Behaviour

At Cottam, we are committed to ensuring that every member of our school community feels valued, respected, safe, and supported. We believe that every child and adult should be treated with kindness, fairness, dignity, and understanding. As a caring and inclusive school community, our values are rooted in mutual respect, compassion, empathy, and positive relationships.

Our core primary offer is centred on helping children develop healthy relationships, emotional awareness, and respect for themselves and others. Through our whole-school approach, we support pupils to become emotionally literate, understand and manage their feelings, and develop the language and confidence to express their emotions in a healthy way. Nurturing emotional wellbeing, promoting positive relationships, and encouraging respect for others are at the heart of our school culture and ethos. These values are further strengthened through our Personal, Social, Health Education and Relationships Education curriculum.

We recognise that bullying and child-on-child abuse can have a deeply harmful and lasting impact on children’s emotional wellbeing, confidence, and sense of safety. We are committed to fostering a culture where all children feel listened to, protected, and supported. While we strive to create an environment where bullying is unacceptable, we understand that incidents can occur both in person and online. When concerns arise, we aim to respond with care, sensitivity, and fairness, ensuring that every child involved receives appropriate support, guidance, and understanding. We are proud to operate an inclusive policy where every pupil is valued equally and discrimination of any kind is not tolerated.

Our Behaviour Policy is designed to support all members of our school community to live and work together in a safe, positive, and supportive environment. It promotes a culture where everyone feels happy, secure, respected, and able to thrive. The policy also ensures a consistent, compassionate, and restorative approach to responding to any alleged incidents of bullying or child-on-child abuse, whether these occur face-to-face, online, or through electronic devices.