Monday 15 August 2016
Dear Parent/Carer
I am delighted to confirm that all pupils will return to Gracemount High
School wef Wednesday 17 August. We look forward to welcoming all our pupils to
the school, in particular our new S1.
I wanted to contact you directly before pupils returned to remind you of
a number of very important issues.
Behaviour Policy
Throughout
last session the school was in the process of reviewing and implementing
changes to our behaviour policy, known as Better Relationships, Better
Learning, Better Behaviour.
The policy is being implemented in four phases. Phase 1 and 2 were successfully
implemented last session and we have witnessed significant improvements in the targeted
areas. Phase 3, Protecting Learning, was due to be implemented on 18 April. However due to the school closure this will
now be implemented on Monday 22 August
2016. Phase 4 will be put out for
consultation this session and will be due to be implemented by January 2017.
Full details of our behaviour policy can be found on the school website www.gracemounthighschool.co.uk under the “documents”
tab. A brief summary is detailed below.
Phase 1 – Recognising and Rewarding
Positive Behaviour
Values postcards have been introduced to motivate
pupils and encourage staff to recognise positive behaviour across the school. All teaching staff are asked to issue a minimum of 10 values postcards each
month.
There are 3 categories of award:-
1.
Bronze Awards - award issued by the Guidance
teacher and letter/text sent home.
·
S1/2 10
postcards
·
S3 8
postcards
·
S4-6 6
postcards
2.
Silver Awards - issued by the DHT and
letter/text sent home
·
S1/2 20
postcards
·
S3 16
postcards
·
S4-6 12
postcards
3.
Gold Awards issued by the HT and letter
sent home. Pupil will also qualify for an end of term year group trip.
·
S1/2 30
postcards
·
S3 24
postcards
·
S4-6 18
postcards
Every values postcard is also worth 1 house point.
• A
bronze award is worth 10 house points.
• A
Silver award is worth 20 house points.
• A
gold award is worth 30 house points.
Each week we will have a best behaviour house
champion (most house points for Values Postcards) - announced by the House Captain
Pupils in each year group with most postcards (merit
points) in each value will also win our Value awards at the Celebration Evening
and an overall winner will be announced on the evening.
Phase 2
House Points:
1 house point is awarded every time a pupil arrives at school on time
in the morning – they must be in their registration class for the 8.32am bell. Every
day registration teachers will count the total points from their class and all
of these will be added at the end of the week.
Each class in every house will be totalled and each week we
will have an Attendance House Champion announced by the House Captain.
We will combine attendance and behaviour points to
get an overall house winner for the week.
This will be announced on Monday
morning by the winning House Captain.
At the end of the academic year there will be a house
champion – pupils in that house will be given the chance to participate in an
afternoon event.
Snapchat
To protect learning in the classrooms Snapchat is banned from all
school devices – iPads. This will be tracked by Mr Gordon – app installs will
be checked electronically - and random checks will be made.
Registration teachers are asked to check pupil iPads once
every week.
Pupils found with Snapchat will have all app and camera
functions removed from their school device and may even have their iPad
removed. Teachers who discover Snapchat will remove the iPad and hand over to a
member of SLT.
Late coming after Lunch
Late coming is defined as when you are not in class by 1.37pm - (third
bell).
Any pupil late after lunch will be placed on ‘below
expectation detention’ which will happen at the start of lunchtime the next
day for 15 minutes – room PSE 2.
If a pupil is late back after lunch they will be signed in
by Mrs Hurd who will issue a below expectation detention slip.
A text will be sent home to inform parents of late coming
and the detention for the following day.
If any pupil arrives late to class the teacher will check if
they have the below expectation detention slip. If not, they are sent to the
School Office to collect a ‘below expectation detention slip’ before returning
to their class.
Phase 3 – Protecting Learning – Goes live on Monday 22 August
As the name ‘Protecting Learning’
suggests, we are focusing on protecting learning in our classrooms to ensure
teachers have the optimum opportunity to deliver high quality learning
experiences and pupils have every opportunity to learn in a safe, productive
and respectful environment.
Classroom Behaviour
We have
aimed to simplify our approach to managing classroom behaviour whilst raising
our expectations and being absolutely clear on the consequences of poor
behaviour in class.
We understand that being consistent and fair is vital for this next
phase and it is important for pupils and parents/carers to trust the teachers
in the school and their judgment. We have worked hard together to develop this
approach which we feel will raise expectations across the school and improve
learning and teaching in the classroom.
If current classroom management procedures (e.g. reminders, moving seat,
quiet word etc…..) prove unsuccessful, we have now introduced a 3-step process
for classroom management:
- 1st step - 1 verbal warning – formally worded (to include the words “formal warning”). This makes it very clear to the pupil that a warning has been issued.
