Behaviour Policy

Section 1Aim

At Being The Cure, behaviour is understood as the outward expression of what is happening inside a child. Two things shape it. The first is their emotional state and their ability to regulate it. The second is their moral compass: the internalised guide by which they tell right from wrong, perceive a situation, and decide how to act. We work on both. We do not ask children to hide their emotions in order to produce a quiet classroom; we help them understand what they are feeling, through dialogue and discussion, so that they can choose how to express it. Alongside that we develop the inner values of humility, honesty and kindness, from which the moral compass is formed, because a child who views a situation through those values reaches a better decision without being told what that decision is.

Our aims are to:

• To create an atmosphere of mutual caring and respect in which successful learning through effective teaching takes place.
• To develop, for all learners a positive sense of self-worth, self-discipline and an acceptance of responsibility for their own actions.
• To develop an appropriate respect for our environment.
• To encourage all learners to listen to, and have respect for, the viewpoint of others.
• To underpin all interactions with children and adults with our values of humility, honesty and kindness.
• To develop the inner values of humility, honesty and kindness, so that children view their decisions through their moral compass rather than through reward and sanction.

Section 2Objectives

We will achieve our aims through the following:

• Providing a consistent approach to behaviour management that is applied equally by all staff to all children with consideration to individual context
• The setting by staff of appropriate and acceptable standards for children to follow
• Defining what we consider to be unacceptable behaviour, including bullying and discrimination
• Outlining how children are expected to behave
• Identifying any safeguarding concerns that are the root of any unacceptable behaviour
• Summarising the roles and responsibilities of different people in the Being The Cure community with regards to behaviour management
• Outlining an appropriate system of rewards and sanctions
• Identifying and communicating the importance of collaboration between home and Being The Cure
• Suggesting what extra support can be offered to groups of children who are at a higher risk of exclusion, or children who are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of exclusion.

Section 3Legislation and guidance

Being The Cure is not a school, and the statutory Department for Education guidance on behaviour and discipline, on searching, screening and confiscation, and on suspension and exclusion does not apply to it. This policy is based on the following:

• Out-of-school settings: safeguarding guidance for providers (DfE, last updated 9 February 2026). It expects a provider to have a staff behaviour policy covering the acceptable use of technology and the relationships and communications between parents, children, staff and volunteers, including the use of social media.
• The Equality Act 2010, in particular section 29 (a service provider must not discriminate, whether or not the service is provided for payment) and section 29(7) (the duty to make reasonable adjustments). A child’s behaviour may be a manifestation of a disability, and applying this policy without adjustment may itself be discrimination.
• The Children Act 1989 and the Children Act 2004, and BTC’s Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy. Behaviour that indicates a child may be suffering or at risk of harm is a safeguarding matter, not a behaviour matter, and is dealt with under that policy.
• The Special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0 to 25 years (DfE, 2015), as a source of good practice on identifying and responding to unmet need.

BTC staff and volunteers have no statutory power to use force. They may use no more than reasonable physical intervention to prevent a child from injuring themselves or another person, or from causing serious damage to property, in the same way as any other adult. Any physical intervention must be reported to the CEO and the DSL on the same day, recorded in writing, and the child’s parent or carer informed.

BTC staff and volunteers must not search a child or their belongings without consent, and must not confiscate property except where it is necessary to remove something dangerous, which must then be handed to the CEO or DSL.

Where a child’s behaviour means that BTC cannot safely continue to include them, the decision to suspend or end a child’s place rests with the CEO, must be recorded with reasons, must have regard to the duty to make reasonable adjustments, and carries a right of appeal to the Board under the Complaints Policy. BTC does not use the language of “exclusion”, which describes a statutory process available to schools.

Section 4Definitions

Good behaviour at Being The Cure is the outward expression of humility, honesty and kindness. It shows in how a child treats others, how they respond when things do not go their way, and the choices they make when no adult is watching. In practice it means respect for the needs of the Being The Cure community, care for each other — staff and children alike — and support for one another’s aspirations. We distinguish this from compliance. A child who follows a rule because they fear the consequence has complied; a child who follows it because they understand why it matters to someone else has behaved well. Both keep a session running. Only the second is what this policy sets out to develop.

