Consultation re Discipline Policy

Summary of Points Made

Consultation Meeting with Parents/Guardians on
St Lawrence School?s Discipline Policy (including Anti-Bullying Statement) ? 26.11.04


Below is a summary of the points made during the meeting with parents/guardians, to discuss the current draft of St Lawrence School?s Discipline Policy.

I have done my best to record these accurately (using notes from the flipchart and what I remember of what was said). Please let me know if you feel that any of your comments are misrepresented.

The notes also contain some points made by parents after the meeting.

After discussion with staff and governors, the policy will be updated to incorporate the comments of parents/guardians. This update will be available in spring 2005. If it is not feasible to incorporate a suggestion, an explanation will be provided in accompanying notes.

The Discipline Policy will be due for review in 2006, at which time, further consultation with parents/guardians will take place. Back to top

Summary of Points Made

Any commonly abbreviated term (eg PSHCE for personal, social, health and citizenship education) to be written in full, the first time the term is used.
Children to be encouraged to apologise for any acts that hurt others (physically or emotionally). Ideally, children should say exactly what they?re sorry for, acknowledging the effect on other parties.

Reinforce culture amongst the children that poor behaviour (particularly the type that could be defined as bullying) is not tolerated at St Lawrence School. Peer influence cannot be overrated.

Establish a system where children can go to any of a group of nominated upper juniors, for help dealing with minor playtime disputes. Children in this group to display a visible sign that they are there to help.

Parents asked about the training lunchtime supervisors received. Irene Musson (Senior Lunchtime Supervisor and Teaching Assistant) explained how she had had 18 years experience in this job, and that all supervisors had received training.
Mrs Musson confirmed that all complaints made by children to lunchtime supervisors are investigated. Often, on investigation, there is no clear offending and offended parties.

It was suggested that parental volunteers (with some training) could be used to boost supervisor numbers at lunchtime.

It was acknowledged that children raise a large number of issues/disputes during the school day, and that teachers use their discretion about which to investigate fully. It was suggested that a system be introduced where children could indicate that a concern was important to them, and that they really did need to talk about it further.

If an action plan is put in place for a child who is repeatedly demonstrating cruel/unkind behaviour, there should also be an action plan for those who have been on the receiving end of this. This could help to build confidence and self-esteem.

The confidence and self-esteem of a child exhibiting the undesirable behaviour also needs to be considered. It is possible that the child is/was the victim of poor treatment by a number of possible parties. Separating such a child from its peers is probably not the solution.

Action taken to stop undesirable behaviour needs to be communicated to parents/guardians of all parties directly involved, and to the school community. There are of course, issues of confidentiality and sensitivity, and exactly how this happens, needs to be at the discretion of the Head Teacher and staff.

It was agreed that bullying should be defined in terms of repeated incidents.
It was suggested that in defining cruel/unkind behaviour, the feelings of the children on the receiving end should be taken into account.

It is very important that repeated or serious problems are reported. It is equally important that these are investigated thoroughly, as disputes are rarely one-sided, and all children deserve a fair hearing. The feelings of an ?accused? child and its parents/guardians need to be considered, as they may feel that the accusation has been unjust.

Policy needs to provide guidance for children and adults on recognising the signs of potential bullying and how to manage the situation. It would be useful to have sections on Responsibilities of Children and Responsibilities of Parents (asking all parties not to turn a blind-eye, and to report incidences).

Problems at home can affect behaviour at school (and vice versa), so good home-school communication is important.

Children need to respect the differences and choices of others.

Karen Russell
6.12.04 Back to top