RATIONALE

Learning resources and other materials created by school staff in the course of their employment are an important asset and form a large part of the school’s intellectual capital.

The open and free exchange of information, knowledge and resources, and the collaborative production of copyright works that are made freely available allows our students’ access to a wider range of high quality learning resources and materials than would otherwise be possible.

The purpose of this policy is to encourage staff to share their work with others.

GUIDELINES

Therefore, the Board:

1. Recognizes that the Board of Newlands College holds first ownership of copyright of works produced by the Board’s employees in the course of their employment.
2. Delegates to the Principal the responsibility to:

1. Apply by default a Creative Commons Attribution License to all teaching materials and policies in which the Board of the school owns copyright.
2. Apply a Creative Commons Attribution license to other copyright works, aside from those described in (2).
3. Transfer to the original creator the copyright in created works licensed by the school under a Creative Commons Attribution or Creative Commons Share-Alike license.
4. Ensure that all staff are aware of the terms of this policy and how it relates to teaching resources they develop in the course of their employment at the school.

3. Does not make any claim over the ownership of copyright works produced by students. The copyright to these works remains with the creator.

4. Recognizes that this policy only applies to copyright works, and not to any other forms of intellectual property.

5. Recognizes that the copyright in works produced by an employee other than in the course of their employment by the Board remains the property of that employee. Where this is unclear, the process for dispute resolution, outlined below, shall apply.

Further, where the first ownership of copyright in a given work is disputed or unclear, the following process will apply:

1. In the first instance the dispute should be documented and presented to the Principal.
2. If the dispute is still not resolved then the documentation should be presented to the Chair of the Board .
3. If the dispute is still not resolved following a) and b), mediation with an appropriate authority will be undertaken.

6. The Principal shall institute Procedures pursuant to this policy.

Definitions

• Creative Commons: An international non-profit that provides free open licences that copyright holders can use to share their work.
  
  
• Teaching Materials: Copyright works produced by employees of the school for the purposes of teaching.

RATIONALE

At Newlands College the use of cellphones and headphones/airpods during class is only permitted at the invitation of the teacher. 

Newlands College does not recommend that students bring cellphones or similar devices to school. If they are brought to school, they must remain switched off in bags during school hours including break times. Newlands College is not responsible for any cellular phone or similar personal device brought onto school property. If a student brings a cellphone, cellphone accessory or similar device onto school grounds, they do so at their own risk. 

Exemptions may be granted at the discretion of the Senior Leadership Team in relationship to matters of health or safety. 

Cellphones may be taken on EOTC (Education Outside the Classroom) events, the use of which is at the discretion of the teacher in charge of the event. 

GUIDELINES

If cellphones or cellphone accessories are visible or being used during the class time without specific teacher instruction for a learning activity, the following consequences will be applied:

1. First instance: The student will be warned and told to put the cell phone or accessory away in their bag.

2. Second instance, or if the student refuses to put the cell phone or accessory away in their bag: The Senior Leadership Team (SLT) member for that year level will call for the student and place the cellphone in a lockable pouch for the day. SLT to contact home.

3. Further instances. The SLT member for that year level will either take the phone or lock the phone in a pouch and contact home. The parents/caregivers will need to come in for a meeting to collect the cell phone and/or cell phone accessory.

4. The Principal shall institute Procedures to effect this Policy.

At Newlands College, our attendance procedures ensure students are accounted for during school hours and activities as well as emergency events. This allows school staff to identify and respond to student attendance concerns. We recognise the importance of regular attendance to support student welfare and help students achieve their educational potential.

As required by the Education and Training Act 2020 (s 35), students between six and sixteen years old must be enrolled at school. Once enrolled, it is compulsory to attend school regularly, unless a specific exemption has been approved by the school and the Ministry of Education. The board takes all reasonable steps to ensure all students enrolled at Newlands College attend school when it is open (Education and Training Act, s 36).

Newlands College records and monitors attendance using set attendance procedures. We have annual targets for student attendance and work with students, parents and caregivers, staff, and external agencies where necessary to improve our levels of student attendance. We share our attendance information with the Ministry of Education, which ensures we receive correct funding and staffing entitlements. We keep our attendance registers for seven years from the date of last entry.

Parent/Guardian and student responsibilities

Parents and guardians have legal obligations to ensure their children attend school (Education and Training Act, s 244). We expect parents/guardians to:

• notify the school as soon as possible if their child is going to be late or absent
• arrange appointments and trips outside school hours or during school holidays where possible
• work with the school to manage attendance concerns.

We share attendance expectations with students and their parents/guardians and caregivers, and require students to be present and attend classes on time.

Parents/Guardians may ask for their child to be excused from certain areas of the curriculum for religious or cultural reasons. The principal reviews these requests and considers the preferences of the student. The school provides supervision for any students who do not participate in certain areas of the curriculum.

School hours and supervision

Newlands College staff comply with our schedule and release students at set times. For information about supervision outside of school hours, see Before and After School Supervision.

Students are not allowed to leave the school during school hours unless permission is requested by parents/caregivers and given by the school. The student must sign out at the student office or by using the school app.

Senior students may be allowed to leave school grounds (e.g. during lunch time or study periods). This is at the discretion of the principal and permission may be withdrawn if students do not return on time or do not meet our behaviour expectations while away from the school.

If a student is ill or injured at the school or a school-related activity and needs to be taken elsewhere (e.g. home or a medical facility), we follow our procedures for managing Injuries and Illness.

The principal assures the board that student absences are correctly recorded, monitored, and followed up. See Review Schedule and Board Assurances.

Related topics

• Board Responsibilities
• Communicating with Parents and Whānau
• School Records Retention and Disposal
• Health Education
• Before and After School Supervision
• Managing Injuries and Illness

Legislation

• Education and Training Act 2020

Resources

Ministry of Education | Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga:

• Attendance is a shared responsibility
• Legal responsibilities and national guidelines for schools on attendance
• Attendance and Engagement Strategy
• Roll returns (monitoring)