Code of Behaviour - St. John's Co-Educational N.S. Sligo

We,  the staff of this school, wish to set out in this booklet the aims and  regulations of the school, with the purpose of establishing a  partnership between parents and teacher for the benefit of the children.  Our Code of Behaviour aims to establish a structured, positive environment in which learning is enhanced.

Historical Note

St.  John’s School opened in 1944.   It was run by the Marist Brothers until  September 2001 before the first all lay staff took over.    

The  school introduced Junior/Senior Infant and first classes in September  2003.  St. John’s became a Co-educational school in September 2005 and  also provides Speech and Language and Special classes.

ST. JOHN’S N.S.

TEMPLE STREET, SLIGO.

Eircode: F91 FK20

Principal: Mr. Bernard Mulhern

Deputy Principal: Mr Ger Hartnett

Phone:  071 9162537

Email: scoileoinnaofa.ias@eircom.net

Website: www.stjohnssligo.com

9.20 a.m.                        School day begins with assembly in school yard.                                      

11.15 – 11.30 a.m.        Morning break

2.00 p.m.                          End of school day for Junior/  Senior infant pupils.

As  St. John’s School is a Catholic school, we seek to develop a sense of  community that attempts to live out the teaching of Christ especially in  our treatment of one another.St.  John’s School aims to respect the diversity of values and traditions in  Irish society.   We aim to develop a spirit of partnership between the  Patron, pupils, parents, teachers and other school staff as set out in  the Education Act 1998.

The  school aims to ensure a sound social, moral and religious development  in each child, helping them to be kind, tolerant and co-operative.

Our  school is a Christian community where there is mutual respect,  co-operation and justice and where each student will be able to develop  his/her own unique talents.   To this end we need to foster a sense of  order and discipline.Every child is  admitted to St. John’s on condition that they are willing and able to  obey our rules.  The welfare of all is advanced by having guidelines to  direct our behaviour.

The  Code of Behaviour has been drawn up to provide a framework within which  pupils and teachers can work together in peace and harmony for the good  of all. The right of each  child to education in a relatively disruption-free environment is  paramount. A good working relationship with parents is vital for a happy  environment which is conducive to learning.

The following strategies are used to show disapproval of unacceptable behaviour.

·        Reasoning with the pupil

·        Reprimand (including advice on how to behave)

·        Loss of privileges/Time out

·        Prescribing additional work

·        Temporary placement into another class.

·        Requiring pupils to write lines

·        Issuing yellow and red cards

·        Referral to Principal

·        Suspension

 

The policy will be implemented on the 11^th February 2015.

This policy is reviewed annually.

The school principal will be responsible for reviewing this policy.

Ratification and Communication:

The Board of Management ratified this policy on the ______________

Signed: _______________________________________

                 (Chairperson of the B.O.M.)

St.  John’s N.S. does not have adequate resources to disseminate all of it’s  policies to all the concerned members of the wider school community.   The policy is communicated to the members of the B.O.M. and is  available to the wider school community through the parent’s  representatives on the B.O.M.  All St. John’s policies are available for  inspection in the school or on our website.

·         Pupils must vacate the school buildings at break times except on  wet days.  Children should play within areas allocated to their own  particular group.

·         Pupils must play safely at all times. Anti-social, dangerous or  hurtful behaviour is forbidden, (e.g. wrestling, headlocks, jockey  backs, bullying, intimidation, teasing, jeering, fighting, spitting,  kicking, charging in groups, bad language, exclusion)

·        It is essential for pupils to keep the school grounds tidy. Children must not throw litter around.

·        Under no circumstances must a pupil leave the school ground without permission.

·        Pupils must obey the bell promptly and obey all staff on supervision duty.

·        Expulsion

·        Communication with parents.  (It should be noted that parents will be involved at an early stage rather than a last resort).

All  pupils are expected to be respectful towards their Teachers and  Ancillary Staff.  Aggressive, threatening or violent behaviour towards  them will be regarded as serious or gross misbehaviour.

Parents  are partners in the education process and good communication between  parents and teachers is vital.  Should you wish to meet your child’s  teacher, you may contact our school secretary at 9162537 and arrange  such a meeting by appointment only.

All  members of the teaching staff, Board of Management, Parents and pupils  have been involved in planning the code.  A copy of this code will be  made available to all parents and is also available to download from our  website: www.stjohnssligo.com.   The code will be reviewed at agreed  intervals.

