PASTORAL STRUCTURE
After School Arrangements
There are several arrangements in place for students at the end of the ISSR High School day. Students can return home by bicycle or moto as long as safety measures are followed, or on the school bus. Fees for the school bus are discussed during enrolment. Parents who are collecting students from the Full-Time English Programme must collect their son / daughter promptly between 4:00pm and 4:15pm.
Parents collecting students from the Part-Time Khmer English Programme and after school clubs must collect their son / daughter promptly at the time scheduled for the end of the Khmer Programme should that end later than the International Programme. The school will not be held responsible for students who are left behind unless special arrangements have been made with the school administration. Parents will be contacted if continual late pick up issues arise.
School Rules and Policies
All parents are requested to make themselves aware of the school policies that apply in the day-to-day life of their son / daughter. These school policies cover all aspects of the educational provision as well as broader managerial issues. They inform and protect all members of our school community. Policies can be viewed in the school office at any time. The main school Policies directly affecting parents and students are outlined on the following pages.
- Attendance
All students are expected to attend the full school term each year. This routine ensures good progress for your child’s education. The school calendar is printed in this booklet and also available on our website https://issr.edu.kh or from Administration. Should any unforeseen calendar changes occur, parents will be informed by email, letter and on the school’s website.
Lateness
The current ISSR High School student daily schedule is from 07:50-16:00 for full-time students and 07:50-1700 for part-time students. All students have a 10-minute form period from 07:50-08:00 every morning where they meet with their tutor. Attendance is taken by means of a card reader situated at the entrance and exit gate. All students will receive an ID card which will be used to register their attendance when they arrive at school and monitor when they exit the school at the end of the school day or for sport and field trips.
ISSR High School students must adhere to the following:
- Arrive at ISSR before 07:50 and register on the system.
- Be in their form room between 07:50-08:00.
- Students will be marked late if they arrive after 07:50, which will be indicated on their reports.
- If a student arrives after 07:50 they must first report to the School Office to explain the reason for their lateness.
- Students then log on using the card reader situated in the office area. The late arrival will be automatically recorded on the registration system.
- Parents must phone the school office if their son / daughter is going to be late for school owing, for example, to doctor’s appointments, bad traffic, accidents and exceptional circumstances.
- Parents will be contacted by telephone or email if their son / daughter is late twice or more in the same week.
- If lateness is a recurring problem, a meeting between the Principal, Form Tutor, student and parents will be arranged.
Absences
It is integral to a student’s education that they attend school on a regular basis and the ISSR High School students must adhere to the following procedures if absent from school or if they go home before school ends:
- If a student is sick, parents must phone the school office before 07:50 so that the Administrative staff can inform the respective teachers and make any additional arrangements.
- If the student takes the school bus the administrative staff should be informed earlier so that transport delays can be prevented.
- When phoning the school office, parents must explain why their son / daughter is absent and when they will be returning to school.
- With regards to absences during the school day, parents must inform the office in advance, providing details such as when their son / daughter will need to leave the school premises, when they will return and the purpose of their absence.
- If a student is going to have a prolonged or planned absence from school, parents must inform the school office in advance, providing details such as when she/he will be absent, the date of return and the purpose of their absence.
- If a student is sick during the school day, it will be at the discretion of the teacher as to whether to send him/her home. The parents will be duly informed of any situations such as this.
- Students are not allowed to phone their parents during the school day to request the parents to allow them to go home early.
- Parents will be contacted if there are recurring problems with their son/daughter’s attendance by telephone or email.
- For health and safety and child protection reasons, students should not phone the office to explain an absence; that is the role of the parents or guardian.
Authorised and Unauthorised Absences
There is a difference between authorised and unauthorised absences. Absences for the following reasons will be considered authorised:
- Illness;
- Family emergencies;
- Religious observances
If a note or letter is not provided, such absences will be considered unauthorised. A pattern of unauthorised absences will necessitate a conference with parents. For planned absences we strongly request that parents plan vacations to coincide with school holidays. We request advance written notification of vacations and other planned absences that are to occur during term time.
Where a prolonged absence from school is anticipated, parents are invited to make an appointment with the relevant teachers in advance in order to receive the planned assignments and schedule of work.
Upon return to school, the student must present an absence slip signed by a parent or guardian.
Mobile Phones and Electronic Devices
Using social media or playing games does not contribute to academic progress. Therefore, while a student is under legal guardianship (in loco parentis) of ISSR, social media and games of any sort are not permitted. Using phones is a privilege.
