Rewards and Sanctions
Discipline and good order are seen as being an essential foundation for a successful school with lively, hardworking and happy boys. In this context, praise and rewards may be at least as important as sanctions. The most significant kind of School incentive is the lively and continued interest taken by teachers in a boy’s work and activities, and the most effective reward is their enthusiastic praise for whatever he does well.
Merits
Merits are available to boys in the First to Fifth Year. Up to two merits may be awarded for an excellent piece of work or for a praiseworthy act in any area of School life. Merit stickers are stuck onto a special sheet that boys have at the back of their homework diaries. Teachers date and initial each merit. Once a boy has collected 10 merits (he will then have completed his sheet) he should take his homework diary to the Head of Year who will sign the sheet. The Head of Year will send home a certificate of congratulation.
Further merits result in further certificates, on a Bronze, Silver and Gold basis, leading ultimately to a special certificate that is awarded by the Headmaster. Those boys in each year group attaining the most merits are eligible for prizes at the annual Prize-giving evening.
Prizes
Prizes are also awarded (usually one per Form, First to Fourth Years) for all-round excellence or service or for a particular subject. Older pupils are awarded prizes for their contribution to the School or for success in public examinations. These prizes usually take the form of a book token, which can be exchanged for a book of the pupil’s choice. The book is then presented to the pupil at either the Lower School Evening or at Prize-giving.
Academic Ties
Senior boys are awarded academic ties via one of two routes: either they receive 40 Panini Points (or merits) for academic effort over a period of time; or they are nominated by departments for their overall approach to the subject during the Lower Sixth and excellent performance in the modular examinations undertaken at the end of that year. Ties are presented in a School Assembly by the Headmaster.
School Service Ties
These can be given to senior boys who have made a particular contribution to the wider life of the School.
Criteria for Awarding School Service Ties
1. The pupil should normally be in the Sixth Form (very exceptionally a Fifth Form boy may be considered).
2. The pupil should have made a very major contribution in some particular aspect of the School’s extra-curricular life. This might include sport, performing arts, CCF, societies or other activities.
3. School Service Ties should not be awarded merely for taking part. Examples of the circumstances in which the award should be considered include:
• Boys who have shown leadership in a particular field, e.g. a sports captain
(including 2nd or 3rd team), CCF service or as an organiser of an activity.
• Boys who have outstanding skill in some field, provided that they havemade the necessary effort.
• Boys who have shown a high degree of commitment in a particular field.
• This might include, for example, someone who is not exceptional at an activity but has persistently tried extremely hard and been very supportive to the team or the group.
Use of daily reports
There are a variety of reports that may be issued by the Head of Year to give a lesson-by lesson overview of behaviour, concentration or work, including homework. Boys carry around a form on which teachers make brief and appropriate comments relating to the issue in question. The Form Tutor usually checks the form each morning and signs it and the parents of the boy sign it each evening. This is designed to encourage good work habits by providing greater focus and immediate feedback: it is intended to facilitate change. A member of staff who believes it would be useful for a pupil to be put on report should contact the appropriate Head of Year. It is important to appreciate that this is a mechanism of support rather than a sanction and the Head of Year or his delegate will usually contact parents to let them know this. The report sheet should be placed on the boy's School file at the end of the process.
Sanctions
The School’s policy is under-pinned by the following fundamental principles:
• The level of punishment should be proportionate to the seriousness of the offence
• Punishment must be fair and consistent and where possible seen to be fair by the pupil(s)
Minor problems
For minor problems a teacher will often deal with matters himself or herself, perhaps with a rebuke, or by setting extra work. Teachers may also choose to contact parents directly, in which case they should inform the Head of Year and Head of Department that they are doing this. However, it is important that appropriate use is made of the official School detentions, with reference to Form Tutors and Heads of Year. This is so that if there are difficulties in several areas, it will become quickly apparent. Form Tutors will also look out for persistent lateness in the morning or any non-attendance at lessons, and will pass these problems on to Heads of Year, in the same way that they do if they have pastoral concerns about a boy. More senior staff will normally only be involved with more serious problems.
Detentions
Detentions take place in the lunch break, not after School, because of the wide catchment area. Detentions are taken by Assistant Heads of Year in rooms allocated by the relevant Deputy Head (these are listed in the School Code section of the School Calendar).
Teachers setting detentions should enter the detention in the relevant folder on the VLE. When setting a detention, the teacher should agree a date with the boy (normally the next day). Only music lessons may take priority, though the teacher should consider postponing the detention if there is a good reason (e.g. a school match).
Work detentions are for work issues and take place immediately at the start of lunch each day. They last for 30 minutes (First to Third Year) or 40 minutes (Fourth and Fifth Year). Pupils should always take some work to do in these detentions, even if none has been set.
Conduct detentions are for minor misbehaviour and also take place immediately at the start of lunch each day. These may be set by teachers for 15 or for 30 minutes.
Head of Year detentions (normally given for the accumulation of 90 minutes of Conduct detentions although occasionally for work issues as well) take place after School on a Friday and last one hour.
Headmaster’s detentions, which take place on a Saturday and are accompanied by a letter to parents, are for serious offences, or an accumulation of lunchtime detentions, or a number of minor offences which together constitute an unacceptable pattern of behaviour. Teachers should consult with the relevant Head of Year if they feel an incident may warrant a Headmaster’s Detention.