 

Executive Exclusion:

Suspension from school for a fixed term (or permanently) is the most serious sanction that the school can use. When a suspension is issued, we are making clear that this type of behaviour falls so far outside the values of the school that if it continues, the child will be at risk of permanent exclusion from the school.  We therefore use suspension for behaviour that causes the school grave concern. However, the school uses supervised exclusion in school (Executive Exclusion) in certain instances instead of suspension from school. These are the first such incidents of this severity/nature where:

  • the student’s response gives reason to believe that this is a 'one-off' incident of this type
  • there there are particular circumstances which make this response appropriate
  • it is in the best interests of the school and student for them to remain on site, receiving input from key staff

Any Executive Exclusion is always followed by a readmission meeting which must be attended by parents/carers and the student before they return to normal lessons.  At this meeting, a report from staff overseeing the Executive Exclusion will be shared with parents/carers.  This details whether the student has taken matters seriously and worked respectfully and sensibly during this time.  If they have not, further sanction may apply, including repeating some of the Executive Exclusion or suspension from school.  The school always seeks a positive route forward for students after any such sanction.

 

Suspension from the School

This is reserved for very serious offences such as: bullying, endangering the safety of others, wilful damage to property, open and/or repeated defiance, extreme rudeness, prejudicial behaviour or repeated failure to meet our standards of behaviour and adhere to our values.  Suspensions can only be issued by the Headteacher or Deputy Headteacher and can last from 1 day up to 5 days. 

As with an Executive Exclusion, each suspension is followed by a parent/carer meeting in which the school will discuss relevant issues.  The school always seeks a positive route forward for the student after a suspension but it will be made clear that if the behaviour that led to the suspension continues, the child will be at risk of permanent exclusion from the school.