We have a school ethos of being kind, caring and supportive to all our pupils. The child’s class teacher has the overall responsibility for the pastoral, medical and social care of each child in their class and they deliver personal, social, health and economic lessons through which pupils develop the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to keep themselves healthy and safe, and prepare for life and work in modern Britain.  

If you have any concerns surrounding your child’s personal well-being, please, in the first instance, meet with their class teacher. If additional support is required, the class teacher and parents/carers will meet with the SENCOs for further discussion and/or advice. Across the school, all staff and pupils follow a reward system in order to encourage positive choices and St. Agatha’s has clear expectations of behaviour.

To ensure consistency, behaviour expectations are set out in our Behaviour Policy, which uses a ‘relationship approach to positive behaviour management’. As an Attachment Aware School, we use the knowledge of attachment and trauma as the cornerstone of this policy. We use PACE (Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy) and restorative approaches to ensure positive interactions that build relationships and The Zones of Regulation as a whole school approach, in supporting children to understand their own and others’ emotions and to learn to self-regulate.

At times, for individual children, the behaviour policy is adapted to appropriately match their individual needs. Rewards and consequences used with children is appropriate to their needs and abilities. Teachers have regard to the level of maturity of each child and their educational/ emotional needs. Children on the SEND register will have a Learning Passport and a Pupil Profile that may include individualised behaviour targets and strategies.

For those pupils who require greater social and emotional support, the child may be included in small group intervention in order to raise their social standing or awareness or they may require an individually tailored in class support programme in order to improve self-regulation skills. Other strategies used by the school in order to support inclusion are the employment of a mentor who can be nominated by the pupils as a ‘go to’ adult to talk through anxieties or incidents and a ‘learning mentor’ to share a piece of work that they are particularly proud of. We also employ an experienced Emotional Literacy Assistant (ELSA), who works 1:1 with children who are experiencing social, emotional, communication difficulties. In some instances, with parental permission, outside agencies such as Achieving for Children’s Mental Health Support Service, Children’s and Adult’s Mental Health Service (CAMHS) or the Educational Psychology Service may be contacted for further professional advice or to work with the pupil, school and parents/carers.  

When a child is distressed and their behaviour is out of control they may engage in behaviours that require physical support from supporting adults e.g. to ensure the safety of the child or others. This will always be a last resort and strategies will be used to de-escalate and redirect the behaviour in the first instance. Please see The Behaviour Policy for more information download.asp (stagathas.school)