General rewards and sanctions 

The School encourages the establishment of good teacher/pupil relationships and support for the School’s values through a system of recognitions and rewards which are designed to promote a calm, disciplined learning environment. Where a pupil’s behaviour falls below the standard expected and/or a pupil fails to comply with the School’s Behaviour Policy, an appropriate sanction will be applied.

Sanctions for breaches of discipline 

The teacher is responsible in the first instance for dealing with minor infringements, such as lateness, casual rudeness in class, late or poorly completed work. This is dealt with through the schools' Power of Choice Reward system. The pupil may be brought back at lunch break or another time during the school day or be placed in an Academic Detention.

The Head may issue an exclusion (permanent or fixed period) for a pupil, for very serious indiscipline, or for less serious offences where behaviour issues have been repeated. The nature of the exclusion will be determined by the circumstances of the pupil concerned. If a fixed-term exclusion is ineffective, the School may decide to permanently exclude the pupil.

Exclusion types

• Fixed period exclusion is where a pupil is excluded for a fixed number of days or lunchtimes and must return to the school once the exclusion has ended. A decision to exclude for a fixed period should be taken only in response to breaches of the school's behaviour policy, where these are not serious enough to warrant permanent exclusion and lesser sanctions are considered inappropriate.
• A permanent exclusion means a pupil cannot return to the school they are excluded from unless the school governing body, or an Independent Appeal Panel, overturns the Head Teacher's decision. The decision to exclude permanently is a serious one. It is an acknowledgement by the school that it has exhausted all available strategies for dealing with the pupil and should normally be used as a last resort.
• Fixed period exclusions are limited to a cumulative total of 45 days in any one academic year (lunchtime exclusions count as half days). This total applies to the child and not to the school they attend. Therefore, if a pupil changes school during an academic year, any previous exclusions in that academic year count towards the limit of 45 days.

Informing of an exclusion

Head Teachers will contact parents/carers on the day the decision is made to exclude their child, ideally by phone. A letter must follow confirming the details of the exclusion and how parents can have their say to the school governing body. Rights of appeal The school governing body must consider any views you wish to put about the exclusion.

You can put your views:

• In a written statement for all exclusions and/or
• In-person, for permanent exclusions and fixed period exclusions totalling more than 5 days in a term. You can take a friend or legal representative with you, someone whose advice you would find helpful or who can speak on your behalf. Excluded children under the age of 18 should be allowed and encouraged to attend the meeting.

Details of how you can have your say to the school governing body will be sent to you in the exclusion notification letter.