Privacy & Policy

Child Protection Policy

The reason for which this policy has been written:

1. Indian Community School Kuwait, Khaitan recognizes its responsibilities for child protection.
2. All students are entitled to protection irrespective of culture, age, disability, gender, racial heritage, religious belief, sexual orientation or identity.
3. Any person who has concerns about the welfare of a child must report within 24 hours.
4. EYC, Primary & Secondary school will have one or two designated Child Protection Officers (CPO) with responsibility for Child Protection within their phase.
5. All adults working within the school community understand that ICSK has a Child Protection responsibility.

Guidelines

The principles/instructions/steps of the policy: Principal and Heads of School will:

1. ensure that the safeguarding and child protection policy and procedures are implemented and followed by all staff.
2. allocate sufficient time and resources to enable the CPOs to carry out their roles effectively.
3. ensure that all staff feel able to raise concerns about poor or unsafe practice and that such concerns are handled sensitively.
4. ensure that child’s safety and welfare is addressed through the curriculum.

Role of designated Child Protection Officers:

In all dealings with child protection issues the overarching principle is that the protection of the student is the most important consideration. The responsibilities are as follows:

1. To be known by name to all staff working at ICSK.
2. To ensure all staff working within the school whether teaching or non-academic staff are made aware of their responsibilities to child protection during their induction.
3. To deal with written referrals as a matter of importance and to decide on the most appropriate action to take. In view of the need to consider each case individually, it is accepted that cases that sound similar may be dealt with in different ways. In all dealings to consider the safety of the student as the highest priority.
4. To safely secure paperwork relating to child protection issues including incidents, concerns and referrals.
5. To share information regarding child protection on a “need to know” basis
6. To seek to promote an atmosphere of trust by where adults and students can voice concerns about unacceptable and/or abusive behavior towards a student.
7. To participate as directed in professional learning that promotes expertise in the skills required to interview students in a sensitive and professional manner understanding and its implications for students.

Role of the Inclusion Team (Counsellors, Learning Support, EAL and Nursing Departments)

1. In the event of disclosure will immediately report to the CPO.
2. In a case by case basis members of the inclusion team may form part of the Response Team as appropriate.
3. To use and update a resource of external agencies that are known to the school.
4. In the event of disclosure will immediately report to a CPO.
5. All staff will know who the designated Child Protection Officers are.
6. All staff will be familiar with Child Protection referral protocols as indicated in Child Protection Guidelines.

Curriculum Policy 

The Indian Community School Kuwait , Khaitan Khaitan aims to provide the highest quality of education for each pupil throughout the age range. We recognize that ‘The Curriculum’ is not just what takes place in the classroom but in the school as a whole. It includes the range of extra-curricular activities that the school organizes in order to enrich the experience of each pupil.

1. provides pupils with challenge and a sense of achievement .
2. provides continuity, progression of learning and differentiation.
3. builds confidence and gives satisfaction and enjoyment, thereby giving pupils a positive attitude to learning, so that pupils enjoy coming to school, and acquire a sold basis for lifelong learning .
4. provides opportunities for pupils to develop their independent thinking and learning.
5. enables the pupils to develop knowledge, understand concepts, acquire skills and develop the ability to choose and apply these in relevant situations
6. provides enrichment and support through provision of additional activities such as educational visits, visiting speakers, class trips etc
7. develops personal, social, health, moral and spiritual values, including respect for others
8. values the way in which all children are unique .

Language Policy 

The purpose of this Language Policy is to articulate our beliefs about the place of language in the education we offer and the responsibilities which arise from these beliefs. It is intended to guide us to ensure access to a full curriculum through English for all members of our community, and to develop mother-tongue acquisition and support in as wide a range of languages as is possible for a school of our size. The policy is designed to underpin our instructional practice.

Academic Language-the words, grammar and discourse strategies used to describe complex ideas, higher-order thinking processes, and abstract concepts.

Additive Bilingualism and Biculturalism-a situation where a second language is learned by an individual or a group without detracting from the development of the first language; the second language adds to, rather than replaces, the first language. This is the opposite of subtractive bilingualism. Interlingual Teaching and Learning-the inter prefix stands for international mindedness, the idea of the local and the global, of working together to create a better world. It also stands for all the home languages of the classroom. In the interlingual classroom, children not only learn their own mother-tongue but also about all the other classroom languages as well. Interlingual classrooms are places where children are allowed to use their languages as cognitive tools. The teaching and the learning affirm the student's identity and all students see the relevance of the curriculum to themselves.

Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills (BICS )-Everyday straightforward communication skills that are helped by contextual supports.

Cognitive/Academic Language Proficiency (CALP)-The level of language required to understand academically demanding subject matter in a classroom. Such language is often abstract, without contextual supports such as gestures and the viewing of objects.

Understanding by Design framework (UbD framework)-offers a planning process and structure to guide curriculum, assessment, and instruction. Its two key ideas are contained in the title:

1. focus on teaching and assessing for understanding and learning transfer, and
2. design curriculum “backward” from those ends.

Language Policy: Language is involved in all learning and is essential to educational progress. In addition to learning how to use language, students must also learn about language and through language. We encourage our students to understand and appreciate their own linguistic and cultural identities and to be open to the perspectives, values and traditions of others. We aspire to create a dynamic multilingual learning community in which the principal language of instruction is English, whilst at the same time promoting the development and maintenance of our students' mother-tongues. We also encourage the acquisition of other languages, (Arabic, French, German, Italian, Latin, Mandarin, Spanish), and our students thrive within our linguistically and culturally rich environment.

English as the Principal Language of Instruction. 

While multilingualism and mother-tongue are highly valued, English is our primary language of communication and instruction and we are committed to providing a high standard of communicating, teaching and learning in English.

ICSK's standards-based curriculum is inclusive, inquiry-based, student-centered, developmental, and differentiated We endeavor to teach language within a meaningful context, use appropriate academic language which is taught explicitly and is visible in the curriculum. We interrelate the skills of listening, speaking, reading, writing and media literacy across the curriculum.

Complaints Policy 

It is our aim at ICSK to work closely with all parents in a partnership which benefits all children and ensures that their school experience is happy and secure. The home/school agreement clearly states expectations of pupils, staff and parents.

Aims 

1. To reaffirm the partnership between parents, staff and management as they work together for the good of the pupils in the school
2. To ensure that it is easy for parents to inform the staff and management if any concerns they may have and that they will respond quickly and positively to complaints from parents.

What is a complaint? From time to time parents express concerns and these are dealt with as a matter of routine through discussion with the class teacher or another member of staff. Occasionally a parental concern may become more serious and develop into a complaint and be a clear statement of dissatisfaction. This may relate to a variety of issues. Anonymous complaints are discouraged as they are difficult to deal with in a way that will be useful to all parties.

Arrangements for managing complaints 

1. Parents may request a copy of this policy from the school office at any time.
2. The Principal or Vice Principal will respond to a verbal or written complaint within 24 hours of receiving it but may well need longer to fully investigate the circumstances leading to the complaint. Parents will be kept informed of time scales involved. Timescales need to be flexible to meet particular circumstances however a response will normally be provided within 5 school days.
3. All complaints are handled in strict confidence and the school's attitude to a pupil would never be affected by a parental complaint
4. The school will ensure that all staff have opportunities to discuss, respond and understand the school's response to concerns and complaints made by parents.
5. Any person complained against has equal rights with the person making the complaint
6. The school would not seek to directly involve pupils in a complaints procedure.

Health and Safety Policy 

* This policy covers staff, pupils, visitors and other users of the premises.

At Indian Community School, we aim to:

1. Ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to ensure the health, safety and welfare of users of the premises and all participants in school trips.
2. Establish and maintain safe working procedures for staff and pupils.
3. To provide and maintain safe school buildings and safe equipment for use in school
4. Develop safety awareness, by appropriate training if necessary, amongst staff, pupils and others who help in school.
5. Formulate and implement effective procedures for use in the event of fire and other emergencies.
6. Investigate accidents and take steps to prevent a re-occurrence.

Roles and Responsibilities 

The School management has ultimate control of the school. They will:

1. Decide policy.
2. Give strategic guidance.
3. Monitor and review health and safety issues.
4. Ensure adequate resources for health and safety are available.
5. Take steps to ensure plant, equipment and systems of work are safe.
6. Ensure that the school provides adequate training, information, instruction, induction and supervision to enable everyone in the school to be safe.
7. Maintain the premises in a condition that is safe and without significant risk.
8. Provide a working environment that is safe and healthy.
9. Provide adequate welfare facilities for staff & pupils.
10. In their critical friend role, maintain an interest in all the health and safety matters.
11. Review and monitor the effectiveness of this policy.
12. Promote a positive, open health and safety culture in school
13. Seek advice from other organizations or professionals, such as the Health and Safety Executive, safety advisers etc. as and when necessary.
14. Ensure that all staff co-operate with the policy
15. Devise and implement safety procedures
16. Ensure that risk assessments are reviewed on an annual basis
17. Ensure relevant staff have access to appropriate training

All School Staff will: 

1. Read the Health and Safety Policy and sign it
2. Comply with the School's health and safety arrangements
3. Take reasonable care of their own and other people's health and safety
4. Leave the classroom / playground / office in a reasonably tidy and safe condition
5. Follow safety instructions when using equipment
6. Supervise pupils and advise them on how to use equipment safely

Electrical Testing 

1. All items of portable electrical equipment in school are inspected and checked annually .

Fire Safety & Evacuation of the Building 

1. Fire exits have appropriate signage
2. Plans showing exit routes are displayed by the door of each classroom
3. A fire drill is practised and documented once a term by the Site Manager
4. Evacuation times and any issues which arise are reported to the Governors
5. Fire extinguishers are checked annually
6. A separate fire safety policy and risk assessment has been produced

Playground Equipment 

1. Playground equipment and it's use is supervised during all breaks during the school day
2. If the equipment is used during lesson time supervision is again maintained

Supervision of Pupils 

1. Sensible, safe behaviour will be promoted to pupils by all members of staff
2. Dangerous or risky behaviour displayed by pupils will be addressed and dealt within the school rules
3. Pupils will only be allowed into or stay in classrooms under adult supervision .
4. Appropriate supervision of toilet access will be in place at busy times .

Professional Development Policy 

Introduction 

The most significant resource in ensuring success for our students is the staff team. Professional development encompasses all of the activities that staff undertake to raise their performance. This includes external courses, internal courses, opportunities for curriculum development work and new responsibilities. The school has an obligation to secure the Professional Development of its staff and it aims to encourage career development.

Guidelines 

1. The Professional Development Program will be integrated with Improvement Planning, Performance Management and Work Scrutiny.
2. The Program will extend to all staff in the Academy.
3. Professional Development has three aspects:
   1. Induction into the School
   2. Training for the job
   3. Professional development for career progression
4. Profession Development will be linked to clearly definable outcomes through targets arising from Performance Management, Improvement Planning and Work Scrutiny.
5. Where possible professional development activities will be accredited.
6. The Principal will allocate a budget to support the Professional Development Program.
7. The negotiated delegation of responsibilities represents an important opportunity for the professional development of staff.
8. Where appropriate professional development will be delivered internally and draw upon the expertise of the staff team.
9. Professional Development needs may be identified through the following process:
   1. Improvement Planning
   2. Performance Management
   3. The individual member of staff identifying a training need
   4. Work Scrutiny
10. If during the course of an academic year a member of staff intends to leave, his/her resignation will render any professional development assigned to that individual to be cancelled or delegated to another member of the staff. This is to ensure that the benefits gained from such training are embedded within the relevant areas of the school.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT - STAFF RESPONSIBILITIES 

1. It is the responsibility of all staff to plan and manage their own career development.
2. The Performance Management process provides staff with an opportunity to discuss their career development and identify areas that they wish to be professionally developed in.
3. Every individual member of staff is responsible for maintaining a record of the Professional Development (PD) that they have undertaken. A professional development portfolio has been provided to all staff as a place to keep this record and their Curriculum Vitae as it develops.
4. Each year all staff are involved in the Improvement Planning process and Performance Management. With the support of their supervisors they are required to identify the PD that they believe they require in order to achieve improvement targets that they are responsible for.

Performance Management Plan 

This policy is a framework for all staff to agree and review priorities and objectives within the context of the school's development plan and their own professional development needs. The aim is to develop all staff and raise standards of achievement for pupils. The performance management procedures should enable teachers to demonstrate their overall performance. Performance management should be a supportive, developmental process designed to ensure that all teachers have the skills and support they need to carry out their role effectively. It should ensure that teachers continue to improve their professional practice throughout their careers. The performance management cycle: This recognizes that performance management is a continuous cycle involving three stages of planning, monitoring performance and reviewing performance:

1. Initial planning, setting of objectives and monitoring procedures
   1. Planning: Self-analysis
   2. strategic analysis
   3. setting targets (including targets relating to pupil outcomes, lesson observations and book scrutiny) agreeing CPD and areas for development The annual planning meeting should normally take place by the end of September. This will allow for analysis of data relating to teacher and pupil performance during the previous academic year. All targets are to be finalized.
2. Monitoring performance
   1. During the school year performance is monitored and evidence derived from a range of sources including: Self-assessment
   2. Peer Review
   3. Tracking and pupil progress
   4. Book scrutiny
   5. The quality of reporting to parents
   6. Lesson observations (for the purposes of School Review and Performance Management) A mid-point review of performance and progress towards targets should take place before the second term.
3. Reviewing performance - the appraisal review

Job Descriptions for Senior Management Team 

Rationale 

If Senior Management Teams are to be effective, they require both to lead and to manage.

