SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION AND GENERAL INFORMATION 1.1 Purpose of the Handbook This handbook has a dual purpose. It is designed to act as an induction document for new staff. It is also designed to be an 'aide memoire' for longer-serving staff, both in terms of refreshing memories on the more philosophical aspects (Mission and Ethos Statement, Aims of the School etc.), and in terms of providing check lists for particular information and procedures. It is put together in such a way as to allow for easy and regular updates. Suggestions for additional inclusions will always be welcome and should be passed to the Executive Assistant. All staff are expected to be familiar with the contents of this handbook, to take personal responsibility to ensure this, and must be aware that this forms important information for their employment, alongside the Contract of Employment/Terms & Conditions of Employment. The Heads of Department (HoDs) and Heads of Divisions are also required to check, at least once a year, that their departmental/divisional members are familiar with the contents of this Staff Handbook; the line manager for a new HoD carries this responsibility. Please note that, whilst some policies are printed in Section 10, the complete set of policies is only available on the K:drive. This handbook remains the property of New Hall School Trust and must not be copied or shown to any third party without the express consent in writing of either the Principal or the Head of HR. The handbook may be viewed on the K:drive, Staff Room Files, Staff Handbook. All new staff will be given access to the Staff Handbook and induction training on its content on starting employment at the School. You will be notified of any significant changes made within the year either by an announcement at a staff meeting, by email or by referring you to the updated section available. The School accepts no liability for your actions if your actions are a direct result of your failure to take into account relevant updates of which staff have been notified. 1.2 Information Booklets and Handbooks at New Hall The following booklets/handbooks also exist and should be referred to as appropriate: Whole School Staff Handbook (including Employment Manual) School policies Annual School Development Plan (1-SDP) 3-Year School Development Plan (3-SDP) New Hall Telephone Directory School Prospectus (including Useful Information Booklet updated annually) The Instrument of Government of New Hall School Association of Governing Bodies of Independent Schools (AGBIS) Guidelines for Governors New Hall School: a true School of virtuous demeanour by Tony Tuckwell (the history of New Hall) Boarding Resident Handbook Hawley House Boarding Booklet (girls Years (3-10) Dennett House Boarding Booklet (girls Years 11-13) Petre House Boarding Booklet (boys Years 3-10) Section 1/Page 1 of 11 Updated:16/09/2019 (AFA; EMU) 14/06/2017 (CGD); 21/03/2017; 20/07/2016 (CGN) Campion House Boarding Booklet (boys Years 11-13) Boarding Information Booklet for Agents (Admissions Department) Nursery Nursery Code of Conduct booklet Parent Information Booklet Pre-Prep Division EYFS Handbook Preparatory Divisions Code of Conduct booklet Preparatory Divisions Preparatory Divisions Code of Conduct booklet Parent Information Booklet (Years 1-6) Co-Curricular Activities Booklet (issued termly) Behaviour Policy Senior Divisions Senior Divisions Code of Conduct Parent & Student Information Booklet (Boys) Parent & Student Information Booklet (Girls) Year 7 & 8 Curriculum Booklet Year 9 Curriculum Booklet Co-Curricular Activities (issued termly) Key Stage 4 Options Booklet (Years 10 & 11) Department Handbook (for each specialist subject) Sixth Form Division Sixth Form Information Booklet Sixth Form Handbook Department Handbook (for each specialist subject) Co-Curricular Activities (issued termly) Higher Education Guide Section 1/Page 2 of 11 Updated:16/09/2019 (AFA; EMU) 14/06/2017 (CGD); 21/03/2017; 20/07/2016 (CGN) 1.3 School Mission & Ethos Statement New Hall, a Catholic boarding and day School, provides the best start in life, enabling students to meet confidently the challenges of the wider world. Here academic excellence is achieved in surroundings where relationships are based on care, trust and respect. We welcome students from many traditions, building a Christian community that has at its heart prayer and service to others. (First draft 1993; revised 2016) 1.4 Ethos of the Charity At New Hall, the ethos is inspired by the founding Religious Community, Canonesses of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre. The Community’s spirituality, rooted in the Augustinian tradition, has a special emphasis on the Resurrection, prayer, community life, hospitality and service to others. The faith which lies at the heart of this foundation remains essential to the character of the charity today. The charity, in accordance with its objects, founding