Code of Conduct for Parents, Carers and Visitors
This Code of Conduct is an unsigned home / school agreement between the Parent, Carer, Visitor and William Harding.
At William Harding we are very proud and fortunate to have a very dedicated and supportive school community. At our school we all recognise that the education of our children is a partnership between us and that our pupils must come first.
We expect our school community to respect our school vision, values and mission to keep our school tidy, set a good example as role models with their own behaviour both on and off school premises.
In addition, we also expect our parents, carers and visitors to keep our children safe by adhering to the school’s request to park safely outside the school gates during morning and afternoon collections. We also expect our parents and carers to respect our neighbours by staying off their property. It is important for parents and carers to make sure any persons collecting their children are aware of this policy.
Working in partnership
As a partnership we should all be aware of the importance of good working relationships and all recognise the importance of these being positive and supportive to ensure our pupils have the necessary skills for their education and for modern life. For these reasons we welcome and encourage parents and carers to participate fully in the life of our school.
This Code of Conduct supports us to build a community where staff, pupils and parents work together to ensure every child feels safe, is valued and encouraged to achieve their potential. We want our pupils to be able to become independent learners who enjoy learning. We expect that pupils, staff and parents all adhere to our Code of Conduct to enable us all to work together for the best possible outcomes for the pupils.
Aims and expectations
The purpose of this Code of Conduct is to provide the expectations around the conduct of all parents, carers and visitors connected to our school and to ensure it matches our school vision, values, aims and mission.
As a school we aim to:
Provide a safe and happy environment for all children
Encourage children to do their best at all times
Provide an inclusive environment and appropriate curriculum to meet the needs of all children
Achieve high standards by providing opportunities for children to develop positive social relationships, self-esteem and a sense of responsibility
Be open and welcoming and offer opportunities for parents to be involved
Communicate clearly and regularly with parents and families
Ensure that all pupils are made aware that unacceptable behaviour is not tolerated
Report on children’s progress
We ask parents to:
Ensure their child attends, notifying the school as soon as possible of any absences and provide an explanation
Support the school’s policies and procedures including attending parents’ evenings and information events
Support their child by reading with them, talking to them about their day and the wider world, helping to develop resilience and independence
Support the wellbeing of their child e.g. keeping screen time to a minimum, ensuring children only access age appropriate content, ensuring their child has enough sleep, promoting healthy living, helping children to understand their emotions and can self-regulate
Respect all members of the school community, abiding by a policy of zero tolerance towards rude and aggressive behaviour, behaving in an appropriate way so that the school is not brought into disrepute
Direct any complaints or concerns through the school’s official channels and not use private groups or personal social media to complain about or criticise the school or members of staff. This is not constructive and the school can’t improve or address issues if they aren’t raised in an appropriate way
Ensure mobile phones and smart watches are not used on site
Communicate with the school regarding any about concerns or health issues that may affect their child’s behaviour
Ensure phone numbers and contact details are up to date
Access and read all communications sent by the school
We ask pupils to:
Aim high, work hard and be kind
Model our school values, British values and SMSC
Come to school regularly and on time
Treat others with consideration and respect
Listen carefully to what others have to say
Follow instructions from all school staff
Wear school uniform and be tidy
Look after their belongings, the school and school property
Be kind, helpful and polite to everyone
Ensure school staff are not contacted through digital media
Ensure nothing is posted on the internet that may hurt the feelings of other people or cause distress
Keep themselves and others safe
Actively participate in lessons and demonstrate good learning behaviours
Avoid using discriminatory language or being verbally or physically abusive to others
Refrain from behaving in a way that brings the school into disrepute, including when outside school
Behave in an orderly and self-controlled way
Work well and try their best
Resolving issues
We are committed to resolving difficulties in a constructive manner, through an open and positive dialogue. However, we understand that everyday misunderstandings can cause frustrations and have a negative impact on our relationships. Where issues arise or misconceptions take place, please contact your child’s teacher, via the school office, in the first instance who will go through the issue and hopefully resolve it. Where issues remain unresolved, please follow our Who to contact sheet (link here)
This code aims to clarify the types of behaviour that will not be tolerated and seeks parental agreement to these expectations. The Code of Conduct also sets out the actions the school can and may take should this code be ignored or where breaches occur.
No Excuse for Abuse
We believe very strongly in keeping our staff protected and safe from any kind of abuse from any parents or visitors to our school site.
We also support staff in being able to end conversations if they feel they are being disrespected, threatened or bullied. A simple 'If you continue to speak to me in that manner, I will be forced to end this conversation' may be used if needed.
