School Policies & Guiding Statements

Our Guiding Statements

A learning community that cares about all of it stakeholders but puts the interests of children front and centre.
A learning community that develops resilient and self-confident learners.
A learning community that is enriched by, and celebrates, its international-mindedness.
A learning community that nurtures intellectual curiosity in its learners.
A learning community that encourages students and teachers alike to be reflective critical thinkers.
A learning community that values breadth of knowledge as well as depth of understanding.
A learning community that consciously sets out to develop the whole person, not just the learner.
A learning community that cultivates highly effective communicators
A learning community that fosters students who are creative, critical and analytical thinkers.
A learning community that promotes values, PRINCIPLES and behaviours that ensure students become valuable members of, and leaders for, “tomorrow’s world”.

Placement Policy

A. All parents/students must read and accept KISU’s Behaviour Policy. KISU does not accept students with a history of drug, alcohol or weapon possession, or abuse. KISU does not accept students who have been expelled from their previous school for serious behavioral issues (including physical violence and bullying). KISU reserves the right to refuse admission to any applicant, at its sole discretion.

B. KISU only admits students with minor/mild Learning Support Needs. Any additional support will be at the expense of the parents or sponsor.

Enrolment Policy

1. Primary (Ages2 – 11years)

· Admission is non-selective, placing new students by age, according to the English National Curriculum (ENC) guidelines as set out annually by KISU in its document – “Entry Ages by Class for the Academic Year”.

· The above guidelines will be strictly followed, except in the following circumstances:

· Students with birthdays in August can be placed one class lower than age-group at recommendation of KISU, or at the request of parents.

· Students with birthdays in September can be placed up one class higher than age-group at the recommendation of KISU, or at the request of parents.

2. Secondary (Ages11 – 18years)

Students coming from International Schools using the ENC, US, PYP, MYP or other internationally recognized curriculum will be placed according to previous level or class – providing this does not place a student more than one year above or below their normal cohort.
Students coming from local educational systems aged 11 years or above on the date of entry will be tested for placement. This testing will be carried out immediately prior to entry and is for the purposes of placement into the most appropriate year-group, taking academics, maturity and previous education into account. These placement tests are not intended to be used for selection into the most appropriate English or French class, but may be used to define the appropriate Maths set.
Secondary-aged students testing 2 years or more above or below their expected level may not be accepted for entry into KISU, if it is felt that this placement would be inappropriate for social or other considerations. For example, a 14 year old will not be eligible for entry into Year 7, and likewise, a 13 year o l d will not be accepted into Year 12 – even if they have achieved the appropriate academic level. Acceptance and placement in such cases is at the sole discretion of the School Administrator, in consultation with appropriate senior staff members.
Students coming from local educational systems aged 11 years or above on the date of entry will be tested for placement. This testing will be carried out immediately prior to entry and is for the purposes of placement into the most appropriate year-group, taking academics, maturity and previous education into account. These placement tests are not intended to be used for selection into the most appropriate English or French class, but may be used to define the appropriate Maths set.
Secondary-aged students testing 2 years or more above or below their expected level may not be accepted for entry into KISU, if it is felt that this placement would be inappropriate for social or other considerations. For example, a 14-year-old will not be eligible for entry into Year 7, and likewise, a 13 year old will not be accepted into Year 12 – even if they have achieved the appropriate academic level. Acceptance and placement in such cases is at the sole discretion of the School Administrator, in consultation with appropriate senior staff members.
New students may not be accepted into Years 11 or 13, unless they have previously studied the same courses as offered at KISU, and have the appropriate course-work completed to allow them to meet the expectations of their course (IGCSE or IB)

School Admissions Policy, Process and Procedure

1. Introduction & Rationale

This Admissions Policy is established so that it is consistent with the mission and vision of the school and responsive to the needs of the community, within the framework of educational effectiveness and available resources.

KISU Vision and Mission
Vision: Educating today’s children for tomorrow’s world
Mission:To be a warm, vibrant, inclusive, internationally-minded and forward-looking learning community developing young people who are enthusiastic, resilient and reflective lifelong learners and who have the skills, values and personal qualities to allow them to flourish in, and become leaders of conscience for, tomorrow’s world.

Prior to being considered for admission, students must submit a complete application including all documents as outlined in the Application Procedure. Incomplete applications cannot be processed and will be discarded after 30 days.

