Policies

Our School Policy Statement

To provide a bright, stimulating learning environment and, together with parents, help each child to reach his/her maximum potential in every area of his/her growth. We would seek to treat children as individuals, so that each may develop at his/her own pace, in a secure and tolerant setting where staff are sensitive to each child’s particular needs.

Drugs Policy

The Academy Nursery School does not condone the misuse of drugs but recognises that there has been a considerable increase in the abuse of drugs in recent years in Northern Ireland. We define drugs as including –

We believe that The Academy Nursery School has a vital role to play in combating the misuse of drugs by young people and we therefore include a Drug Education Programme in our curriculum. The programme is included within normal play situations e.g. learning basic information about how the body works, what goes onto and into the body, and ways of looking after the body; safe and unsafe substances used in the home and school and simple safety rules; medicines and tablets, the reasons people use them, simple safety rules and school rules; people who can help pupils when they have questions and concerns.

Anti-Bullying Policy

We recognise that young children go through various stages as they learn to feel empathy for others. During this period of development they can be cruel without really understanding what they are doing.

Bullying is being deliberately and systematically cruel to a child who has done nothing to provoke the situation. It involves understanding that what you are doing is wrong thereby being distinguished from normal spats in the intention to hurt in a sustained manner – it is not accidental or a sudden burst of temper.

Although we believe that nursery aged children are not at a stage of development where they can be involved in bullying we do see the nursery school having a preventative role in developing good social and relationship skills as well as confidence, self esteem and respect at an early stage so that bullying will not become an issue for a child in the future.

Complaints Policy

The school strives at all times to develop the kind of positive relationships with parents, that will enable them to feel confident in raising any issue or concern with staff during their child’s year in the nursery school.

If a parent feels the need to make a complaint they should proceed in the first instance in the following manner:

• Inform the class teacher, who will take immediate action in order to resolve the problem if possible. The teacher concerned will then record the complaint and discuss it with the Principal informally.

• If the parent is not satisfied with the response or outcome of the action taken, he/she may approach the Principal with regard to the complaint.
  The Principal will investigate the complaint within the time-frame laid out in the school’s complaints policy (copy available on request), and will then inform the parent of the outcome of the investigation.

• If the parent is still not satisfied, he/she should make a written complaint to the Board of Governors, who will proceed as indicated above.

A full copy of the school’s Complaints Policy is available on request.

Charging and Remissions Policy

The Board of Governors has adopted the following charging and remissions policy:-

A. Charging Policy
It is the policy of the Governors to charge for:

1. board and lodgings on residential visits.

2. optional extra activities which take place wholly or mainly outside school hours and are additional to the education provided by the school.

B. Remissions Policy
Charges will be remitted as follows:

• The charge for the board and lodgings cost of residential visit will be remitted in the case of pupils whose parents are in receipt of income support or family credit if the education provided on the visit must otherwise be provided free, that is, the activity takes place mainly or wholly in school hours.

C. Voluntary Contributions:
In cases of activities within school time which the school cannot afford, the school will attempt to subsidise these by asking in advance for voluntary contributions from the parents of those children directly involved. Such requests for contributions will indicate the actual costs to the school and suggest this as a suitable contribution. All the children in the group will take part in the activity, whether their parents have contributed or not. In cases where contributions are such that the school (through the school fund) cannot make up the short fall, the activity will not take place and all contributions already made by parents for the specific activity will be returned to them.

D. Breakages/Losses
The Board of Governors reserves the right to seek to recover from parents the whole or part of the cost of breakages and losses incurred as a result of a pupil’s behaviour.