Please note: On their first morning back in school, Teachers and staff will go through all of the new arrangements and procedures with pupils so they are clear about what is expected of them.

Contents

1. Scope. 2
2. Expectations for pupils in school and on school transport 2
3. Expectations for pupils at home …………………………………………………………………………………… 6
4. Monitoring……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 6
5. Links with other policies……………………………………………………………………………………………….6

1. Scope

This addendum applies until further notice.

It sets out changes and exceptions to our normal behaviour policy. Pupils, parents and staff should continue to follow our normal behaviour policy with respect to anything not covered in this addendum.

We may need to amend or add to this addendum as circumstances or official guidance changes. We will communicate any changes to staff, parents and pupils.

2. Expectations for pupils in school

We have 4 Lakelands ‘non negotiables’, that we should all be SMART, SAFE, RESPONSIBLE and KIND.

At Lakelands, we always pride ourselves on our ability to support our young people to develop responsibility and positive behaviours. We know that some youngsters need more support in this area than others. However, where Covid safety measures are concerned, there can be no compromise. The school places the responsibility to keep the children and staff of Lakelands safe above any other. Re-opening the school is not without risk.

We would ask Parents/Carers to explain to your children that we are well aware that a number of the systems we will be introducing may on occasions seem frustrating; however, they have been designed to do keep us all safe and well, so nothing can be allowed to breach them. This Covid behaviour policy addendum makes it clear that any conduct which deliberately breaches our ‘keep safe’ protocols, will result in serious sanctions, up to, and including exclusion. To support pupils to remember why ‘Covid safe behaviour’ must be maintained at all times, posters will be displayed around school.  

2.1 New rules

When pupils are in school, we expect them to follow all of the rules set out below to keep themselves and the rest of the school community safe.

Staff will be familiar with these rules and make sure they are followed consistently.

Parents should also read the rules and ensure that their children follow the new procedures that have been put in place. Parents should contact their child’s Head of Year or where appropriate, the school SENCo if they think their child might not be able to comply with some or all of the rules, so we can consider alternative arrangements with them and support them to integrate back into school life.

1. Pupil Code of Conduct

Pupils are expected to:

Arrive to and depart from school premises at the agreed time. (Adults should maintain a two-metre distance to other families when dropping off or collecting their children from the Lakelands Academy site) There will be no access to school via the top gate for anyone, until further notice, so all students will need to enter from the bottom of the drive via the main gate. Duty staff will be there to direct pupils to their year group gathering locations. 

School can no longer allow parents to drive onto site in the morning or at the end of the school day.

Wash/sanitise hands thoroughly before entering school premises and while in school, wash their hands for at least 20 seconds more often than usual with soap and water or hand sanitiser.

Remain in their designated seating within the classroom during lesson time.

Keep a safe distance from other pupils and refrain from physical contact with their peers.

Maintain healthy practice when coughing or sneezing - The main principal is to ‘Catch it, Bin it, Kill it’: cover any cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in a bin. Wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds and avoiding touching the mouth, nose and eyes with hands.

Adhere to rules in relation to toilet visits and pre-arranged break/playtime activities.

Refrain from spitting or coughing at or towards other pupils and members of staff.

Maintain responsibility for their own equipment e.g. stationery and water bottles and ensure that these are not shared with other pupils.

Tell a member of staff if they are unwell and are exhibiting signs of Coronavirus.

Routines for arriving or leaving the school – when you arrive in the morning you will go to your designated holding area for your year group. At the end of the last lesson of the day, your teacher will escort you to the buses if you catch one otherwise you will be allowed to walk home. It is really important that pupils from different year groups do not mix and so not congregate on the school premised waiting for pupils from other year group bubbles.

Parents and pupils should avoid congregating at the school gates and keep these areas free for unhindered access and egress of the school site. Any parents who do escort children to the school gates or when collecting should exercise social distancing at all times.  Also, face coverings can be worn.  These measures reduce the risk of Coronavirus and helps with road safety.

Sanitising stations will be provided by or inside every classroom. Cloths and cleaning fluid will be provided in order for pupils to wipe down and clean their desk/work station at the end of every lesson.

You will only have contact with pupils in your year group “bubble” and can socialise with them at school, including at lunch and break times where you will only have access to your year group area.

There will be a one-way system around the school to avoid mixing with other bubbles, some areas will be out of bounds out of bounds. Pupils should act sensibly at all times when queuing for classroom entry, to wash hands, use toilets or waiting for entry to the eating areas at break/lunch)

Pupils should avoid touching their mouth, nose and eyes with hands

2.2 Rewards and sanctions for following rules

To help encourage pupils to follow the above rules, we will continue to operate our various rewards systems to recognise consistently good behaviour or where pupils go above and beyond to help others and be a good citizen. We may have to adapt how we hold our reward assemblies/ceremonies in line with Covid-19 regulations.

However, if pupils fail to follow these rules, we will have to use school sanctions:

Sanctions for unsafe behaviour during this pandemic (this includes not following instructions for social distancing)

Conversation(s) with pupil(s) which could include a verbal warning, moving seats if logistically possible and other behaviour management strategies in line with current behaviour policy.

Once all appropriate behaviour management strategies have been exhausted, a pupil may have to be removed from the lesson and contact should be made with pupil’s parent/carer. A pupil will be immediately removed from a lesson if their behaviour puts the Health and safety of others at risk. The same rule applies if their behaviour is preventing Teaching and Learning taking place in that classroom.

