Policies and Committees | Bal Bharati Public School Dwarka

SCHOOL SAFETY COMMITTEES

Child Protection Policy

The Constitution of India guarantees several rights to children and enables the State to make provisions to ensure that the tender age of children is not abused. Child Abuse was and continues to be, one of the most heinous crimes designed and perpetuated by human beings against some of the most vulnerable and defenseless sections of the community. Globally, it has been recognized and seen as a particularly burdensome challenge. According to the World Health Organization, “Child maltreatment, sometimes referred to as child abuse and neglect, includes all forms of physical and emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect, and exploitation that results in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, development or dignity. Within this broad definition, five subtypes can be distinguished – physical abuse; sexual abuse; neglect and negligent treatment; emotional abuse; and exploitation”.

Guiding Principles And Objectives

The following principles shall, be fundamental to the application, interpretation and implementation of the Policy guidelines:

Best Interest of the Child: In all actions, processes and decisions taken to prevent Child Sexual Abuse, the best interest of the child shall be the primary consideration.
Safety: For ensuring safety of children, restrictive and coercive measures and processes shall not be resorted to in the name of care and protection.
Non stigmatizing decisions & actions: All decisions and actions taken should be in the best interest of the child. In furtherance of this, all initiatives should strive to reduce the stigma and taboo around child abuse and sexual abuse related issues and the language used should be child friendly and inclusive.
Empowering Children: Children’s participation in peer to peer sharing and learning, shall be promoted in all settings and children shall be assisted by all possible means to be able to effectively participate in such exercises. Any disability, which might prevent a child from his or her participation in such sharing and expressions, shall be specifically addressed.
Simplicity: All measures to prevent abuse must be practical and it should be easily replicable on a large scale. There are a number of spaces where children spend time and all such spaces should be able to absorb and implement these guidelines easily and within a short span of time, without requiring complicated training and rules.
Zero Tolerance: Child Sexual Abuse is perpetuated within the contours of the larger community and hence all actors within the community should be used to ensure that potential abusers and hazardous situations do not fester. There will be zero tolerance of child abuse.

Institutional Responsibilities

This institution maintains a zero tolerance policy towards child abuse and towards that end, will immediately issue a memo and ask for explanation from any staff/employee/teacher accused of abuse.
This explanation will be sent to the Child Abuse Monitoring Committee to decide an appropriate warning for the first time and strict action the next time.
All laws, rules and guidelines related to child protection and children shall be adhered to strictly.
The recruitment policy will ensure that potential child abusers are screened through all reasonable means.
The premises will be a child safe space and all necessary safeguards and precautions will be taken towards this end.
The institution will work actively with parents, the community, police and other engaged stakeholders to prevent incidents of child abuse.
Discrimination will not be tolerated and towards this end, the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Human Resources Development, Government of India, under Section 35(1) of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 will be implemented.
All classroom premises will be constructed in a manner so as to keep children in a safe and protected zone.
In all decisions, the best interest of the child will be taken as the primary consideration. This also implies that in case of conflicts, the child’s welfare will be a priority.
Counseling services and therapeutic intervention will be available to all children and/or family if and when the need arises and/or it is requested.

It is the responsibility of this institution to ensure that the child protection Policies are understood and signed by all employees, teachers, staff and volunteers.

Aspects Of Child Protection

A child needs protection from other people with unhealthy attitude present in the school campus. These include other school students, administrators, teachers and rest of the school staff (i.e., cleaning agency workers, office staff, security workers, etc). Child protection can be ensured through appropriate action against bullying; corporal punishment; any sort of physical, verbal or sexual abuse and indiscipline, violence or substance abuse. Therefore, Child protection policy includes sub-policies namely-

Anti Corporal Punishment Policy
Anti Bullying Policy
School Discipline and Substance Abuse Policy

Components Of Child Protection

A Child protection Policy has six components - screening, training, code of conduct, monitoring, reporting an allegation of abuse and managing an allegation of abuse. Hence, each sub policy would include each of these components.

