FORRES PREPARATORY SCHOOL POLICY
> Outreach Policy
> Parent / School Relationship Policy
> Parents Association : Class Representatives
> Bullying and Victimisation Policy
> HIV / Aids Policy
> Child Abuse Policy
> Admissions Policy
> Remedial Policy
> Conduct Towards Children Policy
> Homework Policy
> Special Education Needs Policy


OUTREACH POLICY

The aim of Outreach must be for children to develop an understanding and empathy for the wider community and to learn about the needs of their own community (for the sake of practicality the school's wider community being Rondebosch.

A project should reflect the new/changed SA and should, therefore, cut across racial and religious barriers, i.e. not focused on one particular group. The child should be able to actively contribute to the project by giving of their talents, time and support (financial/other).

Outreach must be a two-way street where the learners benefit from the experience - learning about themselves and growing towards becoming compassionate, informed citizens.

Our policy towards the project is a 'two-way street':

  • What can Forres children do for you ?
  • What can you do for Forres children ?

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PARENT/SCHOOL RELATIONSHIP POLICY

Every Independent School accepts and needs the co-operation of its parents who must:

  1. Understand and embrace the school's mission
  2. Share its core values
  3. Support its curriculum, faculty and staff
  4. Abide by the School's rules and it's decisions
  5. Abide by Code of Conduct (Parents and Learners) and School Policies.

This relationship is based upon civility, honesty and respect. Parents are advocates for their children and also support the facility and administration through extensive volunteer activities and events. The relationship between parents and school is formally governed by the schools written enrolment contract, School Guide and Parent and Learner Code of Conduct in which its procedures are spelled out.

When parents choose to enrol their child in an Independent School, they agree to:

  • Subscribe to its mission
  • Follow its rules and share its core values
  • Abide by its decisions
  • Abide by Codes of Conduct (Parents & Learners)

However, the most essential ingredients to an effective working relationship between parent and school are trust and mutual respect.

To facilitate this climate of trust and respect the following should be followed:
  1. It is incumbent upon the school to provide parents with timely and pertinent information concerning their child and important events in the life of the school.
  2. Suggestions and thoughtful questions should be welcomed by the school.
  3. Parents' best support a climate of trust and respect by communicating concerns openly and constructively to the educator or administrator closest to the problem.
  4. Effort by parents to lobby other parents will be viewed by the school as counter productive.
  5. While parents may not agree with every decision made by the school, in most cases the parent and school will find enough common ground to continue a mutually respectful relationship. In the extreme case, however, an impasse may be so severe that the parent cannot remain a constructive member of the community. In such cases, both the parent and the school should consider whether another school would be a better match for the family.

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PARENTS ASSOCIATION: CLASS REPRESENTATIVES

Forres Preparatory School is a family school and we like to maintain regular contact between parents and educators. During the year you will be expected to attend Parent Meetings, talks, festivals and various school events, so that you can meet the educators and other families, and learn more about the children and their education.

We welcome and rely on parents to contribute time and effort towards assisting the staff in the planning of these school events.

For this purpose the school has a Class Rep system. One parent from each class is elected for the duration of one year to serve on the committee.

The purpose of the committee is to:

  1. Act in an advisory role as a forum for parental input and communication - provide valuable feedback to management and staff.
  2. Support the school, it's curriculum and its staff.
  3. Promote and further the image of the school.
  4. Assist the staff in organising social and school events that ultimately foster good relations and build school spirit.
  5. Develop a positive and welcoming climate for all parents.
  6. Embrace the schools' mission and share it's core values.
  7. Abide by the schools' rules and decisions.
  8. Abide by Learner and Parent Code of Conduct and School Policies.
  9. Does not have authority in terms of school governance.

The relationship between the Parents Association and school is based on the principles of:

  • Trust and mutual respect
  • Involvement
  • Open sharing of information

Representatives are nominated and elected at the beginning of each year at the Information Evening by the parents of the class.

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BULLYING & VICTIMISATION POLICY
  1. Every child has the right to feel safe at school.
  2. Bullying, even at a tacit level, is unacceptable.
  3. Reporting bullying is a responsible and caring action.
  4. Any report of bullying will be taken seriously and dealt with sensitively and in confidence.

