Student Welfare
Students need to be physically safe, and emotionally secure in order to learn effectively. We have a pastoral care system that is based on respect for self, others and property. Features includes:
- Teacher supervision at play and lunchtimes
- Teacher led games in playground for older students at lunchtimes
- A senior staff member whose role is to monitor playground dynamics and watch children who are deemed at risk e.g. who may be isolated, without a friendship group or those who are noticed for unacceptably rough play or teasing of others
- Opportunities for parents to share issues with teachers/and or principal, and be listened to no matter how small the concern seems.
- Effective communication between home and school - all staff have email which is checked daily
- Actions followed up by teacher or principal in the event of an issue
- Buddy system in place where each senior class is buddied with a junior class
- Peer mediators operate in playground at lunchtimes. Peer mediators deal with low level students disputes
- Our school council (12 older students) interacts with the new entrant class to get to know them so they don't feel overwhelmed in the playground
- Senior students are encouraged to notice and help younger students
- A PALs programme operates on Tuesday lunchtimes (Physical Activity Leaders). PALs run games for younger students
- Staff undertake professional development on ways of dealing with inappropriate behaviour in and out of the classroom
- If an aggressive or inappropriate incident occurs evidence is gathered, witnesses are spoken to and students are dealt with fairly - timeout is often the only deterrent needed. Parents are informed of all but minor incidents and of the action taken
- More serious behavioural incidents are recorded in the schools computerized ETap logging system.
- Other agencies such as the Resource Teachers of Learning and Behaviour assist teachers when a student is not coping socially or displays inappropriate behaviours and the school has already tried a number of ways to help; and
- School management will stand students down for repeated aggressive behaviour or a severe one off incident. Please see our Bullying Policy for more information.
Internet Safety
We have a contract parents and students must sign agreeing to appropriate use of IT at school. Failure to adhere to the conditions results in students losing their IT privileges at school.
We encourage parents to monitor your child's access to the Internet at home as well. We suggest you regularly check phones and devices so you know who your child is communicating with and on what social media sites - most social media sites are illegal for children under 13 years of age. Please be vigilant.