Maarif Schools have a responsibility to determine incidents that may require disciplinary action and the nature of penalties that may apply.  The approach of the school is outlined below. The policy and process at the school that manages the discipline of students, and leads to the imposition of penalties, will be based on principles of procedural fairness.

 

RATIONALE:

 

The school expects that all of our students will learn to exercise self-discipline and comply with the school’s standards outlined which will be communicated to parents of our school community.

 

POLICY:

 

Maarif Schools Australia-Gallipoli Campus approach to the discipline of students will be based on procedural fairness. The principal determines incidents that may require disciplinary action and the nature of any penalties that may apply. The process that leads to the imposition of such penalties, particularly but not exclusively in relation to suspension and expulsion will be procedurally fair.

 

PROCEDURAL FAIRNESS:

 

The principles of procedural fairness are fundamental to the implementation of disciplinary procedures. Procedural fairness is generally recognised as having two essential elements. These are:

 

- The right to be heard, and

- The right of a person to a fair and impartial decision.

 

 

CORPORAL PUNISHMENT:

 

Maarif Schools Australia- Gallipoli Campus expressly prohibits corporal punishment in the process of applying disciplinary procedures. The school does not explicitly or implicitly sanction the administering of corporal punishment by non-school persons, including parents, to enforce discipline at the school.

 

Definition of Corporal Punishment based on Registered and Accredited Individual Non-Government Schools (NSW) Manual January 2019

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Corporal punishment:

The application of physical force to punish or correct the student, but not including the application of force to prevent personal injury to, or damage to or the destruction of property of, any person (including the student).

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PURPOSE:

 

The school affirms its duty of care for all of our students. We are committed to the creation of a safe and caring environment in which each student is valued and all students are helped to learn and to grow to maturity. This growth to maturity involves learning many concepts and skills, developing meaningful relationships, abiding by the rules of the school community, exercising self-discipline as well as serving and respecting others.

 

The role of staff is to facilitate this growth by engaging all students in the learning process, by providing a safe and supportive environment and establishing boundaries within which healthy interpersonal relationships can be developed, by teaching students a variety of responsible behaviours and modelling what we advocate in the way we live.

 

The school acknowledges that there will be occasions when a student does not meet the expectations of student behaviour. Students who are guilty of such transgressions will be counselled and disciplined in a compassionate, fair, firm and consistent manner.

 

OBJECTIVES:

 

The objectives of the student behavior code are that:

• Students and teachers are familiar with the school rules and expectations.

• Each teacher promotes and enforces the expectations consistently to promote an atmosphere conducive to effective teaching and learning.

• Consequences of breaching the code are outlined and implemented consistently.

• Students are expected to respect others and their property and accept responsibility for their actions and the consequences of those actions.

• In dealing with misbehavior, students are afforded ‘procedural fairness’.

 

STRATEGIES:

 

1.  Student Diary will be provided annually to each student from Year 5 up to then end of High School at the start of each year.  The Diary outlines what is expected of students including behavior, compliance with rules and the uniform code.

2. Parental Communication through ClassDojo and schools newsletters and bulletins and classroom bulletins will take place regularly outlining the expectations of student behaviour, and encouraging their support.

 

SCHOOL CODE OF BEHAVIOUR:

 

At Maarif Schools the central principle in relationships is “respect”. It is expected that our students will:

 

• Respect the property of the School and others;

• Follow instructions given by staff;

• Act in a polite, courteous manner;

• Obey all School rules;

• Act in a safe manner and observe safety guidelines at all times;

• Report all injuries and damage to appropriate staff members;

• Refrain from bringing alcohol, tobacco, drugs and weapons to school;

• Follow all bus rules;

• Be punctual to class, scheduled meetings and practices, etc.;

• Behave in a respectful, appropriate way outside school and respect the rights of members of the public;

• Allow others to learn without interruption;

• Bring all books and equipment, including the diary to class;

• Complete tasks including homework to the best of their ability;

• Record all homework in the exercise book;

• Submit homework and assignments by the due date;

• Follow up requirements after an absence from class eg. Absence notes, missed work;

• Ensure that the School uniform is worn correctly both inside and outside of school;

• Comply with the School policy about dress and footwear requirements

• Be correctly and neatly groomed and follow the School uniform and grooming policy;

• Recognise that bullying and harassment are unacceptable and actively discourage such behaviour;

• Avoiding discrimination against others because of race, disability etc,

• Resolve differences peacefully;

• Strive to respect and care for other members of the School Community.