Much of the social behaviour of the very young at school is experimental. As they get older, the unconscious goals of misbehaviour come more to the fore. Bullying should not be viewed as something to be sanctioned and children should be taught, 'there is another way' to behave that is socially acceptable.

Understanding how to empower the victim is vital to turning bullying around; not for them to 'hit back', but to enable themselves to change a bully's behaviour by their response to that behaviour.

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HIV / AIDS POLICY

Forres has developed a policy to deal with AIDS effectively within the school environment, with special regard to respecting the rights of the individual to confidentiality, and the very fear in the community that a fatal disease may be spread.

This problem needs to be recognised and identified in order to address the anxiety of the school community and the debilitating nature of the disease on the individual.

  • A HIV-positive learner or member of staff ought to disclose her/his HIV condition to the Head.
  • All information disclosed by an infected learner/staff member, will be dealt with in the strictest confidence.
  • Infected learners/staff members will be expected to attend classes/remain at work, for as long as they are able to function effectively.
  • When learners become incapacitated through illness, relevant academic work will be available for personal study at home.
  • When staff members become incapacitated through illness and are unable to perform their function, an application for unpaid extended sick leave will be considered.
  • The Head or School Guidance Counsellor will refer anyone requesting confidential counselling to an appropriate service.

It is essential that HIV/AIDS be dealt with in an open manner and that the entire school community is educated about it. The above-mentioned procedures are sensible and realistic in ensuring the safety of all, and needs to be implemented in a sensitive and compassionate manner.

Staff and learners are educated on how to deal with accidents (refer to Safety & Security). This procedure is followed across the board by all staff and learners at Forres.

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CHILD ABUSE POLICY

Dealing effectively with child abuse

Child abuse is a serious problem that exists in all our communities. Educators have a special role to play in dealing with this problem, along with doctors, nurses and social workers. In fact, people in these professions are required by law to respond to signs of child abuse.

The Western Cape Education Department has published a policy document called Abuse, No More: Dealing Effectively with Child Abuse, which provides detailed guidelines on how to approach this sensitive issue.

This brief guide introduces key procedures covered by the guidelines. This guide should not replace a thorough reading of the longer document, given the legal obligations of educators in terms of Section 15 of the Child Care Amendment Act (Act 96 of 1996).

While intended for educators, this summary can also be referred to by learners, parents and others who would like to know more about the nature of child abuse, and how school personnel are obliged to respond to signs of child abuse among learners in their care.

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ADMISSIONS POLICY

The following criteria are used:

  1. Pass our school readiness test. We reserve the right to decide whether a child is ready for school - emotionally, intellectually and socially, according to laid down criteria.
  2. The child must turn 7 years old in Grade 1.
  3. Availability of place.
  4. Any recommendations given to parents concerning their children's progress, especially in the pre-school, must be followed up by parents. We need the support of parents in this regard to make sure the child has a successful learning experience in the Foundation Phase. Not following recommendations could influence acceptance into Grade 1.

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REMEDIAL POLICY

Forres employs a full-time Support Co-ordinator to assist learners to reach their full potential. It is our view that, the earlier difficulties are detected, the better.

At Forres, we have an Early Intervention programme that is implemented in the Pre-School phase. For this programme to be successful, the co-operation and support of parents is essential, i.e. following up on recommendations that the educators and Support Co-ordinator makes to ensure that the child has a positive learning experience in the Foundation Phase. Not following up on recommendations could influence acceptance to Grade 1.

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CONDUCT TOWARDS CHILDREN POLICY
FORRES POLICY

Learners should be dealt with firmly, but in a respectful manner. Every educator has his/her own style of disciplining learners. The bottom line is that a child should NEVER be hit. Any aggressive physical contact (i.e. pushing, poking, prodding and pinching) is not acceptable. Contravening this rule can result in dismissal. Shouting/yelling at children or making hurtful/derogatory remarks is also seen as abusive behaviour and is unacceptable.

