2: Children

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2.01 Admissions.

The school year runs from 1st September until 31st August. Admission dates are as follows:

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Pre-School [where applicable]

Date of 3rd birthday: 1st September – 31st December

Date of admission: Beginning of Term 1

1st January – 30th April

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Date of 3rd birthday: 1st January – 30th April

Date of admission: Beginning of Term 2

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Date of 3rd birthday: 1st May – 31st August

Date of admission: Beginning of Term 3

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Primary

Date of 4th  birthday: 1st September – 31st December

Date of admission: Beginning of Term 1

Date of 4th  birthday:1st January – 30th April

Date of admission: Beginning of Term 2

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Date of 4th  birthday:1st January – 1st May – 31st August

Date of admission: Beginning of Term 3

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The following applies to all schools:

• In line with Group policy children may start pre-school if the school has such a facility at the beginning of the term in which they become three years of age. OUs/head teachers have some discretion about earlier admission in consultation with SESD. Pre-school guidance is found in Appendix 5.

• Children leave the Pre-school when they are admitted into Primary education.

• In line with Group policy, children may start in Primary education at the beginning of the term in which they become four years of age. The term used for the class is Nursery.

• Children join Primary 1 at the start of the school year in which they are five years old.

• Children move up a year group each September.

• Only on rare occasions should children be placed in different year groups and then only after consultation with ImEd*.

• Children normally leave the school at the end of the school year (Primary 8) in which they are twelve years old. Any exceptions to this policy should be discussed with ImEd and SESD.

• Certain locations have a provision that extends beyond Primary Education. These locations are: Rumukoroshe School in Nigeria, Panaga school Brunei and Sakhalin International School in Russia.

* When children are placed in a different year group than their age allows, this should be made clear in the pupil file by completion of a standard form, a copy of which should also be sent to ImEd. You can find the form in Appendix 6.

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2.02 Registers.

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Teachers must complete attendance registers at the beginning of the morning and afternoon sessions. The format of such registers is at the discretion of individual schools but should be compliant with local laws.

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2.03 Educational Records.

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A school must have a file for each individual child. This file should be kept centrally in the school with access restricted to the head teacher, the deputy head teacher, the head of stream, the class teacher and, if applicable, the special needs teacher.

The following documents should be kept in the individual child’s file:

• Admission form.

• Information from former schools (educational reports).

• Information about the child’s learning, with details about attainment and progress (including, for children in the Dutch language stream, information from the Pupil Monitoring System).

• Minutes of discussions with the child’s parents, especially relating to the child’s learning (including copies of email exchanges pertaining to a child’s learning).

• Copies of reports to parents -special needs plans, if applicable and psychological and medical reports etc, if applicable.

When a Dutch speaking child, following NTC provision linked to the school, leaves to go to a Dutch speaking school an educational report must be written. The official report form from NOB is added in Appendix 7. Please seek further advice from ImEd.

A leaver’s report (using the same format as the end of year report) should be written for all children leaving a Shell or Shell affiliated school.

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2.04 Special Educational Needs.

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In Shell schools children regarded as having special educational needs are those who have educational needs that are significantly different from those of the majority of children in the school. The fact that a child’s first language is not the same as the language of instruction does not, in itself, mean that a child has special educational needs - although it does mean that the child needs particular support and additional provision.

Shell schools are intended for all children of internationally mobile (usually expatriate) staff. One of the reasons for relatively small classes is the possibly wide range of abilities and needs. However, it is unlikely that schools will have specialist facilities, expertise in all the possible areas of special educational needs, and/or easy access to specialist advice and support.

Schools will not always be able to meet the needs of a particular child. This has implications for admission policies.

Each school should have a clear admissions policy, drawn up in consultation with the School Board and SESD, which includes statements about:

• The range of special educational needs (if any) that the school is able to deal with.    

• Any procedure through which parents should apply for a place for a child with special educational needs. (This might include a discussion between the school and the parents and when eligible - a pre-assignment visit during term time).

• Admission is subject to current medical, educational, psychological assessments or reports outlining the child’s condition and needs.

• Additional costs (such as a one to one assistant) are approved or denied via the Exceptions Management Procedure - contact SESD for further details.

• Details about who makes the final decision and an appeals process.

• The extent of the provision the school can make if a child with special educational needs is admitted.

This policy should be publicised in the schoolgids/ school brochure and on the school’s website and should be known to the Shell Education Services Department.

Each school should have a policy about special educational needs. This should include reference to such things as:

• Assessment.

• Differentiation.

• Resources.

• Any specialist provision.

• Individual education plans.

• Parental involvement.

A summary of the school’s special needs policy should be included in the schoolgids/school brochure and be made available to parents on request. It should also be automatically provided to the parents of any child regarded as having special educational needs.

Advice on how schools can source Educational Psychologists’ support can be provided by ImEd.

ImEd can provide information about the assessment of Dutch children.

When requested by a school, ImEd will, on a callout basis, arrange appointments for children to see educational psychologists in the UK, the Netherlands or where possible, in their base country.’

Normally a referral is requested when:

• The child has learning difficulties which cannot be met by the school without specialist advice.

• The child has already received support in school in line with the Shell SEN Policy and the school’s own SEN policy document and described in an individual education plan.

• The school has received advice from Shell medical department.

• The head teacher and/or head of stream have agreed that a referral is necessary.

The school must ensure that:

• The class teacher, special educational needs coordinator/internal coordinator, head of stream and/or head teacher have discussed the situation with the parents and received their approval for the referral.

Educational Psychologists normally require the information that is listed in Appendix 8.

Payment to the educational psychologist is the responsibility of parents - normally at the time of the appointment.’  Reimbursement of costs is subject to HR policies.

The medical cover for families.

For the latest information on medical insurance, please check HR online or contact the HR Service Centre.

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2.05 English as an Additional Language.

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The Education Services Department recognises that the majority of children in Shell and Shell affiliated school have a first language which is not English.

The traditional position in Shell schools has been that class sizes are small so that schools can provide for children of different ages, those with special educational needs, those whose first language is not the language of instruction and those who miss schooling because of leave or transfer.

Schools should make their own decisions about teaching English as an Additional Language, making sure that all children are supported to reach the highest possible levels of attainment.
Any scheme for teaching children who are learning English as an Additional Language should be used as a tool rather than as a rigid system, and should be supplemented by other materials - both commercial and those produced by the teacher.

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2.06 Child Protection.

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Child protection refers to a school’s approach to dealing with the actual or suspected neglect and/or physical, sexual or emotional abuse of children.

Each school should have a child protection policy.

A model child protection policy can be found in Appendix 9.

A model policy for allegations against teachers can be found in Appendix 10.

Both of these model policies are the minimum expectations and can be customised and expanded to suit a school’s context.