Rewards & Sanctions

“Behaving well in lessons and around school is the norm for pupils”. Ofsted, February 2022

"My son loves the events that the school puts on to reward students who have good behaviour and good attendance …These extra activities significantly improve his experience at the Highcrest Academy, so thank you so much for going the extra mile!" Dr Ina Stan - Mother of student in 9 Yellow

At The Highcrest Academy, we pride ourselves as an academy on promoting positive behaviour, both in lessons and around school.

Our Aim

To create an environment in which:

learning can take place in an atmosphere of safety, stability and enjoyment
all members of the school community are treated with respect and consideration and, in turn, accept the responsibilities inherent in belonging to the school community.

Our Students can expect:

To be treated with respect as a person (articles 12 and 13)
To have your views and opinions listened to and considered (article 13)
To be given a share of the responsibility for your own learning and your personal development (articles 28 and 29)
To receive guidance and teaching from professional staff (articles 28 and 29)
To have the opportunity to participate in extra-curricular activities (article 31)

Our Parents can expect:

To be kept informed of your child’s progress and to have the opportunity to discuss that progress with his/her teachers (articles 28 and 29)
To be kept informed of any behaviour concerns in a timely manner (article 3).
To be kept informed of any allegations or complaints made about your child in a timely manner (article 3).
To receive support from the school should your son/daughter experience difficulties (article 29)
To be made welcome when you visit the school (article 29).

Rewards

We have a vast array of rewards which reward students for effort and work in class, to showing the school virtues around school and for what they may do out of the normal school curriculum, for example representing a sports team or helping out at a parent event.

We pride ourselves as an academy on promoting positive behaviour, both in lessons and around school. We have a vast array of rewards which reward students for effort and work in class, to showing the school virtues around school and for what they may do out of the normal school curriculum, for example representing a sports team or helping out at a parents evening.

Our main day to day reward system is recorded using go4schools with the points linked to stationary prizes. As well as this we offer a number of rewards for behaviour over a longer period of time, where students have shown sustained excellence. These include:

Weekly hot chocolate with the Principal for students nominated as “Star of the Week”
Student of the half term trophies for all departments and year groups
A day off timetable for students who complete the 30 day challenge in the Spring term
Yearly trips to Thorpe Park for those with 100% attendance in 2 or more terms
Trips bowling or to the cinema for those with the biggest contribution to our house system

As well as our wonderful selection of rewards, we do also have a very clear sanctions system which are in place to ensure disruptive behaviour is followed up and to help create an environment based on our 3 key rules: Ready, Respectful, Safe.

Star of the Week – Hot Chocolate Friday

To further promote dialogue between staff and students regarding our virtues, we have implemented a virtues reward scheme. Students are nominated to be ‘Star of the Week’ for demonstrating excellence within one of our six virtues: Ambition, Sensitivity, Purpose, Integrity, Resilience, or Eloquence.

Every Form Tutor nominates one member of their tutor group to be their, ‘Star of the Week’. These students are showcased in our weekly parent and student bulletins, and receive a prize and house points for their achievement. Following on from these nominations, each of our Heads of Learning then select one of these stars to be the year group Star of the Week. As well as achieving all of the aforementioned rewards, these students also receive a star of the week mug to take home and also get to spend Friday morning, sharing a cup of hot chocolate with the Principal in his office, as part of our ‘Hot Chocolate Friday’ reward!

Zero Heroes

We have recently introduced a new reward scheme that will replace our previously very successful ‘30 Day Challenge’. The 30 day challenge used to run once a year, but this new rewards scheme will run for every single one of the six half-terms throughout the school year. The scheme will reward students who maintain 100% attendance, 100% punctuality and of course a 100% good behaviour record throughout a half term. The students who successfully achieve this challenge will receive a fun activities day, off timetable, or for our examination students, a reduction on the cost of their prom tickets. Names of those who become our Zero Heroes each half term, will then be put into an end of year prize draw, with the winner from each year group winning a state of the art smart watch! We ran the scheme as a trial last half term, and I will update you in next week’s bulletin on how many of our students have already become Zero Heroes!

Rewards

Sanctions

Isolated Support

When behaviour does not meet the high expectations we have at The Highcrest Academy, we allow a period of reflection in our Isolated Support Room.

During this time students continue with work that is set by their subject teachers. We work closely with Heads of Learning to ensure that these students consider alternative choices they could have made with regard to their behaviour. We support self-regulation and independent working, two highly valued qualities. Should the student require additional support from any of the other departments within the Inclusion Team, this can easily be arranged.

Our team often work one to one with students to get to the root of difficulties or conflicts and have been trained in restorative justice.

Should a student’s behaviour lead to a Suspension, we are the stepping stone between the Suspension and re-joining the main school. It is within the Isolated Support Room that the student is closely supervised to ensure they are ready to join their peers with the right attitude to continue their learning. Lunch is taken at a different time to the rest of the school to enable the student to focus on themselves and take responsibility for their actions without distraction from their usual associations. Our team is fortunate to be able to get to know these students very well under these circumstances. We are able to offer support with academic and emotional, behavioural and social issues. Our observations, coupled with input from the other departments that form our Inclusion Team, help to signpost students to targeted interventions with the intention of ensuring positive outcomes.

We aim to provide a calm, orderly, disciplined working environment where subject teachers supply work which is supported by our team.

Senior staff will meet with the student and their parent/carer just before the student returns to the main school following a suspension. Reintegration meetings will also occur following an extended period in Isolated Support or repeated incidences of poor behaviour. At this meeting an agreement is signed, by all stakeholders, outlining expectations of behaviour.

When considering isolated support for students with SEND, alternative arrangements will always be explored. When students with SEND are placed into isolation we will always ensure that their personal needs are fully met in line with their SEND passport And that they have the support of an LSA, as and when required.