Code of Behaviour

SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION

Coláiste Phádraig C.B.S. Code of Behaviour has its basis in Section 23 of the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000. The Code of Behaviour draws its criteria from the schools characteristic spirit and Mission Statement and different legislative Acts passed by the Oireachtas. The Code of Behaviour was drawn up in line with NEWB Guidelines following consultation between students, parents and teachers.

The aims of the Code of Behaviour are:

To provide guidance for pupils, teachers and parents on behavioural expectations.
To provide for the effective and safe operation of the school.
To develop students self-esteem and to promote positive behaviour.
To foster the development of a sense of responsibility and self-discipline in students based on respect, consideration and tolerance of others.
To facilitate the education and development of every student.
To foster caring attitudes to one another and to the environment.
To enable teachers to teach without disruption.

Every member of the school community has a role to play in the implementation of the Code of Behaviour.

Board of Managements Responsibilities

To provide a comfortable, safe environment.
To support the Principal and staff in implementing the code.
To ratify the code.

Principals Responsibilities

To promote a positive climate in the school.
To ensure that the Code of Behaviour is implemented in a fair and consistent manner.
To arrange for review of the Code, as required.
To inform the Board of operational issues in relation to the code.

Teachers Responsibilities

To recognise and affirm good work.
To be courteous, consistent and fair.
To keep opportunities for disruptive behaviour to a minimum.
To deal appropriately with misbehaviour.
To keep a record of instances of serious misbehaviour or repeated instances of misbehaviour.
To communicate with parents when necessary and provide reports on matters of mutual concern

Students Responsibilities

To attend school regularly and punctually.
To listen to teachers and to act on instructions/advice.
To show respect for all members of the school community.
To respect school property and the property of other students.
To avoid behaving in any way that would endanger others.
To avoid swearing, bullying, name calling etc.
To bring correct materials, books etc. to school.
To follow school and class rules.

Parents/Guardians Responsibilities

To encourage students to have a sense of respect for themselves and for the property of others.
To ensure that students attend regularly and punctually.
To be interested in, support and encourage their sons school work.
To be familiar with the Code of Behaviour and support its implementation.
To co-operate with teachers in instances where their sons behaviour is causing difficulties for others.
To communicate with the school in relation to any problems which may affect their sons progress/behaviour?
To ensure that there is a good environment for homework.
To provide boundaries around activities outside of school hours that would interfere with successful application to study and homework.
To ensure that students complete assigned homework.
To check students journals on a regular basis.

SECTION 2: SCHOOL RULES & JOURNALS

Students should cooperate promptly and courteously with all school staff, obeying instructions as soon as they are given.
Students should strive to achieve their full potential.
Students should attend school each day the school is open. If this is not possible, a phone call to the school office and a note in the school journal on his return is required.
The school uniform should be worn in full all day. Students must wear black shoes, runners are not acceptable. Students are also required to wear full school uniform during state exams and house exams.
All Students should be punctual for class. Students should be present at 8.55am in the morning and 1.45pm in the afternoon. Students who are not on time for the first class in the morning or afternoon should ‘sign in’ at the school office. Students must remain on the school premises from 8.55 am to 3.50 pm on Mondays and Tuesdays and until 3.10 pm on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays unless they are taking part in an organised school activity.
Students should have the appropriate textbooks, notebooks, writing materials and subject specific equipment with them for each class. At all times, students should have their school journal with them.
Students must show respect for the rights of others at all times. This rule particularly forbids:
1. Bullying of any kind.
2. Chewing or eating in class.
3. The possession or use of aerosol sprays, tippex or similar products.
4. Theft, damage and/or interference with the property of the school, staff members, school visitors or other students.
5. Disruptive behaviour which prevents a teacher teaching and/or students learning.
6. Any action that puts others at risk of injury.
Smoking/Vaping/the use of eCigarettes of any kind is prohibited on the school premises, in the immediate vicinity of the school and on school activities.
No student may possess, distribute, consume or be under the influence of alcohol or drugs during school hours or any activity organised by the school.
Earrings, nose studs, eyebrow rings/bars, tongue piercing jewellery or other items of facial piercing must be removed before entering the school grounds.
Hair must be a natural colour. Hairstyles must be appropriate for school. No extreme hairstyles will be allowed.
The use of aerosol deodorants in changing rooms after PE/Games is forbidden.
Students must never behave in a manner that would damage the reputation of our school.
It is each students responsibility to look after his own journal, to see that it is used appropriately and that it is not defaced.
If a student feels unwell during the school day, he should go to his Year Head, Deputy Principal or Principal who will arrange for the school office to contact home if necessary. Students should not contact home themselves in such circumstances, any student who does so will be placed on detention.
Students are not permitted to park cars, motorbikes or other motor vehicles on the school premises.