Anti Corporal Punishment Policy

The Right of children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE, 2009), clearly states that no child shall be subject to “physical punishment or mental harassment” in schools. Those officials that contravene this provision shall be liable for disciplinary action under service rules applicable to them.

It is not easy to define corporal punishment as it involves humiliation and insult which a child feels as a subject. Considering the millions of ways in which punishment is perpetrated on children in contemporary times, it is impossible to exhaust all the forms of insinuations and violence. However, following behavior have been categorically put under Anti corporal policy of the school.

Physical punishment is understood as any action that causes pain, hurt/injury and discomfort to a child, however light. Examples of physical punishment include but are not restricted to the following:

Causing physical harm to children by hitting, kicking, scratching, pinching, biting, pulling the hair, boxing ears, smacking, slapping, and spanking or with any implement (cane, stick, shoe, chalk, dusters, belt, whip, giving electric shock etc.)
Making children assume an uncomfortable position (standing on bench, standing against the wall in a chair-like position, standing with schoolbag on head, holding ears through legs, kneeling etc.)
Forced ingestion of anything (for example: washing soap, mud, chalk, hot spices etc.)
Detention in the classroom, library, toilet or any closed space in the school.

Mental harassment is understood as any non-physical treatment that is detrimental to the academic and psychological well-being of a child. It includes but is not restricted to the following:

Sarcasm that hurts or lowers the child’s dignity; Calling names and scolding using humiliating adjectives, intimidation;
Using derogatory remarks for the child, including pinning of slogans;
Ridiculing the child with regard to her background or status or parental occupation or caste;
Ridiculing the child with regard to her health status or that of the family – especially HIV/AID Sand tuberculosis;
Belittling a child in the classroom due to his/her inability to meet the teacher’s expectations of academic achievement;
Punishing or disciplining a child not recognising that most children who perform poorly in academics are actually children with special needs. Such children could have conditions like learning disability, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, mild developmental delay etc.
Using punitive measures to correct a child and even labeling him/her as difficult; such as a child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder who may not only fare poorly in academics, but also pose a problem in management of classroom behaviors;
‘Shaming’ the child to motivate the child to improve his performance.
Ridiculing a child with developmental problems such as learning difficulty or a speech disorder, such as, stammering or speech articulation disorder.

Discrimination is understood as prejudiced views and behavior towards any child because of her/his caste/gender, occupation or region and non-payment of fees or for being a student admitted under the25% reservation to disadvantaged groups or weaker sections of society under the RTE, 2009. It can be latent; manifest; open or subtle. It includes but is not restricted to the following:

Bringing social attitudes and prejudices of the community into the school by using belittling remarks against a specific social group or gender or ability/disability;
Assigning different duties and seating in schools based on caste, community or gender prejudices for example, cleaning of toilets assigned by caste; task of making tea assigned by gender); admission through 25% reserved seats under the RTE; or non-payment of any prescribed fees;
Commenting on academic ability based on caste or community prejudices.
Denying a facility like library books or uniforms or sports facilities to a child or group of children based on caste, community, religion or gender.

Screening

Recruitment Processes

No candidate with a criminal record of sexual and/or physical violence will be recruited for any position within an institution. In furtherance of the same, all selected candidates must provide a signed undertaking to the institution that they have not been accused of offences under POCSO, the JJ Act and any other sexual and/or violent crimes under any other Act for the time being in force.
All candidates, along with the appointment letter will be presented with a copy of the institution’s child protection policy document and will be required to sign it.
In case of an employee or other person providing child services being accused of an offence under POCSO (Protection of Children from sexual offences (POCSO) ACT 2012), or any other sexual crime or violence, the person so accused shall be suspended with immediate effect pending enquiry as per the due process established by law.

Training

Awareness And Education

An ongoing and uniform teacher training module is developed or adopted by the institution which covers a broad spectrum of child protection issues.

The training provides an opportunity for teachers to –

Be sensitized to value, respect and listen to children;
Learn age appropriate techniques of positive disciplining with students;
Understand individual differences and treat each child as a unique individual considering inclusion and building self esteem.
Explore their own sexual and abuse-related issues and opinions;
Determine and build upon their knowledge of the symptoms of abuse;
Understand their legal and ethical responsibilities as teachers;
Understand sexuality and gender education where the thrust is on inculcation of respect for another person especially that of the other gender.

This training requires regular workshops/presentations for teachers on related concerns are conducted by the School Counselor and other experts from NGOs, Mental Health Professionals, Educationists or Law Enforcing agencies.

Code Of Conduct

Inappropriate/Offensive behavior for staff and employees

Hit or otherwise physically assault a child.
Use language that will mentally or emotionally abuse the child.
Act in any way that intends to embarrass shame, humiliate or degrade a child.
Show discrimination of race, culture, age, gender, disability, religion, sexuality, political persuasion or any other status.
Develop a sexual relation with a child.
Kiss, hug, fondle, rub or touch a child in an inappropriate or culturally insensitive way.
Initiate physical contact unless initiated by the child (e.g. holding hands).
Suggest inappropriate behavior or relations of any kind.
Allow children to engage in sexually provocative games with each other.
Stand aside when they see inappropriate actions inflicted by children on other children because it is frequent and commonplace.

Monitoring

Every institution shall constitute a Child Abuse Monitoring Committee whose primary responsibility shall be prevention of child abuse and the monitoring and implementation of these guidelines within the institution:

To this end, the Committee shall meet a minimum of once in each quarter of an academic session.
The Committee shall appoint one representative who will be responsible for communication and reaching out to the community, police, and Child Welfare Committees.
All incidents of child abuse shall be reported to the Committee and the committee shall be responsible to make all persons and children within the institution aware of the procedure of reporting incidents of child abuse.
School shall have a suggestion/complaint box at a prominent place within the premises.
The leaders of these committees will be specially trained by the counselors on how to train other children and create an environment conducive to the discussion of sensitive issues.
Confidentiality of cases will be maintained.

Reporting

Complaint Mechanism

Children in the institution or their parents can make individual requests or complaints to the Principal/management of the institution.
In case of complaints against professional staff such as nurses or teachers, among others, working with and for children, a mandatory complaint can be made to the Child Abuse Monitoring Committee.
The Committee will appoint a person responsible for attending to all complaints brought before it.
In case of complaints on living conditions, children or their representatives can put forward their grievances to the Management through the suggestion box or otherwise.
The outcome of complaints and the redresser mechanism shall be informed to the child or their parents within 15 days of the complaint being made.

Action To Be Taken By Teachers

As teachers if one is concerned that one of the child has any signs of abuse it is vital to report to the Head Teacher. It is of course important that a wrong referral is not made, however, while one incident which is suspicious might not lead to a referral to Child Protection Agencies, a number of incidents possibly could. Therefore, it is important to inform the Head Teacher who will keep a written record of any factual statement of concern regarding a child.

The following definitions of child abuse can act as a reference:

Physical Injury -Children, where the nature of a physical injury is not consistent with the account of how it occurred; or where there is definite knowledge, or reasonable suspicion, that a person having custody, charge or care of the child, inflicted or knowingly did not prevent the injury. This includes children to whom it is suspected that poisonous substances have been administered.
Physical Neglect- Children, it has been perceived, who have been persistently or severely neglected physically, to such an extent that their health and development are impaired. Particular attention is drawn to food, hygiene, warmth, clothing, supervision, safety precautions and medical care. Serious inadequacies in these areas may constitute neglect.
Failure to thrive- Children who have been medically diagnosed as suffering from severe non-organic failure to thrive, e.g. hair loss, poor skin tone, circulatory disorders, significant lack of growth. Although more easily recognizable in younger children, it also applies to older children.
Emotional Abuse - Children, where there is a persistent coldness, hostility or rejection by the parent or care giver, to such an extent that the child’s behavior and development are impaired.
Sexual Abuse- The involvement of dependent, developmentally immature children and young persons in sexual activities that they do not fully comprehend, to which they are unable to give informed consent, and which violate social and family taboos. Sexual abuse may also include exposure of children to sexual stimulation inappropriate to the child’s age and level of development.
Potential abuse- Children in situations where they have not been abused but where social and medical assessments indicate a high degree of risk that they might be abused in the future, including situations where another child in the household has been harmed, or where the household contains a known abuser.