We have adopted a National approach, 'No Excuse for Abuse'. This approach is in line with the unions motion to lobby the Department for Education (DfE) to do more to support schools to prevent and deal appropriately with perceived incidents of violence and aggression against staff. We know that our schools should be safe, inclusive and welcoming places for children and staff. There can be no place in schools for violence or aggression, whether that be physical, verbal or through social media.
Please note that behaviour can be considered aggressive and inappropriate without the perpetrator shouting and swearing. What is said is as important as how it is said.
We have posters around our school to help make sure everyone is clear that our school is safe, kind and inclusive and that there is simply no excuse for abuse.
Behaviour that will not be tolerated:
Disruptive behaviour which interferes or threatens to interfere with any of the school’s normal operation or activities anywhere on the school premises
Overly demanding, vexatious, behaviours e.g. demanding contact without waiting for 48 hours, repeated contact about the same issue within a short period of time, repeated contact with multiple staff about the same issue, demanding unreasonable responses e.g. sacking a staff member, continued contact about an issue where an answer / response has already been provided, making demands regarding children that are not their own i.e. that children are excluded or moved to a different class
Any inappropriate behaviour on the school premises
Displaying behaviours that do not match our school values
Using loud or offensive language or displaying temper
Threatening behaviour, in any way, towards a member of staff, visitor, fellow parent/carer or child
Damaging or destroying school property, or threatening to
Sending abusive or threatening emails/texts/voicemail/phone messages or other written communications (including social media) to anyone within the school community
Defamatory, offensive, rude or derogatory comments regarding the school or any of the pupils/parents/staff/governors at the school on any form of social media including messaging apps
The use of physical, verbal or written aggression towards another adult or child, this includes physical chastisement of your own child, on school premises
Approaching someone else’s child in order to discuss or chastise them because of the actions of this child towards their own child. (such an approach to a child may be seen to be an assault on that child and may have legal consequences)
Smoking, vaping, taking illegal drugs or the consumption of alcohol on school premises. (Alcohol may only be consumed during authorised events in line with Health and Safety guidance)
Dogs being brought on to the school premises, (other than guide dogs)
Should any of the above occur on school premises, or in connection with school, the school may feel it is necessary to take action by contacting the appropriate authorities or consider banning the offending adult from entering the school premises. Where situations happen outside of school, the school will liaise with the appropriate bodies but may not have overall jurisdiction to act.
Thank you for abiding by this code in our school. Together we create a positive and uplifting environment not only for the children but also all who work and visit our school.
What happens if someone ignores or breaks the code?
In the event of any parent/carer or visitor of the school breaking, this code then proportionate actions will be taken as follows:
In cases where the unacceptable behaviour is considered to be a serious and potentially criminal matter, the concerns will in the first instance be referred to the Police. This will include any or all cases of threats or violence and actual violence to any child, staff or governor in the school. This will also include anything that could be seen as a sign of harassment of any member of the school community, such as any form of insulting social media post or any form of social media cyber bullying. In cases where evidence suggests that behaviour would be tantamount to libel or slander, then the school will refer the matter to the County Councils Legal Team for further action.
In cases where the code of conduct has been broken but the breach was not libellous, slanderous or criminal matter, then the school will send out a formal letter to the parent/carer to ask them to remember to be kind to staff or stop the behaviour causing the concern and warn that if they do not they may be banned from the school premises. If after this behaviour continues, the parent/carer will again be written to and informed that a ban is now in place.
Note: (1) a ban from the school can be introduced without having to go through all the steps offered above in more serious cases. (2) Site bans will normally be limited in the first instance.
Issues of conduct with the use of Social Media
Most people take part in online activities and social media. It’s fun, interesting and keeps us connected.
However, we ask that you use common sense when discussing school life online. ‘Think before you post’ We expect that social media, whether public or private, should not be used to fuel campaigns and voice complaints against the school, school staff, parents or children.
We take very seriously inappropriate use of social media by a parent/person to publicly humiliate or criticise another parent, member of staff, the school as a whole or child. They should not use social media as a medium to air any concerns or grievances.
Online activity which we consider inappropriate:
Identifying or posting images/videos of children or that were taken on the school site
Abusive or personal comments about the school, staff, governors, children or other parents
Bringing the school in disrepute
Posting defamatory or libellous comments
Emails circulated or sent directly with abusive or personal comments about the school, staff or children
Using social media to publicly challenge school policies or discuss issues about school procedures or policies, individual children or members of staff
Threatening behaviour, such as verbally intimidating staff, bullying, harassment, attacking or using bad language
Breaching school security procedures
At our school we take our safeguarding responsibilities seriously and will deal with any reported incidents appropriately in line with the actions outlined above.