One way of distinguishing our school is in how we treat the children. These extracts reflect what constitutes appropriate conduct towards children and illustrates that a good educator is one who:

  • Really loves children. She gets to know them by name and addresses them as such at all times. She smiles at them and encourages them to tell her their news and talk to her. She shows interest in them and never turns away when they are speaking to her. She gives them a loving hug on occasion. She gives praise and encouragement for their work. She greets them with recognition and pleasure each morning.
  • Is patient and does not have a quick temper. There is no place in a school for unkind, uncaring, quick-tempered educators. We need happy, even-tempered, patient people who laugh and talk to the children. They never frighten or threaten them. A good educator creates happy feelings around herself and children feel safe and secure, and are therefore self-confident.
  • Listens to the learner and encourages them to talk to her. Language development is one of the most important aims of teaching. A good educator encourages children to talk about what they are doing and feeling. She listens to them carefully and replies to them, helping them to have conversations with her. She does not correct them when they form sentences wrongly, but simply repeats the sentence correctly. Always correcting children's speech may discourage them from speaking altogether.
  • Shows respect for the children under her care. You show that you respect a child if you treat them as you would a respected guest in your home. You listen to what they have to say. You don't order them about - you ask them to do things and say 'please'. You say 'thank you' when the child does something for you. You are polite to them at all times. You never speak about them to other people in their hearing as if they were a piece of furniture and had no ears.
  • Treats their work with respect, handling it carefully as if she values it. She treats each child as an individual person and makes them feel that their ideas are valued. She never laughs at a child - only with them.
  • NEVER tells them that they are stupid, bad, or wicked. She may only tell them that their behaviour was not good and did not make her happy. If she has a good relationship with a child they will want to make her happy, and they will be remorseful when she is displeased. This kind of respect given to a child serves as a model for them to copy and they will, in turn, treat her and others with the same respect.
  • Helps the children to learn to share and take turns. She encourages children to share equipment - never forcing them to do so by snatching equipment from one and giving it to another.
  • Leaves her personal problems at the door of the school. She tries to keep her personal problems to herself and does not let them affect her attitude toward the children. She does not 'take it out on them' because she is feeling angry about personal matters. She does not discuss her problems with other educators during working time - ignoring her duties in the process.
  • Develops eyes in the back of her head! A good educator keeps her eyes all about her and is aware of what is going on in all parts of her work area. If she sits down with a child she does so in a way that she can still see the entire area.
  • Encourages originality and creativeness in her children. She never shows models for the children to copy. She allows children to do things in their own way, using their own ideas. She never expects everyone to do things in exactly the same way, namely her way.
  • Teaches the children to be observant and curious. She brings interesting things to school for the children to see: a caterpillar, a beetle and a beautiful flower. She asks the children questions about them - invites them to tell her something they have noticed about them. She encourages the children to be curious and to question.
  • Takes action quickly if she sees a child is in danger. She quietly takes a dangerous stick out of a child's hand; she does up shoelaces which might trip a child; she ensures children do not wear shoes when climbing the jungle gym; she stops one child from hitting another, etc.
  • Never shouts at a learner across the playground or room. She goes quickly and quietly up to the child and speaks to him/her directly, ensuring that the children don't start copying her by shouting as well.
  • Encourages children to be independent. She helps children to learn to do things for themselves. She encourages self-help at all times, but she is ready to help when a child really cannot cope.
  • She keeps in mind all the time that she is a role model for her children.
  • Never stops learning. She takes every opportunity to learn more about her work through reading, attending workshops, etc.
  • Creates an emotionally safe classroom environment in which the children feel that they can approach her about anything.

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HOMEWORK POLICY

AIMS

When setting homework for the learners attending our school we aim to :

  1. Provide opportunites for children to consolidate or enhance learning following lessons during the school day with special reference to literacy and numeracy.
  2. Provide them with opportunities to explore resources for learning, of all kinds, in the home.
  3. Encourage learners, as they get older to develop the confidence and self-discipline needed to study on their own.
  4. Prepare learners for the increased homework demands that will be placed upon them when they transfer to secondary education.
  5. Provide a further opportunity for parents to support and assist their child in the education process - an important part of the education partnerships.

