Bishop Milner Catholic College
"Inspiring hearts and minds with Christ at the centre of all we say and do"
Behaviour & Attitudes
Anchored by our values in faith, approaches to Behaviour and Attitudes at BMCC must recognise our commitment to growing the whole person in the image of Christ, by Inspiring hearts and minds though all we say and do and developing their true potential as active, community-minded citizens of modern Britain. Therefore, this model must sit proudly alongside our efforts towards Catholic Life and Personal Development. We recognise that the most powerful means of teaching good behaviour is to model Gospel values of love, peace, forgiveness, honesty and justice in our dealings with each other and with students, parents and the wider community. We seek to model and build positive relationships, to be inclusive in our dealings with students, to have good knowledge of individual students and to allow for individual needs, to support vulnerable students, to teach responsibility and to have high expectations of all students. Our behaviour as teachers should avoid labels, condemn behaviours but not students, and anticipate, pre-empt and manage behaviour before it becomes a problem. Our aim is to be approachable and to support each other by being consistent
In our bid to nurture young people who respect themselves, those around them and the rich and diverse environment they learn in, we will place constant emphasis on basic rules, behaviours and expectations that are clear, non-negotiable and easy to remember. We believe in the power of simple and effective routines and will continue to pride ourselves on being a college where the small things matter; because through persistence and close attention to detail, greater cultures of safety, productivity and success are built.
We expect our corridors to be calm and orderly and for students to value their campus inside and out - treating it with care and respect at all times. Learning environments should also reflect the passion and intertest we have for the work done in them. In classrooms, positive relationships should form the basis of all interactions as staff and students are all called upon to show compassion and generosity to one-another.
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Well-established habits that allow for excellent conduct and high-quality learning should be recognisable from room to room. Teachers are responsible for planning well-structured and challenging lessons that allow for positive attitudes towards learning because students are encouraged to stay curious and active – and this is not left to chance. A focus on Quality First Teaching will also help us stay fully inclusive; allowing for the confidence levels and self-esteem of all students to remain a priority.
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Our students must know that standards and expectations will stay unwaveringly high, but that through fair and consistent application of policy, (even though there may be rules or outcomes they don’t always like), they can trust in a system where students are treated equally, and always with respect and dignity. No individual should ever have their mistakes held over them or feel overshadowed by poor choices, because even the most difficult situations present opportunities to make changes, seek solutions and find positives. Moreover, students should always be supported in understanding and taking responsibility for their words and actions and the results they can bring: which will help to better prepare them for adult life.
Importantly, achieving our priorities must mean that the effective handling of undesirable behaviour from a minority of students, must never undermine or detract from our overriding focus on the significant majority of students who deserve to be celebrated for doing the right things, all of the time. Therefore, positive behaviours should never go unseen or unrecognised and a culture of praise and reward should outweigh that of punishment and sanction. Also, because positive attitudes will derive from opportunities and experiences outside of the classroom; we will strive to nourish students with as much further enrichment as we can provide. Ultimately, we want students to find day-to-day enjoyment in their time here and make happy memories to take with them.
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Finally, we will stay committed to routinely reviewing and developing our systems and approaches so that we can nurture the climate we describe here: one where each individual can flourish in our community, that we hope everyone is proud to be part of.