Providing excellence in preparing students to meet the challenges of tomorrow.

To create a caring, challenging environment in which each student is encouraged to flourish and fulfil their potential.

To provide each student opportunities to grow, through their learning, across a wide variety of curricular and co-curricular activities.

To create the environment where young people are educated to be tolerant, respectful, socially responsible and independent of mind, equipping them for our changing world.

To challenge each student to discover his/her strengths and to develop and to excel socially.

To nurture pupils as global citizens with character, passion, and integrity so that they are equipped to overcome future challenges and make a difference to their community and country.

Our aim at Crescendo-HELP International School is to ensure that all students are given the opportunity and environment to help them learn to their full potential. The school offers a broad based learning focussed curriculum within a friendly, international and caring community, striving to fulfil the academic, linguistic, physical and social potential of each child.

The students come to CHIS to learn. We believe that learning is a lifelong process which:
furthers knowledge
develops skills
deepens understanding
and is best promoted in a nurturing, supportive yet challenging international environment.

Learning is a life long journey to build knowledge, skills and deepen understanding.

Quality learning is when students achieve the core learning outcomes. On a day-to-day basis, quality learning is seen when students:

• are stimulated, interested and motivated to learn
• are engaged and challenged
• are developing their multiple intelligences
• access information in a way which is appropriate to them (learning styles)
• can see the big picture and can make links between their learning
• are clear about what they have to do, and how to do it, and have time to think
• can take responsibility for their learning –reflecting on learning see how to improve
• make better progress than may be expected
• feel safe, secure and are physically fit for learning
• are in a state of relaxed alertness
• work in a variety of ways with a variety of students; and
• communicate their learning effectively

Quality teaching is when teachers set high expectations and give every learner the confidence that they can succeed. This includes:

• demonstrating commitment to every learner's success, feeling included, valued and secure;
• raising learners' aspirations and the effort they put into learning by engaging them and, where appropriate, through the active support of parents or carers.

Establish what learners already know and build on it. This includes:

• setting clear and appropriate learning goals, explaining them, and making every learning experience count;
• creating secure foundations for subsequent learning.
• displaying an international understanding through appropriate adaptation to home and host location.

Structure and pace the learning experience to make it challenging and enjoyable. This includes:

• using teaching methods that reflect the material to be learned, matching the maturity of the learners and their learning preferences, and involving high levels of engaging learning;
• making creative use of the range of learning opportunities available, within and beyond the classroom, including ICT.

Inspire learning through passion for the subject; This includes:

• bringing the subject alive;
• making it relevant to learners' wider goals and concerns.

Make individuals active partners in their learning. This includes:

• building positive teacher–pupil relationships that take learners' views and experience fully into account
• using assessment for learning to help learners assess their work, reflect on how they learn, and inform subsequent planning and practice.

Develop learning skills and personal qualities. This includes:

• developing the ability to think systematically, manage information, learn from others and help others learn;
• developing the ability to take responsibility for their behaviour, guided by staff and peers
• developing confidence, self-discipline and an understanding of the learning process.

How we help children reach their full potential. 

There are common elements to each lesson which help to support student's learning and develop our core values. All lessons should contain:

• Learning objectives which are shared with the students and also what the teacher expects in terms of outcomes. Objectives should be phrased using the following terms:
  
  Learning Objectives,
  
  WALT (We Are Learning To..) followed by WILF (What I am Looking For…) or
  
  SC (Success Criteria)
  
• Links which are made with previous learning and the big picture are shared
• Tasks which help to develop new learning or consolidate learning
• Differentiation to enable all learners to succeed. Differentiation could be through task, resource, response, outcome, group and/or support.
• Time to reflect on the learning and progress towards the WALT. This will include some form of self-assessment and may include peer assessment.

The policy will be evaluated through formal and informal monitoring systems which are already in place. These consist of lesson visits, discussions on learning, planning and book looks, data analysis and Learning Walks.

However, the ultimate evaluation of this policy will be the embodiment of our Mission for all our learners.

