The strategic purpose of:
a) school governors
The governing body of a public school is responsible for the standards of education, the recruitment of staff and the management of the premises. School governors are volunteers, who work in co-operation with the school and with all the staff to set aims and objectives, develop policies and review progress regularly, implementing the recommendations of inspections. The governing body of the school sets high standards in planning, keeping in mind that the level of challenge has to be appropriate in regards of development. They provide support and advice in realising these plans, taking into consideration the requirements of parents and the wider community. Setting a long term strategic direction for the school includes policies regarding uniform, discipline, sports and homework; spending the budget; reaching performance targets; dealing with complaints; decisions on academic matters and in some cases admissions; managing staff and the maintenance of the school property.
b)
senior management team
The senior management team usually consists of the Head Teacher, the Deputy Head Teacher(s) and the Assistant Head Teacher(s) (in secondary schools). While the Head Teacher has overall responsibility of the school, including staff, pupils and educational issues, other members of the SMT usually have their area to manage within the school environment, being directly accountable to the Head. Common responsibilities of members of the SMT are day-to-day management of the school, meeting learners’ needs (in the curriculum and also with extra-curricular activities) and keeping discipline amongst the pupils. They make sure that there is a good relationship between the members of staff and they also get support to further their professional development. The strategic management includes the development, implementation and regular review of the Whole School Development Plan, regarding not only the management of teaching and learning but also the financial management and external relations with the community outside of school. The SMT develops a policy on issues regarding the whole school and shares a collective responsibility for school management.
c)
other statutory roles, e.g., SENCO
The Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator is one of the statutory roles in schools. They are managing the day-to-day operation of the school’s SEN policy by providing guidance and in-service training to colleagues and liaising with professional outside of school to find further support if needed. They are not only responsible for a high quality teaching for SEN pupils but also take care of their records and keep in touch with their parents.
d)
teachers
Classroom Teachers plan, prepare and deliver lessons to balance the requirements of the National Curriculum and the needs of their pupils. They have to record pupil development with the help of marked assignments, monitor each child’s individual progress and recognise problems, e.g., a student with special educational needs.
e)
support staff roles
School support staff includes the Teaching Assistants who work directly under the Teacher’s direction, supporting their day-to-day work in the classroom. Pupil support staff is attending children while they are outside of the classroom, in the playground. School administrators give a secretarial support to the whole school, while the technical staff makes sure that the IT equipment and other teaching resources are in adequate condition for use in education. The site staff consists of the maintenance staff who takes care of the building and premises of the school and the kitchen staff who gets meals ready for lunchtime.1
How the ethos, mission, aims and values of a school may be reflected in working practices.
The ethos of a school has to be recognisable in the school environment immediately as someone enters the premises as it is reflected in the day-to-day practices of the staff and the pupils working there. A school has to provide a safe and respected environment to facilitate effective learning practices. An optimistic and positive attitude from the staff is an example of good behaviour for the children. Relationships based on fairness, kindness and understanding have to be encouraged among the pupils. The school environment has to set reasonable challenges to each child as well as respect individual differences. The mission is what the school is intended to achieve on the academic and physical level and it is the summary of goals set forth by the institution. It is based on the school’s distinctive beliefs and includes concepts about the environment, services offered and parental involvement. It is specific to the organisation and focuses on a common purpose.2
Methods of communicating a school’s ethos, mission, aims and values.
While the mission of the school is rather the summary of its academic and physical objectives, and often communicated in the form of a short motto, the ethos is more about the beliefs and feelings of the school and manifests itself in the everyday activities and relationships of teachers and pupils. The aims of the school are usually written down in the school prospectus and set by the Head Teacher in co-operation with the parents and community.3 Each school has its specific goals but all schools should aim to help pupils become successful learners, healthy individuals and responsible citizens.4 The values of a school are general guide to behaviour and reference points in decision making.5 They have to relate to the individuals and the relationships between people; and to our contribution to our society and environment.4 The Pulloxhill School devotes each month to one value (shown on the calendar on their website5) that they want to communicate towards their pupils and their community. Awarding the children for acquiring the value of the month brings these abstract concepts closer to them and builds them into their everyday lives.
