Describe Why Schools Have Policies and Procedures free essay sample

Describe why schools have policies and procedures and Identify the policies and procedures schools may have relating to: a) staff b) pupil welfare c) teaching and learning All schools have policies and procedures in place to support staff in their management of situations these may involve violence, threatening behaviour or abuse amongst other policies which are all legal requirements within the setting of a school, you must adhere to these policies and familiarise yourself on where these policies can be found within the school surroundings. At our school all policies can be found in Mrs McNally’s the headmistress’s office within a contained cupboard all labelled up with titles on the folders. Policies are intended to provide a framework that ensures consistent principles are applied to practice across a school. They are not intended to detail every conceivable event that might be applied within the policy framework. Policies can also provide prospective employees, governors and parents of prospective pupils with valuable information. We will write a custom essay sample on Describe Why Schools Have Policies and Procedures or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page For example, a prospective parent might wish to see a school’s homework policy or behaviours policy before deciding whether to apply for their child to attend the school. Similarly, a prospective employee may wish to see the school’s staff development policy, its performance management policy or its leave of absence policy before deciding whether to accept a position at the school. Closer to home, prospective governors should be made aware of any policies relating specifically to governors. These might include a governors’ induction policy, a governors’ allowance scheme or a governors’ training policy. Policies should also enable school staff, governors, parents, LEA officers and Ofsted inspectors to see at a glance what principles they can expect to see applied at your school. Policies and Procedures Staff Staff need to ensure they use confidentiality where needed. They have to be aware where they discuss sensitive information and with whom they are discussing it to. They have to make sure that all documents such as reports and records are used appropriately. They also have to be professional on how they present themselves to children and young people, other staff, other agencies parents/carers. Cont’d†¦ 2 Unit 2. 5 5. 1 5. 2 Describe why schools have policies and procedures and Identify the policies and procedures schools may have relating to: a) staff b) pupil welfare c) teaching and learning At our setting a confidentiality document has to be signed and before anyone can come into volunteer firstly a CRB check is done and then a child protection induction day is prepared. All staff are updated regular on any courses and induction days, all staff are trained in first aid, there are four designated persons within the school should anything need reporting. Other policies that staff require are pay policies and there own personal data that is all to kept strictly confidential within the school between the staff member and the head mistress, another policy is a grievance policy between staff members and what to do next and getting the right advice some members of staff maybe part of a union that can speak on their behalf should a grievance occur. Pupil Welfare The pupil welfare policy is related to child protection and safeguarding of children from neglect, abuse harm etc. Child protection is the process of protecting individual children identified as either suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm as a result of abuse or neglect. It involves measures and structures designed to prevent and respond to abuse and neglect. Child abuse involves acts of commission and omission, which results in harm to the child. Why is child protection important? All children have a right to protection against abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence and many organisations have a statutory duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people. A successful approach requires multi-agency collaboration and recognition of child wellbeing at the heart of the organisation. What is safeguarding? Safeguarding is about keeping children safe from harm and abuse. It means proactively seeking to involve the whole community in keeping children safe and promoting their welfare. Cont’d†¦ 3 Unit 2. 5 5. 1 5. 2 Describe why schools have policies and procedures and Identify the policies and procedures schools may have relating to: a) staff b) pupil welfare ) teaching and learning This means keeping children safe from accidents (i. e. road safety), crime and bullying and actively promoting their well-being in a healthy, safe and supportive environment. It also encompasses issues such as pupil health and safety and bullying, about which there are specific statutory requirements, and a range of other issues, for example, arrangements for meeting the medical needs of children with medical conditions, providing first aid, school se curity, drugs and substance misuse. Safeguarding is an important part of integrated working. When professionals work together in an integrated way, they put the child at the centre of all activities to help identify their holistic needs earlier to improve their life outcomes. It is important to see safeguarding as part of a continuum, where prevention and early intervention can help children and families get back on track and avoid problems turning into a crisis. There are other policies including The Health and Safety Policy, which enables the safety of all children within the hands of the school, all children are made aware of what is acceptable and what is not acceptable within behaviour but a policy is in place within our school setting about inappropriate behaviour and whom it shall be referred to, the school also have an anti-bullying policy and they are part of an organisation called WRIST to upkeep there rules within this policy. Children are required to attend school on a daily basis except on occasions when they are ill, to keep a record of attendance at our school a register is taken twice daily to ensure who is in and who is not, this is also a required policy within the school, and should a child be off on a regular occurrence they would ask for the parent to come into school to discuss this matter before getting other agencies involved. Teaching and Learning The teaching and learning policy has been approved by the staff and governors and will be reviewed annually. It aims to ensure that the children at our school are provided with high quality learning experiences that lead to a consistently high level of pupil achievement. Cont’d†¦ 4 Unit 2. 5 5. 1 5. 2 Describe why schools have policies and procedures and Identify the policies and procedures schools may have relating to: a) staff b) pupil welfare c) teaching and learning All teachers are required to plan and assess their own work within their classroom so therefore a policy is put into place for the required goals and targets and the learning outcome of achievement from the children this is classed as a planning and assessment policy with the required curriculum policies for what the children are learning. They have to make sure they differentiate the tasks for under achievers and special talented over achievers. Teachers also have to put into consideration acceptable homework for a child which is required. Children learn through their total experience. This policy guides what children do, what teachers do, how time is managed, the organisation of the classroom and what the school as an organisation does to create an effective and well-managed learning environment in which the individual needs of each child can be met.