School Policies

Student Conduct Policy

Attendance Policy

Withdrawal Policy

Uniform Policy

Homework Policy

Textbook Policy

Library Policy

Sports Policy

Learning Support Policy

Student Conduct Policy

The school conduct guidelines establish behaviour and discipline parameters that allow School of the Nations to create a happy, safe, positive and respectful learning environment steeped in Christian values. The school has five basic “umbrella” rules under which all teachers, students and staff operate.

  1. Every person must respect themselves, treat others with respect and deserves to be respected in return. Respect for self, others and authority leads to
  2. Obedience to school rules/regulations which have
  3. Clear boundaries for acceptable behaviour defined and
  4. There are definite consequences for violation of standards and
  5. Unconditional forgiveness for genuine repentance is practised.

Disciplinary actions by the school are based on the understanding of school rules and the consequences of failing to abide by those rules. The following lists are not all-inclusive and this guide applies wherever the school has authority to regulate student conduct including during activities on school property, transport to and from school as well as off school property at school-related activities.

Disciplinary Action Will be Taken For:

  1. Bullying (Our school has zero tolerance to bullying)
  2. Use of foul language/gestures.
  3. Insubordination &/or disrespectful behaviour.
  4. Being dishonest & stealing.
  5. Wilful damage of school & other’s property.
  6. Sneaking out of the designated boundaries.
  7. Absconding from class.
  8. Disrespecting one’s beliefs, culture and religion.

Disciplinary Action Guide

The Principal and teachers will exercise their discretion when taking action and the degree of discipline will be in proportion to the severity of the behaviour and will take into account the student’s history, age and other relevant factors. A violation of any rule may result in disciplinary action including immediate suspension or expulsion from school. Other actions include:

1st Offence – Verbal warning.

2nd Offence – Counseling by the relevant teachers and note sent home to be signed by parent and returned to school.

3rd Offence – Suspension following parent/principal & teacher conference.

NB: All disciplinary actions are noted on students’ permanent record and are valid for one academic year.

The following offenses pose a threat to student’s health and safety and will result in immediate suspension or expulsion.

  1. Assault (Physical or Threatened) and/or Fighting or not respecting each other’s privacy (touching, grabbing)
  2. Bringing any pornographic material to school.
  3. Bringing drugs, alcohol, cigarettes to school etc. (NB. ALL medications prescribed MUST be handed in to school teachers for administration).
  4. Carrying any dangerous items to school i.e. knives, nails, sharp metal, explosive material, poisonous material, matchboxes/lighters etc

See our Student Conduct Guidelines

Attendance Policy

  • Students are expected in school at all times.
  • If a student has to be picked up earlier than usual, kindly inform the office and the class teacher.
  • In case of a doctor’s appointment, please bring a medical report. Optical/dental appointments should preferably not be made during school hours.
  • Students having 3 late passes equals to 1 absenteeism which will be recorded in their report cards.
  • Students having 3 incidences absenteeism warrants a meeting with the parent/guardian.

Withdrawal Policy

  • One term’s notice must be given to the school before withdrawing a student or pay one term’s fees in lieu of notice.
  • A letter of withdrawal.
  • A clearance certificate from the school
  • Upon getting a clearance certificate, there will be a refund of the caution fee.

Uniform Policy

  • It is mandatory for every student to follow the uniforms list.
  • Shirts should always be tucked in.
  • T-shirts worn under shirts must be plain and inconspicuous.
  • Shoes must be leather or look like leather and should be clean and polished.
  • All uniform and equipment must be clearly labeled with the student’s name.
  • Skirts should only be knee length.
  • No home clothes are allowed at any time.

Homework Policy

  1. The purpose of homework: We believe homework is an important part of the work we expect pupils to do and is a useful means of reinforcing work habits. It provides pupils with valuable additional time to extend work done in the classroom and develops their ability to work alone: this is a vital skill. It also enables parents/guardians to become more involved in the management of the child’s learning and be better informed about the work pupils are doing.
  2.  Amount of homework: Homework is structured so that there is a gradual development in its amount and complexity as the children move through from Year 1 to Year 9. Each child has a school diary for recording homework on a daily basis and this will be taken home for parents to look at and sign daily for Years 1-6 and weekly for Years 7-9. The child’s class teacher will also use the diary to check that homework is being set and recorded in line with the homework timetable. Each year group will have a homework timetable organised to ensure
    • No more than two subjects per night
    • No overload at weekends
    • At least one evening is allowed to complete each piece of homework.

Each child will have a copy of the homework timetable in their diary and a copy to take home to parents. All staff will have copies of homework timetables.

  1. Guidelines for Setting Homework: The main focus of homework for children in the Primary school should be Literacy and Numeracy. Science and other subjects should be added to the programme as children move up the school.
  2. Scheduling: The table below outlines the weekly homework schedule for each year group.

