Code of Conduct

At Castleview Primary School, we believe it’s important to:

Work in partnership with parents/carers to support their child’s learning
Create a safe, respectful and inclusive environment for pupils, staff and parents/carers
Model appropriate behaviour for our pupils at all times

To help us do this, we set clear expectations and guidelines on behaviour for all members of our community. This includes staff (through the staff code of conduct) and pupils (through our behaviour policy).

This code of conduct aims to help the school work together with parents/carers by setting guidelines on appropriate behaviour.

We use the term ‘parents/carers’ to refer to:

Anyone with parental responsibility for a pupil
Anyone caring for a child (such as foster parents, grandparents or child-minders)

Our expectations of parents and carers

We expect parents, carers and other visitors to:

Respect the ethos, vision and values of our school
Work together with staff in the best interests of our pupils
Treat all members of the school community with respect – setting a good example with speech and behaviour
Seek a peaceful solution to all issues
Correct their own child’s behaviour (or those in their care), particularly in public, where it could lead to conflict, aggression or unsafe conduct
Approach the right member of school staff to help resolve any issues of concern
Contact staff via the school telephone number or school email address. If parents know a member of staff’s direct work email, they should refrain from using it
Park considerately on the roads surrounding the school grounds
Not to park on Woodstock Avenue
Apply for a carpark permit if they would like to use the carpark

Behaviour that will not be tolerated

Disrupting, or threatening to disrupt, school operations (including events on the school grounds and sports team matches)
Swearing, or using offensive language, including discriminatory language
Displaying a temper, or shouting at members of staff, pupils or other parents/carers
Threatening another member of the school community
Sending abusive messages to another member of the school community, including via text, email or social media
Posting defamatory, offensive or derogatory comments about the school, its staff or any member of its community, on social media platforms
Any aggressive behaviour (including verbally or in writing) towards another child or adult
Disciplining another person’s child – please bring any behaviour incidents to a member of staff’s attention
Smoking or drinking alcohol on the school premises
Possessing or taking drugs (including legal highs)
Bringing dogs or any other animals onto the school premises (other than guide dogs - for other assistance dogs please seek permission from/discuss with the Headteacher before bringing onto the school site)

Social Media

Social media websites are being used increasingly to fuel campaigns and complaints against schools, Headteachers, school staff, and in some cases other parents/pupils. Castleview considers the use of 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 in the first instance so they can be dealt with fairly, appropriately and effectively for all concerned.

In the event that any pupil or parent of a child/ren being educated at a Castleview is found to be posting libellous or defamatory comments on Facebook or other social network sites, including WhatsApp, they will be reported to the appropriate 'report abuse' section of the network site. All social network sites have clear rules about the content which can be posted on the site and they provide robust mechanisms to report contact or activity which breaches this.

In serious cases, Castleview 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 any member of the Castleview community to publicly humiliate another by inappropriate social network entry. We will take and deal with this as a serious incident of school bullying.

Online activity which we consider inappropriate:

Identifying or posting images/videos of children
Abusive or personal comments about staff, governors, children or other parents
Bringing the school in disrepute
Posting defamatory or libellous comments
Emails circulated or sent directly with abusive or personal comments about staff or children
Using social media to publicly challenge school policies or discuss issues about individual children or members of staff
Threatening behaviour, such as verbally intimidating staff, or using bad language
Breaching school security procedures

Breaching the code of conduct

If the school suspects, or becomes aware, that a parent/carer has breached the code of conduct, the school will gather information from those involved and speak to the parent/carer about the incident.

Depending on the nature of the incident, the school may then:

Send a warning letter to the parent/carer
Invite the parent/carer in to school to meet with a senior member of staff or the Headteacher
Contact the appropriate authorities (in cases of criminal behaviour)
Seek advice from the local authority’s legal team regarding further action (in cases of conduct that may be libellous or slanderous)
Seek advice from Children Services, if appropriate
Ban the parent/carer from the school site

The school will always respond to an incident in a proportional way. The final decision for how to respond to breaches of the code of conduct rests with the Headteacher.

The Headteacher will consult the chair of governors before banning a parent/carer from the school site.

Reporting concerns

The school takes safeguarding responsibilities seriously and will deal with any reported incidents appropriately. If you are concerned about any inappropriate behaviour, please contact the Headteacher via the school office.