At Coleridge Primary School we believe it’s important to:

• Work in partnership with parents to support their child’s learning
• Create a safe, respectful and inclusive environment for pupils, staff and parents
• Model appropriate behaviour for our pupils at all times

To help us do this, we set clear expectations and guidelines on behaviour for all members of our community. This includes staff (through the staff code of conduct) and pupils (through our behaviour policy).

This code of conduct aims to help the school work together with parents by setting guidelines on appropriate behaviour.

We use the term ‘parents’ to refer to:

• Anyone with parental responsibility for a pupil
• Anyone caring for a child (such as grandparents or child-minders)

Our expectations of parents and carers

We expect parents, carers and other visitors to:

• Respect the ethos, vision and values of our school
• Work together with staff in the best interests of our pupils
• Treat all members of the school community with respect – setting a good example with speech and behaviour
• Seek a peaceful solution to all issues
• Correct their own child’s behaviour (or those in their care), particularly in public, where it could lead to conflict, aggression or unsafe conduct
• Speak to a member of staff should they have any issues of concern, including about their own child or if they see or hear anything of concern about another child.
• Use the following guidelines when communicating on class WhatsApp groups:
  • Always keep in mind mutual respect and cultural and political sensitivity between all its members
  • Do not use the platform to air views/grievances regarding a teacher, child or parent in the class or school.

Behaviour that will not be tolerated

• Threatening behaviour, such as verbally intimidating, swearing at, or using offensive language towards members of staff, pupils or other parents
• Displaying a temper, or shouting at members of staff, pupils or other parents
• Disrupting, or threatening to disrupt, school operations (including events on the school grounds and school trips)
• Threatening another member of the school community
• Sending abusive messages to another member of the school community, including via text, WhatsApp, email or social media
• Posting defamatory, abusive, offensive or derogatory comments about the school, its staff or any member of its community, on social media platforms
• Using social media to publicly challenge school policies or discuss issues about individual children
• Bringing the school into disrepute
• Spreading malicious rumours
• Any aggressive behaviour (including verbally or in writing) towards another child or adult
• Disciplining another person’s child – please bring any behaviour incidents to a member of staff’s attention
• Smoking or drinking alcohol on the school premises (unless alcohol has been allowed at a specific event)
• Possessing or taking drugs

Breaching the code of conduct

If the school suspects, or becomes aware, that a parent has breached the code of conduct, the school will gather information from those involved and speak to the parent about the incident.

Depending on the nature of the incident, the school may then:

• Send a warning letter to the parent
• Invite the parent in to school to meet with a senior member of staff or the headteacher
• Contact the appropriate authorities (in cases of criminal behaviour)
• Seek advice from the local authority’s legal team regarding further action (in cases of conduct that may be libellous or slanderous)
• Ban the parent from the school site

The school will always respond to an incident in a proportional way. The final decision for how to respond to breaches of the code of conduct rests with the headteacher.

The headteacher will consult the chair of governors before banning a parent from the school site.

Reporting concerns

The school takes safeguarding responsibilities seriously and will deal with any reported incidents appropriately. If you are concerned about any inappropriate behaviour, please contact the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) via head@coleridgeprimary.net