Home Group

Rationale:

The responsibility for duty of care extends to the roles and responsibilities of Home group. Home group teachers have a significant role to play in the welfare of students. Home group policy at Ilim College of Australia, ensures that staff duty of care is regularly maintained as is the care of students.

Form Assembly Aims To

• Provide students with a communal unit that defines their place within the community of the school
• Enable students to experience a sense of belonging and purpose.
• Provide students with a familiar ‘home’ environment within which they may feel secure and an opportunity to commence each day from this place
• Provide an opportunity for the communication of administrative details to students, including the Student Bulletin, timetable changes.
• Provide a forum for the relaxed exploration of issues and difficulties
• Reinforce school policies and procedures.

Guidelines of implementation:
 The Home group teacher is the primary contact with students, a mentor for students within their form group and must take on the following responsibilities:

• Mark the roll each day and mark students absent or late in record book
• Read the student bulletin.
• Check uniforms, diaries, lockers.
• Distribute information – newsletter, notices.
• Collect consent forms/ excursion money.
• Maintaining the neatness and quality of the form room.
• Read and discuss the daily bulletin, inform students of the activities for the week
• Ensure that the expectations of the college are clearly communicated. Reinforce matters concerning uniform, punctuality and homework.
• Remind students of and model proper Islamic manners and behaviour
• Support students through meaningful pastoral care programs. Stimulate the growth of students by promoting discussion and activities that enable growth in self- esteem, confidence and skills- listening skills, study skills, organisational skills and social interaction.
• Start the day with constructive thinking, using the ‘Thought for the Week’ poster.

Ideas for Form Assembly

• Make students feel welcomed.
• Get to know something about the student- ask question about the students’ interest.
• Establish an alliance with each student and with the group collectively.
• Facilitate a sense of belonging to, identify with, and ownership of the form group for each student.
• Help students develop their own self- esteem and contribute to the well being of each other and the group as a whole. (Self- esteem = ‘appreciating one’s own self worth and importance, and having the character to be accountable for oneself and to act responsibly towards others’)
• Create a structure whereby a student can be heard by encouraging discussion of:

What students are most proud of?
Subjects they like/dislike and reasons.
Interest that students have
Reporting on weekend activities
Decision making, problem solving and providing choices.

• Organisation of activities – competitions within year level, special lunch, etc...
• Study skills/ organization – developing independence.

Form Assembly at the end of the day

At the end of the day it is the form teachers’ job to ensure that:

• The roll is marked
• Rooms are left neat, tidy and locked
• The windows are closed; lights and all appliances are switched off.
• Students are in full uniform.