Primary Positive Behaviour Policy

Date: September 2026

Policy details

• Date approved by Trust Board - July 2026
• Next review date - July 2027
• Policy owner - Co-op Academy Grove

Co-op Academy Grove

Turner St, Northwood, Stoke-on-Trent ST1 2NL

01782 234550  grove@coopacademies.co.uk

 https://www.grove.coopacademies.co.uk/

Contents

Policy details        1

1. Policy Statement and Purpose        2

2. Rules and Ways of Being        3

3. Rights and Responsibilities        4

4. Developing Positive Behaviour        5

Embedding the approach        5

Meditation        5

Leadership Opportunities        5

Guidance for restorative conversations        6

Talk Types        6

5. Emotion Coaching

6. Recognition        7

7. Classroom Expectations        9

8. Expectations Around the Academy        10

9. Expectations outside of School        10

10.  Consequences        10

Early Years        10

Recording        10

Time out        10

11. Further Intervention and Support        12

12. Child on Child Abuse        13

13. Suspensions        13

14. Permanent Exclusion        14

15. Searching, Screening and Confiscation        14

Appendix        17

1. Policy Statement and Purpose

We want our school to be a place where all children and adults feel safe, happy and successful. We know that the consistent application of this policy is key to this. Through this policy, we will set out our high expectations of adults’ and pupils’ behaviour and will define unacceptable behaviours, including bullying. We will clarify the roles and responsibilities of different people within the academy community. We will also outline the rewards and sanctions which are to be used consistently by all staff.  

We want to celebrate the individuality of every child in a positive and caring environment, where everyone takes responsibility for themselves and each other. The positive atmosphere and firm boundaries nurture children’s social, moral and emotional development, rewarding their desire to make good choices, through the Co-op Ways of Being. We aim to support children to understand the positive and negative consequences of their actions and choices beyond the school gates and into adulthood. By working together, child, parent and teacher, every child will achieve their full potential.

This policy should be read in conjunction with the following policies (available on the Co-op Academy Trust website and the Co-op Academy Grove website):

Anti Bullying

Equality Statement and Objectives

Health and Safety

Positive Handling

Safeguarding and Child Protection

Special Educational Needs

Mental Health and Well-Being

Exclusions

This policy is underpinned by the following legislation and guidance:

Behaviour in Schools - Advice for Headteachers and School Staff

School suspensions and Permanent Exclusions (updated July 2026)

Searching, Screening and Confiscation - Advice for Schools

Keeping children safe in education

Mobile phones in schools - GOV.UK 

Use of reasonable force and other restrictive interventions guidance 

Education Act (2002), as amended by Education Act (2011)

Education and Inspections Act (2006)

School Discipline [Pupil Exclusions and Reviews] – England – Regulations (2012)

Equality Act (2010, revised 2018)

2. Rules and Ways of Being

Our expectations are underpinned by the Co-op’s ‘Ways of Being’.

Being Co-op is about creating an environment that celebrates difference. Somewhere both pupils and colleagues feel responsible, valued, empowered and trusted to do the right thing for each other and our community.

The four Ways of Being Co-op guide our future – no matter what we do, they’re how we do it. They are:

Our Pupil Behaviours help us define and explore each ‘Ways of Being’.

3. Rights and Responsibilities

The Academy Governing Body:

The academy governing body is responsible for monitoring this behaviour policy’s effectiveness and holding the headteacher to account for its implementation.

The Headteacher:

The headteacher is responsible for reviewing and approving this behaviour policy.

The headteacher will ensure that the school environment encourages positive behaviour and that staff deal effectively with poor behaviour, and will monitor how staff implement this policy to ensure rewards and sanctions are applied consistently.

Members of Staff:

Staff are responsible for:

• Implementing the behaviour policy consistently
• Modelling positive behaviour
• Providing a personalised approach to the specific behavioural needs of particular pupils
• Recording behaviour incidents

The senior leadership team will support staff in responding to behaviour incidents.