ethos and aims, seeks to support students, and those in the wider community, in their faith development. The charity also seeks to live out its Christian beliefs and values through community work, hospitality and voluntary and charitable service to those in need. Particular examples of how the charity provides public benefit through its values and aims are: running a Multi-Academy Trust (NHMAT) that sponsors a primary school academy; the provision of a Chapel and parish centre for the Catholic parish of Springfield; the voluntary work of New Hall Voluntary Service (NHVS), helping those in need in the local and wider community; the provision of bursaries for those who would not otherwise be able to attend the School; and the sharing of the charity’s beautiful heritage campus and first class facilities with educational and religious groups in the wider community, these facilities often being provided either without charge or at cost. When setting the objectives and planning the work of the charity for the year, the trustees have given careful consideration to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit and in particular to its supplementary guidance on the advancement of religion, advancing education and fee charging. 1.5 Aims of the School The School aims: 1. To give students an experience of life in a Christian community: affirming each individual as a unique part of God’s creation, and nurturing in each person a sense of dignity and self-worth. fostering caring relationships, a sense of team spirit, and respect for others. 2. To inspire students to develop their God-given gifts and talents to their full potential: intellectual spiritual social and emotional Section 1/Page 3 of 11 Updated:16/09/2019 (AFA; EMU) 14/06/2017 (CGD); 21/03/2017; 20/07/2016 (CGN) aesthetic and physical 3. To provide a broad and balanced education, rooted in the School’s Catholic foundation, which is responsive to and supportive of the needs and aspirations of the individual: fostering intellectual curiosity, a desire to seek truth, and a life-long love of learning; enabling students to discover their own strengths and weaknesses, to learn from ‘failures’, and to develop the self-discipline and determination to persevere, in order to pursue their goals in a rapidly changing world. 4. To enable staff to be aware of the values and vision of the School and to give them support and encouragement to carry out their professional duties and responsibilities in the pursuit of excellence, with pride and commitment. 1.6 Outline of the History of the School Founded in 1642, as the oldest Catholic girls’ School in England, New Hall School has a long and rich history; today the School educates 1,200+ girls and boys, boarding and day, from ages 3-18. The founding Religious Order, the Canonesses of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, is one of the most ancient in the Church and was established in Europe long before the English Religious Community was founded in 1642. During Penal Times, an English woman, Susan Hawley, went to the Low Countries and was trained in the Religious Life of the Holy Sepulchre. On making her profession, she left that Religious Community to found an English Religious Community in Liège; from these earliest days, girls were sent to the nuns to be educated. The Community’s spirituality, rooted in the Augustinian tradition, has a special emphasis on the Resurrection, prayer, community life, hospitality and service to others. The faith which lies at the heart of this foundation remains essential to the character of the School today. Initially the School offered a Catholic education to girls who were denied this in England in the Post-Reformation period. In 1794, the French Revolutionary Wars forced the nuns to leave the Low Countries. The School reopened on its present site in 1799. With the exception of years during the Second World War, when evacuation to Newnham Paddox near Rugby was forced on the Religious Community and School, New Hall has been the environment in which the School has thrived and grown. School developments have included, for example, the Eaton Block Theatre and Gymnasium, which was completed in 1925 with a stage and greenroom at one end and a studio above. The old theatre at New Hall was last used for the performance of ‘O what a lovely war’, in December 1986. The refurbished Eaton Theatre was reopened in September 2008, with new tiered seating. ‘Larkrise’ was the first performance in the refurbished theatre. Section 1/Page 4 of 11 Updated:16/09/2019 (AFA; EMU) 14/06/2017 (CGD); 21/03/2017; 20/07/2016 (CGN) The Senior School girl pictured on the vault is Sister Margaret Mary Horton CRSS, current Prioress General of the Association of the Canonesses of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre. History of the New Hall Estate Approached from a mile-long tree-lined avenue, the main building occupies the magnificent former Tudor palace of Beaulieu.