Journals

The school journal acts as both a reference book for students and parents and as a daily record of homework to be done. It is designed to help students organise their work. It is not a private diary and should be seen by parents as well as students. Students should note the following instructions:

The school journal must be available at all times for inspection by either the school staff or parents.
All homework assigned, both written and oral, must be recorded in the journal daily.
All notes from parents should be written in the journal.
Defacing the journal in any way is not permitted. The removal of any page from the journal will result in detention.
Students are not allowed to write on or deface another students diary.
If a student loses a journal, a temporary journal must be got from the Deputy Principal. A new journal must be purchased immediately from the school office.
Students who forget their journal on two occasions will incur automatic detention.

SECTION 3: REWARDS AND SANCTIONS

Rewards

Each month, the class tutor will select a ‘Student of the Month’ for each class group. The award is not purely an academic award – each students behaviour, manners and all-round contribution to school life is taken into account. One student from this group of class winners will be awarded the ‘Mark O’Neill’ overall school ‘Student of the Month’. This award is named after Mark O’Neill a past pupil who passed away at the age of 14 in 2007. All ‘Student of the Month’ winners will receive a lunch voucher to be used in the school canteen.

Students throughout the school who have demonstrated good behaviour over the course of a school year will be entered into a draw for a reward/prize. The Board of Management will fund this reward/prize.

Year Heads and/or Class Teachers will also be encouraged to take students in their class group who have made every effort to achieve their full potential on an outing at some stage during the school year.

Sanctions

Sanctions that may be imposed by a Class Teacher

The range of sanctions open to a teacher for individual and repeated offences is as follows:

To issue a verbal warning to a student.
To assign extra work, relevant to the specific subject area, to the student.
To send the student to another teacher for the rest of that class, by prior arrangement. Teachers must record the fact that the student had to be removed from class in the students journal. This note must be signed by the students Parents/Guardians.
To put the student on detention at break-time and/or at lunchtime, supervised by the teacher him/herself. Twenty four hour notice must be given for lunchtime detentions. If a student does not show up for a lunchtime detention, he will be placed on a Friday detention.
To issue a Behaviour Report Sheet (see Appendix 1).
To confiscate the offending item.
To assign a cleaning duty to the student where the offence concerned has to do with litter, chewing gum, damage, unhygienic actions, vandalism etc.
To contact in writing or by phone the Parents/Guardians of the student involved.
To report the matter at the earliest opportunity to the Year Head, Deputy Principal and/or Principal depending on the seriousness of the matter.

This list is not exhaustive.

Sanctions that may be imposed by a Year Head

In addition to the sanctions outlined in the previous section, Year Heads may also impose the following sanctions:

To issue a report card to a student. Report cards should be signed by class teachers at the end of each class, signed by Parents/Guardians at the end of the day and returned to the Year Head on the following morning. Failure to complete this process constitutes another offence against the schools Code of Behaviour.
To put the student on an official school detention after school and/or on days when classes are not in operation but the school is open (e.g. days when Parent-Teacher meetings are taking place).

School Uniform

Students who fail to come to school in the correct uniform may be sent home to change into the correct uniform or may be asked to wear a replacement uniform (or part thereof) and return the item cleaned.

Bullying

Bullying of any kind (physical, verbal, psychological, sexual, racial, relational or cyber bullying) is strictly forbidden. Students who engage in bullying behaviour will be sanctioned as outlined in the schools anti-bullying policy.