Parents/carers:

Parents are expected to:

• Support their child in adhering to the pupil code of conduct
• Inform the school of any changes in circumstances that may affect their child’s behaviour
• Discuss any behavioural concerns with the class teacher promptly

4. Developing Positive Behaviour

To encourage positive behaviour, all members of staff will:

• Build positive relationships with all pupils and parents/carers
• Be positive and notice/recognise good behaviour
• Be an exemplary role model in every aspect of their work and communication
• Always model good manners and insist that pupils show these too
• Remain calm in all situations
• Ensure all rewards and sanctions earned are delivered
• Be early to collect or receive pupils
• Be well prepared for all lessons to reduce transition times
• Ensure that work is matched to pupils’ needs and levels of attainment
• Have clear routines which are adhered to consistently
• Ensure pupils line up smartly and move through the school in a calm and orderly way
• Insist that all pupils demonstrate active listening when adults or peers are speaking
• Investigate reports of misbehaviour fairly and thoroughly

Our staff are provided with training on managing behaviour, including proper use of restraint, as part of their induction process. Behaviour management will also form part of continuing professional development at least on a termly basis. We recognise that lunchtime staff manage pupils’ behaviour at the least structured point in the day. Therefore, intensive training is provided for this group of staff.

A staff training log can be found in the appendix.

Embedding the approach

It is vital that all members of the academy community understand and support the implementation of the policy. To this end, we ensure the following strategies are in place:

• the use of ‘Talk Types’ to give pupils and staff a shared language for discussing communication
• the Pupil Code of Conduct is displayed in all rooms of the academy, in the playground and adults have a copy on their lanyards
• the tariff for rewards and sanctions are displayed in all rooms of the academy
• assemblies to celebrate and to reinforce pupils’ knowledge of behaviour and consequences (including through well chosen stories, parables etc)

Meditation

Pupils have two opportunities each day to practise meditation, after play time and after dinner. The purpose of this practice is to teach children self-regulation and self-mastery. This is a time of stillness and silence so it is vital that all those in the classroom give the meditation session their full attention. Recorded, guided meditation sessions are used in all classes.

Leadership Opportunities

Class teachers ensure that ‘monitor’ roles (classroom leaders) are assigned within the classroom and are on a rota basis so that all pupils are a monitor (classroom leader) at some point during the year. For pupils with SEND who have a specific need, it may be appropriate for them to have a monitor role throughout the year. This will be identified in their pupil support plans.

There are also leadership roles which give pupils the opportunity to make a contribution beyond their classroom:

• Baristas - pupils are selected to support the breakfast club. Some of these tasks include handing out the breakfast and filling up children’s drinks.
• School Council - Y3 - Y6 pupils meet on a regular basis to discuss the school and raise pupil voice to a member of staff. Their input helps to shape some of the decisions in the school.
• Reading Ambassadors - Y6  pupils are trained to read with younger pupils at lunch times.
• Attendance Ambassadors - pupils ensure the attendance door signs are up to date, support in attendance assemblies and promote attendance within the school.
• Lunchtime Ambassadors- Y6 pupils are trained to support during lunchtime.

Class DOJO points will be awarded for pupils taking on leadership roles and fulfilling their responsibilities.

Guidance for restorative conversations

If possible, talk to pupils involved separately initially.

This conversation should take place with the adult who witnessed or received the information about misbehaviour.

Talk Types

We define positive and negative communication using the labels below. This complements the shared language staff and pupils use to discuss behaviour. Members of staff consistently refer to the Talk Types when discussing pupils’ behaviour with them. Similarly, staff identify other opportunities in the curriculum to reinforce pupils’ understanding. For example, Talk Types are identified when analysing a character’s behaviour in a book or text. Scenarios in PSHE lessons also provide an ideal opportunity to consolidate and extend pupils’ understanding of their own behaviour and that of others.

At all stages of this, children will be supported and their improvements will be recognised to give children the best possible chance of again meeting Co-op Academy Grove’s whole school expectations.

5. Emotion Coaching Framework

Core Philosophy & Perspective Shift

Our behaviour policy is grounded in a trauma-informed shift in perspective. Rather than asking "What is wrong with this child?", staff must ask "What happened to this child?" and "What is this behaviour communicating?" 

Visible challenging behaviours (e.g., defiance, aggression, disruption) are often the tip of an iceberg; they may be driven by hidden root causes such as Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), insecure attachments, communication barriers, or unmet learning needs. Emotion Coaching helps children to regulate, understand, and safely express their emotions in a pro-social way.