If the health and safety of other pupils and staff members are put at risk by the pupils not adhering to social distancing measures or other covid-19 related rules, then the parent/carer will be expected to collect the pupil and a fixed term exclusion will be applied in line with Exclusion guidance. Exclusion from maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units in England Informal’ or ‘unofficial’ exclusions, such as sending a pupil home ‘to cool off’, are unlawful, regardless of whether they occur with the agreement of parents or carers. Any exclusion of a pupil, even for short periods of time, must be formally recorded.

3. Pupils with Special Educational Needs

School acknowledges that children will have had a range of different experiences during the lockdown period which may have an impact on their behaviour presentation upon return to school.  Some may present with frustration as a result of being isolated from friends or having missed a significant event or experience; eg. exams, school trip, etc.  Others may have experienced bereavement or loss or another, real or perceived, traumatic episode.  For many, the process of re-engagement with learning and the school community, under unusual circumstances, may require some additional input and encouragement.

As a result of these varied experiences children may present with behaviour that is not usual, this may include;

• Anxiety; lack of confidence
• Challenging behaviour; fight or flight response
• Anger; shouting, crying
• Hyperactivity and difficulties maintaining attention

For some children, including those with attachment concerns or SEN, and especially those with autism, the change in routines and lack of familiarity will require additional adjustment.

School recognises that behaviour could be a sign that for some individual children there is an unfulfilled need and that the behaviour is communicating that there is a problem.  The school will undertake an individual risk assessment for the child and use reasonable endeavours to make the necessary adjustments to reduce the stimulus that may be triggering the challenging response.

Children with SEN are recognised as being particularly vulnerable and therefore have an urgent need to be re-integrated back into school as soon as reasonably possible.  School will work closely with parents to implement supportive strategies that will inform an appropriate response.  If necessary school will seek external support from other agencies such as Educational Psychologists or Early Help.

The head teacher and governing board must have regard to the SEND Code of Practice and the Equality Act.

For further information, please contact the Inclusion team Inclusion@shropshire.gov.uk

2.3 Changed rules

• Expectations for attendance – the latest government guidance says attendance will be mandatory from September so our normal expectations for attendance will return, meaning we’ll be recording attendance and following up on any absences.
• On 1 August, the government paused its advice for vulnerable people to shield. This means that pupils affected by those rules should be able to return to school. However, if you‟ve received clinical or public health advice that your children should still remain at home, please let your Head of Year know and continue to follow that guidance.
• Some pupils may still be unable to attend because they're complying with clinical and/or public health advice given to them (e.g. if they're self-isolating and waiting for a test result).

• In that case, the school will not penalise absence. Please make contact with your Head of Year if this applies to you.
• Expectations for uniform – the government is encouraging schools to revert to normal policy on this from September, but we will be considerate in managing non-compliance where parents are experiencing financial pressures or because there are issues with getting stock from the uniform supplier but from September 2020, all pupils must wear uniform to school and follow normal school rules on uniform. If pupils cannot wear their full uniform, parents should contact their Head of Year. On days when pupils have PE lessons, they should come to school in their PE kit but should bring their school uniform with them in case the weather is bad and they get wet/dirty during their PE lesson. Schools are being advised to hold their PE lessons outside wherever possible.

2.4. Transport expectations for pupils returning to school in September via bus or  taxi.

(Detailed arrangements for transport have been posted on the school website and sent to Parents via parentmail)

Safety of staff, pupils and the public will be paramount

Pupils should not travel on transport if they are feeling unwell, particularly if they have symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) which include a new, continuous cough, high temperature, or loss of taste or smell, or if they live in a household with someone showing any of these symptoms – they should self-isolate and stay at home.

Any pupils becoming ill at school should be taken home by their parents (NB parents should have transport contingency arrangements in place to do this).

If your son/daughter becomes ill during the journey to the school, they should speak to their teacher or a member of duty staff immediately – the school may then contact you requesting you to collect them from school.

Where pupils present an unacceptable safety risk to other pupils/staff/adults, they may be refused transport (e.g. for reasons including displaying illness, deliberate spitting, coughing and  sneezing at others, touching others, shouting, singing, not sitting in their ‘bubble’, standing, seat switching, ignoring verbal safety guidance).  Where transport is refused parents/carers will be expected to make their own transport arrangements for their child. Sanctions such as exclusion can also be applied for poor behaviour on school transport even if the behaviour has not taken place in school.

3.1 Remote learning rules

If pupils are not in school, we expect them to follow all of the rules set out below.

Parents should also read the rules and ensure their children follow them. Parents should contact their child’s Head of Year if they think their child might not be able to comply with some or all of the rules, so we can consider alternative arrangements with them and support them with their learning.

• Complete work to the deadline set by teachers
• Seek help if they need it by messaging the appropriate teacher via show my homework.
• Alert teachers if they’re not able to complete work
• Use proper online conduct, such as using appropriate language in messages

3.2 Dealing with problems

If there are any problems with pupils adhering to rules around remote learning, including if they don’t engage with the remote learning set for them, we will get in touch with parents and see if there’s any issues we can help them address. This may involve asking for support from the Education Welfare Officer (EWO).

4. Monitoring arrangements

We will review this policy as guidance from the local authority or Department for Education is updated, and as a minimum every 4 weeks during term time by The Headteacher.

5. Links with other policies

This policy links to the following policies and procedures which can be found on our school website:

Our detailed uniform and appearance code was sent to Parents during the summer term and can also be found on our school website. All of our focus and attention needs to be on keeping staff and pupils safe and teaching the pupils so we would appreciate full support from parents in making sure pupils stick to the uniform and appearance code to avoid any unwanted distractions or points of conflict when they are in school.

• Child protection policy
• Behaviour policy
• Health and safety policy