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Grade 6 Graduation Award Winners for 2025

School Values and School Rules 

At Trafalgar Primary School, we believe that every child deserves a calm, safe, predictable and orderly environment where students can flourish. Research shows that clarity and consistency are the foundations of strong school culture. When students understand what is expected, and adults apply those expectations consistently, students feel secure, respected, and ready to learn.

Our School Rules make our values visible.  They are simple, clear, and easy for everyone to understand. They explain how we enact our values.

Our School Rules

1. Follow staff instructions, the first time 

   Staff give directions to help students stay safe, focused, and successful.

    

2. Speak and act politely 

   Use manners and formal, respectful language in classrooms and shared spaces.

    

3. Be in the appropriate area 

   Students are expected to stay in designated learning and play areas.

    

4. Be prepared to learn 

   Arrive on time, ready with the materials, dress and mindset for learning.

    

5. Care for the learning environment 

   Look after classrooms, shared spaces, materials, and the natural world.

    

6. Own your actions 

   Take responsibility for your behaviour, choices, and impact on others.

    

Our work on behaviour and culture is guided by Tom Bennett’s research and writing on effective classroom management and whole-school behaviour systems. Bennett’s central message is simple:  “Children need clear boundaries, consistently applied, delivered with warmth and fairness.”

From Running the Room and Creating a Culture, we know that:

Clarity reduces anxiety – Students feel safer when rules are predictable and consistently reinforced.

Behaviour must be taught, not assumed – Just as we teach literacy and numeracy, we explicitly teach the routines and habits that allow everyone to learn.

Adults set the tone – Every interaction models calm authority, fairness, and respect.

Consistency builds trust – When staff respond in similar ways, students understand that expectations are shared across the whole school, not dependent on personality or circumstance.

Positive culture grows from collective practice – It is not one rule or one teacher that makes a difference, but the cumulative effect of everyone upholding the same standards every day.

Our Framework

Our behavioural framework connects four key layers:

1. Values – What we believe: Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be a Learner.
2. Rules – How we enact those beliefs: Our six clear rules make expectations visible and practical.
3. Routines – The specific behaviours that bring rules to life: These include consistent ways we line up, transition, greet, and engage in learning.
4. Sanctions – What happens when rules are not followed: Responses are fair, proportionate, and grounded in natural justice and unconditional positive regard.

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Together, these form the architecture of a calm, safe, predictable and orderly school.