The Biological Basis: The "Regulate, Relate, Reason" Hierarchy

To support self-regulation, interventions must follow the brain's natural processing sequence from the bottom up:

• Regulate (Brain Stem): The brain stem controls survival instincts and life support (fight/flight/freeze); a dysregulated child cannot process effectively. Staff must first establish physical and emotional safety.
• Relate (Limbic System): The limbic system processes emotions, attachment, and relationships; staff must actively validate and name the child's feelings to foster connection and calm the emotional centre.
• Reason (Cortex): The cortex handles logic, planning, and consequences. Cognitive problem-solving can only occur once the child is fully regulated and connected.

Implementation: The Three-Step Approach

Step 1: Regulate

• Objective: Lower arousal and transition the child out of a survival state.
• Strategies: Create a low-stimulation or safe space, use a calm vocal tone, offer rhythmic actions (e.g., walking), use sensory tools, or breathing exercises.

Step 2: Relate

• Objective: Notice, name, and validate the child's feelings.
• Strategies: State what is observed instead of asking interrogative questions.
• Scripting: "I can see you are feeling frustrated right now. It is okay to feel frustrated; I have felt that way before too." 

Step 3: Reason

• Objective: Set clear behavioural boundaries and collaboratively solve the problem.
• Strategies: Explicitly separate the emotion from the behaviour. Scaffold alternative ways to handle the situation for next time
• Scripting: “When your friend took your equipment, you felt angry, it’s ok to feel angry but it’s not ok to hurt/ shout at your friend. What could you do next time? You might want to ask your teacher for some equipment. How can we put things right with your friend?”

Key Implementation Guidelines for Staff

• Self-Regulation First: Staff must recognise their own emotional response and ensure they are entirely calm before attempting to co-regulate with a pupil.
• Maintain Neutrality: Remain calm, non-confrontational, and non-judgemental throughout the process.
• Universal Application: Emotion coaching is a universal approach, beneficial to all children, not just those with identified trauma or SEMH needs.
• Boundary Clarification: Validating an emotion does not mean approving of unsafe or disruptive behaviour. All emotions are acceptable, but not all behaviours are.

6. Recognition

All rewards are recorded on DOJO, which communicates to parents. All rewards are equivalent to 1 DOJO .Awards are given for:

The effective use of ClassDojo relies entirely on consistency. To ensure the system remains meaningful and fair for all pupils, the criteria for awarding points must be applied the same across all classrooms.

Rather than rewarding "good behaviour" in general, Dojo points are linked directly to the Co-op Ways of Being. This gives children a clear framework to work towards.

To keep things consistent across all classrooms, teachers will award Dojos based on specific, observable behaviours linked to each Way of Being. Each behaviour is worth 1 Dojo.

When awarding a Dojo, the class teacher will state the value out loud e.g:

"Jacob, I'm giving you a Dojo for 'Succeed together' because you helped Rebecca when she was struggling with that question.”

Rewards (Individual and Whole-Class):

To keep engagement high, points should drive both individual motivation and class teamwork.

Individual rewards: 

• The child with the most Dojo points in each class at the end of Friday afternoon receives a tangible prize (e.g. a small prize from the prize box, or 10 minutes of free choice time).

All individual bubbles reset to 0 every Monday morning. This gives every child a fresh start each week, ensuring the same 2 or 3 students don't permanently dominate the leaderboard, which causes others to give up.

Whole-class rewards:

• While individual points reset, they should still feed into a lifetime class total that never resets until a milestone is met. This builds a powerful culture of accountability and peer support

1. Set the Milestone Target: Target: 500 or 1,000 Points.The class works together to pool their points toward a grand total. Display this target prominently on the board.
2. Track Progress Daily: Spend 2 minutes at the end of each day celebrating how close the class is getting to their goal.
3. Once the target is hit, the class votes on a collective reward. Examples include: a 15-minute class dance party, an extra afternoon break, a pyjama/comfy clothes/non-uniform day, or watching a film while eating a snack. Ensure that the reward correlates with the milestone.
4. Reset the class total back to 0, and slightly increase the target for the next round to keep them challenged.

No "Negative" Dojos: Do not use the negative point feature. Deducting points publicly on a board can humiliate children and damages the trust required for positive reinforcement. Manage misbehavior through standard school sanctions, keeping Dojo strictly as a beacon for positive reinforcement.

Every child should realistically be able to earn at least 1 or 2 points a day just by consistently meeting the basic expectations of "Doing what matters most" or "Showing you care."

