Behaviour for Learning- The St Peter’s Way 

Be Ready, Be Respectful and Be Safe 

We recognise that clear structures of predictable outcomes have the best impact on behaviour. Our school’s principle for behaviour sets out the rules, relentless routines and visible consistencies that all children and staff follow. It is based on the work of Paul Dix and his book ‘When the adults change, everything changes’. Good behaviour is recognised sincerely rather than just rewarded. Children are praised publicly and reminded in private. 

“When people talk about behaviour, they obsessively search for the instant solution. Some peddle magic dust or ‘behaviour systems’ that glisten yet quickly fade. Others relentlessly scream for a bigger stick to beat students down with. Both extremes harbour an irresistible idea that there is a short cut to changing behaviour. They sell the lie that you can provoke sustained behavioural change in others without doing much hard work yourself. The truth is that there is no alternative to the hard work: building relationships with those who would rather not, resetting expectations with those who trample them, being relentlessly positive a.nd sustaining a poker face when confronted with challenging behaviour.’’ 

Paul Dix, Pivotal Education 

Our school has three rules: ‘Be Ready, Be Respectful and Be Safe’, which are applicable to a wide variety of situations. These rules are explicitly taught and modelled by all members of our school community. 

However, we also understand that for some children, following our behaviour expectations are beyond their current developmental level. In some cases, these children will have bespoke positive behaviour plans, which may include targeted sanctions and rewards to reinforce positive behaviour. Below is an example of our behaviour pathway we use as a whole school. 

How do we Manage Behaviour?

At St. Peter's, we believe that all behaviours, both positive and negative, are a form of communication. As a result of listening to pupils, parents and staff, we have refreshed our layered approach to behaviour management. Below is a chart that helps to guide and support all in our school community. The chart below is directly from our behaviour policy.