The relationships which all of our of school community build with one another are incredibly important to us at The Whitehaven Academy. We have high expectations of the conduct of all members of our school community and our aim is to ensure that all students are able to maximise their learning time in lessons, through excellent teaching and focused learning.
We focus on positive behaviours and have a set of 9 demonstrable behaviours which we expect all of the school community to follow. These behaviours are linked to Cumbria Education Trust’s core values of respect, responsibility and resilience and are detailed below:
Respect
- Use good manners. (Please, thank you, you’re welcome, holding doors)
- Actively listen and respond positively. (If someone is talking, focus and look at them whilst listening silently)
- Value difference. (Celebrate the differences in each other; listen and accept that people may have a different point of view; give people chance to voice their opinion)
Responsibility
- Self-regulate. (Understand that your actions are your own – take responsibility to behave positively)
- Attend, be on time and engage.
- Create a calm and organised environment. (Quiet voices, calm walking manner, have all the necessary equipment out and be ready to learn)
Resilience
- Seek help and accept support. (Don’t give up on a task – try it, and ask for help)
- Have courage, encourage others. (Be resilient and have a ‘I can do it’ attitude. Support and encourage classmates to find the answers)
- Learn from mistakes. (Read and listen to feedback. Act on it and improve)
When students display these behaviours, we will consistently reward them through a variety of methods including achievement points, rewards trips, prizes and student awards.
Occasionally members of our school community will get things wrong and will display negative behaviour. When this happens we have a restorative approach which is focused upon the individual understanding and accepting how their actions impacted themselves and others in the incorrect way. The primary focus of this approach is to hone in on what the individual needs to do to put things right and to improve. Our relationships policy clearly outlines the consequences for negative behaviour, which include detentions, days in inclusion and fixed-term exclusion. However, throughout these consequences we will always have a restorative focus and the aim will always be to get students learning to a high level and displaying our positive behaviours as soon as possible.