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Governors’ Policy Statements

Behaviour and Anti-Bullying Policy

The school insists on a high standard of behaviour and does not tolerate bullying of any kind. The Governors and staff have adopted policies which are fully discussed with the Student Council and parents. Copies of these policies are available directly from the school office.

Home-School Agreement

A Home-School Agreement is in place and copies of this agreement are sent at the time when a place is offered. Because it is designed to help all parties (the school, parents and students) to understand the partnership which is at the root of successful education, only an initial signing is undertaken prior to entry.
During a child’s first year in the school, activities are undertaken to ensure that all parties have a full understanding of their role in the partnership. A final signing of the agreement is then made at the end of Year 7 at an evening function designed to celebrate the completion of the transition.

One aspect of the school’s part in the agreement is to keep parents fully informed. Newsletters are sent home every Friday via pupils, and parents are asked to ensure that these are received.

At the start of a new school year a meeting is held for each year group of parents to help clarify the pressure and expectations of a particular year in the life of their child. Such ‘scene setting’ meetings help to explain the way in which parents and school can work together to ensure educational success.

Sex Education

Sex Education will be covered at Trinity in the context of the school ethos of caring relationships based on respect and tolerance. It will be coherent and comprehensive in coverage, developed from the appropriate legislation to ensure that a structured programme is offered to every student.

The Governors recognise that opportunities for Sex Education can arise in a number of curriculum areas. It will be the normal practice that Sex Education is delivered to mixed gender teaching groups and that parents should be aware of this. However, in some circumstances single gender groupings may be appropriate.
Parents have the right to withdraw their child from Sex Education. In view of its particular nature, it will be detailed as a separate section in the annual Curriculum Handbooks for parents.

Charging Policies

The Governors currently make no charge for any curriculum activities by students undertaken during the working day. The Charitable Trust subsidises all such curriculum visits.

Items such as pens and pencils are not provided by the school. Books are provided for the various subjects, except that replacements for lost books are charged for. Some expenses involved in the courses for food technology, textiles, design technology and music are incurred, but staff will be careful to keep the cost within reasonable limits. Financial assistance will be available in cases of hardship.

Disabled Access

Within the Governors’ Admissions Policy, disabled pupils are eligible to apply for a place in any of the categories; Church of England, other Christian Denomination and other faiths. All applications are treated equally and are considered according to the admissions criteria.

When the school was opened there was no evident investment into disabled access. This will be resolved when the school is modernised in 2009 under Phase 2 of ‘Building Schools for the Future’. The school is currently a centre for the visually impaired, and this will continue. Following the buildings’ modernisation, therefore, the school will have full disabled and visually impaired access.

All statutory policies were reviewed and updated in the summer of 2006 and are available on the school’s website.

The Governors’ policy on Special Educational Needs was revised in the summer of 2006 and reads as follows:

Special Needs

The Special Educational Needs (SEN) Policy follows the aims, objectives and key principles of the of the SEN Code of Practice 2001.

“A child has Special Educational Needs if he/she has a learning difficulty which calls for special educational provision to be made for them. A child has a learning difficulty if he/she has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of pupils his/her age or a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for children of the same age in schools within the area of the local education authority.”

Trinity Church of England High School’s SEN policy has the principles outlined in the Code of Practice at its core:

A child with SEN should have his/her needs met;
The views of the child should be sought and taken into account;
Parents have a vital role to play in supporting their child’s education;
Children with SEN should be offered full access to a broad, balanced and relevant education, including an appropriate curriculum for the foundation stage and the National Curriculum.

The four areas of need identified in the Code of Practice are:

Communication and interaction;
Cognition and learning;
Behaviour, emotional and social development;
Sensory and physical needs.

There are 3 SEN Stages (or thresholds) referred to in the code:

School Action (school based);
School Action Plus (school based);
Statutory Assessment and Statementing.

An Individual Education Plan (IEP) is required for any provision that is additional to and different from the normal differentiated curriculum.

Working together is pivotal. This may involve working with LA support, healthcare professionals and Social Services Departments. Most important of all are the views of the parents and the student.

Trinity Church of England High School believes that all students have the right to a broad and balanced curriculum and all students are encouraged to take a full part in every aspect of the life of the school.

Provision for students may involve: