Behaviour, Attendance & Rewards Achievements At Lathom we pride ourselves on acknowledging and celebrating the achievements and successes of all of our students, challenging them to achieve and become the very best version of themselves. We recognise and reward our students for effort, engagement, progress, commitment, behaviour, attendance and punctuality to both school and to extra-curricular activities. Rewarding Students Every member of staff identifies at least one student every lesson as ‘Student of the Lesson’ and awards points for effort, engagement and quality of work. This is supported with each year group awarding the student who achieves the most achievement points in their year with a ‘Student of the Day’ award. ‘Student of the Week’ awards are given for each tutor group and then across each year group to recognise success. Each year group award one student per week the ‘Headteacher Commendation’ – the headteacher then presents the certificate and prize to the students, which is then celebrated on social media and the newsletter. Staff at all levels reward students for their effort, engagement, progress or behaviour with allocated achievement points linked to each reward. All achievement points are visible on both the student and parent Synergy accounts with details about what achievements the student has gained and from which member of staff. Student Trips As a school we use student attendance and achievement points to offer reward days and trips on a termly basis, suitable for each year group. These include trips to bowling, cinema, fairgrounds and city centres as well as in-school rewards. Synergy Synergy is our online platform and is used for daily contact between teachers, students and parents. Synergy ensures that students and parents are fully aware of achievements, acts or efforts that have been rewarded by staff. All parents are able to view their child’s timetable, attendance information, classwork (home learning), homework and both positive and negative behaviour points. This platform also informs parents if their child is on detention that evening. Parents are able to report a child’s absence via Synergy and can also contact their Assistant Head of Year if they have a concern. Proud Assemblies Our PROUD assemblies are held half termly and these are an excellent opportunity to celebrate student achievements in a formal manner. Through the behaviour and attendance data visible on each student’s Synergy account, subjects and year teams are able to recognise half termly successes and reward them in PROUD Assemblies. The reputation and high profile of this event involves the Leadership Team, Year Team and Form Tutors. This provides our students with an invaluable opportunity to support, share and celebrate successes together. This, in turn, promotes an acceptance of positive achievements and excellent behaviour. Behaviour At Lathom we expect the highest standards of behaviour at all times. As a caring school we treat all of our students with respect and we always expect this same respect in return. To prepare students for their future success beyond Lathom, we are dedicated to learning for all at all times. Any behaviour that disrupts learning, or shows a lack of respect for staff, students or the fabric of the school, is unacceptable and will not be tolerated under any circumstances. All of our students are expected to behave in a manner which promotes the good name of our school and protects the health and safety of other students, staff or members of the public. This includes the journey to and from school and on any school visits. Behaviour Management We have an established, clear and effective policy on Behaviour Management and anti-bullying which, when followed, ensures that our students act as great ambassadors for Lathom and the community of Skelmersdale and that they feel safe. We firmly believe that effective planning, recognisable short-term goals for students and absolute consistency from all members of staff sets the groundwork for effective behaviour. Through student and parent voice activities our students tell us that Lathom is a safe and happy place where they enjoy their lessons and where staff challenge them, believe in them and want them to do well. Effective Support As a school we understand that students may make mistakes from time to time. To effectively support this and ensure that students learn from their mistakes we offer a same night sanction with detentions running each evening to ensure instant impact, give students the opportunity to move on and start every day fresh with the opportunity to achieve. For further information please see the Behaviour Policy. Attendance and Punctuality At Lathom High School we expect regular school attendance and good punctuality for our students to ensure that they maximise the educational opportunities available to them. There is clear evidence of strong links between good GCSE outcomes and good school attendance. At Lathom we regularly reward students with good and punctual attendance to school and to lessons and challenge this should we need to. We consider a ‘good’ attendance to be 97+ % although we continue to strive for 100%.