Physical Education

PE is a core element of the school curriculum and all students are expected to take part in PE. If a student fails to bring in his gear on 3 occasions for PE then he will be placed on a Friday detention. Subsequently, if a student fails to bring in his gear on 2 further occasions for PE then he will again be placed on a Friday detention. From this point on, every failure to bring in PE gear will result in a Friday detention. Repeated failure to bring in PE gear is a serious breach of the schools Code of Behaviour and will be treated accordingly.

Mobile Phones & Other Electronic Devices

In recent years, the use of mobile phones and other electronic devices has caused significant disruption in classrooms. In addition to this, the use of camera phones potentially present very serious harassment, bullying and invasion of privacy issues. If a student is found using a mobile phone, the phone will be confiscated. It must be given to the teacher on request and it will be left in the Principal or Deputy Principals office for collection at the end of the school day. If a student is found using a mobile phone a second time, the student will also be placed on a Friday detention. If a student is found using a mobile phone a third time, the student will also be placed on a Saturday detention.

Mobile phones and other electronic devices may only be used for educational purposes as directed by a teacher. The uploading, downloading or existence of inappropriate material at any time will be regarded as a serious breach of school rules. The use of a mobile phone or other electronic device as a camera or video/voice recorder is strictly forbidden. Breaches of any of these rules may result in suspension or referral to the Board of Management who may impose more serious sanctions up to and including expulsion.

Photographic images cannot be taken without the permission of:

School management, where this is feasible and possible.
Teacher in charge of school group, i.e. school matches, concerts, tours.

The taking of photographic images by students is prohibited. School personnel may set aside this rule in certain circumstances.

Students who take photographic images may incur the following sanctions:

Their mobile phone, camera, etc. will be confiscated immediately.
Their parents will be contacted and asked to take them home from the school immediately.
Further sanctions (detention, suspension or referral to the Board of Management) may also be imposed depending on the situation.

Punctuality

Students are required to be present at 8.55 am each morning when the first bell rings to get their books ready and to be in class when the second bell rings at 9 am. In the afternoon, students are required to be in class when the second bell rings at 1.50 pm. Students who arrive in class after the second bell rings in the morning or afternoon are deemed to be late. If a student is late in the morning or afternoon, he must first go to the school reception to have this fact recorded on the school system and to receive a late stamp. Teachers will also record the fact that students are late to class if lateness occurs over the course of the school day.

A Friday detention will be imposed for 3 ‘lates’ in a fortnight. Students who are persistently late – 5 times in a two week period – will be given a Saturday morning detention. Either course of action will be preceded by a note to Parents/Guardians.

School Environment/Litter

Students are encouraged to have a positive attitude towards the environment. To this end, great care should be taken of furniture and fittings and all school equipment. A student found to have damaged school property will have to repair or repay the damage done. If the damage is exceptionally serious and malicious, the student may be suspended.

The School Campus

Students must behave in a safe manner on the school campus at all times. Failure to do so may result in appropriate sanctions being imposed depending on the seriousness of the offence.

SECTION 4: THE DISCIPLINE SYSTEM IN ACTION

If a student breaches the schools Code of Behaviour then a teacher may issue a ‘Behaviour Report Sheet’ (see Appendix 1) to the student. Behaviour Report Sheets are signed by the teacher and are then passed on to the Year Head. Year Heads review the number of Behaviour Report Sheets issued to a student on a weekly basis. Each student that has been issued 4 Behaviour Report Sheets (a minimum of four, not necessarily four in the same week) has to attend detention on a Friday evening from 3.15 pm to 4.30 pm. A letter informing Parents/Guardians of a students detention will be posted home prior to the detention. This letter has to be signed by the students Parent/Guardian and returned to the Year Head. This signed letter must be returned to the Year Head on or before the Thursday of the week of the detention. Failure to do so will result in further sanctions. Any student who does not turn up for detention (unless through extreme circumstances notified to the school in advance) is automatically suspended for three days.

