Behaviour Guidelines

We believe that every child has the right to learn and that every teacher has the right to teach.

The effective education of our students requires a school environment in which students can feel safe, secure, happy and have maximum opportunity to learn. Westbrook School takes pride in creating and maintaining a school environment which contributes to academic and social growth.

We want Westbrook School to be a place where children, parents, and educators work together to create an atmosphere which encourages and promotes learning. Learning is not just limited to the curriculum subjects. We also play a role in helping children build an understanding of how to interact with and treat other people with kindness and respect.

THE WESTBROOK WAY

The Westbrook Way is a set of school-wide values which all staff and students are expected to follow. The values of Whanaungatanga, Respect, Responsibility, Initiative and Excellence are reinforced by staff at every opportunity, including through units of work, in the daily notices, in the Options Room, and at assemblies and team gatherings.

Students are expected to follow the WESTBROOK WAY by:

Showing courtesy and respect toward members of the school community.
Ensuring that their behaviour is not disruptive to the learning of others.
Ensuring that the school environment is kept neat, tidy and secure.
Ensuring that they are punctual, polite, prepared and display a positive manner.
Behaving in a way that protects the health, safety and wellbeing of others and themselves.
Displaying respect for the property of others, the school buildings and facilities.

To encourage positive behaviour, and help children to be clearly aware of what is acceptable both in and out of the classroom, the school will have:

A set of expectations that protect the rights of all the individuals.
A clear set of consequences for pupils who do not accept their responsibilities and follow the expectations, so that they are encouraged to recognise and respect the rights of others.
Procedures in place so that conflicts can be resolved in a positive, non-violent manner.
A reward system to recognize and celebrate positive behaviour. We use Class Dojos to reward positive behaviours.

In The Classroom:

Classroom expectations are clearly communicated and reinforced within each class. We recently began our journey to become a PC4L school (positive culture for school). Dojo points and other incentive systems are used to recognise students based on our Westbrook values and expected behaviours.

PC4L (Positive Culture for Learning)

PC4L is a framework that our school uses to create a positive learning environment where all students can thrive. It focuses on teaching and reinforcing positive behaviors, rather than simply punishing negative ones. This means that we explicitly teach students what we expect from them in terms of behaviour, just like we teach them maths or reading. We also acknowledge and celebrate students when they demonstrate these positive behaviours. By working together – students, teachers, and parents – we can create a school where everyone feels safe, respected, and ready to learn. You can support PC4L at home by reinforcing the same positive expectations and acknowledging your child's positive behaviors.

Playground

Westbrook School is a 'Restorative Practice' school, rather than a punitive school. Children are expected to follow the WESTBROOK WAY and may be rewarded with praise or a "green slip" by the teacher on duty, or other teachers for observing playground rules, assisting others, etc. Green slips are also based on our values, and go into a lucky draw. Certificates for these are awarded at school assemblies where children have the chance to choose from the prize box if their name is drawn. If a pupil fails to follow the expectations the following progression of consequences may be applied:

Warning and verbal redirection by the duty teacher. A restorative chat may be facilitated by the duty teacher.
The child may be sent to our Reset Room for a specific time period to reflect on their behaviour. This decision is at the discretion of the teacher dealing with the incident. The Reset Room is a safe, restorative space to calm down. The experienced teacher on duty in the Reset Room will allow them to cool down if necessary before discussing what happened with the child (and if appropriate, the victim). Often a restorative chat will be facilitated and the students will be given advice and strategies to deal with a situation like this in the future.
The Classroom Teacher and/or senior management team member will make a professional judgement about whether parents need to be informed. This is likely to be the case if it is the child's first time in the Reset Room, if the behaviour is of a serious nature, if a child is hurt, or if there is a pattern of repeated behaviour.

Guidelines for Setting up Individual Behaviour Plans

Individual behaviour plans may be established when a student requires additional support to meet their individual needs or manage their behaviour. Parents will be informed and engaged in this process. Individual behaviour plans will be documented to make clear the behavioural issues that are being addressed, the desired outcomes, strategies to be used and the effectiveness of the strategies and the personnel and/or agencies involved.

Stand Downs and Suspensions

Every effort will be made to support and help pupils follow the Westbrook Way. In cases of either constant or continuous misbehaviour or of serious misbehaviour (violence, abusing a teacher or placing other students in danger), the pupil may be stood down or suspended, in accordance with the guidelines as set out by the Ministry of Education. The school cannot teach this personal responsibility alone. Parents and caregivers also have an essential role to play in assisting the school to maintain high standards of behaviour. They have a duty to take responsibility for the behaviour of their child. A shared understanding of what constitutes an acceptable standard of behaviour is essential to the success of any partnership. Good communication links are also essential and parental support in our efforts will result in the best possible learning environment for all pupils. This will show children that the home and school work cooperatively.

Vaping

Vaping is not permitted at school. We are committed to providing a healthy and safe learning environment for all students. Therefore, any student caught vaping, possessing vaping paraphernalia, or otherwise involved in vaping-related activities at school will face disciplinary action, up to and including stand-down. We encourage parents to have conversations with their children about the health risks associated with vaping and the school's zero-tolerance policy.

Mobile Phones
There is now a law in place which prohibits students from bringing mobile phones to school. We enforce that law. We do recognise that, on occasion, students may have a need to bring their phone for instances where they are in a shared living arrangement. At those times, students are required to leave the phone at the office, where it will be kept securely until the end of the day. It is the child’s responsibility to collect the phone at 3pm.

The photos below depict our ‘Pirates Day’ on one of our Westbrook Way Days. These days celebrate those students who have met the expected behaviour target for the term.