1. Leadership develops shared vision, inspires and creates commitment and embraces risk and innovation.
2. Management develops systems, which limit uncertainty, even out differences, and improve consistency and predictability in delivering the service.

Lead and manage learning and teaching 

Ensuring that effective learning and teaching takes place is a central responsibility of school leadership. Our Senior Management Team develops a culture of respect and good behaviour, creates an appropriate ethos, sets high expectations, supports and encourages good practice and regularly monitors and evaluates the quality of learning in the school. We embrace the principles of inclusion, have an understanding of the impact of discrimination and poverty, develop strategies to counter these and provide pastoral care to children and young people. We offer effective leadership and management of the overall curriculum, to ensure that school based decisions are in accordance with the general principles of good curriculum design outlined in "A Curriculum for Excellence".

Lead and develop people 

Our Senior Management Team promotes ambition; demonstrates a clear commitment to collegiality and to developing, empowering and supporting effective teams and individuals amongst stakeholders. This includes building school capacity by developing leadership in others. By engaging with those in the school community and beyond, we help build a learning community, which supports achievement and attainment. In taking these actions, we work within the structure of employment legislation, national and local agreements, and policies governing employment.

Lead change and improvement 

Our Senior Management Team supports and maintains existing good practice and encourages and promotes constant improvement in the development of children and young people. We demonstrate personal commitment to continuous improvement through self evaluation, together with skills in problem solving, creative thinking, strategic planning, in implementing change, in the use of quality assurance strategies to judge the need for and effectiveness of change, and in providing support for staff, children and young people and parents.

Use resources effectively 

Our Senior Management Team makes best strategic and operational use of available resources to create, maintain and monitor an appropriate learning environment for effective learning and teaching, and to support continuous improvement. This includes appropriate delegation of tasks to members of the senior management team and other staff. In taking these actions, we take due account of audit, child safety, health and safety requirements, human resource management and other legislative and policy requirements in relation to public service and public spending.

Build community 

Our Senior Management Team develops and maintains partnerships with parents, children and young people, other services and agencies and in doing so extends the educational vision to embrace an agenda of lifelong learning. We create a culture of respect and inclusion and a common commitment to the broader community and to the intellectual, spiritual, physical, moral, social and cultural wellbeing of children and young people and their families.

Mission statement and educational values 

ICSK aims to develop globally competent and socially committed individuals who are emotionally strong, physically fit, morally upright and intellectually outstanding. Holistic approach, techno-savvy atmosphere and dedicated academicians of ICSK strive to achieve this mission. Taking cultivation of positive values and attitudes as the direction, ICSK, Khaitan makes use of everyday life events to strengthen the coordination of learning activities, and enhance the connection, among various cross-curricular domains in values education, including moral education, civic education, national education (including Constitution, Basic Law and national security education), anti-drug education, life education, sex education, media and information literacy education, education for sustainable development, human rights education, etc. so as to provide students with all-round learning experience conducive to their whole-person development. The School promotes values Education through nurturing in their students the ten priority values and attitudes: "Perseverance", "Respect for Others", "Responsibility", "National Identity", "Commitment", "Integrity" , "Care for Others", "Law-abidingness" , "Empathy" and "Diligence"

Code of Conduct for students and teachers

The standards of professional conduct are as follows:

1. to arrive at work regularly and on time, and to register their activities on the platform;
2. to perform their professional duties in a consistent and conscientious manner;
3. A teacher shall provide professional education services in a nondiscriminatory manner.
4. A teacher shall make reasonable effort to protect the student from conditions harmful to health and safety.
5. In accordance with Kuwaiti laws, a teacher shall disclose confidential information about individuals only when a compelling professional purpose is served or when required by law.
6. A teacher shall take reasonable disciplinary action in exercising the authority to provide an atmosphere conducive to learning.
7. A teacher shall not use professional relationships with students, parents, and colleagues to private advantage.
8. A teacher shall not deliberately suppress or distort subject matter.
9. A teacher shall not knowingly falsify or misrepresent records or facts relating to that teacher's own qualifications or to other teachers' qualifications.
10. A teacher shall not knowingly make false or malicious statements about students or colleagues.

