DBIS Character and Culture Policy
Discovery Bay International School is committed to creating an environment where everyone maintains the highest standards of personal conduct, demonstrates care and empathy towards one another, and where all students feel safe and a sense of belonging. We teach students that all actions have consequences and that their choices can impact others both positively and negatively.
Our Character and Culture policy guides staff to teach and nurture self-regulation and positive attributes for learning and development as detailed in our DBIS Learner Profile so that they can conduct themselves as responsible and positive members of our school community.
Aim of the Policy | Purpose of the policy | Guiding Principles |
• To create a culture of exceptional character and conduct. • To ensure that all students are treated fairly and show respect towards all stakeholders in our community. - To promote positive relationships. • To encourage students to be responsible and understand that their choices and behaviour have consequences that may affect themselves and others. • To build a community which values kindness, care, good humour, good temperament, compliance and empathy for others. | To provide a culture for all students that promotes the safety and wellbeing of each individual. To guide appropriate and consistent responses to behaviour and choices that do not meet our school’s standards. To ensure a restorative approach which focuses on repairing harm caused by inappropriate behaviour and building positive relationships within our community. To identify the underlying causes of behaviour, promote accountability, and foster a sense of belonging and responsibility among individuals involved in a conflict or harmful incidents. | The character and culture policy reflects our school approach to wellbeing for all with a particular focus on inclusivity and personalised learning. Influenced by Domain E of the Council of International Schools, Discovery Bay International School has at its core openness, fairness, trust, and mutual respect to support students’ learning and wellbeing, by listening to students’ voices. Our Character and Culture policy focuses on healing, growth, and building strong relationships within our community rather than a punitive mindset which seldom assists students to reflect, repair and grow. |
What is the role of DBIS STUDENTS? | What is the role of DBIS STAFF? | What is the role of DBIS PARENTS? | ||
DBIS students are expected to continually reflect upon and develop as responsible and balanced individuals throughout their time in school, always holding themselves accountable for their own conduct. Being self and socially-aware, able to self-regulate and develop meaningful relationships are key to success and fulfilment in all aspects of life. | DBIS Staff members are committed to guiding and supporting the holistic development of all students in our school. | We value parents as our students’ first educators and are committed to building positive relationships to support student learning and development. We expect positive interactions and supportive dialogue between home and the school and will inform parents immediately if we have concerns about their child's character or conduct. |
Conflict Resolution
At DBIS we support students to develop independent conflict resolution strategies. We also teach students about consent in an age-appropriate manner from admission to empower students with their own voice and their right to use that voice. The foundations of developing independence in conflict resolution are taught in the EYFS and Key Stage 1 sections of our school (refer to examples of script and approach in Appendix 1).
Bullying
If your child experiences or perceives that they are experiencing bullying, they are requested to speak with their class teacher, form tutor or another trusted adult in school for assistance. As a parent, you are requested to immediately inform your child's class teacher or form tutor. This will allow the necessary internal processes to commence, and parents will be informed as appropriate on the next actions to be taken. Each context is individual, and restorative solutions are seen as a vital part of the resolution.
Bullying is defined as any unwanted, aggressive behaviour that involves a real or perceived power imbalance that occurs repeatedly towards the same student over a period of time by an individual or group. It can be physical, verbal, social, or electronic/digital in nature, and it can have a serious and lasting impact on a student's wellbeing and academic performance. Bullying can happen in person or through the use of technology, and it can occur during or outside of school hours.
Bullying is not:
- Single episodes of social rejection or dislike;
- Single episode acts of nastiness or spite;
- Random acts of aggression or intimidation;
- Mutual arguments, disagreements or fights.
A Shared Language
Students are best supported to develop self-regulation and self-control and feel a sense of security when they experience consistency from all the adults who care for them / interact with them. As such we use a shared, positive language when speaking with our students about character and culture. We want to support students in being intrinsically motivated to make positive choices and demonstrate positive behaviour. This is summarised in Appendix 2.
Identity-based harm
The school acknowledges that targeting a person based on identity markers e.g. colour, sex, race, religion, gender expression etc constitutes harm and abuse. Derogatory comments or actions targeted at an individual based on identity markers will be responded to under Category 3 of our policy.