We wish all children and their families to feel welcome and involved at Crescendo-HELP International School. We expect high standards from our students in terms of work and behaviour. We are strongly committed to equal opportunities and believe that every member of the school community has the right to be able to realise his/her full potential in a secure, safe and happy environment, encompassing our overarching vision and mission.

Because we see education as a partnership between home and school, we have written this policy so that all of us - teachers, parents, guardians and students - together to improve behaviour, attitudes and standards of work. Each student has the right to expect support and action if his/her well-being or safety is threatened. Good behaviour and good discipline are essential if effective teaching and learning is to take place.

Each student needs to understand that taking responsibility for their own actions and encouraging others to do the same is fundamental to this process: self-determination.

• Encourage students to have high expectations of their own behaviour.
• Encourage increasing independence and self-discipline so that each child learns to accept responsibility for his/her behaviour.
• Have a consistent approach to behaviour throughout the school.
• Make boundaries of acceptable behaviour clear and ensure safety.
• Foster caring attitudes towards everyone
• Recognise achievements at all levels and aspects of school life, being acknowledged and valued.
• Raise awareness about appropriate behaviour and promote it through positive reinforcement.

It is important that all adults working in the school accept responsibility for behaviour throughout the school and act appropriately when misbehaviour is noticed: students must respond appropriately to all staff when addressed by them.

Many aspects of Behaviour are also developed through the PERSONAL LEARNING GOALS through the Primary IPC but are applicable to all ages. These encourage our students to be:

These approaches should allow that: All Teachers are free to Teach & All Students are free to Learn 

Rewards atCrescendo-HELPInternational School are there to acknowledge a range of positive contributions.

We aim for pupils to realise that education and good behaviour are desirable for their own personal good in the long term rather than seeking short term gains: building for lifelong skills.

There are a range of rewards at CHIS depending on the scale achievement. Teachers realise that even praise and compliments are an important form of reward. Other rewards, in Primary and Secondary, may include:

Pupils will understand that negative behaviour cannot be tolerated as it affects other pupils' learning and the class environment.

Sanctions are instilled with the intention of helping students to realise the wrong they have done, so that undesirable behaviour does not persist.

• Not meeting the pupils' expectations as listed above and in their own 'Class Rules'.
• Deliberate or continued defiance
• Rough play
• Disrespecting others
• Bringing their friends or the School into disrepute
• Damaging and/or misplacing the school's and other's property
• Talking inappropriately, using derogatory and offensive language
• Shouting out and not paying attention
• Any form of Bullying, Intimidation or Manipulation (See below for additional information)

There are a range of disciplinary procedures at CHIS, depending on the severity of the undesirable behaviour, from Primary to Secondary years which will include:

Class Action – Traffic Light System, Verbal Warnings, Missing Part of Breaktime/Lunchtime

School Action – Internal Suspension, Parents Informed (through a note in the diary or email, etc) through Head of School Office; Behaviour Record; Sent to Head's/Principal's Office, Student Conference, Suspension, Expulsion

When action regarding Sanctions is initiated for repeated offences and/or in more serious situations, parents will be informed immediately.

When action regarding Sanctions is initiated for repeated offences and/or in more serious situations, parents will be informed immediately.

• The teacher discusses the incident with the student. If further action is to be taken there needs to be a written record of the behaviour causing concern, what has happened and what the teacher has done in response.
• The teacher may decide to conduct individual or group work with the class focusing on good behaviour. The class teacher may decide it is appropriate to impose minor sanctions such as enforcing a child to miss a playtime. A written record will be kept.
• For older students, those involved in an incident as an aggressor, victim or observer may be asked to write an account of what they saw as speaking out might cause embarrassment or anxiety. Written submissions by staff or students will be retained, in confidence, with the Head and/or the School Counsellor.
• If serious in nature, the incident will be referred to the Principal and an interview will take place to discuss the behaviour causing concern. An action plan will be drawn up by the relevant Senior Leader and there will be formal monitoring of the behaviour causing concern. Parents will be informed of the action undertaken. A Student Conference will be called with the Head/Principal, Class Teacher (Home Room staff), Parents, Student and other involved parties.
• Escalation to a Suspension from school to Expulsion will usually be as a result of the aforementioned actions taking place with little or no change in behaviour. However, if an offence of a very serious nature, a 'Principal's Suspension' will be invoked and parents called to collect their son/daughter from school directly.

