Q - Z

Associated items between Q and Z inclusive are shown below:

Questions, Concerns or Complaints (parents and staff)

The first point of contact for any parent who needs more information about their child is the associated class teacher. If the problem cannot be resolved then parents are encouraged to contact the Year Group Leader or another senior member of staff who will endeavour to solve any issues that they have. If further resolution is still required, a copy of the school’s Complaints Policy can be obtained from the school office. 

All staff questions, concerns or complaints must follow the procedure above (Complaints Policy can be found in the website) and begin with the member of staff’s line manager. If that step is not available, then refer to the HoC/DHoC, the Business Director (Local) or Principal (Expat staff). If the allegation is criminal or monetary in nature, then there is a dedicated Whistleblowing hotline which can be used (details below or on the campus notice boards).

Registers

The register is completed on iSAMS. Hard copies are printed off every day and kept in the office for emergency situations. 

The register is very important as it informs us of the children in school for a session so they can be accounted for should there be an emergency. Registers should be completed and saved by 08:20 at the EY&I and 08.10 at the Junior Campus. After this time, children must get a late slip from the office. Afternoon attendance marks are no longer required.

Lunch registers 

These are completed each morning for F3 to Y6, with children choosing either a Western (blue), Asian (red), Vegetarian (yellow) or Deli Bar (green) option. These registers are completed online from the link found on your desktop and as soon as possible after 08:00 at the Juniors and 08:30 at the EY&I.

Resources

Resources required by teachers each week are purchased by the school’s Purchasing Officer. Requisitions (forms available at the office or Resource Room) should be submitted by Thursday to the resource staff. All requests (especially cooking ingredients, perishable goods, etc) should indicate the dates the materials will be needed - failure to clearly indicate this will likely lead to unavailable resources on the required date.

If teachers / assistants purchase pre-agreed items for their class, they must get a red receipt for reimbursement which will involve providing a tax number to the place of purchase. The Head of Campus should approve any items before purchase and will provide the tax number on approval.

Resource Management

Staff must try to be aware of areas where savings can be made within the school. Air conditioners, air purifiers and lights should be switched off at the end of the school day when the room is vacated or at any other time during the day when the room will be empty for an hour or more. The computers should not be left on stand-by.  

Staff should be role models for children, showing them how to use materials efficiently.

ALL major items of supplies / resources should be requested through the HoC.

Teachers are responsible for the organisation of their assigned areas and the safe storage of equipment. Classrooms and storage areas should be kept neat and tidy, both as a fire and security precaution and as an example to pupils.

Room and furniture damage, when noticed, should be reported to the Campus Facility Manager. Please submit any request for repairs to them involving electrical, plumbing or carpentry. Please allow up to 48 hours for any non urgent request to be completed.

Please report malfunctioning common area printers to the Campus Facility Manager immediately – they can normally arrange for the problem to be dealt with, within 24 hours.

Salaries

Salaries will be paid into individual bank accounts at the end of each month. Pay slips for the amount deposited will be available for collection and will be distributed monthly. 100% of the salary will be paid in VND.

Smoking

The British International School, Ho Chi Minh City has a no smoking policy for any of its teaching staff. Therefore, there is no smoking on school premises or within sight of the pupils.

Staffrooms and Around School

It is the responsibility of all staff to keep staffrooms on both campuses tidy. Staffroom should be used for marking, preparation and relaxation. Staff may eat lunch, drink coffee etc. but they must tidy up afterwards.

Each teacher should have a lockable space in their classroom to keep their personal belongings and valuable school equipment such as cameras, etc. School does not take responsibility for lost / stolen items which have been left unattended.

Star of the Week, Excellence Certificates and Other Rewards

A child from each class will be awarded a ‘Celebration of Learning’ certificate at the weekly assemblies. This is awarded by the class teacher and can be for any reason, not just academic success. Also available for awarding is a certificate for ‘Excellence’. This is awarded by either class teachers, specialist teachers, MP Leaders or Senior Leadership and may be awarded for going 'over and above' in a particular aspect of school life. 

Certificates may be awarded after special events, or to celebrate achievements, and teachers may also use a stamp or stickers, as appropriate, to reward achievement.

In addition, each Primary campus has its own reward system linked to the key words identified in the school’s Aide Memoire. 

Teaching Assistants (TAs) and Other Local Staff

A Teaching Assistant is often the first person a child confides in or seeks help from if they are hurt or upset. It is, therefore, very important that assistants are approachable, friendly and take an interest in the children. Please do not recommend TAs to parents to tutor children from either campus. If parents do request help with finding a tutor, please bring it to the HOC’s attention first. If it is brought to your attention that your TA is tutoring a child from your class or your year group, the HOC needs to be informed.

Teaching Assistants’ duties include:

• supporting learning in, and beyond, the classroom

• ensuring the classroom is neat, tidy and safe

• ensuring there are sufficient basic resources in the classroom for the activities

• assisting children with their social skills, eating etc.

• encouraging children’s independence skills – letting them try by themselves before intervening

• preparing materials for classroom use – photocopying, sharpening pencils etc.