Be consistent: Relentlessly hand out Dojos and ensure that they are added each day to keep children motivated. Actively seek out children showing the 4 key values. Make notes of children when using active observation in lessons to ensure that you don’t forget to apply these later.

7. Classroom Expectations

All pupils within the academy will demonstrate the pupil code of conduct:

1. We are sensible around school.

2. We come into school with a pass during playtimes and lunchtimes.

3. We always do as an adult asks straight away.

4. We respect people’s property and school property.

5. We respect other people’s games.

6. We always communicate and act respectfully.

7. We keep our hands and feet to ourselves.

8. We work hard and allow others to learn.

8. Expectations Around the Academy

The code of conduct explains clearly to pupils how they should behave both in the classroom and around school. In addition, at Co-op Academy Grove we expect pupils to:

• Line up quietly and walk in line when transitioning from one room or activity to another
• Move to lines immediately after lunch when the ‘silent stop’ whistle is blown
• Respect that there is always learning happening and therefore use quiet voices inside the building
• Ensure they put all litter in the bin and behave responsibly in all inside and outside spaces
• Queue respectfully for dinner and always tidy away their tray once they have finished their meal
• Speak politely to all adults, including lunchtime supervisors, site staff and any visitors

9. Expectations outside of School

We are proud of our community and want our community to be proud of us. Our pupils are our ambassadors when identifiable and in our uniform and so we expect behaviour walking to and from school, in the community, to reflect the high standards we have for them inside of the building.

We ask that parents and carers monitor behaviour of children immediately outside the school gates and whilst walking too and from school to ensure they are safe on the busy roads and that they are not causing blocks to the walkways for other pedestrians.

10.  Consequences

Members of staff always try to intervene with low-level misbehaviour at the earliest point in the most subtle way. For example, this could be through making eye contact with the pupil, a gesture, facial expression or standing near to the child. The adult will then notice when the pupil makes good choices. The adult will acknowledge this - through subtle (e.g. smile, nod) or explicit (e.g. verbal praise, Coop Coins) means. If this approach is not appropriate for the situation, or if such strategies fail, the following approach is followed.

In challenging misbehaviour, members of staff will follow these steps:

Step 1: Member of staff says to the pupil: “This is your reminder to make the right choice.”

If the misbehaviour continues:

Step 2: Member of staff says to the pupil: “I’m giving you an instruction to …”

If the misbehaviour continues:

Step 3: Member of staff says to the pupil: “You are choosing not to follow rule number x and have … minutes time out at break time”

If the misbehaviour continues:

Step 4: Remind the pupil at 5 minute intervals how much time they are accruing.

If pupils (Years 3 - 6) do not adhere to the Pupil Code of Conduct (see earlier definition of ‘misbehaviour’) and reach Step 3, they will have ‘time out’ during the next play and/or lunchtime (see below for duration). For misbehaviour occurring at play or lunch time, pupils will be escorted to ‘The Reflection Zone’ to start their time out immediately. If pupils are absent from school, their time out will be carried over until they return.

In instances of serious misbehaviour (see earlier definition), the member of staff will move straight to Step 3 without issuing warning.

Time out takes place in ‘The Reflection Zone’ and is led by a member of staff. The member of staff will speak to each pupil about their behaviour, ensuring that:

• all incidents have been investigated and dealt with fairly, in line with this policy
• sanctions issued are correct
• pupils take responsibility for their actions
• pupils reflect on how they could behave differently in future to avoid sanctions
• time out is conducted in silence and any time lost due to misbehaviour is added on

Teaching assistants on duty make note of any children not following the Behaviour Policy who require time to reflect on their actions with a member of staff.. The member of staff issuing the reflection or lunchtime lead will escort any pupils needing time out to The Reflection Zone during lunch time or, if towards the end of the session, they will create a note to include them the following day. .

Early Years

Children in the early years who breach the Code of Conduct will have their time out immediately after an incident within the early years setting. The length of time out will be determined by the teacher.

Recording

The member of staff who investigated or witnessed the incident will record it on Class Charts. The learning mentor will keep a record to ensure that time out has been completed. For serious misbehaviour, the learning mentor will consult with the SLT, make a telephone call to parents and will record this on Class Charts. If sexually harmful behaviour occurs, this is recorded on CPOMs (not Class Charts) as a safeguarding concern. Appropriate actions will be taken, inline with this policy and the Safeguarding & Child Protection policy.

