Types of Schools:
· Free Schools are financially aided by the state and are set up to meet the needs of local people by providing education to the local children. ("Types of schools - Schools", 2017)
· Boarding schools are the ones that have an overnight accommodation facility for the students at the school or elsewhere. ("Types of schools - Schools", 2017)
· Trust schools are foundation schools funded by the State, but also get additional support (though non-monetary) from a charitable trust comprising people working together in the interest of the school. ("Types of schools - Schools", 2017)
· Maintained schools receive funds from the central government, albeit through the local authority, and hence provide free education to students. The different categories of maintained schools are: community, community-special, foundation (includes trust), foundation-special (includes trust), voluntary-aid, and voluntary-controlled. ("Types of schools - Schools", 2017)
· Sixth-form colleges consist of independent, autonomous institutions that are an integral part of the robust, coherent, as well as diverse 16-19 provider base forming the educational marketplace for teenagers as well as adults. ( "Types of schools - Schools", 2017)
School Governor
The role of the school governor is to ensure transparency of vision, ethos, and strategic direction. The school governor also monitors the financial performance and ensures that their funds are spent judiciously. The governing bodies of schools collaborate with the school to ensure the delivery of high-standard education. The school governor would hold the head teacher accountable for the academic performance of the school, its students, as well as the performance of the management staff ("The role of the school governor and governing bodies", 2017)
Teachers
Teachers have a pivotal role to play in providing quality education to students as well as moulding them for future successes in their career paths. ("Primary school teacher job profile | Prospects.ac.uk", 2017) They facilitate learning in line with the curriculum objectives and design effective teaching as well as educational courses catering to individual students in their respective classes. ("Roles of a Teacher in the Classroom", 2017) They also assist in the overall development, as well as the implementation of the school's objectives and planning.
Senior Management Team
The Headmaster usually functions in close co-ordination with a Senior Management Team (SMT) and together is collectively responsible for all aspects of School management. The SMT is structured in a manner to enable flexibility in delegating strategic as well as daily responsibilities. The function of an Assistant Head would include a specific post like Head of Middle School or Co-curricular, as well as provide for a whole-school strategic responsibility, assisting the Head in the overall leadership and management of the School. Thus, the SMT is overall responsible for the daily management as well as discipline of the School, the peaceful caring of pupils as well as staff, and executing the school development plan. ("Alleyn's School", 2017)
SENCO
SENCO, or the Special Educational Needs Coordinating, plays a vital role in making sure that children having special educational needs (SEN) or disabilities in a school get the required support. ("SENCO", 2017) In English state schools, a SENCO is expected to make sure that all staff adhere to the school’s SEN code of practice, which includes the identification, assessment, and planning for the needs, as well as formulating supporting programmes to meet those needs, breaking down all barriers to learning. This may require the involvement of outside professionals, such as an educational psychologist. ("Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO)", 2017)
Educational Psychiatrist
Educational psychologists function within the local domain and in cooperation with parents and other professionals to assist children and young people to accomplish their full potential. Educational psychologists assist schools and the local authority to improve all children’s experiences of learning. They make use of their training in psychology and knowledge of child development to evaluate problems children face during their learning. ("Enquire » Educational Psychology: Helping children and young people achieve their potential, 2017)
Aims
The Aims comprise defining the school’s vision, which is usually mentioned in the school’s prospectus. Each school has its specific objectives laid down for the promotion of intellectual, physical, social, personal, spiritual, moral, as well as aesthetic advancement of all its students. ("Aims, values and purposes - Schools", 2017). These aims should encompass all aspects of the learning process and should be the genesis for curriculum design.
Values
Values describe the ethics and morals that the school signifies. Values are like a guiding light that shapes our behaviour and reference points in the decision-making process. Values pertain to individuals and the relationships between them, and also our contribution to society and the environment. A school's positive values would foster the school community with a safe, peaceful as well and respectful environment essential for ensuring a successful learning environment. ("Aims, values and purposes - Schools", 2017).
Communicating the School’s aims
A school would communicate its aims to pupils, staff, and parents through:
• School’s Prospectus
• meetings, e.g,. for new parents, open days
• School Website. The school should design an informative and elaborate Prospectus which communicates the school's aims to parents and outsiders. The contents must be clear as well as concise, written in point form and in a lucid language. The school prospectus should be accessible online for ease of access, and for new parents, open days could be organised to get a feel of the school atmosphere and to understand the values. At times, even after going through the school prospectus, parents might still be uncertain about certain points which could be explained on open days. Today, a School’s Website is a very important channel for promoting its aims to the world at large. Through the World Wide Web, a school can reach out to the entire world. Also, many statutory laws are in force that mandate certain information about the school to be kept online. Students must be encouraged to read the School’s Handbook or browse through the website to get acquainted with what is expected of them in school and what they should expect from the school.