Years

 Time

Content

1&2

 1 hour per week
  • Daily reading; 10-20 minutes to parent/guardian
  • Spellings
  • Literacy and/or topic based work (e.g. handwriting tasks/word games/collecting information)
  • Number work (e.g. learning number bonds, number games)

3&4

1.5 hours

per week
  • Daily readings – 20 minutes to parent/guardian or independently
  • Spellings/vocabulary work
  • Literacy task (e.g. practising punctuation, book reviews, factual research, reading record comments)
  • Number work (learning number facts, number games) or investigation, reinforcement exercises)
  • Topic work (e.g. researching the life of a famous person)
  • Occasional assignments in other subjects
5&6 2.5 hours Per week
  • Daily reading – 20 minutes to parent/carer or independently – child to write a comment in record book.
  • Spellings/collecting vocabulary/exploring spelling
  • Literacy work (e.g. extended book reviews, research, written assignments, preparing oral presentations, reading in preparation for lessons, comprehension task)
  • Number work (e.g. learning number facts, mental arithmetic practice)
  • Topic assignments (e.g. independent research into a chosen aspect of a class topic, a teacher given topic to research) and occasional assignments in other subjects
  • Checkpoint Primary revision work including Science

All children should read daily. Homework in Years 1 and 2 should very largely consist of regular reading, with parents and guardians looking at books together.

Children are naturally enthusiastic and eager to learn in the early years of their education and it is important not to smother this enthusiasm by putting undue pressure on the children.Short bursts of work are far more beneficial than long periods, in which a child can become despondent.

Reading should be fun and children, as well as reading aloud to an adult,should learn to read through listening to stories and sharing books.

As the children progress, simple spellings are introduced and common words to learn linked with the Literacy Framework. Later, these are matched to the classes’ phonic work. Number games and number tasks are introduced through the Numeracy Framework.

Homework is set for the child and should, with the support of their parents, be

the child’s best efforts. It should not be the parents’ efforts and should be enhancing the partnership between the home and school, not damaging it.

  1. Secondary 1 (Yrs 7-9)
The amount of time which should be spent on homework, should fall within the following ranges: Up to 30 minutes per subject each night, so 1 hour per night.
Year 7-8 Up to 40 minutes per subject each night, so 1 hour 20 minutes per night.
Year 9 Up to 50 minutes per subject each night, so 1 hour 40 minutes per night

 

  1. Planning and preparation: Homework should complement classroom learning and is successful when well   planned with appropriate learning objectives, and when differentiated to meet the needs of the pupils.
  2. Assessment, feedback and progression: All homework should be marked and returned to pupils with appropriate feedback indicating whether they have achieved the learning objective. This will also support the class teacher in planning future homework.
  3. Resources: A range of homework resources are available to staff in each year group and it is recommended that staff develop a bank of resources.Diaries are used throughout Years 1-9 to record given homework, whilst folders and exercise books are available for completing and keeping homework in.
  4. Holidays:Generally homework will not be set for holidays. There will be some exceptions to this e.g. Year 6-9 revision over the Easter holidays and occasionally project/research work.
  5. Monitoring: Both parents and teachers play a crucial role in monitoring homework. Parents are asked to sign the homework diary to show that they have checked that homework has been completed. Subject teachers will make sure that homework is given at the correct time and recorded accurately. Class teachers will monitor homework for their own class and the homework planner weekly. The Director of Academics will monitor homework in the year group by regular sampling of planners.
  6. Nature of Homework: Finishing work off class work will not regularly be used as a homework task as this disadvantages slower pupils and fails to challenge brighter pupils. Homework will cover as wide a range of tasks as possible e.g. Research tasks, learning spellings or Math tables, Vocabulary, key information, watch a TV program or listen to a radio program, revision of notes, investigations, interviews, simple experiments, essay writing, public library visits, drafting, report writing, designing, making a model, drawing, reading, word processing, desk-top publishing, projects etc. all constitute valid assignments.
    • Children should be given clear instructions that can be translated by their parents. Homework sheets with examples on them can be very helpful to both pupils and parents.
    • Parents and children should be given an indication as to how long the work should take.
  1. Feedback: Feedback will be given promptly and be in line with the school policy for Marking and Response, but need not necessarily be written. Homework planners can be used to give feedback to parents and carers to give feedback about how well children carried out the homework tasks and whether the tasks were interesting, too easy, too hard etc.
  2. The Role of Parents and Guardians:
    • To provide a peaceful, suitable place in which homework can be done.
    • To support the school by showing that homework is valued, and explain its value in helping children to make progress.
    • To encourage and give praise for completed homework.
    • To check that deadlines are met.
    • To become actively involved in joint homework activities with younger children.
  1. Sanctions: Subject teachers will be responsible for monitoring their own homework. If three pieces of homework are not done in one month, a letter will be sent home with the homework.
  1. Recording homework in the Student Diary: Pupils must write what home work has been set for each subject and when it is to be completed by, in the relevant section of the Student Diary. If, for some reason, no home work is set, pupils should write“None set”.The homework set will often be an integral part of the class work taking place at the time. Rather than being an isolated task set for the sake of setting homework, it should relate centrally to the framework of the learning process. For example, assignments designed as part of the planning of a subject scheme of work can help to make homework both relevant and manageable. Occasionally it will be “finishing off” of topic covered in class.