Consequences

Consequences are given based on the severity of the incident. The Behaviour Curriculum is followed by the majority of the school with the exception of individual children’s needs. Behaviours are recorded on Arbor under the following severities:

11. Further Intervention and Support

Co-op Academy Grove is aware of the links between the SEND Code of Practice, our SEND processes and the whole school behaviour system outlined in this policy. Some special educational needs may pose a barrier or difficulty when applying the requirements of this policy, and require suitable adaptations, for example pupils with social, emotional, mental health difficulties and diagnosis such as Autism. We recognise our legal duty under the Equality Act (2010) to ensure reasonable adjustments are made that are personalised to the pupil’s strengths and needs, and regularly reviewed.

Reasonable adjustments can take the form of how the behaviour policy expectations are explained to children with SEND, so that they understand what they should and should not do.

In conjunction with the class teacher, the SENDCo will evaluate a pupil who exhibits challenging behaviour to determine whether there is a possibility of the pupil having underlying needs that are not currently being met.

Where required, strategies will be put into place to address and support, and reviewed using the graduated approach of assess, plan, do, review cycle. Liaison with external agencies will take place where necessary. Where appropriate, pupils who struggle to manage their own behaviour will be given specific, measurable targets (e.g. I will remain in my seat during lessons; I will put my hand up to speak; I will use only kind words). Some pupils will have an individual reward chart which acknowledges positive behaviour over short periods of time (e.g. 5 or 10 mins). These rewards will then accumulate for pupils to earn the Co-op Coins in line with their peers.

Where pupils display behaviours which could put themselves, others or the order of the academy at risk, positive handling plans and individual risk assessments will be put in place. Any restrictive physical intervention will be recorded in the bound book and communicated to parents/carers.

Adapting approaches depending on the age and stage of a pupil/ cohort (please include or delete as appropriate to your setting/ age range).

Example: Early Years Foundation Stage Behaviour Provision

In the early years, positive behaviour management is deeply rooted in trauma-informed research and the EYFS framework, specifically supporting the prime area of Personal, Social, and Emotional Development and the Characteristics of Effective Learning.

Central to our approach is Emotion Coaching, where practitioners validate and name children's feelings while maintaining clear boundaries, teaching them that all emotions are acceptable even when certain actions are not.

Through the ‘Regulate, Relate, Reason’ model, staff co-regulate with children to calm their physiological ‘fight, flight, freeze’ responses, building the vital emotional literacy needed for self-regulation. To ensure proactive, early intervention, all academies implement the Highfield Resilience Tracker. Based on Edith Grotberg’s ‘I am, I have, I can’ framework, this tool allows practitioners to precisely identify emotional needs and provide targeted support through high-quality adult interactions and strong parental engagement.

When behavioural boundaries are crossed, practitioners utilise logical consequences that are developmentally appropriate, helping children understand the impact of their actions.

This early years approach directly aligns with the Trust Behaviour Setplay, ensuring a positive foundation that empowers children to progress from co-regulation to independent self-regulation as they transition through school.

12. Child on Child Abuse

Co-op Academy Grove is committed to ensuring a climate of safety for all students by challenging inappropriate behaviour between peers. We have a zero tolerance approach of all forms of child on child abuse including (but not limited to):

• Bullying (including cyberbullying, prejudice-based and discriminatory bullying)
• Abuse in intimate personal relationships between peers
• Physical abuse such as hitting, kicking, shaking, biting, hair pulling, or otherwise causing physical harm (this may include an online element which facilitates, threatens and / or encourages physical abuse)
• Sexual violence, such as rape, assault by penetration and sexual assault (this may include an online element which facilitates, threatens and / or encourages physical abuse)
• Sexual harassment, such as sexual comments, remarks, jokes and online sexual harassment, which may be standalone or part of a broader pattern of abuse
• Causing someone to engage in sexual activity without consent, such as forcing someone to strip, touch themselves sexually, or to engage in sexual activity with a third party
• Consensual and non-consensual sharing of nudes and semi nude images and / or videos (also known as sexting or youth produced sexual imagery)
• Upskirting, which typically involves taking a picture under a person’s clothing without their permission, with the intention of viewing their genitals or buttocks to obtain sexual gratification, or cause the victim humiliation, distress or alarm
• Initiation / hazing type violence and rituals (this could include activities involving harassment, abuse or humiliation used as a way of initiating a person into a group and may also include an online element