These sanctions are not to be confused with the normal day to day reminders to children that take place in a busy classroom and playground, but they are a support to the member of staff when a child will not respond appropriately to acceptable standards within our School Community.

It's a sad comment on society that this scourge appears to be gaining prominence in schools and institutions around the World: it is not only an issue for schools and the families of students to be aware of but also for adults in the workplace.

What is BULLYING? Well it's rather hard to define as so many people/groups have their own interpretations and the murky world of cyber-bullying has only added to this complex situation. In UK one of the longer-established programmes for child protection is 'Childline' and a summary of the views of callers to their helpline is presented below:

Bullying can mean many different things and young people have described bullying as:

• being called names
• being put down, humiliated or teased
• being pushed or pulled about
• having money and other possessions taken or messed about with
• having rumours spread about you
• being ignored and left out
• being hit, kicked or physically hurt
• being threatened or intimidated

These things can happen at school or at home, but they can also happen online or on social networks. Bullying can also be part of other forms of abuse including neglect, as well as emotional, physical and sexual abuse.

A key measure of bullying is that it is usually considered bullying when the actions/activities occur over a period of time and the seriousness or severity of the bullying may intensify or, alternatively, remain at a similar level but occurs more frequently.

An important factor is when a group of 'annoyers' are involved. So though no individual might say/do something more than once in a fortnight as a group, the victim is being challenged once or twice a day. Moreover, perhaps the same group send messages to others about their actions to engender support or fear with 'Don't mess with us or you could be next … ' type of message.

This invidious scourge will not be tolerated at CHIS. Students who report bullying will have their concerns dealt with sympathetically and the staff will take action to support the student and to investigate.

If bullying is associated with a member of staff or volunteer, the student will be made aware of other staff whom she/he can approach.

If the bullying has origins outside school or from a school starting point, and which is now affecting life outside school, then all will be dealt with sensitively and directly.

If the investigation warrants further action with outside agencies, it is incumbent on the school to do so.

In all cases of bullying, the persons involved and the action taken will be recorded by the Student Counsellor or the Principal. If a Counsellor has not been appointed or is unavailable, the record will then be kept in a confidential file.

In these days of impersonal mass communication, it is also important that all in our community realise the huge impact such communications can have on individuals, groups and the School. We will direct and encourage our students to be technologically aware and we need to guide them to an understanding of the benefits and pitfalls using such systems/programmes.

As technology is increasingly used in school this is essential as improved firewalls/child-friendly blocking programmes will always only go so far. Indeed, with the wide use of mobile phones (hand phones) and tablets for school-aged children there is little the school can do to control their use outside of the school day, which increases the need for students to understand the benefits and dangers of the use of their devices.

Though we understand you might wish your son/daughter to bring their hand phones into school, we ask you to remind them of our school expectations as follows:

• Hand phones must be switched off when your son/daughter arrives at school and remain switched off until he/she is on their way home. If they need to use a phone urgently, they can come to the office and call from our landline or hand phone.
• If any student is seen using their hand phone during the day, it will be confiscated and kept secure until the student's parents can arrange to come to school to collect it for their child.
• If a student uses their hand phone to record or send images to others, there will be serious consequences.
• Hand phones are brought to school under the student's own responsibility.

(From the www.bullying.co.uk/advice-for-schools site.)

In this method, the victim, or target, of the bullying is interviewed and asked to draw a picture or write a poem about the effect bullying has had. A teacher will then hold a meeting with a group of students including the bullies, those who may have seen the incidents and others who are not directly involved. The teacher explains to the group how the victim is feeling and the group then offers suggestions to find a solution.

