Parent Code of conduct

Parent Code of Conduct

1. Purpose and scope

At Reigate Parish Church Primary School we are very proud and fortunate to have a very dedicated and supportive school community. At our school the staff, governors, parents and carers all recognise that the education of our children is a partnership between us.

We expect our school community to respect our school ethos, keep our school tidy, set a good example of their own behaviour both on school premises and when accompanying classes on school visits.

In addition we also expect our parents, carers and visitors to keep our children safe by adhering to the school’s request to park safely during morning and afternoon collections.

As a partnership we are all aware of the importance of good working relationships and all recognise the importance of these relationships to equip our children with the necessary skills for their education. For these reasons we will continue to welcome and encourage parents and carers to participate fully in the life of our school.

The purpose of this code of conduct is to provide the expectations around the conduct of all parents, carers and visitors connected to our school.

We are committed to resolving difficulties in a constructive manner, through an open and positive dialogue. However we understand that everyday misunderstandings can cause frustrations and have a negative impact on our relationships. Where issues arise or misconceptions take place, please contact your child’s teacher or the Headteacher, who will be available to meet with you and go through the issue and hopefully resolve it. Where issues remain unresolved, please follow the school’s complaints procedure. This is available on the school website or a copy can be requested from the school office.

At Reigate Parish Church Primary School we believe it’s important to:

Work in partnership with parents to support their child’s learning
Create a safe, respectful and inclusive environment for pupils, staff and parents
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 policy) and pupils (through our behaviour policy and anti bullying policy). We also have a home school agreement that summarises the responsibilities school, parents and children have.

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

We use the term ‘parents’ to refer to:

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

2. Our expectations of parents and carers

We expect parents, carers and other visitors to:

Respect the vision and values and ethos 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

3. Behaviour that will not be tolerated

Disrupting, or threatening to disrupt, school operations (including events on the school grounds and sports team matches)
Any inappropriate behaviour on the school premises.
Swearing, or using offensive language
Displaying a temper, or shouting at members of staff, pupils or other parents
Threatening another member of the school community (child or adult)
Sending abusive or threatening messages to another member of the school community, including via text, email or social media
Damaging or destroying school property.
Posting defamatory, offensive or derogatory comments about the school, its staff, children or any member of its community, on social media platforms
Use of physical punishment against your child while on school premises
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
Approaching someone else’s child in order to discuss or chastise them because of the actions of this child towards their own child. (Such an approach to a child may be seen to be an assault on that child and may have legal consequences)
Smoking or drinking alcohol on the school premises (unless alcohol has been allowed at a specific event)
Possessing or taking drugs (including legal highs)
Bringing dogs onto the school premises (other than guide dogs)

4. Breaching the code of conduct

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

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

Send a warning letter to the parent
Invite the parent into school to meet with a senior member of staff or the headteacher
Contact the appropriate authorities (in cases of criminal behaviour). This will include any or all cases of threats or violence and actual violence to any child, staff or governor in the school, This will also include anything that could be seen as a sign of harassment of any member of the school community, such as any form of insulting social media post or any form of social media cyber bullying.
Seek advice from the legal team at Surrey or Southwark Diocese Board of Education regarding further action (in cases of conduct that may be libellous or slanderous)
Ban the parent 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 from the school site.

Thank you for abiding by this code in our school. Together we create a positive and uplifting environment not only for the children but also all who work and visit our school.

It is important for parents and carers to make sure any persons collecting their children are aware of this policy.

5. Social Media - Inappropriate use of Social Network Sites

Social media websites are being used increasingly to fuel campaigns and complaints against schools, Headteachers, school staff, and in some cases other parents or pupils.

The Department for Education/Government and Governors of Reigate Parish Church Primary School considers the use of social media websites being used in this way as unacceptable. Any concerns you may have about the school or your child/children must be made through the appropriate channels by speaking to the class teacher, the Headteacher or the Chair of Governors, where they will be dealt with fairly, appropriately and effectively for all concerned.

Libelous or Defamatory posts - In the event that any pupil or parent/carer of a child/children at Reigate Parish is found to be posting libellous or defamatory comments on Facebook or other social network sites, 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. The school will also expect that any parent/carer or pupil removes such comments immediately.

Cyber Bullying – we take very seriously the use of cyber bullying by one child or a parent to publicly humiliate another by inappropriate social network entry. We will take and deal with this as a serious incident of school bullying.

The school will also consider its legal options to deal with any such misuse on social networking and other sites

They should not use social media as a medium to air any concerns or grievances.

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

At our school we take our safeguarding responsibilities seriously and will deal with any reported incidents appropriately in line with the actions outlined above.

If parents have any concerns about their child in relation to the school as we have said above they should:

Initially contact the class teacher
If the concern remains they should contact the Headteacher
If still unresolved, the school governors through the complaints procedure.

6. Parent communication

The school prides itself with good relationships with parents but the school also has a duty to protect staff

Staff will respond to emails within 48 hours and within office hours (8am-6pm), unless an urgent one.
Staff do not monitor their emails outside of 8am – 6pm.
Emails to and from school should always be courteous and respectful.
Parents in the first instance should always email their classteacher for a class-related question
If parents have an office-related question then they need to contact the office.
For all absences parents can email absence@reigate-parish.surrey.sch.uk
If it needs to be escalated (by teacher or parent), then the flow is:
- Classteacher
- Phase leader
- Deputy headteacher
- Headteacher
For parents with a child with additional needs, you should again contact your classteacher first. Then your escalation ((by teacher or parent) is:
- Classteacher
- SENDCO
- Phase leader
- Deputy headteacher
- Headteacher
Meeting parents, in person and online should be courteous and respectful.

School has a “Managing serial and unreasonable complaints Policy” on the school website.