Conduct and House Rules Policy

Conduct and House Rules Policy

St Patrick’s Catholic School, Te Awamutu

Rationale

To provide guidance on the standard of integrity required of all of the school’s employees.

Purposes

The purpose of this policy is to communicate to employees that St Patrick’s Catholic School is committed to safeguarding its reputation as a provider of first class learning, in a caring Catholic environment.

Scope

This Code sits above all other policies, procedures and statements about expectations of conduct.

This policy applies to all employees of St Patrick’s Catholic School.

St Patrick’s Catholic School will ensure that all new and current staff are familiar with the Code of Conduct and House Rules via employment agreements, policy documentation, performance development and role modelling.

Guidelines

1. The Code of Conduct (Appendix A) and the House Rules (Appendix B) apply to all staff.

2. All staff are responsible for reminding others to adhere to these rules.

3. Continuing breaches of the Code of Conduct and/or House Rules will be handled by the principal and could result in disciplinary action for misconduct.

APPENDIX A: CODE OF CONDUCT

Faith

We uphold the values and teachings of Jesus Christ in all we do.

Love

We treat all people with empathy, tolerance and respect.

Service

We never see a need without doing something about it.

Hope

We take constructive steps to overcome challenges with positivity and hope.

Dress Code: Wear tidy clothing that is non-revealing, appropriate to the situation and reflects our profession.

Timekeeping: Be punctual for all appointments and available for meetings before and after school within reason.

Deadlines: Meet all deadlines or seek support if needed.

School’s Reputation: Speak positively in the wider community about our school, our parish, our Faith, our students and our colleagues. 

Confidentiality: Protect confidential and sensitive information for the appropriate people or forum.

Conflict Resolution: Raise concerns sensitively with the person involved at an appropriate time. Seek support if needed.

Property: Show your respect for others by the way you treat and use school property: e.g., returning resources, classroom cleanliness, teacher laptops, kitchen.

Commitment: Teachers are expected to support occasional after-hours school events but this should not unreasonably impinge on work-life balance. There is an expectation that staff attend each Termly community Mass.

Behaviour Towards Others: Show tolerance and empathy to each other through our actions and words.

Communication: Staff are not expected to respond to communication outside of work hours. 

Professionalism: Staff will support each other by upholding school rules and guidelines. Staff will also adhere to the Teaching Council Code of Professional Responsibility.

Community Relationships: Staff will engage in relationships with families and whānau that are professional and respectful. In our community it is natural that some staff may be friends with some parents of the school. Staff are entitled to their private lives remaining private however, are asked to be mindful and to use discretion when engaging in social media or other online communication (see Social Media paragraph). If staff are subjected to abuse or a compromised situation, contact the principal as soon as reasonably practicable. Staff are also entitled to use the school’s concerns and complaints policy at any stage. 

APPENDIX B: HOUSE RULES

Accidents at Work

●      All accidents at work should be reported on the shared Google Doc as soon as is practical after the accident to the office who will provide the correct paperwork to complete

●      This also includes any “near misses”

Appearance and Dress Standard

●      As noted in the Code of Conduct, dress should be tidy, non-revealing and appropriate for the activity

●      Staff should not wear any clothing or accessories that could be offensive to other staff or visitors

●      Personal hygiene should be such that there is no risk of offending the school community

Communication

●      Communication means (including email, phone, social media and anything on school letterhead) may not be used for unlawful activities, for commercial purposes, for the sending of any offensive material or any other action that contravenes the school’s policies

●      Staff must not make statements or offers that exceed their authority

●      Staff are responsible for any communication sent from their accounts

●      Staff must not adopt another person’s name, email identification or user-name in any communication

●      Staff must adhere to standard codes of behaviour and legal obligations with respect to sexual harassment, racism, gender, age differentiation and sexual preference and apply these to all communication. This includes, but is not limited to, sending or downloading offensive and/or pornographic material. Failure to comply will be regarded as serious misconduct

●      All communications sent, stored or received on school devices, computers or other ICT are considered property of St Patrick’s Catholic School, and are therefore accessible to St Patrick’s Catholic School management

Concerns and Complaints

●      All staff are encouraged to be open and honest in expressing their views, providing always that the dignity of individuals is safe-guarded