Textbook Policy

  • The School of the Nations supplies each of its students with textbooks in order to support and enhance learning. Students are expected to use these textbooks, care for them and return them in good condition.
  • If a student damages, loses or fails to return a book, the parent/guardian is responsible to reimburse the school for the replacement cost of the textbook. Replacement value shall be processed through the principal.

Textbook Distribution

  • Once the administration has cleared a student from any pending payments, the Library will issue the student their textbooks during the first day of each term school.
  • The student will be given a list of their textbooks.
  • Together with their teacher, the student will go through the list and sign that they have received it.
  • The parents will also get a copy of this list.

Textbook Collection

  • Each term the textbooks will be collected after the final exam.
  • They will be checked back in to the system.
  • The office will be notified of any missing textbooks, who will then alert the parents.
  • If a student damages, loses or fails to return a book, the parent/guardian is responsible to reimburse the school for the replacement cost of the textbook. Replacement value shall be processed through the principal.

Transfer Students

  • The teacher will follow the above steps for students who transfer to and from the school during the year.
  • Transfer students shall be held responsible for returning all textbook(s) to the Library. If the textbooks are not returned, the costs of replacing them will be met via the student’s Caution Money.

Students are responsible for the school textbooks checked out to them:

  • Once a student has received their books, you are to check through your textbook list to confirm that you have received those books, and write your name inside the front cover of their book in the signature box.
  • Be sure you always have your own book! If you turn in another student’s book you will still be responsible for the book number checked out to you.
  • All textbooks are to be returned to the Library on or before the last day of school– it is the students’ responsibility to return their own books.  At the end of the term, if a student damages, loses or fails to return a book, the parent/guardian is responsible to reimburse the school for the replacement cost of the textbook. Replacement value shall be processed through the principal.
  • The obligation stays on the student’s record until the book is returned, the fine is paid, or an identical replacement book is provided.

Students are expected to:

  • Be responsible for the school property loaned to them.
  • Not write, highlight or draw in school textbooks.
  • Not leave your book in a classroom, on a table or on a bench.
  • Not loan your book to anyone – not even your best friend!
  • Make sure you can see your books or backpack at all times.
  • Keep your book away from all liquids (e.g. rain, spilled drinks, and leaky water bottles). Wet books that develop mold cannot be used; students will receive and obligation.
  • Keep books in a safe place at home, out of the reach of pets and small children.
  • Return textbooks in good condition on or before the last day of class.
  • Return books to the school library as soon as you are through with it or are moving.

Teachers are not responsible for:

  • Storing individual students’ books in the classroom.
  • Collecting or returning students’ books to the library.

Library Policy

School of the Nations Library is open to all of its students. They are allowed to read books during their Library time or they are allowed to borrow them and take them home.

Borrowed Books:

  • A child will be able to borrow up to 2 books at a time.
  • The borrowed book will be recorded before being taken out of the Library.
  • A student is allowed to borrow up to 2 books for 1 week.
  • After this time, they will either return the book or renew it. A student can renew a book twice.
  • All prior books need to be returned before new books are taken.

Late Books:

  • The teacher will be alerted and the message will be sent home.
  • If the book has not be found by the third week, then the book will be considered lost and the parent will have ro reimburse the school for the lost book.

Missing / damaged Books:

  • If a student loses or fails to return a book, the parent/guardian is responsible to reimburse the school for the replacement cost of the book.
  • Students who do not return books will not receive their report cards.

Students are expected to:

  • Be responsible for the school property loaned to them.
  • Not write, highlight or draw in school textbooks.
  • Not leave your book in a classroom, on a table or on a bench.
  • Not loan your book to anyone – not even your best friend!
  • Make sure you can see your books or backpack at all times.
  • Keep your book away from all liquids (e.g. rain, spilled drinks, and leaky water bottles). Wet books that develop mold cannot be used; students will receive and obligation.
  • Keep books in a safe place at home, out of the reach of pets and small children.
  • Return textbooks in good condition on or before the last day of class.
  • Return books to the school library as soon as you are through with it or are moving.

Sports Policy

  • All Students must be in proper P.E kit for P.E Lessons. (Navy blue/white set
  • Proper running shoes are a must and soccer boots should be parked separately.
  • All kits must be labeled.
  • School sun Hats should be part of the kit.
  • P.E and Swimming lessons are compulsory unless a written Doctor’s letter is presented. Navy blue swimming costumes are recommended.
  • Keep time, change in advance where possible.
  • Stay hydrated; carry your water bottles and S of N sun hats.
  • Monday and Tuesday Games is compulsory. Students must be in their House Colours for All Games sessions

Team Training Rules

  • Team members must be dressed in proper training attire.
  • Team members must abide by the training rules set by the coaches.
  • Reporting time is as per the training schedule above. Each child reports 10 minutes to his/her training session and to be picked immediately after the session.
  • Team members who miss three consecutive training sessions without a valid reason shall automatically be out of the team.

Learning Support Policy

Learning Support Policy Document