Written by Paul Dix

Those of you who have recently been through the OFSTED mangle - or skipped through inspection with annoying smugness - may think that ‘behaviour' is dead. So long live "attitudes to learning". But this change in OFSTED's language is not just irritating word-play, it marks a shift in expectations around behaviour. And once you get beyond the frustration of what seems to be yet another hoop, there are opportunities to use it for your benefit and that of the students.

Addressing conduct in the first term is essential. Yet most schools are still using the same basic rules to address the learning behaviours of year 6 and 11. Where is the progression? Where is the expectation shift? If you continue to base your behaviour policy on a set of simplistic conduct rules you may be missing an opportunity. If you are still talking to year 11 about ‘listening while others speak' something is not working.

Try a simple project which might just provide the solution. The best policy is borne out of focused action research at the classroom level - not by overwrought senior leaders in locked offices, smacked up on caffeine and fig rolls.

Using simple whole class reward systems and focusing on single behaviours can transform classroom practice. Try something for the next 30 days. Agree with your teaching team on one behaviour that your students urgently need to achieve to help them learn. Steer away from mundane phrases such as ‘Stay on task' or the dictatorial, ‘Get on or get out'. Instead pay attention to the moments you notice students being inquisitive or curious, engaged or autonomous. You will be fostering good attitudes and teaching behaviour along the way.

A simple tally chart to record each fantastic question/collaborative investigation/determined effort soon morphs into deliciously creative substitutes. Place table tennis balls in a clear tube outside the PE changing rooms to reward classes who are ready in under 2 minutes; use giant jigsaws that gradually reveal the primary source material for the next scheme of work; or set up large tubes filled with coloured water that rises each time a stone (the reward) is dropped in. Ask the children to design them. Make them grand and irresistible.

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Operating a class rewards system like a game show host is exhausting and may not be your first choice of teaching role. But you don't need a personality transplant to use class rewards effectively. Share the responsibility for positive reinforcement with your class. Set up five tallies for peer assessment, and at the end of the lesson ask two children to nominate someone they think deserves one. Or offer a ‘Senior Reward Monitor' badge and watch students climb over each other to volunteer.

With a single behaviour in focus and a simple tally system it is easy to gauge how far and how fast you are teaching/encouraging/fostering attitudes for learning Share the evidence with colleagues as the project develops. Clear a space on staffroom notice boards and start sharing impact, not just anecdotes.

When the children reach their weekly target of tallies keep the reward small and relevant to the learning. The satisfaction of reaching the agreed target can be satisfying enough. Over egging the reward changes won't improve the strategy. The feeling of putting in the final jigsaw piece to complete the class reward puzzle or putting the final table tennis ball in to fill the plastic tube or popping the last marble in the jar. Rewards to not have to have material value. Small advantages are much more seductive: winning the right to be the first class in the lunch queue, getting a '24 marking guarantee' token or just being the first class to leave on the bell on a Friday. We are teachers not retailers. Behaviour is not a commodity. You don't need to give the children ‘stuff' to buy their improved behaviour.

Beyond the classroom the pursuit for improved attitudes to learning is seeded in more casual interactions. Deliberately shift your topics of conversation in less formal situations. ‘What are you reading?' might seem an unusual conversation starter by staff to children in the lunch queue when previous chats may have bee confined to football scores or performances. But their responses might surprise you. It's the start of making them feel that reading for pleasure is not only normal, but expected. Inspectors will ask the children about their attitudes to learning. It is sensible for teachers to open up the topic well before they arrive.

Meanwhile, deliver your sanctions privately where possible and keep them separate from the ongoing rewards tally. In time you will notice that you don't need to use so much punishment. The truth is that the more good behaviour you comment on, the more you will get of it: even with children who may initially fight you when you try to expose their good side.

The creation of a class rewards display shifts the culture of the classroom and, in turn, of the department. It is a clear visual statement of intent. It works to refocus the children, re-invigorate classroom practice and eradicate low-level disruption. And children really, really like it.