Wholeschool Portal | Home 22 February 2012
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 Pastoral Policies
  


PASTORAL CARE POLICY

The Pastoral Care Policy in St Louise’s is rooted in the Mission Statement of the school which stresses partnership with parents in promoting effective teaching and learning.  The values ofthe Pastoral System are informed by the school’s Catholic,Comprehensive and Vincentian ethos. These values include commitment to the development of each person’s full potential, spiritual, emotional,intellectual, moral and social. It follows that a spirit of mutua lrespect is fostered within the whole school community, the family, the local community and the wider society. Everyone is valued equally,given equal respect, offered the opportunities and necessary supports to enable them to succeed and to be happy and safe.


 

ATTENDANCE POLICY

 

Attendanceat school is essential if pupils are to be happy, involved and successful. Good attendance and learning are therefore inter-dependent.Partnership between parents and the school is crucial in setting and maintaining high standards of attendance throughout a pupil’s time inschool. The school year is very short and time in school is precious. Absence from school has a detrimental effect on a pupil’s educational progress, achievement and employment prospects.  Therefore daily attendance is our goal, and the policy outlines the various roles and responsibilities required to achieve that goal.



BEHAVIOURAL POLICY

St Louise’s promotes effective teaching and learning within a Catholic,Comprehensive and Vincentian ethos and in partnership with parents supports all pupils within a caring school and encourages a positive self-concept leading to personal responsibility and self-discipline.The policy outlines the responsibilities of staff, parents and pupils as regards the conduct of individual pupils and details the procedures in place for dealing with behavioural issues.


There are three ground rules common to every subject and two subject-specific ground rules which help in embedding good order. The three universal ground rules are:

  • Arrive on time properly prepared for the lesson
  • Follow directions first time
  • Listen to the person who is meant to be speaking.

ANTI-BULLYING POLICY

 

Respect for oneself and for one another - pupil for pupil, pupils for staff,staff for staff and staff for pupils - is a core value in St Louise’s.The school also encourages respect for parents and authority in the home. Self respect and respect for others and for the environment, is the greatest possible safeguard for any person in a school. Bullying in any form is fundamentally a lack of proper respect for another person’s dignity and rights. The policy details the various forms of bullying and gives details of our procedures for dealing with bullying incidents. It also outlines the various support mechanisms which wehave in place to deal with bullying incidents, including proactive Pastoral Programme work.



DRUGS POLICY

Organisations,including schools, working with young people have a key role in drugs education. Preventative education aims to persuade young people not touse drugs. To this purpose, the school’s Drugs Policy provides for a drugs education programme which encourages pupils to promote the health and safety of themselves and others as well as laying down procedural guidelines to provide a framework for dealing with substance abuse and related problems. The term “drugs” as used in this policy encompasses a wide range of substances from those which are legal, such as alcohol, tobacco and prescribed drugs to those which are illegal, such as cannabis, cocaine and heroin. It also pertains to solvent abuse.



CHILD PROTECTION POLICY

 

St Louise’s Mission Statement and Pastoral Policy commit the school to taking all possible measures to safeguarding the safety and well-being of pupils. The school’s Child Protection Policy draws directly on guidance from the Department of Education and Articles 3, 12 and 19 ofthe United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

 

The school's Child Protection Policy attempts to address the fundament alright of the child to be protected from harm. The policy is required toreflect both the legal duties of the school and its pastoral responsibilities. It outlines the four categories of abuse (neglect,physical abuse, sexual abuse and emotional abuse), provides guidance on identifying signs of possible abuse and sets out the procedures to be followed in cases of suspected abuse.