At Malden Oaks we aim to create a positive atmosphere where all students feel safe, supported and able to learn. We achieve this through the following key principles and beliefs:

• Behaviour is a communication of need.
• Rewards & sanctions are externally imposed controls which seek to manipulate behaviour. We want our students to be autonomous and so:

1. We don’t use any sanctions. This includes detentions and exclusions as they reduce our students’ autonomy by manipulating their behaviour.   
2. We do not operate a rewards system, which again can be a means of manipulating behaviour through external control. We do however recognise and celebrate achievement and progress. We do this through internal certificates and external schemes such as the AQA Unit Award Scheme and the Duke of Edinburgh Award. 

• We recognise and understand that everyone makes mistakes but we ensure that every day is a fresh start, with high expectations of what can be achieved on that day. We do not carry difficulties forward.
• We aim to establish and maintain positive relationships between all members of our community, so that there is an safe, purposeful atmosphere.
• Incidents will be resolved internally wherever possible. It may be that the support of parents and/or other professionals is enlisted to resolve more complex matters.
• We do not have a school uniform. This is partly because many of our students are with us for a very short time, and partly because we are preparing students for the next step of their education and/or training, when they will need to select their own appropriate clothing. The same applies to jewellery, make-up and hairstyles.
• Upper School (DC) & 6 Oaks students may have their phones during the day, as long as they do not use them during lesson times. Lower School (Surbiton) students must hand their phones in on arrival at school. This is because younger students are more easily distracted by these devices, whereas we want to encourage our older students to behave in a way that is appropriate for a college or workplace. There will be individual arrangements in place for tuition students. 
• Our school belongs to our students and to this end we will encourage students to be active participants in creating a safe, calm learning environment. 
• We use the ‘Four As’ to structure both our formal and informal curriculum, in order to promote students’ resilience.