Behaviour

We have a well-developed system to encourage good behaviour and help students to learn positively from their mistakes.
The system is called ‘Behaviour for Learning’. It is easy for all students to understand and is consistently applied by all staff across the academy.

Our approach is underpinned by the Rushey Way — a clearly codified set of expectations that defines how we behave, learn, and interact as a community. These expectations are explicitly taught through our behaviour curriculum, ensuring students understand both the how and the why behind our routines and values. Our Rushey Way can be found in our Behaviour Management Policy here Behaviour-Management-Policy-26-26.pdf

This begins with our Kickstart Programme, where all students are introduced to expectations at key points in the year. Through this programme, and through regular revisiting, we ensure expectations are over-narrated, modelled, and practised so that all students feel confident, safe, and able to succeed. Expectations are also shared with parents and during transition to ensure clarity for all members of the Rushey Family.

To further embed our culture, we deliver a weekly Behaviour and Culture Focus, celebrating and reinforcing our Rushey 1-2-3 values and Rushey SMART expectations so that they are consistently lived and experienced across the school.

Students who make a significant helpful contribution or who show excellent effort or progress in their work and meet our daily expectations are rewarded with Rushey Rewards. These are logged through our computer system and celebrated in termly assemblies, on our plasma screens and in our newsletters.

Simple and sensible rules are in place to help us all to work harmoniously and effectively to achieve our best. Everyone is expected to show respect and concern for each other, demonstrate good manners and be Rushey SMART, both in terms of appearance but also in demeanour.

Consequences

When someone breaks a rule there are clear consequences:

  • Consequence one – “C1” A verbal warning
  • Consequence two – “C2” Final verbal warning
  • Consequence three – “C3” One hour detention after period 5
  • Consequence four – “C4” Withdrawal from the lesson, either to another class or to our reflection room
  • Consequence five – “C5” Internal Exclusion

When an after academy C3 detention is given parents/carers will be informed of this by text. Usually the detention is served on the same day it is issued.

Consistency in the application of consequences is strengthened through daily Decisions Meetings, where senior leaders, pastoral staff, SEND and safeguarding teams review behaviour incidents. These meetings ensure that:

  • incidents are considered with full context, including student voice
  • reasonable adjustments are made where appropriate
  • decisions are fair, proportionate and consistent
  • parents are informed promptly
  • support and reintegration plans are implemented quickly

This ensures that no decisions are made in isolation and that all behaviour responses reflect our high expectations alongside strong safeguarding and pastoral care.

For further information regarding our consequence system, please view our Behaviour Management Policy here Behaviour-Management-Policy-26-26.pdf

Reflective and Restorative Approach

Alongside clear consequences, we are committed to a reflective and restorative approach to behaviour. When students reach C4 or C5, they are given structured opportunities to reflect on their behaviour through our Reflective Curriculum.

This approach:

  • supports students to understand the impact of their actions
  • helps them to develop empathy and take responsibility
  • promotes positive change and prevents repeat behaviours
  • ensures students feel supported, not diminished

Our reflective work includes key themes such as respect, equality, relationships, and personal responsibility, including issues such as bullying, discrimination, and peer conflict. This ensures that behaviour is not only addressed, but used as a learning opportunity.

Consistency Across Subjects

To ensure consistency in every classroom, all faculties have worked to codify behaviour expectations within their subjects. This means students are clear on:

  • key classroom routines
  • how rewards are achieved
  • equipment expectations
  • homework expectations
  • how and when consequences are applied

By clearly “front-loading” these expectations, students are supported to be successful in every lesson.

Rushey 1-2-3

We want our students to broaden their interests and to develop their personal qualities, by embracing our Rushey 1-2-3 Expectations of Be Kind, Work Hard, Develop your Whole Self. From the moment a student arrives at Rushey Mead Academy we ask them to live these expectations, so that they permeate in all that we do:

1 Be kind – We aim to develop respectful, accepting students who are kind to everyone. We intentionally make this our first value as we believe that it is the most important quality that members of our school community can demonstrate.

2 Work hard – We promote resilience, perseverance and determination as qualities to be admired and rewarded at school, as they will be in life. We expect our students to respond to feedback, improve, and to never give up. Our students learn that success needs hard work and effort and we actively teach them the necessary skills and attributes to achieve this success.

3 Develop your whole self – We expect all our students to achieve more than just academic excellence. We encourage students to develop themselves through our extra-curricular provision, so that they leave Rushey Mead Academy as well-rounded citizens with a broad range of experiences and interests. We want them to develop their leadership skills, sporting talent, musical and dramatic ability. We expect them to raise money or provide service to charities, and to challenge themselves to try something new and unfamiliar. All the experiences aim to develop a whole range of skills, helping our children thrive as citizens in the wider world.

Rushey SMART

From their first day, Rushey students are taught to be Rushey SMART. At Rushey Mead Academy, we want our students to be successful both socially, as well as academically, so they leave us as polite, well-mannered citizens who contribute positively to society.

At Rushey Mead we expect everyone to do the following at all times:
S – Smile | M – Manners | A – Accountable | R – Respectful | T – Trusted

Smile

At Rushey Mead Academy, we always smile and greet people with eye contact. We are polite and courteous at all times. When a teacher says hello, good morning or good afternoon to us in the corridor we reply with an upbeat, “Hello Miss!” or “Morning Sir!” and we look at them in the eyes and smile. We are professional.

Manners

Rushey Mead Academy students and teachers show an “attitude of gratitude” every day and in every interaction they have. We are polite and respectful in all of our interactions and display good manners in all situations. Rushey Mead Academy is built upon teachers and pupils treating each other with respect. We are one team working together to achieve the same goal.

Accountable

We take responsibility for our actions and decisions, and we do not make excuses or blame others. We meet deadlines and complete tasks to the best of our ability, ensuring our work is accurate and thorough. If we make a mistake, we acknowledge it calmly and take steps to correct it. We are prepared and organised, bringing the correct materials and equipment with us. We follow through on what we say we will do, and we can be relied upon by both our peers and our teachers. We are answerable for our behaviour at all times, showing maturity, honesty and integrity in every situation.

Respectful

At Rushey Mead Academy we take turns to talk and show mutual respect when others are speaking. We do not interrupt and we wait until the other person finishes before putting forward our own opinion or thoughts.

Trusted

We are reliable and honest, so that others can have confidence in us. We keep our promises and do what we say we will do. We respect confidentiality and do not share private information without permission. We act with integrity, showing that our words and actions match. We treat others fairly and with kindness, so people know they can depend on us. We make thoughtful, responsible choices, and we show consistency in our behaviour. By being dependable and truthful, we earn and maintain the trust of both adults and our peers.

Rushey Mead Academy looks to develop students not only in terms of academia but also their wider self through a three-strand approach of the ‘Rushey Way 1-2-3’; Be Kind, Work Hard and Develop Your Whole Self are the titles of the three strands and our reward system recognises student achievement in these areas.

Virtual Reward Points are given to students for acts of kindness they show within the school community on a bronze, silver and gold tier, based on the number of points achieved.

Hard work is also rewarded in this way but is split into the individual subjects to recognise achievement in these areas and to allow each subject to celebrate successes with the students.

The third strand, ‘Develop Your Whole Self’ is rewarded through the ‘Rushey Passport’ with wider contributions recognised at a graduation ceremony with a university feel, based on points achieved throughout the year.

To encourage healthy competition and a sense of teamwork, the House structure offers six major trophy rewards. The main champion is the House with the most reward points over the year, but the wider events that Houses are involved in, are also recognised with trophies for Sport, Charity, Reading, Attendance and Quizzes. Thereby, allowing all students to contribute and feel they are making a positive difference to themselves as well as the school community. These trophies are then celebrated in our House Celebration towards the end of the academic year.

Students whose work or behaviour is showing a cause for concern may be placed onto a “Behaviour Report”.  Where there are issues within multiple faculty areas students’ will be placed on the most relevant report. This will give them the opportunity to focus on their behaviour and rectify this with the support of the school and parents/carers. In situations where students are unable to do this successfully, this will then be escalated to the next level where further intervention and sanctions will be in place to support students. In conjunction with parents , we aim to give students the intervention and support to rectify any issues at an early stage.

As we work to maintain a positive learning atmosphere throughout the academy , we appreciate close cooperation and support from all parents and carers. Sometimes a parent or carer will be invited to meet a member of the Pastoral Team to review a student’s needs. In some cases a ‘Pastoral Support Plan’ will be agreed to help coordinate support of all relevant adults and encourage the young person concerned to make best use of the support offered to them in order to meet personal targets.

In the interests of safety and welfare of our student population and the local community, the Head Teacher will respond as appropriate to incidents involving Rushey Mead students that arise outside the academy and may apply academy sanctions accordingly.

Codification of expectations in subjects