Behaviour Policy

Creative Art Courses aims to provide a safe, caring, friendly and creative studio environment where students can thrive in their learning and socialising.

• All Tutors and contractors invited to teach in the Creative Art Courses studio are committed to ensuring their behaviour is in line with this Policy, and are committed to high standards.
• All students need to ensure they meet and uphold the high standards expected from all studio users and ensure their behaviour falls within the guidelines and expectations of this Policy.

Policy Aims

• To promote creativity and a nurturing studio environment
• Support effective teaching and learning
• Foster mutual respect amongst all studio users
• Offer consistency of expectations and consequences
• Challenge poor and unacceptable behaviour

This Behaviour Policy sets out to

• Create a safe and creative studio environment for all studio users
• Provide clarity of behaviour expectations for tutors, volunteers, contractors and students

Teaching and Learning (for tutors)

Positive behaviour in the studio promotes effective learning, socialising, and creativity with students more able to enjoy, learn and progress in their art, and want to return again. This in turn supports Creative Art Courses to provide a full and varied course offer that is able to support students’ learning across multiple areas of creativity and leads to increased personal fulfilment.

• Effective teaching principles must be used that offers personalised and differentiated teaching that is accessible to all students including those with SEN.
• Lots of 1:1 support and group learning opportunities should be a feature of teaching styles.
• Meaningful praise for students promotes self confidence and accelerates learning while supporting positive wellbeing.

Positive Personal Conduct for all studio users (to be encouraged)

• Be polite and respectful to each other
• Embrace and respect diversity and celebrate personal differences
• Challenge stereotypes if/when voiced
• Be supportive and encouraging towards each other

Unacceptable Personal Conduct (not tolerated, sanctions apply)

• Disregard, disrespect for other studio users
• Bullying, unnecessary teasing of other studio users
• Violence or threats towards other studio users
• Vandalism or serious misuse of studio property or equipment, AWOL Studio an

Hope Mill Partnership premises

• Theft
• Social media, internet abuse

Interpersonal relationships

• Creative Art Courses is part of a shared studio – It is essential that mutual respect between all Studio, AWOL and Hope Mill users is maintained at all times in all actions and deeds.
• Respectful and polite language must be used when speaking, and special care taken when giving feedback about other students’ work.
• Personal music must be kept at a low level so as not to disturb other users, and be turned off/down if asked.
• The course Tutor is responsible for all students’ safety and wellbeing and is therefore in charge. Therefore their instructions must be listened to first time, every time.

Studio and building facilities

• Students will be expected to clean and tidy their work area within the guidelines explained by the tutor.
• All studio materials and equipment should be treated with care and respect.
•  The Gallery Studio, AWOL Studio and Hope Mill Partnership premises must be treated with care and respect, following all verbal and written instructions and signage.

Health & Safety
Creative Art Courses takes personal safety and wellbeing as a first priority. Studio users must;

• Follow all Health & Safety signage around the Studio, and be aware of their environment at all times.
• Adhere to any AWOL Studio & Hope Mill instructions and signage when using the building.

Sanctions

Students – Disciplinary Procedure

• Creative Art Courses operates a zero tolerance policy.
• Any student who chooses to break any of these rules and behaviour guidelines may be asked to leave immediately by the course Tutor.
• The Tutor must email a Statement explaining the situation to brian@creativeartcourses.org for consideration by the Lead Tutor.
  • This should be done within 24 hours after the event
• The student will not receive any refunds unless, after full consideration by the Lead Tutor it is deemed appropriate.
• The student may be barred from attending future Courses or groups.

Appeal Procedure

• Instructions given by the course Tutor must be followed first time, every time, even if the student does not agree.
• The student is able to follow up any issue after the event, by emailing their Statement explaining the situation to the Lead Tutor, Brian Raymond at brian@creativeartcourses.org
  • This should be done within 24 hours, or with good reason no more than 5 days after the event.
•  Brian will look into the issue by speaking to both parties, consider the issue as explained in the Statements written by both the Student and Tutor within the parameters of this Policy, and come to a final conclusion as to the best, most appropriate, way forward.
  • Possible outcomes may be;
    • Tutor and Student may be asked to attend a Restorative meeting to resolve any misunderstanding and settle any upsets.
    • Interventions put in place to stop a similar incident from happening again
    • Monitoring procedure put in place for a period to ensure similar incidents do not recur.
    • Students asked not to attend courses offered by the specific tutor but made welcome on other courses and groups.
    • Monitoring procedure put in place for a period to ensure similar incidents do not recur.
    • Student barred from all future courses and groups

Tutor – Disciplinary Procedure

• Creative Art Courses operates a zero tolerance policy.
• Any Tutor who chooses to break any of these rules and behaviour guidelines may have their current teaching agreement terminated with agreements for future work cancelled without compensation.
  • Pay for completed work will not be withheld.
• Students may raise an issue of inappropriate behaviour by emailing a Statement explaining the situation to brian@creativeartcourses.org for consideration by the Lead Tutor.
  • This should be done within 24 hours after the event, or with good reason no more than 5 days after the event.

Appeal Procedure

• The Lead Tutor will ask the Tutor to submit a personal Statement explaining the event which will receive due consideration within the parameters of this Policy.
• After consideration the Tutor will be notified of the decision by the Lead Tutor.
  • Possible outcomes may be;
    • Tutor and Student may be asked to attend a Restorative meeting to resolve any misunderstanding and settle any upsets.
    • Interventions put in place to stop a similar incident from happening again
    • Monitoring procedure put in place for a period to ensure similar incidents do not recur.
    • Situation is resolved successfully and Tutor continues teaching as usual.
    • Current teaching agreement terminated.
    • Agreements for future work cancelled.

Police involvement

• Outside agencies and the Police may be notified if it is deemed by the Lead Tutor, that on the evidence presented, the behaviour in question may have broken the law.

Brian Raymond
September 2018