P O L I C I E S   A N D   R U L E S

A complete overview of Queensmead School's policies and rules are available on application to the school.

		fulfil their potential as individuals
		respect the values of the school
		take responsibility for their actions

The five essentials of Good Behaviour are that every student is required to :

		behave with courtesy and respect
		follow teachers' instructions at the first time of asking
		preserve a pleasant School environment
		be punctual and properly prepared for lessons
		wear the correct uniform

By following these principles it will help all students meet the requirements of the Every Child Matters Agenda.

Behaviour for Learning Policy
The purpose of our Behaviour for Learning Policy is to ensure that all members of our community have knowledge of the Behaviour for Learning system and Behaviour Code and follow it to bring about consistency of practice throughout the school. It also ensures that all students understand what constitutes acceptable and unacceptable behaviour and that every student understands their choices and the consequences of these decisions and further the rewards that help make the Policy effective. To read the full behaviour for Learning Policy please click here.

Charging Policy

The following is a summary of the Governing Body’s policy in respect to charging for school activities. Education at Queensmead which takes place wholly or mainly during school hours will be free of charge except in the following cases :

		a charge may be made for individual tuition in playing any musical instrument
		the cost of board and lodging may be charged where a school activity involves a
		student in nights away from home
		where an activity takes place wholly or mainly outside school hours parents may be
		charged the costs incurred
		in certain circumstances, charges may be wholly or partly remitted on the grounds of
		family hardship

The Governing Body’s full Charging Policy is available for consultation at the school. It should be noted that parents continue to make contributions on a voluntary basis for a number of school activities, including aspects of the curriculum which could not otherwise go ahead.

E- Safety

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Discipline

Our aim is to promote self-discipline in an atmosphere of mutual respect and tolerance.

We accord most importance to students' good efforts and these are specifically recognized by an Award System. In all year groups certificates are presented to those students who achieve one hundred per cent attendance in a term.

It is the school's policy to take every opportunity to celebrate students' successes achieved in whatever field. This will regularly take place in assemblies but also in other contexts. Examination Certificates and Diplomas are presented publicly by invited guests, often chosen to act as positive role models for our students.

Where an individual student's unacceptable behavior necessitates a disciplinary response, our aims in dealing with that student are several. On the one hand we seek to ensure that there is no disruption to the education of the majority or that the safety of the school community is put at risk. On the other hand we take steps with the individual to prevent the recurrence of unacceptable behaviour and, where necessary, to punish.

In the case of more serious forms of misbehaviour we attach the greatest importance to a thorough investigation of all of the circumstances. Our belief is that the process of being found out is at least as important in preventing a student from continuing to behave badly as the punishment which will follow, although that is important too. In such cases we will always involve parents from an early stage. Our aim is to try to work closely with parents, upon whose support the success of our measures will largely depend.

Even in the case of the tiny minority of our students who do find themselves at some point in their career in serious trouble, the aim at Queensmead is to offer such students opportunities, over time, to rehabilitate themselves into the mainstream school community. It is made clear to the student that the onus lies with him or her to provide the school with clear evidence of an improved disciplinary performance.

The sanctions which are employed at Queensmead are the following :

		detentions of up to fifty minutes
		individual, or occasionally, group written assignments

It is the responsibility of students to inform parents of longer detentions. Detentions will be recorded in the student's Work Planner and Diary. which needs to be countersigned by the parent.

Utilising the Student "On Report" System

The student's progress is closely checked and commented on lesson by lesson, usually for a period of up to a fortnight.

Homework is included in this monitoring of progress and usually parents are invited to countersign each day's reports and play their part in ensuring that homework is adequately done.

The system is administered by the Head of Year who may occasionally feel the need to remove a student from class for individual supervision either in certain subjects or across the entire timetable.

Where poor attendance or lateness for school is a problem the student may similarly be placed on an attendance or punctuality report or given a longer detention of fifty minutes. This is a serious sanction which is used rarely and mainly in instances where other sanctions have failed to bring about improvement. Parents of students given a longer detention will be informed via a letter.

In cases of extreme indiscipline, the ultimate sanction is exclusion from school. Initially this is likely to be for a period of a few days. A second serious breach of discipline is likely to lead to the student being excluded and, together with his/her parents, being required to make an appearance before the Discipline Committee of the Governing Body who will meet to review the student's future at the school. This ultimate sanction is used only when all other disciplinary measures are deemed to have failed.

Bullying

Queensmead School has a clear policy for dealing with any instances of bullying which are identified although these are rare. The objectives of the policy are :

		to enable all members of the school community to understand what constitutes
		bullying
		to sustain the awareness of the school community to the Discipline Policy of which
		bullying is an important element
		to increase the sensitivity of the school community to incidents of bullying
		to enable students to understand that bullying, of any kind, will not be tolerated
		by any other member of the school community
		to enable every member of the school community to feel confident that bullying
		will be firmly dealt with in school
		to sustain a non-violent ethos in the school

Parents who wish to read the full policy on this issue may do so upon application to the school.

Attendance

As part of our Attendance Policy, we are required to inform you of the following:

EXCEPTIONAL LEAVE during term time

Taking holidays in term time will affect your child’s schooling as much as any other absence and we expect parents to help us by not taking children away in school time.

Remember that any savings you may make by taking a holiday in school time are offset by the cost to your child’s education.

There is no automatic entitlement in law to time off in school time to go on holiday.

It is widely known that the link between a student’s attendance and attainment is irrefutable,

Early poor attendance habits follow through into secondary school and employment.

Graduates earn an average of £15.01p.h. Young people that leave school with no qualifications earn an average of £7.44p.h.

All Hillingdon schools are encouraged to adopt a policy of not authorising exceptional leave. Exceptional cases remain in the personal gift of the Principal to authorise (max 10 days only).

The Principal will correspond with every family applying for exceptional leave to stress the importance of good school attendance habits and links between attendance and attainment.

Exceptional leave will always be refused between Years 9 and 11.
Exceptional leave will always be refused when a child’s attendance is less than 95% (Primary) and 92.4% (Secondary).
Exceptional leave should always be refused when school is aware of any truancy.
Exceptional leave should always be refused when requests are regular (annual) or patterns become identifiable.

Reasons for Exceptional leave should be logged on the student’s record and shared as part of the transfer/transition process. The Education Welfare Service can issue Fixed penalty Notices for any unauthorised absence.

Equality Policy and Equalities Plan