Misbehaviour is defined as:

• Disruption in lessons, in between lessons, and at breaktimes or in the playground
• Poor attitude
• Use of inappropriate language

Serious misbehaviour is defined as:

• Repeated breaches of rules
• Physically harming others
• Any form of bullying
• Sexual violence, such as rape, assault by penetration, or sexual assault (intentional sexual touching without consent)
• Sexual harassment, meaning unwanted conduct of a sexual nature, such as:
  • Sexual comments
  • Sexual jokes or taunting
  • Physical behaviour like interfering with clothes
  • Online sexual harassment such as unwanted sexual comments and messages (including on social media), sharing of nude or semi-nude images and/or videos, or sharing of unwanted explicit content
• Vandalism
• Theft
• Fighting
• Smoking
• Racist, sexist, homophobic or discriminatory behaviour
• Possession of any prohibited items. These are:
  • Knives or weapons
  • Alcohol
  • Illegal drugs
  • Stolen items
  • Tobacco and cigarette papers
  • Fireworks
  • Pornographic images
  • Any article a staff member reasonably suspects has been, or is likely to be, used to commit an offence, or to cause personal injury to, or damage to the property of, any person (including the child)

Section 5Bullying

Bullying is defined as the repetitive, intentional harming of 1 person or group by another person or group, where the relationship involves an imbalance of power.

Bullying is, therefore:

• Deliberately hurtful
• Repeated, often over a period of time
• Difficult to defend against

Bullying can include:

Bullying in any form must be reported to the session lead or the Designated Safeguarding Lead. It will then be investigated by members of staff/the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) on-site.

Section 6Roles and responsibilities

6.1The Board of Trustees

The board will review this behaviour policy in conjunction with the CEO and monitor the policy’s effectiveness, holding the CEO to account for its implementation.

6.2The CEO

The CEO is responsible for reviewing this behaviour policy in conjunction with the board of trustees.

The CEO will ensure that the environment and staff/volunteers encourage positive behaviour and that staff deal effectively with poor behaviour and will monitor how staff implement this policy.

In conjunction with the DSL, the CEO will ensure that this behaviour policy works alongside the safeguarding policy to offer children both sanctions and support when necessary.

The CEO will ensure that the behaviour records held on the Saturday School app are reviewed on a regular basis, to make sure that no groups of children are being disproportionately impacted by this policy.

6.3Staff

Staff are responsible for:

• Implementing the behaviour policy consistently
• Modelling humility, honesty and kindness in their own conduct, since children take the values from what adults do more readily than from what adults say (see section 4)
• Providing a personalised approach to the specific behavioural needs of particular children
• Recording behaviour incidents on the Saturday School app at saturdayschool.beingthecure.org

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

6.4Parents

Parents are expected to:

• Support their child in adhering to the child code of conduct (as set out in section 7)
• Inform BTC of any changes in circumstances that may affect their child’s behaviour
• Discuss any behavioural concerns with the session lead promptly

Section 7Child code of conduct

We follow two ground rules in all of our sessions and expect all children to remember this at all times. These rules are explained at the beginning of their year with us and also regularly during sessions. The rules are as follows:

1. 1.Respect the Speaker – When someone is speaking, whether they are a teacher or a child, everyone must respect them by looking at them, listening to them, and through appropriate body language.
2. 2.Raising hands – When children have the urge to speak or ask a question, we expect them to raise their hands and wait for the teacher or session lead to allow them to speak when they are ready.

Both rules are small acts of humility and kindness: respecting the speaker means accepting that another person’s contribution matters as much as your own, and raising a hand means making room for others to be heard. We teach the reason, not only the rule.

