In the previous task I talked about the ethical considerations I believe have to be taken into account when teaching dance in primary or secondary school’s. However I didn’t think about the ethics/ codes of practice that I have to consider as a professional when the company are sending me out for different jobs in schools.
I have to be aware of ethics given to me by the company I work for but also the ethical considerations in the different school’s I teach in.
The codes of practice/ regulations that apply to me by the company in my place of work are:
- Personal representation and personal health and safety:
Correct uniform – Black leggings/trousers (no jeans, shorts, short skirts), appropriate sensible shoes, minimal jewellery, ID badge worn in all classes.
- Register:
A register should be taken at the beginning of every lesson on Simms system or paper copy. (No register needed for school time project work)
- Emergency procedure:
In case of emergency with a pupil i.e. being unruly or displaying behaviours that are a risk to others. You should contact on call member of staff though the Simms system. If the school has no Simms system you should make a member of staff aware of the situation as soon as possible.
- Managing behaviour:
It is extremely important for the pupils to know how you expect them to behave, therefore on initial meeting with each class, set clear rules and reinforce these rules at the beginning of class or when necessary.
- Planning lessons:
Planning ahead is essential for each session and schemes of work must be followed in all classes. Aims and Objectives of each lesson must be clearly displayed on board in secondary schools and or verbally in primary schools. Pupils must be made aware of these aims and objectives at the beginning of each lesson.
I understand that a service level agreement is a contract of what the company expects from me, but I feel it relates to ethics and codes of practice for myself whilst working for the company.
Here is a service level agreement that was given to me before I started to work for the company:
SERVICE STANDARDS
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The above coach Miss M Cannon will deliver dance instruction to age groups listed above.
Proof of CRB check to be provided in relation to any of the above work if requested.
Will have regard to its responsibilities under Equal Opportunities, Race Relations, Human Rights legislation.
All necessary insurance’s including the appropriate public liability and indemnity insurance will be in place and provided by Kicking Free for the duration of any work carried out on behalf of Kicking Free.
Measures will be in place to ensure that the rights of the individuals taking part in activities are
Recognized and confidentiality and other factor relating to the individual are respected.
'The Class Constitution' to promote good work habit and gain the best work possible for our students
Be punctual. Arrive at each job 10mins before to set up e.g. CD player and check safety issues e.g. room is safe to use.
Dress code. Kicking free staff uniform and badge must be worn for all work given.
Be prepared. Always be prepared with lesson plan that is appropriate to age and understanding
Never leave pupils unsupervised.
Behaviour Management and Health and Safety
Confidentiality and Contact details .It is not permitted to discuss any of Kicking free’s business with third party. Pupils contact details must be kept locked in filing cabernet and remain confidential at all times.
Accident or injury. Follow correct first aid procedure, log down incident, and inform other member of staff in the school, parents and Kicking Free management immediately.
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The points I discussed in task 4a are similar to what is stated in my service level agreement. For example; risk assessment in a dance studio is an obvious consideration, making sure the studio is safe for practice. However one important point I didn’t think of or discuss in the previous task was: Accident or injury – Follow correct first aid procedure, log down incident, and inform another member of staff in the school, parents and kicking free management immediately. This is very important particularly in a dance class setting were injury is more prone to happen.
‘Any code of professional ethics for teachers should be valid for all teachers regardless of their position in the hierarchy of the organisation, the school or education service. It may be, however, that certain aspects will apply to head teachers or heads of department more than others because of the nature of the responsibilities they carry and their management function within the school’
I found this quote on http://www.teachers.org.uk/files/active/0/NUT-Code-of-Professional-Ethics.pdf whilst I was researching ethics in a school setting. I very much agree with this and I also believe ethics apply to a school and teachers as a whole but they can slightly change within different subjects. Taking my subject dance for an example; dance is a very ‘hands on approach’ way of working and requires a lot more contact than academic subjects so the ethics of this subject may slightly change to say the ethics of an English class. I believe a form of non-sexual, personal physical contact between teacher and student is important for purpose of growth, correction or improvement.
