A school environment should be facilitating for all individuals ‘irrespective of their individual socio-economic backgrounds, culture, health status, race, behaviour or ability, a measure of conscious self-reflection is required by the whole school community.’(How welcoming is the culture of our school? ) Schools must cater for a wide range of educational, social, emotional and behavioural difficulties in such a way that each individual is provided with access to equal opportunities and that no child’s wellbeing is compromised. Schools can strive to achieve and maintain positive behaviour with the correct attitude, practices, skills and collaborative work from staff and students.
A whole school policy for promoting positive behaviour is a key component for any school striving to create a welcoming environment. A behaviour-agreement/plan is – fundamentally – a shared understanding between teachers and students about fair, reasonable, safe, expected behaviour ‘in our class group’ (Rogers 2004). From personal experience I highly value the importance of a thorough policy which puts the needs and safety of children to the fore. An efficient policy is somewhat like “The Ten Commandments” of the positive behaviour approach. Teachers, students and parents must be awareness of consequential actions to misbehaviour. A successful behaviour policy must incorporate the key motivators of behaviour, inclusive of curiosity and Gasser’s basic needs; the need to survive, belong, have power, be free and to have fun. A schools behavioural plan must take many factors into consideration, factors such as experiences to date, current students and their behaviours/disabilities, the community, parents and available resources such as SNA’s. Building an efficient behavioural policy is a sequential process.
The creation of a behavioural policy goes through a number of thorough steps. Firstly two planning groups are formed, the lead group and the feedback groups. The first priority is to finalise a statement of purpose for the school and outline a list of supporting beliefs and principals for this statement. The lead group then must outline a clear list of expectations and a programme which caters for this while simultaneously outlying the consequences of unwanted behaviour. This content makes up the skeletal framework of the behavioural policy. This plan is monitored throughout its existence to ensure it encompasses a suitable policy for the current students and staff that it caters for. If the needs of the school alter and are not being met then this policy may be altered accordingly.