●      As per the Code of Conduct, staff are expected to raise concerns with the person involved first and then seek support as needed

●      All conflicts should be dealt with in-house and not shared with the wider community

●      Complaints about a staff member hurting or abusing a child are dealt with in the Child Protection Policy

Leave

●      If a staff member falls sick during the day they must alert the school administration in the office before they leave the school grounds

●      All staff must complete leave forms and follow the Leave Policy

Leaving School Grounds

●      If a staff member needs to leave the school grounds between 8.30am and 3.20pm, they must let an appropriate person know

Edpay

●      All employees are paid through the Ministry of Education’s Edpay system. All queries or problems are only handled through the Office Administrator. Staff are unable to make direct enquiries to Edpay.

Personnel Files

●      Personnel files for each staff member are held in the principal’s office in a locked cabinet

●      As per the Privacy Act, the contents of the file are available for viewing by the staff member concerned, the payroll manager and the principal only

Safety and Security

●      Staff members should take all reasonable precautions to protect school goods, property, equipment and furniture from theft, breakage or damage

●      No property of St Patrick’s Catholic School should be removed from the school grounds without consent of the principal

●      Teachers should secure their own classrooms at the end of the day as the cleaner will lock / unlock as they move around the school

●      Staff are discouraged from working on school grounds after hours. If staff do need to be here after hours, they should always lock themselves into their classrooms, lock doors behind them if they are moving around the school and park their car close to their classroom. No staff member should be alone on-site after dark.

●      Where a staff member is on-site after hours and visitors are noticed causing damage or disruption, it is best practice not to make any approaches, but rather to call the police or security firm

Smoking, Drugs and the Consumption of Alcohol

●      Employees must not bring alcohol onto school premises, consume alcohol at work or be at work under the influence of alcohol during their hours of employment or while present on the premises for any other reason

●      Exception to the rules around alcohol can be made for pre-arranged functions where the permission of management has been given prior

●      Illegal drugs are strictly prohibited from school property, as is being at work under the influence of illegal drugs

●      Smoking anywhere on the school grounds is illegal. Staff who smoke during their breaks must be at least 200m away from the school grounds

●      Employees must not vape on school grounds

Telephone Calls, Texting and Visitors

●      Personal telephone calls and texts should be made during a staff member’s break times except in cases of emergency

●      Personal visitors should sign in at Reception

Social Media

Staff may not post photos of their students on their personal Social Media accounts. 

When posting on personal Social Media accounts staff should keep in mind the Code of Professional Responsibility (Teaching Council of NZ) and in particular, 1.3 Demonstrating a high standard of professional behaviour and integrity.

APPENDIX C: CONFLICT OF INTEREST

In order to minimise the risk of conflicts of interest and uphold fairness, St Patrick’s School requests staff to be mindful at all times of perceived, actual or potential conflicts of interest resulting from close personal relationships in the workplace. These personal relationships could include, but are not limited to, a close personal friendship, close relative or family member, a relationship or past relationship. For any staff in this situation, you are able to confidentially disclose the personal relationship to the principal, or your team leader who will inform the principal, so that conflicts of interest are able to be appropriately managed, while ensuring personal privacy is protected.

Staff are able to use the school’s concerns and complaints process like all members of the school community, but have permission to report their complaint directly to the next step in the process if there is a perceived, actual or potential conflict of interest in their immediate reporting line. For example, if the staff member is concerned their team leader may have a conflict of interest in relation to the concern raised, they can take their complaint to either another team leader, or to the principal or deputy principal. As this conflict might not always be known, at all times the onus is on the staff member in the more senior role to take the right steps. The principal is ultimately responsible for the management of conflicts of interest among staff. All concerns about the principal are managed as per the concerns and complaints policy, through the board. 

Definitions:

Actual conflicts of interest: arise when there is a real conflict between an employee’s public duties and private interests. 

Potential conflicts of interest: arise when an employee has private interests that could conflict with their public duties. This refers to circumstances where it is foreseeable that a conflict may arise in future and steps should be taken now to mitigate that future risk. 

Perceived conflicts of interest: arise when community members/members of the public or a third party, form the view that an employee’s private interests could improperly influence their decisions or actions, now or in the future. 

Reviewed: 2 April 2025