Decisions are based on a careful examination of each student’s ability to achieve success in an atmosphere of high expectations and within the context of an English language-learning environment. In making this assessment, KISU will evaluate each candidate’s academic proficiency, demonstrated academic achievement in other subjects and developmental and social/behavioural history. This also includes face-to-face or online interview, or interaction with the student depending on age, as well as some assessment in English and Math. Parents will also be interviewed to be made aware of and support the school’s mission and vision, programmes and policies.

To ensure an educational programme suitable for all KISU students, students are placed in grade levels after due consideration of the grade level at their previous school, age, emotional, developmental and physical maturity, and academic level. However, parents should note that the most important factor when placing a student in a particular grade, especially in Primary School is age and social and emotional intelligence. Please see the table below.

Age of admission to Specific Years
Kindergarten 1		2 Years in the period 1st September to the 31st August
Kindergarten 2		2 years turns 3 years in the period 1st September to the 31st August
Kindergarten 3		3 years turns 4 years in the period 1st September to the 31st August
Reception		4 years turns 5 years in the period 1st September to the 31st August
Year 1		5 years turns 6 years in the period 1st September to the 31st August
Year 2		6 years turns 7 years in the period 1st September to the 31st August
Year 3		7 years turns 8 years in the period 1st September to the 31st August
Year 4		8 years turns 9 years in the period 1st September to the 31st August
Year 5		9 years turns 10 years in the period 1st September to the 31st August
Year 6		10 years turns 11 years in the period 1st September to the 31st August
Year 7		11 years turns 12 years in the period 1st September to the 31st August
Year 8		12 years turns 13 years in the period 1st September to the 31st August
Year 9		13 years turns 14 years in the period 1st September to the 31st August
Year 10		14 years turns 15 years in the period 1st September to the 31st August
Year 11		15 years turns 16 years in the period 1st September to the 31st August
DP1		16 years turns 17 years in the period 1st September to the 31st August
DP2		17 years turns 18 years in the period 1st September to the 31st August.

2. Sen Policy

KISU aims to be an inclusive school and providing a particular learning difficulty can be catered for and the child effectively supported, then students with Special Educational Needs are welcomed. Each individual situation is discussed with the Learning Support Coordinator and other relevant staff. Former school records and test results will be required to give details of any previous learning support or clinical assessment. The Learning Support Coordinator will conduct diagnostic testing, further observations and/ or interviews, and consult with the relevant staff and parents. Parents will be consulted if further external testing is considered appropriate.

There may be some students whose academic and/or social needs are beyond the provision of the school. In such cases students will not be admitted, or only allowed to continue under clearly defined conditions, which will be subject to regular review and a continuing dialogue between school and parents will be maintained. The final decision regarding placement rests with the School Director.

3. Eal Programme

Many local and international prospective students may enter the school with English as an Additional language (EAL). In these cases, students will be assessed on their English language proficiency and potential to learn. Students will be admitted on a case by case basis and depending on ability will receive in class support or be withdrawn from certain lessons in the curriculum for additional help. If the school does not have sufficient personnel to support the student or be able to provide a viable educational programme, then this will be communicated to the parents and admission will not proceed.

4. Application Status Overview

Step 1: Parents ask for an application pack, complete and return all required documents.
Step 2: Admissions team contact the family and invites them in for a tour, interview and student interactions or assessments. Additionally IGCSE or IB options grades 10-12.
Step 3: Admissions informs the family of the decision. Please see below.

5. Admission Status

The Admission manager will inform parents of one of the following admission decisions via email or phone call, according to the admission result form signed by the related school divisions.

Final admission decision is made by the Director;

Accepted: If a student has qualified and if space allows, the student will be placed in the appropriate grade level.

Accepted conditionally: In some cases a student may be accepted conditionally based on ability and/or learning needs. In these cases students will receive ongoing monitoring throughout the year and if they are able to cope with the academic programme and the school is able to offer support they are promoted to the next grade level. Students who do not meet the requirements may be asked to repeat a year, or enrolment in the school may be revoked.

Waiting list – If an applicant meets KISU admission requirements but is applying for enrolment in a grade level that is full, that applicant will be placed on the waiting list for his/her class. If there is more than one applicant on the waiting list then the priority goes to the application that was completed first. If a seat is not found for the applicant within that academic year, parents may apply for the following academic year by contacting the admissions office by the beginning of May. Applications will not automatically roll over to the following academic year.