Tips for action to be taken by teachers:

Document all of your concerns, with dates and times, in order to support your claims.
Gather tips and support from veteran colleagues.
Procure the support of your principal and ask him or her for advice if needed.
Remain confident that you are doing the right thing, no matter how hard it may be.

It is important if any staff working with our children have any concern whatsoever that they MUST speak to the Head of Department/ Principal without delay.

Managing An Allegation

ROLE OF THE CHILD ABUSE MONITORING COMMITTEE (WITHIN THE INSTITUTION)

In case an offence against any child is apprehended by or comes to the notice of the management or staff of an institution or any other person, such person shall provide the relevant information regarding the offence to the Child Abuse Monitoring Committee who will depute a counselor and/or another adult who the child may be comfortable with, to counsel the child.
The Committee referred to herein will also proceed with the procedure for reporting of offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act & Rules, 2012 as amended from time to time.
The Committee may sit together as soon as possible but not later than 2 days from the day of the incident to confer on the same.
A report should be given to the Special Juvenile Police Unit or local police which will contain the necessary details of the incident as well as a recommendation for a counseling mechanism to commence at the earliest within forty-eight hours. The report to be given shall be prepared by the Child Abuse Monitoring Committee. A copy of this report shall be maintained with the institution.
The Committee will recommend immediate suspension of the person accused and then conduct an enquiry based on the child’s version and statements of witnesses (if any). In these cases, the welfare and best interest of the child will be of paramount consideration.

Therapeutic Intervention

Therapeutic intervention in the form of counseling services must be made available to every child and the availability of such intervention should be made apparent through relevant signage and indicators.
The Counseling centre must have the capacity to cover the needs of special children and/or disabled children.
If requested by family members, in case of an incident of abuse, the onus shall be on the institution to provide access to counseling services for the family.
Confidentiality must be maintained at all times during counseling and any other therapeutic intervention. The institution shall be liable for any breach of confidentiality of the identity of the child or details of the issues brought to the counselor.

Anti Bullying Policy

Bullying is behavior by an individual, repeated over time that intentionally hurts another individual or group. It can be in the physical, verbal, emotional or cyber domain. It is any act or gesture (written, verbal, graphic, or physical) that is reasonably perceived as being dehumanizing, intimidating, hostile, humiliating and threatening and likely to evoke fear of physical harm or emotional distress.

The following types of bullying behavior are included in this non-exhaustive definition:

Deliberate exclusion, malicious gossip and other forms of relational bullying.
Cyber-bullying.
Identity-based bullying such as homophobic bullying, racist bullying.
Bullying of those with disabilities or special educational needs.
Hurtful public message, image or statement on a social network site or other public forum.
Where that message, image or statement can be viewed and/or repeated by other people will be regarded as bullying.

Bullying undermines and dilutes the quality of education. Research shows that bullying can have short and long-term effects on the physical and mental well-being of pupils, on engagement with school, on self-confidence and on the ability to pursue ambitions and interests. Therefore, the policy aims to create an environment where students can grow and flourish without fear.

Mellor & Munn in the 2nd Supporting Schools against Bullying pack (SCRE: 1993) identify a number of pre-requisites for a successful anti-bullying policy; these are:

Recognition - All people in the organization should be encouraged to examine their views on bullying and their values, attitudes and behavior towards others. Local school-based research should be undertaken to find out if bullying is a problem.
Ownership - All members of the organization must have ownership of any policy. People will normally only ‘own’ something if they see its relevance to them and have been involved in its development to a greater degree than mere consultation.
Openness - People need to be able to discuss their concerns in a safe environment. There is often a desire to feel reassured that individual experiences and feelings will be taken seriously and treated as valid by those who oversee the practice of the policy.
Consistency - It is important that staff endeavor to work to agreed procedures when dealing with incidents of bullying and that any sanctions are seen to be applied in a fair and just manner.