Where there are any reports of child on child abuse, including sexual violence and sexual harassment,  we will follow the guidance set out in Keeping Children Safe in Education. The Academy maintains a zero tolerance approach to all forms of child on child abuse and always maintain the attitude ‘it could happen here’. We will always take any reports or disclosures seriously. Any sanctions for child on child abuse will be proportionate, considered, supportive and will be decided on a case by case basis. Sanctions could include managing the incident internally, referring to early help, referring to children’s social care or reporting the incident to the police. Serious incidents could result in permanent exclusion. The Academy will not tolerate behaviour of this nature, whilst also not demonising anyone – we will support and listen to all of the pupils involved. The alleged perpetrator(s) will be offered support so that they can change their behaviour.

For more information on how we deal with child on child abuse please see:

Co-op Academy Grove Anti Bullying Policy.

Co-op Academy Grove Child Protection Policy.

Keeping Children Safe in Education

13. Suspensions

This policy links with our exclusions policy. Internal exclusions, fixed term exclusions and permanent exclusions are only used as a last resort to address serious misbehaviour and/or when the sanctions in this policy have not been effective.

14. Permanent Exclusion

Permanent exclusion is a last resort. A Headteacher may decide to permanently exclude a student for persistent disruptive behaviour, where despite the school's best effort, a student insists on breaching the school's behaviour policy. A permanent exclusion could also be the consequence for a first 'one off' offence, based on the severity of the behaviour. One off offences may include:

• Serious actual or threatened violence against another student or member of staff (including online threats or abuse)
• Assault on a student or member of staff
• Sexual abuse or assault
• Supplying or using an illegal drug
• Carrying an offensive weapon (including any article made or adapted for causing injury)
• Serious one off incidents including ‘Hate’ incidents / crime or bullying

 Further information on permanent exclusions can be found in the Trust’s Exclusion policy.

15. Searching, Screening and Confiscation

The Headteacher has statutory power to search pupils and possessions if there are reasonable grounds to suspect pupils have prohibited items. Searches may also be carried out by members of staff and contractors authorised by the Headteacher. All authorised staff will be up to date with screening and searching procedures as laid out in government guidance .  When conducting searches, the Headteacher will consider the age and ability of students and make reasonable adjustments where necessary. Where possible searches will be conducted with the student present and away from other students  (unless there is reason to believe that significant harm could happen if we wait).

The school can search a student for any item with their consent and in their presence (e.g. turning out pockets / looking in bags). Staff have the power to search (without consent) if they have reason to believe a student possesses any of the following items:

• knives and weapons
• alcohol
• illegal drugs
• stolen items
• tobacco and cigarette papers
• cigarettes
• e-cigarettes
• lighters and matches
• fireworks
• pornographic images
• anything that has been or is likely to be used to commit an offence, cause injury,damage property

Wherever possible, searches will be carried out by two authorised members of staff, or contractor  by staff members of the same gender as the student, and with the student present as a witness. Searches that require physical contact or use of force will always be a last resort. Where the risk is considered significant, they will be conducted by a trained member of staff of the same sex as the pupil, or, if possible, and preferably, by a family member. If this is not possible (due to urgency of the situation) searches will be conducted by a permanent member of staff, with the appropriate training, of the same sex and an appropriate adult (of the same sex). In all cases, only outer clothing will be searched (pockets, bags, shoes etc). No member of the school community will conduct a search that reveals a student’s underwear or skin (beyond shirt sleeves).

Staff will confiscate and retain a student’s property if it is a banned item or any item being used to cause harm to self or others, damage to property, or disruption to the maintaining of a purposeful learning environment. For any confiscated item that is not deemed to be dangerous or potentially / known to be illegal, the confiscating staff member is required to make a proportionate and fair decision about what happens next with the item, for example:

• returning the item to the student at the end of that lesson
• returning the item to the student at the end of that day
• escalating the issue to a member of the year team / senior leadership team
• discussing with the student’s family about how best to return or dispose of the item

Retention of, damage to or disposal of a student’s personal property should not be used as a sanction and confiscation, including how the confiscation is followed up, should only be used to ensure the maintenance of a safe and purposeful learning environment.