HOMEWORK GIVEN AT FORRES IS BASED ON THE FOLLOWING PRINCIPLES

  • All homework given should be relevant.
  • All homework should have clear focus/purpose and a time guideline.
  • Homework should provide plenty of opportunity for the learners to succeed.
  • It is essential that learners KNOW EXACTLY what is expected of them.
  • Homework MUST be copied down in a homework diary daily. Often parents write a message in the diary.
  • Fair warning must be given of tests and they may not be sprung on children. Have a place in the classroom where you write all test dates so that it can be copied down and it serves to remind learners.
  • Write homework down early in the day and not at the last minute - the learners then rush to copy it down and invariably leave half of it out.
  • Use the last ten minutes of each day for learners to do a pairs check for their homework. Pupils swop homework books and check it has been correctly copied down and it is understood.
  • Take into account that many learners are busy after school in activities and that parents/carers cannot always support their child/children for various reasons.
  • BE CONSISTENT: Do not load learners with homework one day and then nothing the next.
  • No homework can be given to learners if it has not been explained to them. Problems crop up when learners get given work to complete at home before it has been explained to them in class.
  • QUALITY VERSUS QUANTITY: It is not necessary to give 20 of the same type of sums/examples - only 3 per type sum will consolidate new concepts taught.
  • DO NOT OVERLOAD: Homework should be manageable. Writing tasks must be minimal, especially in the lower grades. It is essential that learners have time to relax.
  • No homework on weekends. Many children come from divorced homes and spend weekends away. Encourage learners who are behind with work to complete work on the weekend.
  • There will be consequences for learners who do not do homework and do not have a valid reason for not doing it.
  • Homework will be assigned a mark and will form part of the accumulative mark. In other words not doing homework will affect the year mark on the report and subsequent admission to other schools.

HOMEWORK IS NOT

  • A way to get learners to catch up with the rest of the class.
  • To be given to learners to keep them occupied.
  • To be given to appease parents/carers.
  • A form of punishment.

Regular patterns of homework should be set up and homework should be part of an educators planning. Ahead of time homework is planned to support/consolidate/extend learning that is taking place in the classroom. Teachers will avoid sending work home to finish off but will plan tasks that are of appropriate length to support current learning.

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SPECIAL EDUCATION NEEDS POLICY

At Forres we believe that all our children are special and have their own special needs. We set high standards for all our learners, however our special needs education gives paticular support to children who are 'struggling' to 'keep up' with their peers.

In order to address special needs, we may have to develop strategies to compensate for social, emotional, physical, intellectual or sensory factors or a combination of more than one.

We also aim to support and extend our more able and gifted learners.

The term special needs can be misleading. Every child at school will face challenges at some time in their school life, for most the challenges can be addressed in the short term, for others it may take longer with a need for a more structured approach.

AIMS

  • To identify, access and respond at an early stage to learners special education needs and to ensure that the needs of all such learners are addressed. With special reference to early strategies in the pre-school.
  • To develop open, honest and confident working partnerships with parents at all stages, engaging their active support in their child's educational programme. It will benefit the child most when the parents recognise that they have responsibilities towards their child.
  • To encourage communication, co-operation and full consultation between learners, parents, educators, senco and other agencies before recommendations are made - EST Meetings.
  • To provide a framework that will enable the planning of an appropriate curriculum, with effective methods and approaches, for all learners with marked difficulties.
  • To set up individual education plans, which will be devised in collaboration with the senco and educator.
  • To ensure that as much support takes place during class time with the use of effective accomodations, modifications, team teaching and other strategies - so that pupils are not excluded from the mainstream curriculum, sports programme or other extra-curricular activities.
  • To use an effective recording system that enables joint planning between school and home.
  • To monitor learners progress effectively and set up achievable targets - no matter how small - thereby providing opportunities for the learner to succeed, promoting self esteem and a positive attitude to learning.
  • To purchase and loan suitable resources to ensure pupils needs are met.
  • To improve the self esteem, confidence and motivation of children with special needs through genuine empathy with their needs and feelings.

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