An a to Z About Everything That You Wanted to Know
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1 AN INFORMATION HANDBOOK FOR TEACHERS, SUPPORT STAFF, PARENTS, GRANDPARENTS AND VISITORS ABSENCES When a student is absent from kura we would appreciate a parent/caregiver either ringing the kura office to explain the absence or sending a note explaining the absence with the student on their return to kura. Teachers must inform the principal when they will be absent from kura and complete an application for leave form i.e. date leave requested, type of leave applied for, name of reliever. ACCIDENTS Any student who suffers an injury in the playground or classroom that requires some form of first aid must be accompanied by a staff member on duty to the sickbay and treated according to the nature of the injury. There are disposable gloves available in the sickbay medical supplies cupboard. These must be worn when treating any injuries involving the discharge of blood. The first aid register in the administration office must be filled in correctly. In the event of a student sustaining a major injury e.g. fractured limb, seek the assistance of another colleague and inform the principal/deputy principal as soon as it is possible. AFTER KURA CARE Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Bernard Fergusson does not offer any after kura care for children. The kura grounds are usually clear of children by 3.45 p.m. If there are children still at kura after this time they should be questioned as to whether or not they require any assistance. ANCILLARY STAFF All employees who are not registered teachers are considered to be ancillary staff (or support staff). All are employed under the conditions of the current Support Staff in Schools Collective Agreement. ASSEMBLIES Kura assemblies are held every Monday morning at 8.40am and every Friday afternoon at 2.45pm under the pīruru (Te Rongokoekoea) weather permitting. If the weather is inclement the assembly will be held in Kimikimi (the hall). The kaiwhakahaere of the week is responsible for the running of the assembly. The junior or senior syndicate can opt to have an assembly at any other time of the week as required. ASSOCIATE TEACHING From time to time a teacher may undertake associate-teaching duties. This will involve the teacher working closely with a teacher trainee from a NZQA accredited teacher training institution. All registered teachers can apply to become an associate teacher. The current reimbursement figure is $2,000 p.a. ASSESSMENT EVALUATION AND RECORD KEEPING All teachers are expected to keep accurate assessment records of each and every child in their care. These must be updated at regular intervals or when and where required by the syndicate leaders. TE KURA KAUPAPA MĀORI O BERNARD FERGUSSON A TO Z HANDBOOK 2 The methods of recording assessment data and other information must be in accordance with agreed kura policy. REQUIREMENTS FOR USING AN ELECTRONIC ATTENDNACE REGISTER (eAR) Schools must comply with the following attendance management requirements when using an eAR: 1. students must be marked absent or present during the course of every school day as required by the Act and Regulations (attendance must be marked mornings and afternoons) 2. attendance must be marked during class time by the teacher with the students in front of them 3. all absences must be appropriately coded in the SMS (entering an explanation in the comment section of the SMS is good practice) 4. all unexplained absences must be followed up and reported to parents and caregivers as soon as possible 5. as soon as an unexplained absence is resolved, the SMS must be updated with the appropriate code (entering an explanation in the comment section of the SMS is good practice) 6. school management must follow up instances where attendance is not marked by the teacher responsible and address the matter in an appropriate and timely manner 7. students with continuous and/or regular absences must be identified and monitored. 8. You must take the register before 9.30 in the morning and again before 1.00 in the afternoon. You only need to mark the students who are not here 9. Mark the register before you send the children to another class 10. You must put in a code for every child who is not here (these can be found on the help tab at the top of the page). Below are the codes that can be used to explain an absence. Code Reason (Business Rule) Explanation ? Unknown reason (A temporary code) This is the initial entry for a student not in class and the reason is unknown. It will be edited as relevant information becomes available about the reason for the non-attendance. If required, the SMS can be set by the school to automatically change the '?' code to a T after a configurable number of school days (e.g. 7) P Present Student is in his/her regular class (this includes supervised study) L Student Late for class School policy will determine when this code is used. E.g. School policy may recommend that a student more than 10 minutes late is coded "L". Note this code does not contribute to a school's absence or truancy rate. S Sickbay Student is known to be in the school's sickbay D