School 'contract'

AHarvey

AHarvey

AHarvey

Soldato
Joined
6 Mar 2008
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Stoke area
We've parents evening tomorrow for our 6-year-old. It's a CofE village school, we're not religious but understand the religious aspect comes as a part of the package. All parents have been asked to read over so they can sign a school contract tomorrow evening. Our child is supposed to sign it as well and our child's teacher will sign it too.

I don't know why but it's annoyed me, I can't place my finger on what exactly it is but it seems less about the welfare and education of the children and more about protecting the school and ticking boxes.

Anyone else had something similar at their children's school

[School Name] Primary School

We wish to create a safe learning environment where children are Respectful, Kind, Courageous, Determined and Enthusiastic

As a [School Name] parent I/we will try my/our best to:

• Ensure regular attendance unless my child is ill, and avoid unnecessary absence
• Listen to, and respect, the view of the staff at the school, behaving in a courteous way at all times
• Tell the school first if concerns arise before discussing on social networking sites
• Support all staff in their efforts to create a caring community which values children and their rights;
• Make sure my child has enough sleep and has eaten breakfast
• Pay for trips, dinner money and wrap around care provisions on time
• Inform the school promptly of the reason for absence or lateness so that we can ensure your child’s safety
• Inform the school of any relevant home circumstances which may affect my child in school
• Provide my child with the correct, named uniform and equipment needed for school
• Provide a quiet place for my child to do homework and monitor that homework is being completed to a good standard
• Support the school in getting any help my child may need;
• Support the school’s Behaviour for Learning Policy and promote positive behaviour and support the school in the reasonable discipline of my child
• Send back reply slips promptly
• Read all letters/messages/emails that are sent home;
• Attend Parents’ Evenings and other parent workshops to help with learning at home
• Encourage my child to be independent and responsible
• Encourage my child to have a Growth Mind-set

Signed:............................................... Print Name:..............................................(Parent / Guardian)


As a [School Name] Pupil I will try my best to:

• Treat others kindly and be guided by our school values
• Demonstrate a sense of reverence during Collective Worship or in St Chad’s Church
• Tell somebody if there is something I am not happy about
• Learn
• Have a go at something before asking immediately for help
• Understand that it is okay to make mistakes as long as we learn from them next time
• Be an active listener during lesson
• Be active and try new things
• Bring the correct things that I will need for lessons
• Be smartly dressed in our agreed school uniform
• Complete all class work and homework carefully and thoughtfully
• Take pride in myself, my work and my achievements
• Help others where I can
• Help to keep the classroom tidy and be careful not to break or damage school equipment
• Be proud to be a pupil at [School Name] CE Primary School
• Work hard to develop a Growth Mind-Set
• Practice my skills regulary

Signed: ....................................................... (Pupil)


The staff at [School Name] Primary School will :

• Have high expectations of all pupils and staff
• Be welcoming and offer opportunities for parents/carers to become involved in the daily life of the school
• Plan a creative curriculum and enrichment activities to inspire a love of learning and the development of children as confident and well-rounded individuals
• Provide a stimulating environment
• Respond to the different learning needs of children and give them the opportunity to achieve their full academic potential
• Have a clear and consistent approach to rewards and sanctions for children as set out in the Behaviour for learning Policy;
• Promote involvement in the local community and in the wider world
• Provide a safe, caring environment and ensure that the procedures for recruitment of staff and volunteers safeguard children fully
• Follow up non attendance in order to ensure your child’s safety
• Develop the skills, attitudes and values necessary to prepare our pupils for the challenges and responsibilities of life and to equip them to make well thought out choices
• Respond to your concerns quickly, behaving in a courteous way at all times
• Contact you as soon as concerns are raised about your child’s work, behaviour, attendance or punctuality

Signed:..................................................................... (Class Teacher/Headteacher)

Thank you for your continued support
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In fact, posting it here it seems quite petty in places. This stuff shouldn't have to be written down and signed.
 
Seems a bit ott asking a 6 year old to sign such a thing

At 6 yrs old a lot of kids won’t really understand what and why they’re signing
 
I swear if teachers just stopped coming up with a load of waffle like the contract OP has shown us, perhaps our kids would actually learn something..
 