• supervising playtimes, snack times etc. as directed

• collecting and distributing children’s work, letters and other communications to send home

• knowing, understanding and following school policies for behaviour, standard of dress etc., both for children and adults

• greeting children and their parents and relaying any messages from them to the appropriate person in school

Teaching Assistants may be required to perform other relevant duties from time to time, as requested by the class teacher, HoC or Principal.

The Head, Senior and Lead TAs can provide more detailed guidance on how to carry out their duties or please refer to the TA Handbook which is issued to all TAs.

BIS could not function without the excellent work carried out by our local staff. Please treat all the guards, cleaners, admin staff, and maintenance staff with respect.  If you become aware of a member of staff’s financial need, any collection of money MUST be discussed with HoC before any organisation takes place.

Telephone 

Permission must be sought from the HOC before using the school telephone for personal or business calls outside of HCMC.

Timetables

Other than for specialist lessons, which is the responsibility of the DHoC to organise, individual class teachers have the flexibility to arrange their available time in the most effective manner following the guidelines for subject allocation.

In Early Years all curriculum learning areas are to be given equal weighting.

Detailed timetables are set at the beginning of the year, but some changes may well be needed. Copies will be sent home for parents’ information and glued into the children’s Diaries.

Copies of class timetables should be readily available and on the campus or whole school Admin shared drive and an up-to-date hard copy displayed on the teachers’ planning noticeboard.

Timings

Early Years & Infants - The school pupil hours are from 08:15 – 14:50. Students arriving on campus early will be supervised by a duty teacher / TA from 07:45. Children arriving earlier than 7:45am without an adult supervising them, should be escorted to the office. Admin will keep a record of the children who arrive early and contact the parents to inform them that a parent/guardian must be supervised by , and we recommend for them to arrive after 7:45am.  Extra-curricular clubs are usually from 15:00 – 15:45. 

Juniors - The school pupil hours are from 07:50 (Y3&4) and 08:00 (Y5&6) – 14:20 (Y3&4) and 14:30 (Y5&Y6). Extra-curricular clubs are usually from 14:40 – 15:40. Students will be supervised by a duty teacher / TA from 07:30. Students on campus before that are there 

A teacher is contracted to be at school from 07.30 until 16:00 Monday to Thursday. Teachers may leave at 15:00 on Fridays. Staff should not leave the school premises before 16:00 (15:00 Friday) without seeking permission from the DHoC or HoC. No member of staff should leave the school premises during pupil contact hours without seeking permission from the HoC or Deputy HoC. Teachers may also be expected to be in school at times that are necessary (in the opinion of the Principal) for the reasonable and professional discharge of their duties.

All visitors are required to sign in and to wear a ‘Visitor’ ID. Any staff members who wish to invite friends and family onto the campus should seek permission from the HoC in advance.

Transition  

Opportunities exist for the preparation of pupils and parents for the transition to each successive stage of educational provision. This begins at the EY&I with the move from EYFS to KS1, then at the end KS1 into Juniors, and from Juniors to Secondary.

For example, Year 6 pupils are prepared and guided through the transition process from Year 6 to Year 7 during the year. Pupils have opportunities to experience an orientation day and a visit to the Secondary campus. A similarly organised transition between Year 2 and Year 3 will aid the transition of pupils from one campus of Primary to the other. The Year Group Leaders liaise with each other and the Deputy Heads in order to organise these events. 

Trips 

All trips outside of either campus must be ratified by the HoC initially. The Expeditions Leader, Ms Tracey Brownrigg, is then responsible for the delegation of responsibility for day trips and residentials and the follow up of risk assessments and arrangements. Information on all trips and excursions can be found on the dedicated BIS HCMC Trips website here. Policies are in place for all aspects and can be accessed here on the Policies website.

Tutoring

Tutoring of children may only occur off campus but a teacher/teaching assistant may not tutor a pupil from his/her class. Please check with the HoC before any tutoring is initiated.

Uniform

Pupils are expected to wear the official school uniform at all times. This includes the official school hat and sensible black shoes worn with black, grey or white socks.

The designated house PE kit must be worn for relevant lessons, sport clubs and other activities such as Sports’ Day.

Long hair should be tied back. Jewellery should not be worn, but watches and studs (no ‘hoops’ or ‘drop’ earrings) in pierced ears are allowed. Teachers should be sensitive towards the request for religious jewellery, but should check with the HoC before making any agreement with the child’s parents.

Children should also wear knickers or underpants.

A standard letter should be sent home if teachers notice consistent deviations from the school’s uniform policy. Year Group leaders will be able to send you a copy of this if you need to use it.

Valuables

Children should be discouraged from bringing in valuables and they are responsible for the safekeeping of their property. The response to children must be ‘Don’t bring it into school if you are not prepared to lose it!’. The school does not allow any type of dangerous object / toys to be brought on to the premises.

Virtual Schooling Experience (online learning)

When the need arises, BIS HCMC has a an outstanding provision for learning outside of the physical classroom. This is done through a number of learning platforms such as Seesaw and Google Classroom, as well as face-to-face options such as Google Meets. More information can be found in the Virtual Learning Experience website here, or in the policy section here.