An anti-bullying policy should always endeavor to complement a school’s policy on behavior and discipline. There is also a need to regularly reinforce and review the policy so that newcomers to the school understand the school’s stance on bullying and so that existing pupils and parents are reminded that bullying, in whatever form, will never be tolerated.

The objectives of anti bullying policy are:

To foster an environment of mutual trust and respect through emotional literacy of all students.
Constant supervision of school premises through teachers and CCTV’s to prevent any untoward incident.
Students are made to understand what constitutes bullying and its consequences.
Staff members and students are aware of rules and consequences for engaging in/and supporting bullying.
To promote positive habits of self-respect, self-discipline and responsibility among all its members.
To prohibit vulgar, offensive, sectarian or other aggressive behavior or language by any of its members.
The school has a clear commitment to promoting equity in general and gender equity in particular in all aspects of its functioning.
The school has the capacity to change in response to pupils’ needs.
The school identifies aspects of curriculum through which positive and lasting influences can be exerted towards forming pupils’ attitudes and values.

Policy Guidelines

The Head of the Institution will be responsible to determine whether an alleged act constitutes a violation of this policy.
The Policy prohibits reprisal or retaliation against any person who reports an act of bullying or harassment or cooperates in an investigation.
The policy prohibits of any person from falsely accusing another as a means of bullying or harassment.
School officials will disseminate the policy annually to all school staff, students, and parents, along with a statement explaining that it applies to all applicable acts of harassment and bullying that occur on school property, at school-sponsored functions, or on a school bus.
Involvement of parents through regular meetings with HM/Class teacher/Counselor. The school recognizes the need to work in partnership with and keep parents informed on procedures to improve relationships on a school-wide basis.

Training

Regular sensitizing program on identifying signs and symptoms of bullying to be held for the teachers.
Students are encouraged to share their fears and concerns with class teachers or counselor as per their choice.
All the staff and students are periodically made aware of the schools Discipline and anti bullying policy.

Code Of Conduct

Behavior protocol for children:

Respect all staff, teachers, parents and outsiders.
All relevant information should always be given to the concerned staff.
Share information and learning with other children.
Never physically assault or sexually abuse another child.
Never tease another child or call out nicknames.
Never threaten another child.
Never spread rumors about another child, or details about the child which could be socially humiliating.
Never force another child to give away his/her personal belongings
Never use abusive language.

This protocol must be encouraged by staff among children.

Expected Behavior of school staff:

The school promotes habits of mutual respect, courtesy and an awareness of the interdependence of people in groups and communities.
The school promotes qualities of social responsibility, tolerance and understanding among all its members both in school and out of school.
Staff members share a collegiate responsibility, under the direction of the Principal, to act in preventing bullying/aggressive behavior by any member of the school.

The following are some practical tips for immediate actions that can be taken to help build a positive school culture and climate and to help prevent Model respectful behavior to all members of the school community at all times.

Explicitly teach pupils what respectful language and respectful behavior looks like, acts like.
Display key respect messages in classrooms, in assembly areas and around the school. Involve pupils in the development of these messages.
Catch them being good - notice and acknowledge desired respectful behavior by providing positive attention.
Consistently tackle the use of discriminatory and derogatory language in the school.
Give constructive feedback to pupils when respectful behavior and respectful language are absent.
Have a system of encouragement and rewards to promote desired behavior and compliance with the school rules and routines.
Explicitly teach pupils about the appropriate use of social media, mobile phone and internet use.
Follow up and follow through with pupils who ignore the rules actively and tackle bullying behavior.
Involve parents and/or the Parents’ Association in awareness raising campaigns around social media.
Actively promote the right of every member of the school community to be safe and secure in school.
Highlight and explicitly teach school rules in pupil friendly language in the classroom and in common areas.
All staff must watch out for signs of bullying behavior.
Ensure there is adequate playground/school yard/outdoor supervision.
School staff can get pupils to help them to identify bullying “hot spots” and “hot times” for bullying in the school.
Hot spots tend to be in the playground/school yard/outdoor areas, changing rooms, corridors and other areas of unstructured supervision.
Hot times again tend to be times where there is less structured supervision such as when pupils are in the playground/school yard or moving classrooms.
Support the establishment and work of student councils agencies in preventing and dealing with bullying.