Students are obligated: 

1. to abide by this Code and other general acts of the School on the School premises and the schoolyard, or other places where educational work takes place, as well as on their way to and from School;
2. to abide by the decisions of the School bodies;
3. to act according to the instructions of the Principal, Deputy Principal, class teachers, teachers and expert associates;
4. to respect other students, class teachers and other employees of the School;
5. to behave courteously toward other students, School employees, parents and third parties on the School premises and other places where educational work takes place, as well as on their way to and from School;
6. to speak to the monitoring teachers, lower school teachers and class teachers, and if necessary, other employees of the School about solving issues pertaining to their relationship with other students, teachers, parents or third parties;
7. to conscientiously report any form of violence on the School premises by informing the monitoring teachers, lower school teachers and class teachers, expert associates, School Secretary, Deputy Principal or the Principal;
8. to regularly attend lessons and other forms of educational work and to conscientiously fulfil their academic obligations;
9. not to be late for lessons or other forms of educational work;
10. to come to lessons prepared, using the teaching aids necessary for following lessons;
11. to take care of the School property, cleanliness and appearance of the School premises;

School Development Plan showing goals for the introduction of the Camebridge Curriculum. The School Development Plan is the document that drives the strategic work to develop and improve the school. The plan gives everyone in the school community a clear vision and sense of purpose for improving the school. This paper summarizes the plan to improve the school for the coming year.

School development plan in relation to the Cambridge curriculum. 

Strategic objectives: 

1. English as a second language: 
   1. Increased and consistent use of responses to reading (through writing and speaking) in all grade levels across the year. To achieve this, we plan to implement routines for weekly written reading response in all classrooms grades
   2. Make reading routine interactive though implementing weekly oral, pictorial, or written reading responses in all classrooms. It will develop pupil's writing skills as well
   3. Maintain a rigorous, academic yet creative environment with high expectations and multiple pathways to success
   4. Use protocols to look at pupil's writing on a regular basis across the school year and monitor their success
   5. Schedule biweekly oral workshops to ensure that children are at ease when speaking English. These sessions might have a playful and ludic character, rather than academic.
2. Science: 
   1. Increase instructional time in the area of science.
   2. Schedule a weekly 60 minute workshop blocks in all classrooms where pupils would learn adapted to Science vocabulary in English. No new material will be introduced during these sessions.
   3. Provide on-going language coaching to teachers of Science
   4. Create an interactive environment and make sure that teachers use all methods of delivering information to pupils, using fully all the provided facilities (science cabinet).
   5. Schedule a weekly workshop where children would put on practice the theoretical material they have learned previously
3. Maths: Our pupils already demonstrate a very high scoring in Maths, therefore we will focus above everything on making children familiar with associated English vocabulary. Similarly to the Science section, we plan to:
   1. Increase instructional time in the area of Maths.
   2. Schedule a weekly 60 minute workshop blocks in all classrooms where pupils would learn adapted to Maths vocabulary in English. No new material will be introduced during these sessions.
   3. Provide on-going language coaching to Maths teachers.

Roles and responsibilities with respect to cambridge Programs and qualifications for senior management team 

Roles 

1. The governing body supports the introduction of Cambridge Programs and has established clear goals for effective implementation.
2. The senior management team has allocated sufficient resourcing for the successful introduction of Cambridge Programs and qualifications.
3. The school principal and leadership team have the appropriate knowledge, skills and experience to lead the school effectively.
4. Senior staff are committed to setting targets for school improvement and staff development, supported by well-designed performance review and self-evaluation.
5. An effective complaints procedure is in place to manage communication from parents, students and other key stakeholders.

Responsibilities 

1. organizes the learning environment and resources for the Program
2. eads the training team for the Program, including monitoring the quality of training (e.g. through supportive observation)
3. shares the training work with colleagues in the team
4. monitors progress and gives feedback to the group to support them throughout the Program
5. monitors and supports the learning of particular teachers for whom the Program leader is acting as trainer
6. liaises with the school's senior leadership team to ensure that they support the Program appropriately
7. acts as contact point with Cambridge for matters relating to the Program makes sure that Cambridge requirements are being met locally
8. evaluates the Program to plan further development.