Community action service policy

This policy will cover:

Aims
Modus Operandi
Structure
Role of the Community Action Co-ordinator

[1] Aims

To benefit the individuals in our community through the direct involvement of our students and, to act as a role model for other state and private sector schools in encouraging students to become involved in volunteering.
To develop in our students an awareness of the needs of others and to empower them to take action themselves. Older students should be given opportunities to develop leadership skills. Although we are open to supporting a wide range of groups within the local community, we believe that children are in a unique position to relate to the needs of other children and therefore a substantial number of our links should be with charities supporting children and young people. Our links should be focused on the regular direct involvement of our students rather than just fund raising.
Job enrichment for school staff [teaching and non-teaching]. Our community action services should enable staff to feel that by working at the IBSB they are making a positive difference in the wider Bucharest community.
To enhance the image of the school through the actions of our students and staff.

[2] Modus Operandi

The management of Community Action Service should be very much ‘bottom-up’. Students and staff should be the heroes of the involvement rather than the school’s management team. Their role is to establish the links and then encourage and support and finally, to create opportunities for formal recognition of their work.

The day to day running of the links, including the activities/ visits, should generally be between the form teacher and the charity representative.

The form tutor and the charity representatives should regularly involve the students in making decisions about their involvement. Students’ initiatives should be strongly encouraged.

From year ten upwards, links should include a strong focus on self development for the students. This will probably involve training by the charity to enable to students to take more responsibility in their activities. Giving students ‘challenges’ / projects should be encouraged. Ideally, older students should play a role in the developing/training/supervising younger students.
The IBSB management team should be open to individual teachers, students or parents identifying other charities to support.

The management team should also consider ways in which non teaching staff can be involved in Community Action initiatives. Community Action is a ‘whole school’ activity.

The ‘Friends of IBSB’ should be kept informed about the school’s Community Action initiatives. Parent interest should be welcomed and opportunities for using networking contacts to help our charities should be encouraged.

[3] Structure

Years 1- 6	Years 7- 11	Years 12- 13
Each class to be actively involved in charity. The range of activities and charity partners can vary throughout the year at the discretion on the Head of Junior School	Each class will have its own chosen charity project. They will conduct activities for the project once every term.	Community Action Service-students will be out of school every Thursday during terms 1 and 2 during lessons 3+4. Students will be given a limited choice of projects to be involved in from Touched Romania, Light into Europe and others to be established.

[4] Role of the Community Action Co-ordinator

JuniorSchool

The CAS Co-ordinator will encourage and facilitate creative projects within the junior school and ensure that accurate records are being kept of their activities.

Senior School Years 7-11

To describe the aims, objectives and scope of community involvement during staff induction.

To present the options of charity partners to the form tutors and students each new academic year.

To check if any existing links of form groups need changing /reviewing.

To ensure that each form group carries out its first activity by the end of the first term and that subsequent activities take place every term thereafter.

To deal with any problems that might occur with the relationship between from groups and their chosen charity partners.

Senior School Years 12-13

To make the students aware of the options they have for their choice of the Community Action Service placement and to train them accordingly.

To ensure adequate transport and staffing arrangements for the visits on the allotted period on the timetable.

Charity Partners

To develop the relationship with our partners by regular contacts/ meetings. The contacts will aim to review the links with individual classes.

School Press

To ensure that the Community Action activities are given coverage in each edition [this is usually delegated to individual students/ teachers].

Promotion

To develop the external PR role of Community Action through links with local media and regular updating of the school’s notice board.

To update the Community Action pages of the school’s website each half term.

Reporting/ documentation

To ensure that the school has updated contact information for all our partners [most charities have a relatively high staff turnover].

To ensure compliance with the completion of visit forms by form/class teacher.

To keep weekly attendance registers for the year 12-13 Community Action Service visits.

To produce half termly reports for the Head of School, outlining all the Community Action activities that have taken place.

To complete a critical yearly review of all Community Action activities. To propose any necessary changes to the school’s Community Action policies and procedures [to be agreed with the school’s management team].