Monitoring

Prevention of bullying and monitoring is the responsibility of the school administrators, teachers and the Counselor. Monitoring of bullying free school can be done by

Clear communication of anti bullying policy of the school to staff, students and parents.
School shall have a suggestion/complaint box at a prominent place within the premises.
Immediate action is assured to all and ensured safe and confidential reporting.
To identify and help students who may be at risk for being bullied by others.

Reporting

Complaint Mechanism

A prompt, thorough, and complete investigation of each alleged incident will be taken up.
The investigation will to be completed within a week after a report or complaint is made.
The parents of the students involved shall receive written notice from the school on the outcome of the investigation (in compliance with current privacy laws and regulations).
All reports on instances of bullying and/or harassment will be recorded.
The consequences and appropriate remedial action for a person who engages in reprisal or retaliation shall be determined by the administrator after consideration of the nature, severity, and circumstances of the act.
The consequences and appropriate remedial action for a person found to have falsely accused another as a means of bullying or harassment may range from positive behavior interventions up to and including suspension or expulsion.

Managing An Allegation

Assessing the nature of the incident –

When trying to assess the nature of an incident and the type of response needed, the following factors should normally be taken into account:

Has the pupil who is experiencing the distress been subjected to repeated incidents of unacceptable behavior?If the answer to this question is ‘yes’, over what time period has the behavior been occurring?
Is there evidence that the behavior is planned / pre-meditated?
How does the pupil seem to perceive him/herself in relation to those allegedly involved?
How distressed are the pupil and what effect is the situation having on his/her self-esteem, feelings about school, motivation, and relationships with peers, physical wellbeing etc?
Which pupils are involved in the alleged incident?
What seemed to trigger the start of the difficulty?
Where did/do the alleged incidents take place?
Are there any witnesses?
Is there any background to the alleged incidents?
When was the alleged incident first reported? Who reported it and to whom?
How do the others involved in the alleged incident perceive it?
What explanations do they give for the alleged difficulty?
What is required to try to resolve the difficulty now and in the future?

If the evidence indicates that bullying has taken place then the following steps should be taken:

Appropriate measures should be put in place to support all those involved.
Any disciplinary measures used should be in line with the school’s disciplinary policy.
Parents of the pupils involved should be informed of the incident and the action taken by the school.
If a peer has physically or sexually assaulted a pupil, then exclusion may be considered. In the case of peer to peer physical and sexual assault the school should also seek guidance from the Authority’s Child Protection Officer immediately.
If the allegation involves extreme action such as physical and/or sexual assault or theft or extortion, the parent and the pupil should be informed of their right to report this to the police.
Although school staff may feel concerned about highlighting these rights to parents and pupils it should be borne in mind that assault, theft and extortion are criminal acts.

Reference-
Supporting Schools Against Bullying (Mellor & Munn: SCRE 1993).

School Discipline And Substance Abuse Policy

School discipline is the system of rules, punishments and behavioural strategies appropriate to the regulation of children and the maintenance of order in schools. Its aim is to control the student’s actions and behaviour. An obedient student is in compliance with the school rules and codes of conduct. These rules may, for example, define the expected standards of clothing, timekeeping, social behavior and work ethic. The term discipline is also applied to the intervention that is the consequence of breaking the rules. The aim of discipline is to set limits restricting certain behaviors seen as harmful for the child or others around him.

In general, a system of school discipline can be called effective if it clearly communicates to both students and staff what are acceptable and unacceptable boundaries of behavior and what the consequences of misbehavior will be. Those pupils in the school who are exposed to school discipline the most, should be able to clearly predict what the consequences of their behavior will be.

Objectives of A Discipline Policy/Plan:

To enable students to manage and control their behavior.
To enable the students follow rules, respect them and participate positively in learning process.
To eliminate physical and psychological violence from school.
To ensure a general wellbeing of students and staff in school.