Schoolwide procedures for low-level undesirable conduct
Steps | Actions by staff | |
1 | Acknowledge | A reminder of the expectation, ready, respectful, safe and sensible. Deliver this reminder privately whenever possible. Repeat reminders if reasonable adjustments are necessary. Support students to understand appropriate choices and behaviour. |
2 | Remind | A clear verbal reminder, making the student aware of their actions and clearly outlining the impact this behaviour is having on self or others and the consequences if the behaviour continues. |
3 | Conversation | A private and formal conversation is arranged with the student (or group of students if appropriate). Students are reminded of the impact their behaviour is having on others and the expectations documented in our Character and Culture policy. If appropriate, a discussion of consequences followed by a restorative conversation. |
4 | Reflection Time | If the student continues to disrupt learning after all the above steps have been taken, they will be supported to self-regulate and offered the opportunity to re-engage. If they are unable to do so they will be accompanied by their Head of Year or an appropriate member of the middle leadership team. |
5 | Repair | A restorative discussion is organised between either the teacher and/or the Head of Year and the student. |
* This approach will be modified to the age and/or developmental stage of the student.
**The process will be subjective according to individual circumstances, to ensure an appropriate response. As such, this policy is flexible to allow all situations involving our students to be considered individually.
DBIS Categories of Behaviour for Primary Students. Secondary Parents should refer to Parent Handbook for Secondary Appendix.
The school will refer to the following categories to guide an appropriate and consistent response if students’ behaviour and/or choices are not modified after following the 5 steps above.
Category One - Class teacher / Tutor / Staff member | |
The student has demonstrated choices or behaviour:
| Action
|
Category Two - Class Teacher / Tutor / Head of Year | |
The student has displayed an intentional level of misconduct during school hours either on/off-site i.e.:
| Action
|
Category Three - Requires HOY/Deputy Head/Assistant Head to lead * Note that continued demonstration of Cat 1 & Cat 2 behaviours is considered to be equivalent to a Cat 3 or Cat 4 stand-alone incident due to the continued disruption to the learning environment of others in the school. | |
The student has displayed a significant level of misconduct during school hours either on/off-site or outside of school hours which brings the reputation of the school into disrepute or negatively impacts other members of our school community i.e:
| Action
|
Category Four - Requires SLT and/or external agencies | |
The student has displayed a significant level of misconduct during school hours either on/off-site or outside of school hours which brings the reputation of the school into disrepute or negatively impacts other members of our school community for example:
| Action
|
* Please note that the lists of examples and actions are not exhaustive and these categories will be used to guide appropriate responses to all incidents of unacceptable behaviour.
Appendix
Appendix 1: Conflict Resolution Script (EYFS & Primary)
Step 1: Please stop, I don’t like…
The child will ask their peer/peers to stop and explain what they don’t like them doing / what they don’t like happening.
Step 2: It makes me feel… because….
The child will then share how this makes them feel and why, allowing them to articulate and regulate their emotions and for their peers to understand the impact of their actions.
Step 3: I wish…
The child then shares with their peers what they wish they would do, moving forward positively.
Appendix 2: Whole School Shared Language (appropriate for the age of students)
- Providing students with choices to help empower them in challenging situations. “It’s tidy-up time now, would you like to help with the creative area or the puzzles?”
- Setting up consistent routines for the students to follow throughout the year and referring to them often.
- Focusing on the behaviour we want to see, including the reason why rather than the unexpected choice. “We walk down the corridors to keep everyone safe.”
- We understand that all students can find dealing with emotions challenging, especially in situations of conflict. As staff, we validate the students’ feelings and help them to move forward positively. “I understand you’re angry, I’m here to help. Let’s go to a quiet space where we can talk this through.”
- We believe all our students are capable and full of potential. Staff will always talk to students about their behaviour, rather than personally as individuals, for example, they will talk about how their choice may have been negative rather than them as a negative individual. We never refer to students in a derogatory manner e.g. naughty, bad, silly etc.