Decline – The applicant does not meet KISU eligibility and requirements for admission at this time. The decision is based on one or more of the before-mentioned criteria.

6. Nursery and Foundation Stage Interactions

When there are applicants for a Grade level, the admissions team will contact the Head of Early years, who will organize when these interactions can take place, or it may happen on a one-to-one basis depending on period of admission. If there is one or few applications the interactions can take place in the grade level classroom of the child. Activities and play equipment should be set up specifically for the interactions, so that the child can be observed playing and interacting with other children when possible. The equipment made available to the children at this time may include for example:

Threading activities
Cars
Kitchen set
Drawing equipment

Foundation stage teachers and assistants should be available for these interactions. Staff should interact with the children to determine the child’s ability in language and their social interaction with other children and adults. Should a member of the team also recognize or suspect learning needs, the SEN coordinator will be invited to attend.

At a time when the children are settled, parents will be taken to an adjoining classroom with the Head of Early years to talk briefly about the school, the curriculum and answer any questions the parents may have.

Should an interaction need to be carried out on a one-to-one basis, this will happen with parents and child. The experience should not be threatening in any way and the child’s age will always be taken into consideration when doing the interaction. Parents should be present at this time.

7. Primary - Secondary Tests and Interviews

All students wishing to join KISU Primary School (Years 1-5) will have face-to-face assessments/interview/interaction with the head teacher or designee. In Secondary School students will take admission tests in English and Math for grades 6-12. Should these be successful, the student and/or family will be invited for a face to face interview with a designated member of staff (or during the assessments) where a general understanding of the student’s needs and wishes can be discussed. If at the interview stage, or after testing, a learning support need is recognized or suspected, the SEN coordinator will be asked for input. As with all admissions into KISU, previous school reports and the results of the KISU entrance test / assessment results will be taken into consideration when recommending acceptance into the school.

Should the entrance test results prove to be below the required standard a decision not to offer a place can be made without the interview stage.

8. IGCSE and IB Diploma Subject Choices

Students entering the school in grades 10-12 will need to choose their options from the choices available. This will be done with the respective coordinators or the Director after discussion with the students. Any changes to the choices will need to be made within a month and with the permission of the coordinators. The IGCSE and IBDP options booklets explain the options in more detail.

9. KISU Home/School Learning Agreement

As part of the admissions process, once admissions has been agreed all parties will commit to signing the home-school agreement as below:

The KISU learning community is a warm, vibrant, inclusive, internationally-minded and forward-looking learning community developing young people, via the KISU guiding statements, who are enthusiastic, resilient and reflective lifelong learners and who have the skills, values and personal qualities to allow them to flourish in, and become leaders of conscience for, tomorrow’s world.

As a student in the KISU learning community, I agree to:

Arrive on time for all lessons, with the right equipment.
Follow my teachers’ instructions.
Listen and show respect to everyone.
Comply with the KISU Academic Honesty policy.
Work at developing all aspects of the IB Learner Profile.
Focus on my work and allow others to learn.
Always work to the best of my ability.
Complete my work by the deadlines set.
Be respectful of the school environment.

As parents/guardians of KISU students, we agree to:

Encourage my/our child’s regular, punctual attendance with proper equipment.
Encourage my/our child’s learning through homework and other activities.
Provide appropriate resources at home to enable effective learning.
Make myself aware of the school’s academic and procedural polices and comply with them.
Work at developing all aspects of the IB Learner Profile.
Attend parents’ evenings and information evenings concerning my/our child’s progress.
Get to know and take interest in my/our child’s life at school.
Make sure that school is aware of any concerns that might affect my/our child’s progress.
Support the school’s behaviour and uniform policies.

As Teachers in the KISU learning community we agree to:

Plan and deliver, over an appropriate period, the curriculum in an engaging manner.
Create a safe, supportive, positive and effective environment for learning.
Act as a role model for students by being open, honest, punctual and prepared.
Have positive and respectful relationships with all members of the school community.
Provide opportunities for students to demonstrate all aspects of the IB Learner Profile.
Encourage and motivate students to do the very best they can.
Provide appropriate and timely feedback to students, parents and HoDs to enhance learning.
Apply school policies consistently and fairly.
Always work to the best of my ability and stay up to date with current best practice
Complete my work by the deadlines set.
Be respectful of the school environment.