Example Website

The New School embraces the Charter of Rights for Children adopted by the United Nations Convention.

Our young people need to feel safe, happy, secure and of value if they are to learn effectively. Our relationships with students are governed by the following principles:

Choice

We seek to provide as many opportunities as possible for students to make their own choices and to provide them with the information they need.

Rights

All students have rights irrespective of gender, race or disability. We teach our students that with each right goes a corresponding responsibility and that in exercising their own rights they should not infringe on those of others.

Self-Fulfilment

We support our students to fulfil their dreams and achieve their potential in all areas of life.

Independence

We give our students freedom to make their own decisions within reasonable limits and with support. We help them to learn from their mistakes.

Privacy

We give our students freedom to have their own space when they express a need for it.

Dignity

We recognise and respect the unique nature of each individual and seek to help our students to express their individuality appropriately.

Praise and reward

We believe in mutual respect and clarity of expectations. We give students a clear understanding of what is expected of them and the consequences of not meeting those expectations. The school uses a scale of sanctions that comply with current legislation and guidance. However, these are set in the context of a behaviour management policy that emphasises praise and reward, rather than punishing failure. Staff will ensure that poor behaviour is responded to appropriately without compromising the relationship with the student. When mistakes are made individuals are not rejected because of behaviour which they have learned over many years. Students who have learned the strategy of "rejecting adults before those adults reject them”, discover a surprisingly different and refreshing experience at our school!

Student rights

Our school is affiliated to the Kent Child Protection Committee and complies with the exacting practices and procedures designed to ensure that young people remain free from harm. It also protects them from possible abuse of power and authority by the staff that work with them.

We actively encourage students to participate in sharing ideas, for example through the School Council and house meetings for boarders. There may be occasions when students (or their representatives) may wish to make a formal complaint about their experience. There is a clear complaints procedure for both day and residential students reporting directly to a Vice Principal. For residential students there is the additional safeguard of one of our Trustees who has a specific responsibility and interest in monitoring the care arrangements in our school. This trustee ensures that students know they have been listened to. An independent visitor also spends time in our school at least half termly. She provides a further source of support to ensure that residential students have someone else to talk to about their worries and concerns if they want to. These procedures provide an additional means for ensuring that students can directly influence both policy and practice

Priorities:

• ensuring that each newcomer to the school is made to feel welcome
• working individually with each student to ensure the care element in the IEP is monitored and reviewed in consultation with teaching staff
• supporting the achievement of the education targets in the IEP
• providing a first point of contact for enquiries about individual students
• liasing with parents and/or carers and sponsoring Education Authorities where necessary
• most importantly, "being there" for each student

Praise and reward

We believe in mutual respect and clarity of expectations. We give students a clear understanding of what is expected of them and the consequences of not meeting those expectations. The school does use a scale of sanctions that comply with current legislation and guidance. However, these are set in the context of a behaviour management policy that emphasises praise and reward, rather than punishing failure. Staff will ensure that poor behaviour is responded to appropriately without compromising the relationship with the student. When mistakes are made individuals are not rejected because of behaviour which they have learned over many years. Those students that may have learned the strategy of "rejecting adults before the adults reject them", will find a challenging and refreshing change in our school!

Your rights

The school is also affiliated to the Kent Child Protection Committee and complies with the exacting practices and procedures designed to ensure that children and young people remain free of harm. It also protects them from abuses of power and authority by the staff who work with them.

We actively encourage students to participate in sharing ideas, for example through the School Council. There may be occasions when students (or their representatives) may wish to make a formal complaint about their experience. One of our Trustees has a specific responsibility and interest in monitoring the care arrangements in our school to ensure that students know they have been listened to. This provides an additional means for ensuring that students can directly influence policy and practice

Partnership with parents

The school values the importance of developing close and co-operative relationships with parents and carers. We actively encourage open and regular contact between school and home. On occasions it may be appropriate for home visits to be made. Parents and carers are always welcome to visit the school. Please call the office first.

We take pride in ensuring that our school is responsive and proactive in meeting individual students needs. During their time with us we support them in their development as potentially wise and responsible parents, and active citizens of the future.