1.      BULLYING IN ANY FORM will not be tolerated. (See Anti Bullying Policy.)

2.      Bad language is not acceptable under any circumstances.

3.       All pupils must be in their line at 9.20 a.m. and line up properly  in the yard at the end of breaks. Parents/guardians of pupils who are  late for school or pupils who are being collected early for an  appointment, must sign in, in the signing in book beside the secretary’s  office.

4.      A notification from parents is required when a pupil                 

(a) has been absent

(b) wishes to leave during school hours

(c ) where a child has been late.

(d)  when homework is not done

6.      No running or misbehaviour in the corridor.

7.      Healthy lunches are required.   Junk food/chewing gum/fizzy drinks are banned.   

8.       Eating/drinking is forbidden during class time.   Food/drink is  not allowed on yard at any time. Glass bottles are not permitted.

9.      The full school uniform is worn at all times in the school except on the day of P.E. where a tracksuit must be worn. School uniform is: maroon jumper and maroon tie, grey trousers or skirt and grey shirt.     All children’s belongings i.e. uniforms, coats, books etc must have name tags on them.

10. (a)    School property must not be marked or damaged.

(b)    Classroom furniture must be kept clean

(c) The classroom, the corridor and the school grounds must be kept litter-free.

(d) Pupils must take care of all schoolbooks whether they are their own or not or are part of our School Book Rental Scheme.

(e) In the interest of Safety & Hygiene sensible, sturdy footwear must be worn.

11.  Pupils must use the footpath when entering and exiting the school  grounds.  Pupils are not allowed to walk on the grass or under the trees  along the driveway.

12.  All homework must be completed carefully and signed by a Parent/Guardian whether or not their child is attending a homework club. All test copies must be signed by a Parent/Guardian on a weekly basis.

13. Middle front door to be used only by staff/ parents and special class pupils who arrive by transport provided by the D.E.S.

14. Under no circumstances should a child leave the school grounds without permission.

15. Pupils will obey and respect all teachers and ancillary staff irrespective of what class the pupil is in.

16.  Toilets to be used during break times.   No roaming or loitering in the  toilets or corridors in the school during class times.

17.   Pupils should use and obey the signals of the pedestrian crossing to cross the road at all times.

18. Cycling is absolutely forbidden in the school grounds.     All bicycles must be locked.

19.   (a)  No climbing on walls, roofs, drainpipes, goalposts etc.

a.  No swinging on railings

b.  Footballs may only be retrieved from outside schoolgrounds with permission of Principal or teacher on duty or 6^th class pupils who have parental consent.

c.  Leather footballs are not allowed on the yard at any time.

20. School bell to be obeyed promptly at all times.

21. Jewellery is banned.

22.  Pupils are not allowed to bring in iPods, Gameboys, MP3 players or any  other hand held games into school.  Toys are only allowed at the  discretion of the teacher.

23. Use of mobile phones during class-time or in school building is banned.   Text messaging is not allowed.

24. Entrance to school playground is via right of school building.

25.  All pupils must remain in their designated playground both before  school and during school breaks.  (i.e. Infant, Junior or Senior yards).

26.  If the weather is unsuitable pupils will remain in their classroom  during school breaks and behave accordingly under Teacher supervision.  All pupils must remain in their seats and ask permission to go to the  toilet.

27. Pupils should line up safely while waiting for the bus.

28. Staff room is out of bounds for pupils unless given permission by a staff member to enter.

·        Provide a comfortable, safe environment.

·        Support the Principal and staff in implementing the code.

·        Ratify the code.

·        Promote a positive climate in the school.

·        Ensure that the Code of Behaviour is implemented in a fair and consistent manner.

·        Arrange for review of the Code, as required.

·        Support and implement the school’s code of behaviour.

·        Recognise and affirm good work.

·        Prepare school work and correct work done by pupils.

·        Recognise and provide for individual talents and differences among pupils.

·        Be courteous, consistent and fair.

·        Keep opportunities for disruptive behaviour to a minimum.

·        Deal appropriately with misbehaviour.

·        Keep a record of instances of serious misbehaviour or repeated instances of misbehaviour.

·        Provide support for colleagues.

·        Communicate with parents when necessary and provide reports on matters of mutual concern.

·        Pupils will not be deprived of engagement in a Curricular Area, except on the grounds of health/safety.

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