Behaviour
'Behaviour is excellent. Pupils are impeccably polite, kind and respectful. Break and lunchtimes are energetic and full of activity and play. As in lessons, social times are inclusive. Pupils look after each other. They also know that staff will help if they ever need it. This help is rarely required, as pupils cooperate with maturity as they share games and discuss ideas. This is a nurturing and safe environment, where pupils learn important life-long skills, such as how to be responsible and independent.' (Ofsted 2024)
At Wolvercote everything we do contributes to embedding our values: Kindness and Respect, Responsibility and Active Learning. These values are also our rules. All behaviour that does not reflect our values is addressed using our behaviour policy (see link below). Staff use scripts to remind children why our values are so important and to give reminders about expectations.
We understand that poor behaviour choices may be an expression of an unmet need or a big feeling. In order to avoid this we ensure all our children have access to a curriculum and learning environment which suits their requirements. However, as in life there are consequences to the choices we make and we believe an understanding of this is important to establish. We have a clear system of age appropriate consequences for choices which do not reflect our values. These are clear and consistent for all children. We treat each incident as a learning opportunity. Following any inappropriate choice we facilitate a restorative conversation where we reflect on these questions:
Where did it go wrong?
What other choices could have been made?
How did it feel?
How did it make other people feel?
What was the impact of the choice on others/yourself?
What can we do to put it right?
Children are taught how to express their feelings and communicate these with each other and with adults to ensure that everyone moves on with a sense that the situation has been resolved.