If liable for a second detention (a minimum of eight Behaviour Report Sheets issued), the student will bring home a note to be signed by his Parent/Guardian informing them of the Friday detention. A letter is posted to the Parent/Guardian at the same time informing them that a third detention will lead to suspension. Immediately following a third such detention (a minimum of twelve Behaviour Report Sheets issued), the student is suspended for three days. The suspension is notified to the Parent/Guardian by a letter carried home by the student and by a copy of the same letter posted home. A Parent/Guardian must accompany the student to an appointment with the Principal or Deputy Principal on their return to school after all suspensions.

At this point, the process begins again with one major change. After just two more detentions (a minimum of eight further Behaviour Report Sheets issued), a student will be suspended again for three days. From this point on, each detention (a minimum of four further Behaviour Report Sheets issued) will result in a suspension of three days. The Board of Management of the school is informed by the Principal of every suspension and where students are suspended for an accumulation of six days or more over the course of a school year, the National Education Welfare Board will be informed.

Saturday Morning Detentions

This is a more severe form of detention and can only be imposed by the Principal, Deputy Principal or a Year Head. It will be held on an as needed basis from 9 am to 10.30 am. Those attending must be on time and in full school uniform. Students who fail to attend incur an automatic three day suspension.

Saturday morning detentions may be imposed for any of the following:

Serious discipline issues.
Mitching from school/class.
Smoking/Vaping/The use of eCigarettes.
Persistent lateness (5 times in a 2 week period).

This list is not exhaustive.

Special Detentions

If a student

Does not turn up for a lunchtime detention assigned by a teacher
Forgets his Journal on two occasions
Refuses to follow a teachers instructions.

Then he will be placed on a Friday afternoon detention from 3.15 pm to 4.30 pm. Special detentions do not count towards suspensions but if a student does not turn up for this detention (unless through extreme circumstances notified to the school in advance), he will automatically be suspended for 3 days.

Special Detention may also be imposed by the Principal and/or Deputy Principal and/or Year Heads for serious breaches of school rules.

Homework Detentions

The completion of homework is essential to success in school. If a student fails to complete a homework assignment, the class teacher will:

Issue a verbal warning on the first occasion this happens,
Write a note home in the students journal on the second occasion this happens,
Phone the students Parents/Guardians on the third occasion this happens.

Subsequent failures to complete homework will be recorded by the teacher in the Homework Record Journal. If a student fails to complete 5 homework assignments (cumulative across all subjects), he will be placed on a Friday detention. If a student then fails to complete a further 5 homework assignments (10 in total, cumulative across all subjects) then he will again be placed on a Friday detention. If a student then fails to complete a further 5 homework assignments (15 in total, cumulative across all subjects) then he will be placed on a Saturday detention. If a student then fails to complete a further 5 homework assignments (20 in total, cumulative across all subjects) then he may be referred to the Board of Management.

Homework detentions do not count towards suspensions but if a student does not turn up for this detention (unless through extreme circumstances notified to the school in advance), he will automatically be suspended for 3 days.

In School Suspension

Year Heads may recommend in school suspension. This type of suspension will involve a student being excluded from some or all of his classes. Depending on the issues involved, the student involved may be allocated to the class(es) of another teacher during the suspension and/or may be required to arrive later or leave earlier than other students. In school suspension may also be imposed by the Principal or Deputy Principal.

Suspension

This is an extremely serious sanction. It is making a statement to the student that his behaviour and the refusal to respond to the requests and encouragement of teachers and Year Heads have placed that student outside the community of the school. It is a de facto statement by that student that he does not wish to abide by the standards expected of all students as contained in the school rules. Suspension from school may be imposed by either the Principal or the Deputy Principal acting on behalf of the Principal. Parents/Guardians will be contacted before a suspension is imposed on a student.

All suspensions of four days duration or more may be appealed by the student himself (if over 18) or the students Parents/Guardians, by writing a letter to that effect to the Secretary of the Board of Management. The Board may invite the student and his Parents/Guardians to a meeting to consider the matter. If, upon appeal, the Board of Management decide to overturn the suspension, details of the suspension will be removed permanently from the students school records.