I attended a CofE school in Stoke, St Peter's (Now Stoke Minster), and yet, despite there being none of this ****, they still managed to muddle through and give me a good educational start in life.
 
The only aspect I find a bit objectionable is some of the bits in the child section like:

"Understand that it is okay to make mistakes as long as we learn from them next time"

That is the kind of thing that should be introduced and supported to them by the teacher not read and signed on a piece of paper which as mentioned above will be somewhat meaningless at that age. That kind of thing should be part of their introductory plan and reinforced through lessons and the approach of the teachers, etc. (even stuff like posters on the wall which maybe the children could be part of creating, etc.).

Sadly a lot of the rest has to be said as there are many people who have never been brought up properly it seems :(

EDIT: The more I read down the list of bullet points for the child the more I think someone has lost the plot... some aspects are fair enough but should be part of the introductory package and reinforced through lessons (not something a kid reads and signs before starting) i.e. treating others with respect and being guided by school values but others seem to ignore (worryingly) that every child is a bit different in terms of how they learn, attention span, specific needs i.e. some will be more introverted and others outgoing, some will struggle with varying degrees of things like Autism and need to learn to be inquisitive, etc. while others might be self-starters with a natural thirst for learning. Some of the other aspects like school uniform and correct equipment will initially be largely a parent's responsibility and something that they should learn to take responsibility for as they get older (assuming this is mostly <12 yearolds).

Did they really put Learn on its own as an entry in the list? like a command? and what <10 year old has any real concept of something like "Work hard to develop a Growth Mind-Set".

Almost everything in that list is something the school should be educating through the ages of approx. 6 to 11 or so via introduction in the classroom and worked into their lessons and the support they get including things like making posters on those subjects to put up, etc.
 
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why are you signing a contract ? the state pays them to school your child ..
if signed the school could do anything and you would have no comeback .?
 
omnomnom said:
It's just a commitment from both parties to get the best out of school. It's not a big deal lol.
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As far as the parent and staff sections I'd agree - some of it seems a bit haughty for want of a better way to put it but if you deal much with the general public unfortunately it is kind of needed :s

I don't really get having a child sign to those bits though at 5-6 much of that would have been meaningless to me.
 
Rroff said:
As far as the parent and staff sections I'd agree - some of it seems a bit haughty for want of a better way to put it but if you deal much with the general public unfortunately it is kind of needed :s

I don't really get having a child sign to those bits though at 5-6 much of that would have been meaningless to me.
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To make them feel grown up maybe? Kids love emulating their parents...it's just getting them involved imo.

And like I said...it's evidently needed.

"Tell the school first if concerns arise before discussing on social networking sites"
 
omnomnom said:
To make them feel grown up maybe? Kids love emulating their parents...it's just getting them involved imo.
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I'd agree if it was just stuff like "be kind to others", "practise my skills regularly" but some of the stuff in there like "Work hard to develop a Growth Mind-Set" ? I mean maybe we have to be careful not to treat kids too simplistically or condescendingly but to me the overall tone of it seems a bit disconnected from the realities of the human element in the equation.
 
It's just a template isn't it. The child part is simply there for them to get involved. It doesn't hold any weight whatsoever and is just a commitment from both sides.
 
I can see the reasoning behind the contracts but for me it feels a little intrusive to your family life and quite a lot for a 6 year old to comprehend.

My wife is a teacher and you wouldn't believe how numerous useless parents are and how much they disrupt the out of classroom running of the school. This I suppose is just trying to get parents on board with what the school is trying to achieve.
 
flea.rider said:
why are you signing a contract ? the state pays them to school your child ..
if signed the school could do anything and you would have no comeback .?
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Not really. I don't see anything there about punitive measures or what happens if the contract is broken, nothing about what should be considered a material breach, nothing about an appeal or review process. I mean it could be the OP has just posted the section detailing expectations but i really don't think these are any more enforceable than the code of conduct or charter that most other schools have, you agree to abide by those rules when your kid attends, signing a piece of paper doesn't really make it any more or less enforceable.

What it does do is remove the old "well we didn't know little Timmy wasn't allowed to set things on fire" defence.
 
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