 

STUDENT WELFARE and PASTORAL CARE

 

Discipline is inextricably linked to the welfare and pastoral care of a student. Student’s negative behaviours can be corrected effectively in a positive, supportive and caring manner, with staff giving encouragement and guidance in order to support their personal development and maturity. In order to guide children towards socially appropriate behaviour staff should consider:

• Carefully planning a variety of interesting and challenging learning opportunities that will actively engage the children.

• Keep consistently to routines.

• Set reasonable, developmentally appropriate limits and provide natural consequences to behaviours.

• Constantly model appropriate behaviours.

• Whenever possible avoid punitive discipline. Instead, children may be guided towards self-discipline and respect for others.

 

The following should be considered before ‘disciplining’ students:

• Questioning the child about their behaviour and their understanding of whether it is appropriate.

• Explaining why the behaviour is inappropriate.

• Warning that the behaviour is not acceptable and should cease immediately.

• Give “Time out” (particularly for games)

• Remove privileges

• Isolate the child temporarily but under supervision

• Let parents know about the behaviour that worries you

 

DISCIPLINE PROCEDURES:

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Care of a student sometimes requires enforcement of the school’s disciplinary code. The pastoral care and general disciplining of each student is directly the responsibility of the classroom teacher. Teaching staff have the authority of the Principal, within the ethical and professional expectations of the School and in liaison with the senior staff in primary and secondary, to take initiatives to ensure the educational and personal welfare of the students in their roll call group or class.

 

The senior staff report directly to the Principal. The Principal will ensure the quality of discipline and pastoral care across the school.

 

The Principal will only be directly involved in disciplinary matters upon the recommendation of the senior staff and then only in matters which might affect a student’s continuing enrolment in the School or where the senior staff requests assistance in reaching a full understanding of an issue.

 

The school will attempt to ensure that rules are implemented fairly and consistently, but do not accept the view that ‘good discipline’ requires absolute uniformity. Because of the link between discipline and pastoral care, the School will apply penalties on an individual basis taking into account the age of the student, the full circumstances of the incident, the student’s general attitude and progress, and how best to ensure the student will approach the future with a confident and re-assessed attitude.  It is important that if penalties are to have any formative outcome, they must be fashioned to suit the individual and not the offence itself.

 

The school will automatically respond to disciplinary matter with increased seriousness should dishonesty be shown during any enquiries conducted, or towards older students if they have involved younger students.

 

All students will be informed that school web page which will outline the school’s main policies related to behavior. This may include:

 

• Safety (security at the School and travel safety)

• The school expectations

• The Anti-Bullying policy

 

Teaching staff may use a range of disciplinary measures for breaches of School rules such as:

• Time out

• Tidying the playground at recess or lunchtime

• Service to the School

• Attending detentions

See Appendix 1 procedures for Negative and Positive Behaviours

 

SUSPENSION and EXPULSION

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Serious breaches of School rules which may affect the student’s continuing enrolment at the School will be addressed by the Principal.  This may include:

•     Physical assault or intimidation of staff or students

          Physical intimidation refers to any physically threatening behaviour towards school staff or towards a student.

• Verbal abuse or harassment of staff or students

          Verbal abuse or harassment of staff or students includes offences such as stalking, sexual harassment, sexual innuendo and manipulation.

• Wilful offence against property

          A wilful offence occurs when there is intent to deface or cause damage to property.  It may also involve theft.

• Serious and repeated breach of the School’s behaviour expectations and rules.

• Substance misuse

          This may include incidents involving substances that are not illegal but threaten the good order and proper management of the School.  This may include substances such as cigarettes, alcohol and the misuse of prescribed medicines.

• Illegal substance offences

          The substances are those deemed illegal under the Criminal Code.

• Other

This may include other serious incidents deemed by the School Principal or Deputy Principal to qualify for suspension. We do not use the exclusion in International Maarif Schools of Australia.

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PROCEDURAL FAIRNESS

 

Procedural fairness is a basic right of all individuals dealing with authorities. All individuals have a legitimate expectation that teachers will follow these principles in all circumstances when disciplining a student.

 

Procedural fairness is generally recognised as having two essential elements.

 

The right to be heard, which includes:

 

• The right to know why the action is happening

• The right to know the way in which the issues will be determined

• The right to know the allegations in the matter and any other information which will be taken into account

• The right of the person against whom the allegations have been made to respond to the allegations.

 

The right of a person to an impartial decision, which includes:

 

• The right to impartiality in the investigation and decision-making phases

• The right to an absence of bias by the decision maker.

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Appendix 1: Carding Procedures

The following steps will be undertaken in the classroom: