POLICIES

About Us

GOVERNING BODY POLICIES ON ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The main aim of the school is to raise the educational achievement of all its pupils. The governing body will contribute most effectively to this aim by focusing on its three roles.

1

To provide a strategic view of where the school is heading.
2
To act as a critical friend by supporting and advising the school.
3
To hold the school to account for the educational standards it achieves and the quality of its education.

The central concern of governors is the welfare of the school as a whole.
Governors have a general duty to always act fairly and without prejudice.
The Governing body shares responsibility for staff employment, yet governors should fulfill all reasonable expectations of a good employer.
Governors should encourage open government and should be seen to do so.
Governors do not act alone but as members of a corporate team. Individual governors have power only when it is delegated specifically to them by the whole governing body.

COMMITMENT

Being a governor involves significant amounts of time and energy.
All governors should involve themselves actively in the governing body’s work and accept a fair share of the responsibilities, including service on committees.
Regular attendance at the full governing body and committees’ meetings is essential.
Governors should know the school well and take opportunities to visit it and become involved in school activities.

RELATIONSHIPS

Governors should strive to operate as a team where constructive working relationships are actively promoted.
Governors should develop effective working relationships with the teachers, staff, parents, the Local Authority, other relevant agencies, and the local community.

CONFIDENTIALITY

Governors must observe complete confidentiality when asked to do so by the governing body, especially concerning individual staff, students, or parents.
Although decisions reached in governors’ meetings are normally recorded through the minutes, the discussions on which decisions are based should be considered confidential.
Governors should exercise the highest prudence when discussing potentially contentious issues outside the governing body.

CONDUCT

Governors should express their views openly within meetings but accept collective responsibility for all decisions.
Governors should only speak or act on behalf of the governing body when they have been specifically asked to do so.
All school visits should be undertaken within a framework that has been established and agreed upon by the governing body.
In responding to criticism or complaints about the school, governors should refer to the school’s correct procedure.
Governors have a responsibility to maintain and develop the ethos and reputation of the school. Their actions within the school community should reflect this.

VISITING THE SCHOOL

Governors need to have the opportunity to arrange visits/tours to the school to see governors’ policies in action and understand how the school works.
Common principles worth observing during governing body tours.
Ensuring that the tours will not disrupt students’ learning.
Governors should understand that their visits do not replace professional inspections or the teacher’s monitoring role since teachers are responsible for the day-to-day follow-up and curriculum implementation.
If governors are concerned about what they have seen, this should be discussed with the academic/respective staff.

GENERAL

Governors are responsible for determining, monitoring, and keeping under review the policies, plans, and procedures within which the school operates.

Governing Body Code of Ethics

The governing body provides the school with sound direction and effective support in the current and long-term.
The governing body shapes and upholds the mission, articulate a compelling vision, and ensures that its decisions support and further the mission.
The governing body promotes strong ethical values and compliance through appropriate and effective oversight.
The governing body effectively measures the school’s success in putting its mission and objectives into practice, and it promotes corrective action if results show this is needed.
The governing body allows sufficient time for the most important school concerns and issues and continuously engages in strategic thinking about the school directly.
The governing body provides appropriate orientation and on-going training for its members to understand and perform their duties and understand policies and their implications.
The governing body fulfills essential governance duties and provides continuity for the school in the event of a sudden change in administration.
Indecision-making, governing body members always put the whole school’s interests, avoiding favoritism towards any individual or group.
The governing body ensures that school constituents have access to accurate information about decisions and matters which impact them.
The governing body formulates written policies and practices applied to bring consistency and clarity to school operations.
The governing body ensures that educational and financial plans are in place for the short and long-term for school viability and the fulfillment of education and other school obligations.
The governing body maintains a cooperative and effective working relationship between the governing body and the school leaders to establish and sustain a positive climate for teaching, learning, and student well-being.
The governing body ensures that the school Principal is addressing all issues about the school’s day-to-day operations. The school Principal effectively delegates responsibility through a leadership structure designed to fulfill its mission and objectives.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY

ARTICLE I: PURPOSE

The purpose of the conflict of interest policy is to protect Salahaldin International School’s (SIS) interest when contemplating entering into a transaction or arrangement that might benefit the private interest of an officer or Principal of SIS might result in a possible excess benefit transaction.

ARTICLE I: PURPOSE

ARTICLE II: DEFINITIONS

INTERESTED PERSON

Any director, principal officer, or member of a committee with governing board delegated powers, who has a direct or indirect financial interest, as defined below, is an interested person.

FINANCIAL INTEREST

A person has a financial interest if the person has, directly or indirectly, through business, investment, or family.

An ownership or investment interest in any entity with which SIS has a transaction or arrangement.
A compensation arrangement with SIS or any entity or individual with which SIS has a transaction or arrangement.
A potential ownership or investment interest in, or compensation arrangement with, any entity or individual with which SIS is negotiating a transaction or arrangement

Compensation includes direct and indirect remuneration as well as gifts or favors that are not insubstantial. A financial interest is not necessarily a conflict of interest. As stated under article III, section 2: a person who has a financial interest may have a conflict of interest only if the appropriate governing board or committee decides that a conflict of interest exists.

ARTICLE III: PROCEDURES

DUTY TO DISCLOSE

In connection with any actual or possible conflict of interest, an interested person must disclose the existence of the financial interest and be allowed to disclose all material facts to the directors and committee members with school board delegated powers considering the proposed transaction arrangement.

DETERMINING WHETHER A CONFLICT OF INTEREST EXISTS

After disclosing the financial interest and all material facts, and after any discussion with the interested person, he/she shall leave the governing board or committee meeting. In contrast, the determination of a conflict of interest is discussed and voted upon. The remaining board or committee members shall decide if a conflict of interest exists.

PROCEDURES FOR ADDRESSING THE CONFLICT OF INTEREST

An interested person may make a presentation at the governing board or committee meeting. Still, after the presentation, he/she shall leave the meeting during the discussion of, and the vote on, the transaction or arrangement involving the possible conflict of interest.
The chairperson of the governing board or committee shall, if appropriate, appoint a disinterested person or committee to investigate alternatives to the proposed transaction or arrangement.
After exercising due diligence, the governing board or committee shall determine SIS can obtain with reasonable efforts a more advantageous transaction or arrangement from a person or entity that would not give rise to a conflict of interest.
If a more advantageous transaction or arrangement is not reasonably possible under the circumstances not producing a conflict of interest, the governing board or committee shall determine by a majority vote of the disinterested directors whether the transaction or arrangement is in SIS’s best interest, for its benefit and whether it is fair and reasonable. In conformity with the above determination, it shall decide whether to enter into the transaction or arrangement.

SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY

The School has established the following guidelines for employee use of social media, both on and off duty:

If an employee publishes any personal information about another School employee or the School in any public medium (print, broadcast, digital, or online) that:

Has the potential effect of involving the employee, their coworkers, students, or the School in any dispute or conflict with other employees or third parties;
Interferes with the work of any employee or student;
Creates a harassing, demeaning, or hostile working or learning environment;
Disrupts the smooth and orderly flow of work within the office or the educational process of the school;
Harms the school’s goodwill and reputation among its students or in the community at large;
Tends to place in doubt the reliability, trustworthiness, or sound judgment of the person who is the subject of the information.

The employee(s) responsible for such problems will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and potentially including termination of employment, depending upon the severity and/or repeat nature of the offense.

No School employee may use School equipment or facilities to support further non-work-related activities or relationships without the School Management’s express advance permission.

Employees who conduct themselves in such a way that their actions toward and relationships with each other interfere with or damage work relationships, disrupt the flow of work or the School’s mission, or cause unfavorable publicity in the community should be concerned that their conduct may be inconsistent with one or more of the above guidelines.

Use of social media that involves any criminal activity or harms others’ rights may result in criminal prosecution or civil liability to those harmed, or both.

Employees may not use the School’s computers, network, or other equipment to set up or update a social network page(s).

Employees shall not use or display the School’s logo or other material copyrighted by the School without express written consent.

Sharing or posting of SIS students’ photos and videos by teachers on their personal social media accounts is strictly unacceptable. In such cases, school consent is required.

The employee shall:

Maintain the confidentiality of student records,
Maintain the confidentiality of School records, including staff evaluations and private email addresses

For the protection of your professional reputation, the School recommends the following practices: “Friends” and “Friending.”

Do not accept students as friends on personal social networking sites. Decline any student-initiated friend requests.
Friend requests from former students who no longer attend the School or who have reached 18 may be accepted.
Do not initiate online friendships with students.
“Unfriend” any current students’ profiles on your social networking.