Removing blame from the process allows the perpetrators to involve themselves in finding a solution without feeling threatened or defensive. Those who were bystanders are given a chance to see that by doing nothing, they were condoning the bullying.

The group is encouraged to come up with practical problem-solving solutions and the responsibility for carrying out these ideas rests with the group.

Each pupil in the group then carries out their own solution, so that a child who has been excluded from activities with other children may now have someone to play with and another may accompany him on other occasions to make sure there is no bullying.

A week or so later the group reconvenes to discuss progress and what has been achieved. Records are sometime kept of the way this method is carried out, but not always.

This strategy has often proved unpopular with parents, some of whom have expressed concern to us about a lack of action from the school and a lack of punishment for the bullies. These concerns should be considered in advance if using this method.

The pupils involved are encouraged to talk issues over with the aid of a mediator and find a way forward to end the cycle of bullying and complaints. This seems to be more effective when pupils who are friends fall out, but could be less effective at resolving full scale bullying.

Although mediation can be successful in some cases, others have expressed concerns that victims of bullying may be making themselves vulnerable when discussing their feelings. When using this method, schools should consider seriously the skills of the mediator and the capacity of staff to carry out follow-up work and ensure positive behaviour continues after the sessions end.

Many primary schools use Circle Time. Pupils sit in a circle and play games or do fun activities for a short time. Then they can discuss matters as a group, including bullying. This is a way for everyone in class to take part in a structured way: it may even be an appropriate approach for some secondary classes too.

This includes listening to the person making the points without making remarks or laughing. Some schools may use a toy or emblem, representing the opportunity to talk uninterrupted for the person who is holding it.

With this method, there is a risk that children might feel humiliated and distressed talking about difficult feelings in front of their class. Lots of care will need to be taken with this method to ensure children feel safe and well supported when talking about sensitive issues.

These strategies are more popular than others, particularly among schools which favour a "whole school approach" and particularly among those pupils chosen as peer counsellors who enjoy the responsibility. The idea is that everyone in school knows that bullying is unacceptable, children moving up from primary school are reassured that the secondary school is a safe place to be from day one.

In brief, older pupils undergo intensive training over a number of months into the effects of bullying, and how to care for younger pupils who are unhappy because of it. These volunteers are then identified by badges or ribbons and pupils know they have someone of their own age who will take their concerns seriously. Strong teacher involvement is highly recommended.

Recognising that some children may not have friends, some schools set aside a quiet room where pupils can go to do their homework, play board games or just chat with others. Boxes can be placed around school so that children who are upset and don't want to approach a volunteer directly, can still use the service by sending a note. Some schools also use email or text messaging instead of a box alert system.

With the right training for peer counsellors, this can be a very effective method. We sometimes hear from young people asking for advice on dealing with bullying related issues which should be covered in their training. Peer counsellors should be given regular staff support and very clear guidelines on what sort of interventions they can carry out and when their concerns should be passed to a teacher.

Schools in the UK are increasingly describing themselves as 'telling' schools and they sometimes operate this system in conjunction with peer group schemes in secondary schools. It seems to be popular in primary schools too.

It means that even if the bullying target is too afraid to tell a teacher, all the bystanders know that it's their duty to do so and that they won't be accused of telling tales. It's a deterrent because the bully knows that he or she won't get away with it.

This is a good idea as bystanders are often a key to resolving bullying. This policy needs to be publicised regularly so that pupils are not made to feel they are telling tales.

Restorative Justice has been used in criminal cases to help offenders understand the effect they've had on the victims of crimes such as burglary and assault. A similar process can be used with bullies in schools.

The victim is given an opportunity to meet with the bully face to face in a safe and supervised setting and talk through the impact that the bullying has had, or is having, on them. Peer mediation and circle time are often part of this process. Restorative justice is designed to empower the victims and to help the perpetrators understand the human consequences of their behaviour.

In a 2013 survey by 'Family Lives', we asked teenagers what they felt was the best way to prevent bullying. The majority advocated some method of helping bullies to become more aware of the true consequences of their actions, as well as an increase in the availability of support groups for victims.