Medical Appointment - doctor or Current legislation means this type of absence is counted as present for ½ day dentist summaries. There must be documentation verifying the appointment. This code is not to be used for a stay in hospital. Use code "M" I Internal school appointment or activity This can include students who are out of class for various school appointments - Dean, DP, sports administrator or including: form teachers, dean, senior management, counsellor, sports coach, attendance officer administrator, coach, nurse, careers, as well as students on an administration activity such as messenger, collecting attendance etc. It does not include a student who has been removed from his/her regular class and sent to the TE KURA KAUPAPA MĀORI O BERNARD FERGUSSON A TO Z HANDBOOK 3 administration area for disciplinary reasons. This student would be coded P in the class and the code would probably be changed to R by the senior staff member dealing with the student. E Student is absent with an Explained, The explanation for the absence is accepted by the school as the reason for but unjustified reason the absence, but the reason does not fit within the school's policy as a justifiable reason to take the student off school (even though the parents may consider the absence was justified and may have provided a written explanation) e.g. "Molly had to stay home to look after her younger brother" or "we went for a two week family holiday in the South Island" This includes overseas absence not approved by the principal (a parent's note does not provide justification) M Student absent due to short-term Student is at home, or in hospital, because of illness or other medical reason. illness/medical reasons Depending on school policy a medical certificate may be requested for prolonged illness e.g. three days, or as policy requires. J Justified absence - reason for absence Unplanned absences such as a bus breakdown, accident, road closure, within the school policy extreme weather conditions Planned non-attendance such as national/local representation in a sporting or cultural event in New Zealand or overseas. (See also Code O) Approved absence (including overseas) can also include bereavement, visiting an ill relative, exceptional family circumstances or a Section 27 T No information provided - truant (or An absence where no verifiable explanation is received, or the explanation is throw-away explanation) trivial (throw-away): I didn't feel like mathematics so I took the period off I had to finish an important assignment I went down to the river I went to the shops we had a test and I wasn't ready for it V Examination or Unsupervised Study - Students sitting examinations at school (if the SMS can provide attendance student is on the school-site marking during exams.) Unsupervised study - school process verifies student is on the school-site. Note that supervised study is recorded as a regular timetabled class. X Exam leave Unsupervised study - Code X will count as a justified absence and contributes to ½ day absence student is off-site summaries. Note that supervised study is recorded as a regular timetabled class. N On a school based activity A school-based (on-site) activity. cultural/sporting presentation/practice including swimming/athletic sports one to one tuition either as tutor or tutored Q Attending an off-site school-organised A school-organised off-site activity including overseas activity such as trip/camp school trip (sporting, cultural or academic) TE KURA KAUPAPA MĀORI O BERNARD FERGUSSON A TO Z HANDBOOK 4 school camp W Work experience Student is working for a recognised employer as part of their course (Gateway is an example) R Removed (temporarily) from regular This code is for students who for a time period had an arrangement for class (internal school student isolation) alternative supervision, that may be in the administration corridor or in another teacher's class, instead of the regular scheduled class O Justified overseas A student accompanying or visiting a family member who is on an overseas Posting e.g. military or diplomatic. Other approved (justified) overseas absence is coded "J". If the absence is unapproved, it is coded "E". K Attending a teen parent unit The student is not in class, is on the school roll but funded elsewhere A Attending alternative education The student is not in class, is on the school roll but funded elsewhere Y Attending an activity centre The student is not in class but in an approved environment for which the school is entitled to be funded F Attending an off-site course/class The student is not in class but is on a legitimate off-site school-based course H Attending a health camp/regional The student is not in class but in an approved environment for which the school health school/residential school is entitled to be funded C Student is attending Justice Court Under existing legislation this type of absence is deemed to be Present when proceedings calculating ½ day summaries U Student is stood down or suspended Student is stood down or suspended according the conditions of Section 14 of the Education Act 1989 (This code is for the period of the stand down/suspension.