Students may use devices when;
- Instructed by a teacher for in-class use.
- Authorised by a staff member.
- To make a call to parents after school or pickup purposes from the front office.
- An app or website has been approved for use, to support classroom instruction or for classroom research.
Devices must be in the provided locker;
- Devices are to be kept in the provided locker unless a teacher requests that they be brought to class. Devices must be on silent mode. The school is not responsible for any loss, theft or damage of devices. Writing entire assignments and documents on the phone is impractical and will be discouraged. Students are encouraged to use laptop/notebook computers for this purpose.
If the above rules are not followed, electronic devices may be confiscated until the Monday of the following week and parents will have to come and collect the item from school.
Duty of Care
The provision of care on the part of ISSR is dependent upon parents and guardians providing the correct information to the school upon enrolment. Please ensure that:
- Contact details are up-to-date;
- The absence or unavailability of parents or guardians is always known;
- Medical conditions are known;
- Vaccination information is kept up-to-date.
At all times, the school will exercise its responsibility to ensure the care and safety of students based on the information at hand. When unforeseen events occur, such information will assist in the proper implementation of any relevant emergency policy.
Anti-bullying and cyberbullying
ISSR’s understanding of bullying is repeated verbal, physical, social or psychologically aggressive behaviour by a person or group directed towards a person or group that is intended to cause harm, distress or fear. It can undermine a student’s self-value and impede his/her education. The School views bullying in any form most seriously, and students can expect a thorough investigation and severe repercussions if found engaging in such activity.
The School considers that bullying occurs when there is a pattern of:
- Name calling
- Making fun of others in an emotionally harmful way
- Making students feel isolated
- Stealing, withholding, abusing or damaging other students’ belongings
- Frightening other students or forcing them to act against their will
- Hitting or engaging in other aspects of violence
ISSR embraces the advantages of modern technology in terms of the educational benefits it brings; however, the School is mindful of the potential for bullying to occur. Central to the School’s anti-bullying policy is the belief that all students have a right not to be bullied and that bullying is always unacceptable. The School also recognises that it must take note of bullying perpetrated outside School which has an adverse effect within the School.
Cyber-bullying is an aggressive, intentional act carried out by a group or individual using electronic forms of contact repeatedly over time against a victim who cannot easily defend himself/herself.
By cyber-bullying, we mean bullying by any electronic media:
- Bullying by texts or messages or calls on mobile phones
- The use of mobile phone cameras to cause distress, fear or humiliation;
- Posting threatening, abusive, defamatory or humiliating material on websites, to include blogs, personal websites, social networking sites;
- Hijacking/cloning email accounts, and/or using legitimate ones for illegitimate purposes
- Making threatening, abusive, and defamatory or humiliating remarks in chat rooms.
- ISSR trains its staff to respond effectively to reports of cyber-bullying or harassment and has systems in place to respond to it. ISSR endeavours to block access to inappropriate websites, using firewalls, antivirus protection and filtering systems and no pupil is allowed to work on the internet in the Computer Room, or any other location within the school which may from time to time be used for such work, without a member of staff present. Where appropriate and responsible, ISSR audits ICT communications and regularly reviews the security arrangements in place.
While education and guidance remain at the heart of what we do, ISSR reserves the right to take action against those who take part in cyber-bullying.
Medication
If a student becomes unwell during the school day, the school will contact the parents concerned and the student will be taken home by school personnel when parents are not free to arrange for a pick-up themselves. This will incur a small cost to parents. For students with an ailment that does not otherwise prevent their presence in school, ISSR cannot take responsibility for administering medicine. However, an arrangement can be discussed on a case-by-case basis.
Students may not have any medicine at school. If they need to take medicine during the school day, the medicine must be given to the office with a note explaining what time and how much medicine should be taken. Student may go to the office at the proper time to get their medication and take it.
Parents are responsible for updating their son / daughter’s vaccinations each year and should inform the school administration whenever there is a change of status regarding such vaccinations.
Insurance
Since January 2011 all pupils, teachers and staff at ISSR have been covered by a group accident insurance policy for injury in the school grounds and during school excursions. (This insurance is not for students’ illnesses while attending ISSR). There is no additional charge to parents for this cover, which becomes active once initial fees have been paid.
Helmets
Students arriving to school on motos or bicycles must wear a safety helmet by Cambodian Law. If an accident occurs whilst commuting to and from school, and helmets are not worn, students are not covered by the ISSR insurance policy.