- 2nd step – the pupil will be asked to step outside the classroom for a short period of time if behaviour/effort/engagement does not improve. They will be spoken to by the teacher and reminded of their responsibilities as part of the class.
- 3rd step – On Call.
If the incident is deemed to be “high level” (see behaviour codes) the
teacher can go straight to step 3 where they consider it appropriate.
When a pupil is placed on call, the parent/carer will be notified by either text or phone.
The pupil will then be expected to follow the on call rota and attend their on-call
class.
Detention
Any pupil
who has been placed on-call will have disrupted the learning and teaching in
the classroom. Therefore an on call will result in a protecting learning detention and we expect this detention to be
completed the same day after school. We are further distinguishing between
low level (15 minute detention) and high level (25 minute detention). If a
pupil has two on calls in one day they will complete a 40 minute detention
after school and if they receive 3 on calls in one day they will not only complete
a 40 minute detention after school but will also not attend classes the following
day. Parents will be contacted in person by the relevant Depute Head Teacher to
discuss our concerns.
We appreciate that issuing detentions alone does not change behaviour.
They do however act as a deterrent for a number of pupils. This has been
demonstrated by a 70% improvement in reducing late coming after lunch by simply
issuing detentions for late coming – phase 2.
Your support is vital to the success of this initiative and I have been
delighted with your response and support to date.
Behaviour Codes
Low level
on calls (LLOC) will arise when a pupil repeatedly behaves in a manner that
disrupts their own learning and the learning of others. Examples include:
•
Not being
on time
•
Not being
on task
•
Talking
out of turn
•
Being out
of their seat (without permission)
•
Lack of
or incorrect equipment.
•
Not
following instructions
•
Casual
use of abusive/offensive language
High level on-calls (HLOC) are where more serious
incidents arise. Examples include:
•
The
pupil directly challenges staff -
•
Threatening/dangerous
behaviour towards others
•
Abusive/offensive
language directed towards others
Supported Intervention
Where
there are continuing concerns in a classroom a teacher may choose to place a
pupil on Supported Intervention.
This will result in the pupil being removed from class for an agreed period of
time. They will be issued work and expected to go to another class. Our Behaviour
Support Officer (Mrs Hurd) will ensure the pupil is supported. A meeting with
the Curricular Leader, class teacher and pupil will take place to reaffirm
expectations before the pupil returns to class. Parents/carers will be informed
by phone/text/email if this strategy is to be implemented.
Increased SLT Presence
Mrs
Sinclair, Mr Hutchison and I are committed to ensuring we support effective
learning and teaching. It is our intention to increase our presence in classes
and we will work with all staff to identify classes which require additional
support. We will be visiting these classes, at the request of the teacher, to
support learning and teaching.
Pupils out of Class
If we are
to ensure every young person reaches or even exceeds their potential,
attendance in class is crucial in order to learn. Too many pupils choose to
spend time out of class and as a result we are implementing a system where a
pupil will be issued a card by the class teacher before being allowed out of class.
Any pupil out of class must show their card at the request of any member of
staff. Failure to do so will result in an immediate referral to a member of the
Senior Leadership Team. Pupils with toilet cards and/or emergency INSPIRE cards
will not be affected. These pupils will need to ensure that they carry their
card at all times.
Our Focus
Our focus
will always be to support our pupils to learn and to make the right choices. We
recognise that some pupils require more support than others and we will do
everything we can to support all our pupils and encourage them to get it right.
We do not wish to be at odds with pupils or parent/carers but we intend
to ensure that we protect learning in our classrooms and I very much hope you
will support us on our journey to make Gracemount High School an outstanding
school.
Dress code
Our Dress
Code is a very important part of our school and promoting this helps to develop
a positive school culture. We feel
there are a number of benefits to promoting a high standard of dress across the
school:
1.
It helps to encourage good behaviour.
2.
It promotes a sense of belonging to the
school.
3.
It reduces any stigma attached to clothing in
the school.
4.
It has a positive effect on the learning
environment.
5.
It enables staff to immediately identify
visitors to the school and enhances security.
All students should wear their school
tie visibly with a plain, collared blue shirt/blouse. Ties are available to
purchase from the School Office for £5. Our new S1 pupils will be provided with
a tie. Students should also wear plain
black footwear, black jumper/top and black trousers/black skirt. Students will be asked to remove any outdoor
jackets and tops in class which are not black. I would ask for your support in
helping us to promote our School Dress Code.
We are keen to work in partnership with pupils and parents. We believe that if all our students follow
our Dress Code, it will help make Gracemount High School a better school.
Pupils who fail to adhere to our Dress code will be issued with a
pink uniform slip. Once a pupil has 5 instances of not complying, contact will
be made with home.
I very much look forward to the forthcoming session and to working with
you to ensure we do everything possible to help our young people become
successful.
Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions/queries
or would like to meet with me to discuss any matter related to the school.
Kind regards
Ross Hunter
Head Teacher