I talked about respect being an ethical consideration and believe it is an important code of practice within a school.
Respecting the teacher and other classmates
- It is as important for a teacher to respect the student as much as it is for the student to respect the teacher. The teacher has to be a model of respect; if you want a child to do it then you have to do it.
- Reminding children of their good decisions so they remember how it felt is reinforcing the experience of being respectful.
- Encouraging students to treat others as they would like to be treated creates a respectful environment
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Explaining the rules to the children and the importance of listening and watching others helps promote respect. For example if a child is dancing across the space, the other dancers should show respect by watching and being quiet until it is their turn. Not only are the learning respect but they are learning to observe other dancers and hopefully learn from them.
Above are my views on respecting the teacher and other classmates which I stated in my previous task. Below is a statement I found on the teachers.org site about respect and what a teacher should not do.
‘The growth of a friendly relationship between teacher and pupil which is based on mutual respect and recognition of the role that each plays in the learning situation is desirable. It is, however, an abuse of this professional relationship for a teacher to:
- Enter into an improper association with a student.
- Show undue personal favour or disfavour towards a pupil.
- Commit such acts against a child which are illegal.
- Endeavour to exert an undue influence with regard to personal attitudes, opinions or behaviour which is in no way connected with the work of the school.
This to me outlines the importance of a teacher respecting a student as much as a student should respect the teacher.
Looking at other people’s blogs on ethics in their workplace I found a few interesting sites that they had posted links to. Chiara Vainella had posted a link to the institute for learning and their codes of practice. IFL’s site states 6 main obvious codes of practice:
-Integrity
-Respect
-Care
-Practice
-Disclosure
-Responsibility
To me these 6 codes of practice are obvious within the workplace and I believe I have developed an understanding of these through my past experience of working part time and training at a professional dance college. However in the last 6 months of teaching I have gained a lot more knowledge on the different ethics that apply to different professions and how I should apply them to my workplace.
Another site I took interest in was the RAD – Royal Academy of Dance. www.rad.org.uk/.../code-of-prof-practice-for-teachers-en-web.pdf
From a child to growing up I took many RAD exams and the teachers I was taught by gave me everything I needed to achieve the results I wanted. Taking a look at the RAD’s codes of practice and ethics gave me an insight to what should be expected of professional teachers:
‘Teachers will make students learning their primary objective and are as such accountable for achieving the highest possible standards in their teaching, work and conduct’
I have picked out some important points in bold below which I feel are a great guideline to teaching. However the site goes into a lot more detail on ethics and codes of practice which are very useful for teachers. It talks about the:
1) Expected values and behaviour
2) Personal and professional conduct
3) Unacceptable professional conduct and miss conduct
4) Breaches of the code of professional practice
5) Disciplinary procedure
- Act with honesty and integrity
- Have secure subject knowledge
- Keep their knowledge and skills as teachers up to date
- Engage in self-evaluation
- Forge positive professional relationships, and
- Work with parents and guardians in the best interests of their students
Teachers must:
Set expectations that inspire, challenge and motivate students.
Understand that dance teaching is a holistic practice that engages both students and teachers in a complex interaction of mind and body.
Demonstrate comprehensive subject and syllabus/curriculum knowledge.
Plan and teach well- structured lessons.
Adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of individual students.
Manage behaviour effectively to ensure a positive and safe learning environment.
‘Adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of individual students’. This particularly stands out to me as it links to my most recent literature review about how important it is for teachers to have different strategies to help with the continuous growth and improvement of children in the dance class and the importance of a teacher recognising the variation in the way a child learns.
The RAD site has been great to gain deeper knowledge on the ethics/codes of practice a dance teacher in specific should adhere to.
In the previous task I talked more about ethics I feel I should consider in my place of work (school).
What I have discovered in this task is the importance of respecting my organisational/company ethics and the responsibility I have to my employer which I have shown above in my service level agreement.
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