Policies and procedures schools may have relating to:
a) staff
According to Health and Safety Regulations the School as an employer have to make the workplace safe for the staff and prevent any potential risks to health. The ventilation, temperature, lighting, toilet, washing and rest facilities have to meet health, safety and welfare requirements. Also as part of the Child Protection laws, the school has to follow a safe recruitment process, whereby enhanced Criminal Records Bureau checks have to be sought on all staff who has unsupervised access to children.
b)
pupil welfare
There are a number of laws providing guidance regarding children’s welfare. A schools welfare policies target the care and well-being of children, and an improvement of their health. These initiatives aim to protect them from the harmful effects of poverty, family problems, child abuse and inadequate resources. The school has to cater for children’s proper emotional and educational development and recognise the signs of child abuse and neglect in their lives outside of the school setting. The document entitled “Safeguarding Children in Education” sets out legal requirements for a safe learning environment, and the recognition of children in danger or suffering. Since the Children Act of 1989 it is the duty of Local Authorities to investigate situations where children are at risk. Every school must have a Designated Teacher who is responsible for child protection issues. This person has an adequate training so that they can give guidance to colleagues on child protection matters and liaise with investigation agencies. They are also responsible for the record keeping of pupils on the Child Protection Register.
c)
teaching and learning
The Teaching and Learning policy aims to ensure that children are provided with high quality learning experiences in a well-managed learning environment to meet the individual needs of pupils and ensure their high level of achievements. Children learn best when they are happy, interested and motivated, and given tasks which match their ability. According to the learning and teaching policy of the Welford and Wickham Primary School in Newbury, the learning environment should be organised to ensure that children have the opportunity to work individually, in groups and as a class, make decisions, solve problems and be creative. They will develop social skills while they achieve academically and also receive support from peers and the teacher. The learning environment can be enhanced by work displays where pupils can show the work they proud of, see what their peers are capable of doing and also learn more about a topic. In order to create a healthy learning environment, the classroom needs effective routines and rules that are fair, consistent and clearly understood by all pupils. Social, physical, creative and academic achievements can be awarded by verbal or written praise by teachers, peers, displays of work or awarding of stickers, house points and certificates.6 In the Ambleside Primary school teaching staff is also encouraged to evaluate their own work by classroom observation, sharing pupil’s work throughout school and discussing quality or discussion with pupils.7
d)
equality, diversity and inclusion
Each child comes from a different family background, which can limit their opportunities in life. Schools have to make sure they offer equal opportunities to children of various cultural and racial groups to develop their full potential. The Children Act of 1989 and The Race Relations Act of 1976 are both against discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, nationality or ethnic origin. As Britain is a multi-cultural society it is essential that the pupils learn about the different cultures surrounding them and learn to value cultural diversity. According to The Sex Discrimination Act of 1975 it is unlawful to discriminate people on the ground of gender. It encourages schools to avoid gender stereotyping, because e.g. teachers discouraging boys from being sensitive and girls from being adventurous can restrict children’s future development and their expectations of themselves. As The Disability Discrimination Act of 1995 proscribes discrimination against disabled people in employment, the teachers have to show to the pupils with the help of pictures or videos that the people living with a disability are still valuable members of society who can carry out certain jobs. In general schools have to provide equal opportunities to the pupils in all learning and extra-curricular activities and these activities should also reflect the appreciation of diversity. Similarly, no parent should be excluded from any of the parental activities on the basis of ethnic origin or personal characteristics. As children can pick up various misconceptions about racial and cultural groups from the media and society, it is essential that their school environment help them to overcome of stereotyping. If the Teaching Assistant treats all children equally but not all the same it will help them to meet their individual needs and characteristics while appreciating the diversity of community around them.
e)
parental engagement
The parent or carer of a child has a right to participate in decisions about their child's education and to receive information from the school regarding the child. They have to receive a report about the pupil’s educational achievements each year. Parents may access the pupil’s educational record and information about the school curriculum if they request it. They can participate in activities like parents’ conference or voting in election for parent governors. Parents or carers have to be asked to give consent to certain activities, like school trips. If there is a school meeting involving the child (e.g. a governors’ meeting on the child’s exclusion) the parents or carers have to be informed about it. The parents have to make sure that their child is regularly attending school while in the compulsory school age and in return the school has to inform the parent immediately if the pupil is absent unexplained. The school has to inform parents about the following documents: the school prospectus, the home-school agreement, the school’s discipline and behaviour policy and the complaint procedures. The governing body of the school will publish annually a report to give the parents and cares a summary of their activities and also hold an annual parents' meeting to discuss their achievements.8 The Children Act of 1989 introduced the concept of “parental responsibility” which means the rights and duties of a parent or carer of a child. As the act declares the child’s welfare to be paramount, local authorities have the right to act if they see the child is in danger. The document titled “Every Child Matters” states that support to parents is crucial as family has the most important influence on a young person’s life, therefore the school has to co-operate with the parents at all times to ensure the child’s most advantageous development.
Sources:
1
“Becoming school support staff: Support staff roles.” Department for Education.
2
“Silky Steps” Forum.
3
“Evaluate Methods of Communicating a Schools Ethos, Mission, Aims and Values.” Studymode.
4
“Aims, values and purposes.” Department
for Education.
5
“Values.” Pulloxhill School.
6
Welford and Wickham Primary School
Teaching and Learning Policy
7
“Learning and Teaching Policy.” Ambleside
Primary School.
8
“Parental Involvement.” Department for
Education.
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