Screening

• If a student refuses to be screened, the school may refuse to have the student on the premises. Health and safety legislation requires a school to be managed in a way which does not expose students or staff to risks to their health and safety and this would include making reasonable rules as a condition of admittance.
• If a student fails to comply, and the school does not let the student in, the student’s absence will be treated as unauthorised. The student should comply with the rules and attend.

The academy follows all DfE guidance for searching, screening and confiscation which can be found here: Reference: Searching, screening and confiscation in schools - GOV.UK 

Power to use reasonable force  

Members of staff have the power to use reasonable force to prevent students committing an offence, injuring themselves or others, or damaging property, and to maintain good order and discipline in the classroom. Headteachers and authorised school staff may also use such force as is reasonable given the circumstances when conducting a search without consent for knives or weapons, alcohol, illegal drugs, stolen items, tobacco and cigarette papers, fireworks, pornographic images or articles that have been or could be used to commit an offence or cause harm.

The academy follows all DfE guidance for Restrictive interventions, including use of reasonable force, in

schools which can be found here:

Use of reasonable force and other restrictive interventions guidance 

Please also see the Co-op Academies Trust Positive Handling Policy for the process of searching and screening and use of reasonable force (available on the school website).

Mobile Phones / Devices

• Co-op Academy Grove is mobile phone-free environments by default.
• The default position is that pupils are not allowed to bring their mobile phones to school - for their own safety and security and for the comfort and peace of mind of others.

If there are exceptions to the ban of mobile phones for primary schools in upper Key Stage 2 the following applies (please use or delete as necessary):

• Phones and other devices (e.g. tablets, Airpods and Smart watches) must not be seen or heard on the school site between 7.50am (for pupil attending school breakfast club)/ 8.20am and 2.50pm
• Mobile phones / devices must never be seen or heard inside the school building
• All staff should consistently enforce the school’s policy on the use of mobile phones.
• Staff should not use their own mobile phone for personal reasons in front of pupils throughout the school day.
• For sanctions involving a breach of the above, see consequences table in appendix i
• In exceptional and necessary circumstances a pupil may be allowed access to their mobile phone during the school day, where it is necessary due to the nature of their disability. This may be considered a reasonable adjustment supporting the specific needs of the pupil (e.g. Medical). This exception will be rare and will be regularly monitored and reviewed and where reasonable alternatives can be found they should be considered.
• Co-op Academy Grove will set out and communicate with staff, pupils and parent/carers how they wish to manage the use of mobile phones by pupils on residential trips or trips outside of the normal school day. This will ensure that pupils’ educational experience on a school trip is not disrupted by the presence of mobile phones and should consider prohibiting or restricting their use.

Reference: Mobile phones in schools - GOV.UK 

 Audio and video recording wearables

• In addition to the guidance around mobile phones and smart devices (including tablets and watches) and to meet modern safeguarding and security challenges, Co-op Academy Grove behavior policy enforces a zero-tolerance, "not seen, not heard, not worn" policy for all audio and video recording wearables across the school site.
• This comprehensive ban specifically targets smartwatches (including children's tracking models with remote audio activation), AI-enabled earbuds (e.g. AirPods Pro 2 capable of live translation or phone-streaming), smart glasses (e.g. Ray-Ban Metas), and clip-on AI badge pins. All such devices must be turned off and stored securely in bags upon arrival at school by students and parents attending for a meeting or school event.

Furthermore, to protect the confidentiality of sensitive discussions and ensure lesson integrity, the school enforces the following protocols:

•  Enforcement: Any broadcast, live-stream, or unauthorised capture of a lesson or school environment will result in immediate device confiscation, parent contact, and significant behavioral sanctions in alignment with the academy's disciplinary procedures.
• Consent & Broadcasting: Capturing audio or video of staff or pupils without explicit consent is strictly handled as a safeguarding breach rather than a minor technology misuse.
• Wearable-Free Zones: All meeting spaces including the SENCO room, Headteacher’s office, and safeguarding meeting spaces are designated strict wearable-free zones for all staff, pupils, parents, and visitors to prevent unauthorized covert recordings.

Appendix

Co-op Academy Grove Consequences for behaviour

Examples of approaches / posters etc

suspension processes / re-integration processes

Uniform expectation pics / images etc.

Scripts / scaffolds used

Home academy agreement

Approaches to behaviour

Graduated response document