Primary School

The main priority this year in the school is to introduce Positive discipline which puts the quality of relationships between members of our school community at the forefront of all we do in school. It implements the principles of mutual respect and encouragement between each other.

Over the last week, the teachers and children have been working on activities driven by Positive Discipline. Each class have created a shared vision for the classroom by creating the needed guidelines for a safe and successful school. The following photos are Year 6 working on the process of creating such an agreement.

 

Year 4 have also been working hard to create classroom guidelines and here is an example of a completed agreement.

 

During the ‘Meet the Teacher’ evenings next week, the teachers will share class agreements with you and we will use this as a basis to work together over the academic year.
 All classes have also been allocating jobs to the children to support the smooth running of the classroom.  This also makes the children responsible for ensuring the classroom is clean and tidy with resources well -managed.  It also allows the children to be actively supporting each other in class.
Here are some examples of class jobs:



This will hopefully develop, and children may be allocated school-wide jobs for example:

• Extreme weather alert assistants working with the school nurse
• School environmentalists – collect litter for school ground.

We are excited about giving our children an opportunity to make a real contribution to our school community.
We are also working on establishing routines with clearly defined steps for the children to follow.  Routines typically make daily tasks more efficiently accomplished.  These routines involve daily ‘active’ practice.
Here is an example of routines and expectations for behaviour in assembly:

• Always walk in quietly 
• Listen carefully
• Be respectful to each other 
• Put up your hand if you want to talk
• Wait quietly until your teacher signals for you to leave the hall

Engaging all staff, children and families in building a learning community that models mutual respect and fosters academic excellence for all children is a huge task. However, if we work together, it will make a significant difference in the way children work in school. It will also enhance relationships and instil motivation to learn and be successful.

Nick Jefferson
Head of Primary School