St Colmcille's BNS

School Rules

1. Pupils must wear the correct uniform and have all homework completed.
2. Pupils walk quietly around the school, and leave and enter the school building quietly and in single file.
3. Keep the school clean and litter free.
4. All absences of the pupils must be explained to the class teacher by a parent / guardian in writing
5. Any form of behaviour which interferes with the rights of others is unacceptable.

Classroom Rules

1. Follow instructions straight away.
2. Do your work well and on time.
3. Speak only with permission during lessons.
4. Before leaving your place, always get permission.
5. Always have the proper school materials and use them only when needed
6. Allow others to do their work without interruption.

Rules for Outside Play Areas

1. Follow directions from all staff immediately.
2. Walk in the yard and when leaving or coming into school grounds.
3. No rough play in yard or on the field.
4. Do not re-enter the school building during the breaks.Keep away from the areas that are out of bounds (Shelters, toilets- without permission)
5. Food and drink are not to be brought to the yard

Rewards for Good Behaviour

At the heart of the Code of Behaviour is an effort to reward, praise and encourage good behaviour from all of the pupils.

Procedures for Infant Classes

Merit Books

• The children must get a full card of stamps (miss no stars) in a week to get a sticker on the class chart. If the child gets one sticker per week for the duration of a half-term, a prize will be awarded to him (pencil, eraser).
• Children may only miss / lose one merit star per week in order to receive a treat.
• One pupil per week will receive a certificate. This is awarded to the child who has made that extra effort.

Sanctions

• In cases of extreme misbehaviour, a merit will be lost immediately.  If a child misbehaves in the playground, a merit is taken away immediately.  Children may be isolated from the other pupils (put to stand at the wall for a specified time) if they are involved in dangerous play.
• In the classroom, a yellow card will be given as a  warning when a child misbehaves (talking out of turn constantly, leaving place without permission, being rough with other pupils).  If misbehaviour persists, a red card will be given.  This means that their merit will not be given for that period. If misbehaviour persists, time–out will occur.

Procedures for Other Pupils

• Each day, a child will be given stamps in the merit bookStamps are awarded for being on time for school, for wearing the correct uniform, for doing homework and for good behaviour during each part of the day
• The number of stamps a child gets is added each week
• Certificates are awarded to children when they have received a certain number of stamps.

Daily Procedures

1. Children can receive up to 4 stamps daily.
2. Stamps are awarded on the following basis:

• 1 stamp awarded at 10.40 a.m. each day (for being on time, for wearing uniform, for completing homework and for good behaviour and effort).
• 1 stamp is to be awarded for good behaviour and effort at 12.20 p.m. for the midday session.
• 1 stamp is to be awarded for good behaviour and effort during the afternoon session.
• One bonus stamp may be awarded at teacher’s discretion. (For example, bonus can be awarded to entire class if they receive award for being best line in yard).
• Bonus stamps are awarded if a pupil gets 15 stamps in a week. They may also be awarded at a teacher’s discretion

Each stage in the day gives a pupil a fresh start. This means that even if a pupil gets a yellow card or other sanction in Stage One, he can still get a stamp in Stage Two or Three.

The rewards are chosen from the following list:

Daily

• Public praise
• Star stamps
• Subject pass
• Homework pass

Weekly

• Time on PC or special activity
• Student of the week certificate
• Homework pass
• Letter of commendation to parents
• Individual / group credits

Term

• Certificate or merit awards
• End of term party / Class outing
• Extra PE
• 50 merit stamps : Postcard
• 100 merit stamps: Lucky Dip / Outing

What happens when a rule is broken?

The rules for good behaviour are very clearly laid out and each child is taught them in school.  In cases where a child misbehaves, there is also a very clear set of steps which will be followed.  These are called Behaviour Checks.

The school day is divided into 3 stages

• From 8.50 a.m. to 10.45 a.m.
• From 10.45 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.
• From 12.30 p.m. to Home time (1.30 p.m. or 2.30 p.m.)

If a child breaks a class rule, he starts on Stage One with a yellow card and does not get a stamp for that session.  The child starts the next session with a clean slate and this provides the opportunity for him to improve during the next session.  The child makes a choice whether to behave or misbehave.  The entire system revolves around showing the child that good actions have positive consequences and that misbehaviour has negative consequences.

If a child reaches Step 6, he is sent to the Principal and his name is noted in the Serious Misbehaviour Book.  If a child’s name is noted in this book twice during a month, he may be suspended from school.

Pupils who misbehave frequently may not be allowed to participate in school outings for their own safety and that of the other pupils.

Note: Although incidents of misbehaviour are recorded, the emphasis is on encouraging children to behave well and praise is given for commendable behaviour.  Parents will be informed at an early stage if problems occur and not simply at the point where a crisis has arisen.  At times, it has been suggested by some parents that the matters to which their attention is being drawn are of a trivial nature, and that there was no necessity to have informed them that their children were misbehaving.  The response to this is that while the misbehaviour may appear to be of a trivial nature, it is the cumulative effect of such breaches of the rules which is important and not the offence itself.

Suspension

Procedures for the suspension of a pupil are as follows:

1. Parent is invited to discuss the matter with the class teacher and the principal.
2. If suspension is being invoked, the parent is informed, and then confirmation of the duration of the suspension is provided in writing.
3. The maximum period of an initial suspension is three school days.
4. A special decision of the Board of Management is necessary to authorise a further period of exclusion up to a maximum of ten school days to allow for consultation with the pupils’ parents. In exceptional circumstances, the Board of Management may authorise a further period of exclusion in order to enable the matter to be reviewed.

Parents (or guardians) are expected to become familiar with the Code of Behaviour.  Acceptance of a place in our school implies parental support for the Code of Behaviour.  The co-operation of parents (or guardians) is a vital element in the implementation of the Code of Behaviour