Attendance

The government now classes a pupil as a persistent absentee if their attendance at school drops below 90%.  For those children whose attendance drops below this level, parents/carers will be informed and discussions will take place in order to consider what steps are required in order to improve their child’s attendance.

The Education Regulations state that applications for leave must be made in advance by a parent with whom the child lives and can only be authorised by the school in exceptional circumstances. Each application is considered individually by the school.

Illness

If a child is absent through sickness or a medical appointment, it is important that the school is notified on the day the child is absent.  This allows the absence to be authorised.

Parents are required to contact the school office via telephone by 9:00am at the latest on the first day of their child’s absence and on every subsequent day thereafter.

Leave of Absence Policy and Form

E-Safety

The internet and other digital technologies permeate all aspects of life in a modern technological society. Internet use is part of the statutory National Curriculum and is a necessary tool for staff and pupils. It is the entitlement of every pupil to have access to the internet and digital technologies, in order to enrich their learning.

Pupils will learn how to:

•Use the internet and other digital technologies to support, extend and enhance learning

•Develop an understanding of the uses, importance and limitations of the internet and other digital technologies in the modern world including the need to avoid undesirable material

•Use the internet effectively for research purposes

•Evaluate information on the internet

•Report inappropriate web content

•Develop a positive attitude towards the internet and develop their ICT capability through both independent and collaborative working

•Use existing, as well as up-and-coming, technologies safely

•Use the internet safely (e-safety)

•Use ICT skills across the curriculum

Useful Sites

Parent Info

Think You Know

North Yorkshire Safeguarding Board

ChildNet International

CEOP

Internet Matters

NSPCC NetAware

Behaviour

Praise and encouragement are used to reward appropriate behaviour. When there is a breakdown in discipline the child is made to understand that it is his/her behaviour that is unacceptable and not the child personally. An immediate checking of the unacceptable behaviour may be all that is necessary. Should unacceptable behaviour persist, the parents/carers will be invited to discuss the issue with the Head Teacher and Class Teacher.

Bullying can take many forms. It is the responsibility of the whole school community to tackle bullying by ensuring the development of a caring and supportive ethos. We have a duty to take measures to prevent all forms of bullying.

We:

• take all bullying problems seriously
• investigate all incidents thoroughly
• keep a written record of any incidents, investigations and outcomes
• ensure that action is taken to prevent further incidents.

Prevent

What is ‘Prevent’?

Prevent is the government’s national strategy for ensuring that children in schools are protected against extreme ideas and beliefs. The strategy is designed to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorist or extremist causes. The Prevent strategy covers all types of terrorism and extremism, including the extreme right wing, violent faith groups and other causes such as extremist animal rights groups.

How does the Prevent strategy apply to our school

From July 2015, all schools have a duty to safeguard children from radicalisation and extremism. This means we have a responsibility to protect children from extremist and violent views the same way we protect them from other forms of harm. Importantly, we provide a safe place for pupils to discuss these issues so they better understand how to protect themselves. We develop the core skills of confidence, listening and critical thinking which enable children to listen, think for themselves seeking advice when they are not sure. We also develop their self-esteem so they can clearly articulate and confidently represent themselves with their peers.

What does this mean in practice?

Many of the things we already do in school to help children become positive, happy members of society also contribute to the Prevent strategy. These include:

• Exploring other cultures and religions and promoting diversity
• Challenging prejudices and behaviours that discriminate (e.g. racism)
• Developing critical thinking skills and a strong, positive self-identity
• Promoting the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils

We will also protect children from the risk of radicalisation, for example by using filters on the internet to make sure they cannot access extremist and terrorist material, or by carefully vetting visitors who come into school to work with pupils.

How does Prevent relate to British values?

Schools are required to promote British Values, and this will continue to be part of our response to the Prevent Strategy. British Values include:

• Democracy
• The rule of law
• Individual liberty
• Mutual respect
• Tolerance of different faiths and beliefs

Click Here for more information about how our school promotes British Values.