We are extremely fortunate to have a supportive and friendly parent body. Our families recognise that educating children effectively is a process that involves partnership between parents, carers, staff and the wider school community. As our partners, families will understand the importance of a good working relationship to equip children with the necessary skills for adulthood. For these reasons we continue to welcome and encourage families to participate fully in the life of our school.

We would like to reminder to all families, carers and visitors about the expected conduct whilst on site. This is so we can continue to flourish, progress and achieve in an atmosphere of mutual understanding and support.

We expect families, parents, carers and visitors to:

• Respect and model the caring ethos of our school whenever on school premises or when communicating directly with school staff
• Understand that school staff and parents need to work together for the benefit of everyone
• Demonstrate that all members of the school community should be treated with tolerance and respect, and therefore set a good example in their own speech, conduct and behaviour
• Correct own child’s behaviour - especially in public - where it could otherwise lead to conflict, aggressive or unsafe behaviour
• Approach the right member of school staff to help resolve any issues or concern. There are clear guidelines about which staff member to contact about specific issues
• Seek to clarify a child’s version of events with the school’s view in order to bring about a peaceful solution to any issue.

What will not be tolerated

In order to support a harmonious and safe school environment the school cannot tolerate families, parents, carers and visitors exhibiting the following:

• Disturbing school staff and trying to speak to them whilst they are supervising children
• Breaching school security procedures
• Attempts to gain entry to any part of the school in disregard of procedure or without permission and appropriate supervision
• Disruptive behaviour which interferes, or threatens to interfere, with the operation of a classroom, an employee’s office, office area or any other area of the school grounds
• Using loud or offensive language, swearing, cursing, using profane language or displaying temper
• Threatening to do actual bodily harm to a member of school staff, governor, visitor, fellow parent, carer or pupil regardless of whether or not the behaviour constitutes a criminal offence
• Damaging or destroying school property
• Abusive, persistent or threatening e-mails or text messages, voicemail phone messages or other written or verbal communication
• Defamatory, offensive or derogatory comments regarding the school or any pupils, parent, staff, at the school on Facebook or other social sites (see additional guidelines below regarding social media). Any concerns you may have about the school must be made through the appropriate channels by speaking to the class teacher, the Headteacher or the Chair of Governors, so they can be dealt with fairly, appropriately and effectively for all concerned
• The use of physical aggression towards another adult or child; this includes physical punishment against your own child on school premises
• Approaching someone else’s child in order to discuss or chastise them because of the actions of this child towards their own child. (Such an approach to a child may be seen to be an assault on that child and may have legal consequences)
• Smoking and consumption of alcohol or other drugs whilst on school property.

Should any of the above behaviour occur on school premises, we might feel necessary to contact the appropriate authorities and, even ban the offending adult from entering the school grounds.

We trust that families, parents and carers will assist our school with the implementation of this code of conduct and we thank you for your continuing support of the school.

Inappropriate use of Social Media

Social media websites are being used increasingly to fuel campaigns and complaints against schools, Headteachers, school staff, and in other parents and pupils. We consider social media websites being used in this way as unacceptable and not in the best interests of the children or the whole school community.

Any concerns you may have must be made through the appropriate channels by speaking to the class teacher, the leadership team, Headteacher or the Chair of Governors, or following the steps outlined in our Complaint Policy so they can be dealt with fairly, appropriately and effectively for all concerned.

All social network sites have clear rules about the content which can be posted on their sites and they provide robust mechanisms to report contact or activity which breaches this. In the event that any pupil, parent or carer of a child(ren) being educated at Halley House School is found to be posting libellous or defamatory comments on Facebook or other social network sites, they will be reported to the appropriate ‘report abuse’ section of the network site. The school will also expect that any parent, carer or pupil removes such comments immediately.

In serious cases, the school will also consider its legal options to deal with any such misuse of social networking and other sites. Additionally - and perhaps more importantly - is the issue of cyber bullying and the use by one child or a parent to publicly humiliate another by inappropriate social network entry. We will take and deal with this as a serious incident of school bullying. Thankfully such incidents are extremely rare.

We would expect that parents would make all persons responsible for collecting children aware of this policy.