Communicating the School’s values
Values could be preached in their schools through artwork and posters. The values of the school must be identifiable while entering the school environment since it is an integral part of the nature and daily practice of both the staff as well as the students working there. The values are clearly outlined for the entire school to take note of and reiterated through daily activities. It insists that children’s safety is supreme and their welfare is the cornerstone of all activities. The school can display the values they hold through the great bonding as well as conduct among adults within the school, which would be a source of encouragement and inspiration for imbibing good behaviour in children. The adults in the school must strive to foster an optimistic as well as positive environment, holding high but reasonable expectations from every student, laying strong emphasis on the importance of getting respect as an individual. To encourage honesty and politeness as well as relationships based on fairness, kindness, and understanding of the other children’s needs in the school. Moreover, the regular school assemblies as well as common worship in religious institutions reinforced the values that the teachers intended to give the children. The daily schedule of the school staff should be based on the values of the school and generally start with a prayer.
Identify the laws and Codes affecting the work in schools
· Health & Safety Act
· Children Act 2006
· UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989
· SEN code of practice 2001
Laws and Codes promoting pupil well-being and achievement
The Health & Safety Act was intended to safeguard people in the workplace. In schools, it is to shield and safeguard all pupils, staff, and visitors within the school environment. It also teaches children to be `risk aware, but not risk averse' citizens of the future. The
The Children Act 2006 defines the new duties levied on the Local Authorities in respect to improving the Every Child Matters outcomes for pre-school children. The Act also defines new rules in relation to childcare for working parents as well as parental information services. It is intended to improve the well-being of young children. It highlights the importance of safeguarding children and young people within an educational setting.
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 affects a child under the age of 18, unless the age of the specific country is different. It impacts all children, no matter their race, religion, or abilities – non-discriminatory. The primary concern of this code of practice is that the best interests of the children are met in all decisions. Further, the children’s rights are respected, protected, and fulfilled - assessing social, health, and legal and funding these.
The SENCode of Practice 2001 provides a clear framework for identifying, assessing, and meeting pupils' special educational needs.
Reason schools have Policies and Procedures
The schools have policies and procedures in order to maintain decorum and a state of discipline in the school. It is also necessary for the proper and smooth functioning of the school's process. The way the policies and procedures support the various groups in the school is mentioned below:
Staff – The policies and procedures of schools support staff in their management of situations. These are in relation to violence, threatening behavior, or abuse, among other policies, which are all legal requirements within the setting of a school. The staff of a school are required to adhere to these policies and familiarize themselves with where these policies can be found within the school surroundings.
Pupil welfare – The policies and procedures of the school promote the safety of the children from accidents (i.e., road safety), crime, and bullying, ng actively promote their well-being in a healthy, safe, and supportive environment. It also includes issues such as pupil health and safety and bullying, about which there are particular statutory requirements, and a range of other issues. For instance, arrangements for meeting the medical needs of children with medical conditions, providing first aid, school security, drugs, and substance misuse.
Teaching and Learning – These policies are also important for teachers, so that they feel comfortable that there is discipline in the workplace, and the children are being taught in a safe and caring environment. Further, teachers will be comfortable working in a place where the policies are in place so that they are covered with respect to their wage policy, Health and Safety concerns.
Roles and Responsibilities of the National Government for Educational Policy and Practice
The National Government looks after the policy formulation and ensures its proper implementation. The Department for Education works with children up to 19 years of age, for issues related to child safety to education. They aim to enhance the opportunities and prospects, and experiences for all children. Experts working towards this goal stress upon providing more support for the most deprived and helpless ones.
The local department looks after numerous aspects of the educational system in their geographic region, from Strategic Management to the administration of committees and the financial budgeting. They also carry out investigations on the employees of the school governing bodies, as well as the committees. They also provide advice and suggestions to the schools on the employment terms of non-teaching staff, as well as their grading.
Roles of schools for National Policies related to children, young people, and families
The schools are accountable for facilitating the implementation of the national policies related to children, young people, and families. They look after the upgrade of all current polices which have been put in place for developing roles within the community. For instance, the Every Child Matters policy, which each and every school is required to implement in their policies and philosophy. The five aims of be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution to society, and achieve economic wellbeing, are to be achieved under this policy guidance. Schools have to formulate their own policy, which will be in accordance with national requirements and the LEA guidelines.
Roles of other organizations working with children, young people, and their impacts
There exist many organizations that work for the benefit of children and young people, both in and out of school. They make a collective effort and share their expertise for the well-being of the child. They also associate with other organisations to enable the best support to be given to the students. For example, the charitable organisations work in collaboration with schools when little evidence related to any specific student(s) is found or if it is required for any legal purpose.
References
Aims, values, and purposes - Schools. (2017).
Alleyn's School. (2017).
Primary school teacher job profile.
Roles of a Teacher in the Classroom. (2017).
Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo). (2017). The Good Schools Guide.
The role of the school governor and governing bodies. (2017).
Types of schools - Schools. (2017).
