At Black Horse Hill Junior School we are very fortunate to have supportive and friendly parents.
Our parents recognise that educating children is a process that involves partnership between home and school and understand the importance of a good working relationship to equip children with the necessary skills for adulthood. For these reasons we welcome and encourage parents/carers to participate fully in the life of our school.
The purpose of this policy is to provide a reminder to all parent and visitors to our school about expected conduct so that we can work together to ensure a safe and positive school environment for our children. The policy can be downloaded here.
Respect and concern for others and their rights
This guidance supports implementation of the Home-School Agreement. We expect parents and carers to show respect and concern for others by:-
supporting the respectful ethos of our school by setting a good example in their own speech and behaviour towards all members of the school community;
Working together with teachers for the benefit of children. This includes approaching the school to resolve any issues of concern and to discuss and clarify specific events in order to bring about a positive solution;
Reinforcing the school’s policy on Behaviour;
Respecting the learning environment appropriately (both in school and off site). This includes not dropping litter or chewing gum;
Parking around the school and using the school drop off with consideration and respect for others when delivering and collecting children from school;
Refraining from bringing dogs onto the school site (except for guide dogs/dogs for hearing and other ‘working’ dogs’ );
In order to support a peaceful and safe school environment, the school does not tolerate:-
Disruptive behaviour which interferes with the operation of a classroom, an office area or any other part of the school grounds;
Using loud and/or offensive language or displaying temper;
Threatening harm or the use of physical aggression towards another adult or child. This includes approaching someone else’s child in order to discuss or chastise them and physical punishment against your own child on school premises. (Some actions may constitute an assault with legal consequences.);
Damaging or destroying school property, including dropping chewing gum;
Abusive, threatening, malicious or inflammatory emails, phone or social network messages
Smoking and consumption of alcohol or other drugs or accessing the school site whilst intoxicated ;
Waiting beyond the school site to take parental responsibility of a child whilst intoxicated or under the influence of other drugs;
The above behaviours on school premises will be reported to the appropriate authorities and Governors may prohibit an offending adult from entering the school grounds to safeguard our school community.
We trust that parents, carers and visitors will fully support this Code of Conduct.
Appendix 1: Social Media
Social media websites are being used increasingly to fuel campaigns and complaints against schools, Head teachers, school staff, and in some cases other parents/pupils.
Black Horse Hill Junior School considers the use of social media websites being used in this way as unacceptable and not in the best interests of the children or the whole school community.
Any concerns you may have must be made through the appropriate channels by speaking to the Class Teacher, the Head teacher or the Chair of Governors, so they can be dealt with fairly, appropriately and effectively for all concerned.
In the event that any pupil or parent/carer of a child/ren being educated Black Horse Hill Junior School is found to be posting libellous or defamatory comments on
Facebook or other social network sites, they will be reported to the appropriate ‘report abuse’ section of the network site. All social network sites have clear rules about the content which can be posted on the site and they provide robust mechanisms to report contact or activity which breaches this.
The school will also expect that any parent/carer or pupil removes such comments immediately.
In serious cases the school will also consider its legal options to deal with any such misuse of social networking and other sites. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, is the issue of cyber bullying and the use by any member of the school community to publicly humiliate another by inappropriate social network entry.
We will take and deal with this as a serious incident of school bullying.
Appendix 2: Parental Access to school and requests to see teachers.
Whilst we like to operate an open door policy, whereby parents can speak to teachers to discuss an issue or concern, parents must also recognise that teachers are not always available in the morning or straight after school. Often teachers are busy preparing their classroom or lesson at the start of the day, or in pre-arranged meetings or staff meetings after school. Often, teachers are ensuring that all their children have been picked up by appropriate adults and left the school premises safely.
i. In line with our safeguarding and child protection policy, parents or guardians entering the school building without express permission or unaccompanied by a member of staff will be challenged and/or asked to leave the premises.
Parents should, where possible, phone school or send a note in to arrange an appointment to see the class teacher.
If a parent wishes to see a teacher, they must report to the school office first. They will be asked to wait in the fish tank bay, whilst a member of staff contacts the teacher in question.
Sometimes parents may be able to pass on information or discuss a concern with a teacher on the playground at the start of the day. This can be done ONLY if the
discussion can be concluded quickly, before the teacher takes their class into school.
Parents must NOT walk into the school or directly into the classroom themselves, without permission or without being accompanied by a member of staff. Neither should parents knock on the fire doors or enter the classroom through the fire doors.
If parents wish to speak to teachers at the end of the school day, they must enter by the front entrance of the school and report to the school office, OR speak to a staff member on duty at the playground door of the school. They will be asked to wait in the fish tank bay, whilst a member of staff contacts the teacher in question.
There will always be at least two staff members on duty at the end of the day at the rear of the school.
Parents who insist of seeing a teacher immediately, in a perceived emergency, will meet in a central, public space in the school (the School Library). To ensure personal security, there will always be at least two members of staff present at these meetings.
Teachers have the right to refuse to meet parents on a 1:1 basis should they so wish. An appointment should be arranged, wherever possible where more than one member of staff will be present.
Where parents become aggressive or threatening, any meeting will be immediately ended and the procedures (see Page 3) in this document will be followed.