Exclusion / Expulsion from School

Permanent exclusion is the most severe sanction that can be imposed by a school. It will only be imposed for very serious breaches of school discipline or in cases where the rights of a greater number of students are being denied because of the continual disruptive behaviour of a student or in cases where a students action threatens the health and safety of staff or students.

Should the Board of Management decide to exclude a student, the Board shall inform the Parents/Guardians in writing and will inform the National EducationWelfare Board. The Parents/Guardians shall be informed of their right to appeal and meet the Board. Should the Board of Management stand by its decision to exclude the student, his Parents/Guardians will be informed of their right to appeal to the National EducationWelfare Board. At all times, due regard will be given to Section 29 of the Education Act, 1998, and Section 24 of the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000.

Covid-19

All members of the school community, students, teachers, staff, SNAs, parents and guardians will fully comply with Covid-19 measures and protocols that are implemented for the health and safety of all students and staff.

In particular, the HSE recommended respiratory etiquette, hand washing hygiene and social distancing guidelines must be followed at all times.

Students must use the entry/exit doors, toilets, break areas & yards assigned to each year group. Failure to do so will result in appropriate sanctions being applied. Serious breaches of Covid-19 measures and protocols which may pose a risk to the health and safety of another student or staff member will result in referral the Board of Management who may consider more serious sanctions up to and including expulsion.

SECTION 5: CONCLUSION

It must be remembered that the vast majority of students have little or no contact with the Discipline System. The Code of Behaviour is designed to offer students every chance to alter negative behaviour patterns. This Code of Behaviour should enable teachers to teach and students to learn in a safe, structured, orderly environment. It has been approved by the Board of Management and will be subject to on-going review in light of the changing environment the school may find itself in. The school reserves the right to modify this Code of Behaviour at short notice. Any change(s) made will be communicated to Parents/Guardians and students as soon as is realistically possible after the change(s) is made.

Policy Approved: ____________________ Signed: __________________________

Appendix 1

Behaviour Report Sheet

Appendix 2

Positive Behaviour Code

(Summary of Code of Behaviour to appear in Students Journals)

Student Behaviour

Students in Colaiste Phadraig are encouraged to make a positive impact on the school community through positive behaviour.

At Coláiste Phádraig, discipline is considered to be training which enables students to make appropriate choices in a supportive environment. There is a set of clearly defined school rules which recognise good behaviour and which apply sanctions when necessary. At Coláiste Phádraig, we place a strong emphasis on recognising and commending appropriate behaviours.

Positive Behaviour Code

As a student at Coláiste Phádraig, you are expected to:

Respect yourself.
Respect the authority of all staff
- Follow instructions immediately
- Speak in an appropriate and respectful manner.
Respect other students
- Use appropriate language
- Be courteous and polite.
Work and play in a safe and responsible manner
- Follow classroom, playground and school rules.
Respect property
- Use school equipment and materials properly
- Treat other students possessions with respect.
Display a positive attitude.

Unacceptable Behaviours

The following behaviour is deemed to be unacceptable in school:

Defiance of authority or deliberate disruption.
Fighting – verbal or physical threat or action against another person.
Theft.
Vandalism – deliberate destruction of, or damage to, property.
Harassment or intimidation of students or staff – name calling, writing/passing notes, body actions etc.
Foul language – offensive or coarse language.
Failure to avail of learning opportunities.
Bullying behaviour of any kind.

Students who consistently display negative behaviour are encouraged by teachers to adopt more positive behaviour patterns. Negative behaviour has a number of clearly defined consequences.

Consequences

There are times when students do not observe the schools Positive Behaviour Code. When this occurs, one or more of the interventions may be carried out:

Verbal warning from school personnel.
Communication with Parent/Guardian.
Referral to Principal/Deputy Principal/Year Head.
Meeting with Parent/Guardian.
Removal from specified class or activity.
Detention.
Behaviour Contract with school.
Referral for evaluation of suspected learning, behavioural or emotional problem.
Restitution of damage to property.
In-school suspension.
Suspension from school.
Referral to social service agency or Gardai.
Referral to Board of Management.

These interventions will be documented on the students school record and kept on file.

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Roselawn,
Lucan,
Co Dublin

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