Beyond these two rules, children are expected to:

• Behave in an orderly and self-controlled way
• Show respect to members of staff and each other
• Support the creation of an environment where all children can learn
• Treat the buildings we use and the property in them with respect

We do understand that this might not be always possible, and that children do forget. We try to weave this behaviour into the fabric of our sessions which means over time, children learn to follow these rules consistently.

Section 8Rewards and sanctions

8.1Our approach to rewards and sanctions

Rewards and sanctions, in majority of the cases, are known to bring out immediate compliance results especially in primary school aged children. Whilst the outcomes in the form of compliance can be observed readily, there are certain long term negative consequences which have been documented by psychologists. For example, excessive reliance on rewards or benefits for doing good things.

There are studies that show that inconsistent use of rewards and sanctions especially in an environment without a values-driven culture can be detrimental to children’s learning.

Being The Cure’s approach is to build an environment of trust, and to develop the values from which good behaviour follows. Our Moral Development Framework sets out three core values — humility, honesty and kindness — each in an inner form, which is how a child regards themselves, and an outer form, which is how they treat others. The inner forms together shape the moral compass, and the moral compass orients how a child perceives a situation and what they decide to do about it. Behaviour is the visible end of that process. We therefore work on the thinking that produces the behaviour, and treat rewards and sanctions as a support to that work rather than the means of achieving it.

8.2Rewarding children

Character determines behaviour, and therefore we encourage good behaviour through praise and positive declarations (For example: I completely believe that you can do it). We aim to instil an intrinsic love for good behaviour through our education for character programmes so that the motivation for behaviour comes intrinsically rather than through rewards.

Some strategies that are employed are:

• Verbal praise (a kind word or just encouragement).
• Praise from teachers or support staff.
• Praise in front of peers or parents.
• Thumbs up, smiles, applause.
• Positive feedback about work or behaviour (verbal or written).
• A letter home to parents from staff.
• Acknowledgement of positive choices.

8.3Sanctions

We do not believe in reforming character through sanctions that humiliate a child or those that can be avoided for better alternatives. We use strategies which provide more long-lasting results and build deeper trust.

However, in extreme cases of unacceptable behaviour, we may use methods of:

• Verbal reprimand
• Sending the child out of the class to regulate or manage their emotions
• Remove them from their activity temporarily
• Referring the child to another member of staff for a conversation

In all cases of unacceptable behaviour the mentor will hold a one-to-one conversation with the child. The conversation explores what was happening for the child, supports them in regulating their emotions, and asks them to look at what happened through their moral compass — what humility, honesty or kindness would have asked of them, and what they would do differently. The purpose is understanding and repair, not admission of fault. The mentor may contact parents to support the child further.

8.4Sexual harassment and sexual violence

BTC will ensure that all incidents of sexual harassment and/or violence are met with a suitable response, and never ignored.

Children are encouraged to report anything that makes them uncomfortable, no matter how ‘small’ they feel it might be.

BTC’s response will be:

• Proportionate
• Considered
• Supportive
• Decided on a case-by-case basis

BTC has procedures in place to respond to any allegations or concerns regarding a child’s safety or wellbeing. Please refer to our Safeguarding and Child Protection policy for more information at www.beingthecure.org/policies.

8.5Malicious allegations

Where a child makes an allegation against a member of staff and that allegation is shown to have been deliberately invented or malicious, we will discipline the child in accordance with this policy.

Where a child makes an allegation of sexual violence or sexual harassment against another child and that allegation is shown to have been deliberately invented or malicious, we will discipline the child in accordance with this policy.

In all cases where an allegation is determined to be unsubstantiated, unfounded, false, or malicious, the charity (in collaboration with the local authority designated officer, where relevant) will consider whether the child who made the allegation is in need of help, or the allegation may have been a cry for help. If so, a referral to children’s social care may be appropriate.

We will also consider the pastoral needs of staff and children accused of misconduct.

Please refer to our Safeguarding and Child Protection policy for more information on responding to allegations of abuse against staff or other children.

Section 9Behaviour management

9.1Classroom management

Teaching and support staff are responsible for setting the tone and context for positive behaviour within the classroom.

They will:

• Create and maintain a stimulating environment that encourages children to be engaged
• Display the child code of conduct or their own classroom rules
• Develop a positive relationship with children, which may include:
  • Greeting children in the morning/at the start of lessons
  • Establishing clear routines
  • Communicating expectations of behaviour in ways other than verbally
  • Highlighting and promoting good behaviour
  • Concluding the day positively and starting the next day afresh
  • Having a plan for dealing with low-level disruption
  • Using positive reinforcement

9.2Removal from classrooms

Staff will only remove children from the classroom once other behavioural strategies have been attempted unless the behaviour is so extreme as to warrant immediate removal.

Removal can be used to:

• Restore order if the child is being unreasonably disruptive
• Allow the disruptive child to continue their learning in a managed environment

BTC will consider an alternative approach to behaviour management for children who are frequently removed from class, which will include:

• Regular meetings with the mentor
• Preparatory sessions with another staff/mentor

9.3Physical restraint

In some circumstances, staff may use reasonable force to restrain a child to prevent them:

• Hurting themselves or others
• Damaging property

Incidents of physical restraint must:

• Always be used as a last resort
• Be applied using the minimum amount of force and for the minimum amount of time possible
• Be used in a way that maintains the safety and dignity of all concerned
• Never be used as a form of punishment
• Be recorded on the Saturday School app and reported to the child’s parent or carer on the same day

Lawful methods of reasonable force might involve:

• physically interposing between children
• blocking a child’s path
• holding, pushing or pulling
• leading a child by the hand or arm
• shepherding a child away by placing a hand in the centre of the back
• in extreme circumstances using more restrictive holds.

9.4Confiscation

BTC staff and volunteers have no power of search. Where a child is believed to have a prohibited item listed in section 4, a member of staff may ask the child to hand it over, and may ask them to turn out a bag or a pocket, but may not search the child or their belongings without consent. Where a child refuses and the item is believed to be dangerous, the session lead contacts the CEO or the DSL, and the police where there is an immediate risk to anyone.

An item handed over is passed to the CEO or the DSL the same day and recorded. Dangerous or illegal items are not returned to the child, and the CEO decides whether to pass them to the police or to a parent or carer. Any other item handed over is returned at the end of the session, or to a parent or carer where that is more appropriate.

9.5Support for children

The charity recognises its legal duty under the Equality Act 2010 to prevent children with a protected characteristic from being at a disadvantage. Consequently, our approach to challenging behaviour may be differentiated to cater to the needs of the child.

The DSL will evaluate a child who exhibits challenging behaviour to determine whether they have any underlying needs that are not currently being met.

Where necessary, support and advice will also be sought from specialist experts, an educational psychologist, medical practitioners and/or others, to identify or support specific needs.

When acute needs are identified in a child, we will liaise with external agencies and plan support programmes for that child. We will work with parents to create the plan and review it on a regular basis.

BTC will anticipate likely triggers of misbehaviour and put in place support to try to prevent them.

9.6Safeguarding

The charity recognises that changes in behaviour may be an indicator that a child is in need of help or protection. We will consider whether a child’s misbehaviour may be linked to them suffering, or being likely to suffer, significant harm. Where this may be the case, we will follow our Safeguarding and Child Protection policy. Please refer to our Safeguarding and Child Protection policy for more information at www.beingthecure.org/policies.

Section 10Training

Our staff are provided with training on managing behaviour as part of their induction process. Behaviour management will also form part of continuing professional development.

Section 11Monitoring arrangements

This behaviour policy will be reviewed by the CEO and the board of trustees at least annually, or more frequently, if needed. At each review, the policy will be approved by the entire board of trustees.

Section 12Related policies

• Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy
• Anti-Bullying and Harassment Policy
• Staff and Volunteer Code of Conduct
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy
• Complaints Policy