The aforementioned objectives can be achieved through the following steps-

A firm consistent discipline plan.
Entire school (i.e., all heads, teachers, students and parents) is aware of the plan and follows consistently.
The plan is implemented strictly by VP/HMs and counselor (when required for referral).
It is vital that the behavior policy is clear, that it is well understood by staff, parents and pupils, and that it is consistently applied.

Screening

Monitoring of ‘At risk' students- The school takes particular care of "at risk" pupils and uses its monitoring systems to facilitate early intervention where necessary and it responds to the needs, fears or anxieties of individual members in a sensitive manner.

Training

Ensure that all concerned (students, parents, teachers) are aware of the discipline policy.
Appropriate and respectful behavior is modeled by teachers and administrators.
Appropriate behavior in students is appreciated and encouraged through formal and informal means.

Code Of Conduct

Definition of misbehavior

Misbehavior includes disrespect to teachers all members of the School Staff, Irregular attendance, habitual idleness, disobedience, bad conduct, stealing, using unfair means in examination, teasing fellow students, etc.
Students are not allowed to bring two wheelers to school or drive a four wheeler to school.
No books, periodicals, comics, newspaper or printed matter of an objectionable nature, must be brought into the school.
Electronic gadgets, Cell phones, digital watches and diaries, toys, calculators, video games, portable audio and video devices and any mass storage devices are forbidden in the school.
Any damage to school property must be made good by the student concerned.
The school uniform is a sacred and prized possession of a student. It symbolizes the ethos and culture of the school, of which the student is an integral part.
Uniform includes proper shirt, skirt/trousers, socks, belt, shoes, tie and blazer (in winters). Shirts should be properly tugged in and skirts/trousers worn on the waist and not low waist. Any violation of its sanctity calls for firm disciplinary action.
School time needs to be respected. Gates to be closed at 7.45 am.
No child enters unless parents accompany with valid reasons.
It is responsibility of parents to ensure child’s safe return to home if he /she reaches late and gates are closed.

Serious Misbehavior

Serious misbehavior includes

Bullying which is any form of verbal or written obscenity, abusing, teasing or fighting with fellow students.
Substance Abuse like Non-medical Drug abuse, Smoking, alcohol, or tobacco product, etc.
Cyber Bullying or Defamation like posting rumors or gossips about a teacher, school or fellow student in the internet bringing about hatred in other’s minds; or it may go to the extent of personally identifying victims and publishing materials severely defaming and humiliating them. It includes communications that seek to intimidate, control, manipulate, put down, falsely discredit, or humiliate the recipient. The actions are deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior intended to harm another.

Monitoring

Disciplined behavior is characteristic of all civilized society. Hence, inculcating self discipline is essential part of education.
However, consistent rules and action for any act of indiscipline is mandatory to instill value of rules and regulations.
The school administration including the Principal, Vice Principal, Head Mistress followed by teachers need to collectively monitor any act of indiscipline.

Reporting

An episode of indiscipline can be reported by a student, teacher, a support staff or administrator.
The complaint must be brought to the notice of Class teacher and the Head Mistress; who would decide for next action as per the severity of indiscipline.

Managing An Allegation

Any misbehavior calls for firm disciplinary action such as:

First time written record of indiscipline in child’s Diary, calling the parents to school, and discussing the concern.
Second time calling the parents to school, taking an Undertaking that next time serious action is permitted and referring the child and parent for Counseling.
Third time Suspension from school for a week, followed by mandatory attendance for five Counseling sessions.

Any serious misbehavior, for instance bullying which is any form of verbal or written obscenity, abusing, teasing or fighting with fellow students liable to be injurious to other boys justify dismissal. However, giving the child a chance after consulting all concerned:

first time written record of indiscipline in child’s Diary, calling the parents to school, taking an Undertaking that student would never indulge in indiscipline again and referring the child and parent for Counseling (with mandatory attendance for five Counseling sessions).
Second time Suspension of one week plus referral to an outside Psychologist.
Third time strict action by the Principal after consulting all concerned.

Once rules have been communicated, fair and consistent enforcement helps maintain students' respect for the school's discipline system. Consistency will be greater when fewer individuals are responsible for enforcement.