BOARDING PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE


INTRODUCTION


The purpose of the Boarding section of Bosworth Independent College is to provide a situation, which, in the context and with the necessary constraints posed by any boarding accommodation, reflects what would be considered a typical home environment.

With this in mind, the College has developed a number of objectives.

These are that the College will strive to provide:

  • For the safety and security of the students at all times.
  • For a varied, nourishing attractive and healthy diet.
  • For access to a varied and attractive range of social and sporting opportunities.
  • A clean and attractive environment in which to live.
  • Sufficient opportunity for students to enjoy privacy when they need it.
  • Sufficient opportunity for students to study quietly when necessary.
  • Sufficient opportunity for students to discuss, privately and confidentially any concerns or problems they may have.

The pursuit of these objectives and the Boarding raison d’etre is governed by a number of underlying principles. Namely that:

  • The College is in loco parentis and that all of its actions should reflect what would normally be expected from a reasonable, sensitive and well informed parent.
  • The boarding environment is a close knit community and decisions about its organisation and structure should be made with this in mind.
  • The boarding and academic life of a student are inextricably linked, and communication between the responsible staff in these areas should reflect this.
  • While the rights of the student would normally be paramount, the rights of the boarding community might, on occasion, take precedence.
  • All procedures, actions and decisions within boarding will comply with overall policies which govern the College.

BOSWORTH BOARDING AND ITS PRACTICE


  1. Generally, Bosworth Independent College accommodates both male and female students between the ages of 14 and 21 with a significant majority being between 16 and 19.
  2. The number of boarding students is approximately 250.
  3. There is a full-time Head of Boarding and a part-time Assistant to the Head of Boarding. Our residential students are accommodated in Male Hostels, Female Hostels, Independent Houses and host families. Independent houses are for older and more mature students (over 17) with parental permission. All residential students are supervised to different degrees: hostels are supervised in the evening and warden controlled at night. Whilst all independent houses are not warden-controlled, they are checked regularly by Boarding staff.
  4. Cleaning: all students’ accommodation is cleaned daily and the bed linen washed weekly. Washing: The College has a launderette and students can purchase tokens for the washing powder at lunchtimes. Host families also do student laundry by agreement. Catering: all meals are provided at the St George’s Avenue Centre which has a large catering area. In addition, there are limited kitchen facilities at the hostels and at Independent Houses if students wish to prepare meals themselves. Students also have access to the kitchen in host families.
  5. As the provider of education and pastoral support to students from a wide variety of different cultural backgrounds, Bosworth Independent College commits itself to a policy of equal opportunities. With regard to religious observance, the College treats sympathetically requests for time away from studies on the occasions of religious festivals (e.g. Diwali, Ramadan, Chinese New Year, Christmas) or as part of a daily/weekly pattern of worship (e.g. allowing Muslim students to go to the Mosque on Fridays). Any religious or cultural needs, which have an impact on accommodation or diet, are catered for.
  6. Students can contact parents, relatives and friends in a variety of ways. Telephone: the College has telephones on all College sites. At the teaching facility and in hostels there are student telephones, which take phone cards. These cards can be purchased at lunchtimes. All independent houses have payphones and host families allow students to make telephone calls if necessary. In urgent cases, students can use office telephones to make calls. FAX: Nazareth House, Queens Building and St George’s Avenue have fax machines which students have access to during the day and in the evening. Email: Nazareth House, Queens Building, St. Georges and all hostels have a computer network which students have access to in order to send or receive e-mail. Each student has their own personal e-mail address at the College.
  7. On arrival, students receive a welcome pack with all necessary information on all aspects of College life including boarding. Students are briefed by the Head of Boarding who will go through the accommodation rules and answer any initial queries. They are shown personally to their accommodation and given a tour of the building. The copies of accommodation rules and other useful information for boarders are posted in all College accommodation. Students are then seen again in the first few weeks to check that they have settled in and to deal with any problems or issues which have arisen in the intervening period.
  8. The College has a policy statement on Equal Opportunities and Discrimination (which can be obtained upon request).
  9. No students under 18 years old of age are allowed to smoke on College premises. Smoking for those over 18 years of age is only allowed to the rear of St. George’s and Queens Building. Alcohol is not permitted on College premises without the permission of the Principal or Vice Principal. Any student found in possession or proved to be under the influence of an illegal substance will be expelled.
  10. Students who are ill, are initially checked by a member of staff. If required, an appointment is made with the College Doctor (there is a choice of male or female GP’s). If necessary, students are accompanied by a member of staff. Sick students are subsequently checked regularly.
  11. The College has a Child Protection Policy and a policy on response to allegations of child abuse (which can be obtained upon request).
  12. The College has a Complaints procedure for use by pupils and Staff ((which can be obtained upon request).
  13. The College has a policy on discipline, punishments or sanctions (which can be obtained upon request).
  14. The College has policy and practice to prevent and counter bullying ((which can be obtained upon request).
  15. The Sports and Social organiser arranges a variety of activities and trips.
  16. The presumption is that Exeats will be approved. They must be agreed by the Head of Boarding and Vice Principal after receiving parental permission. Approval will not be given if there has been a boarding disciplinary issue or if there is evidence of lack of effort in terms of academic work. A 10 pm curfew is in place for residential students under 16; all other host family and hostel students should return by 11 pm.
  17. A Staff list is available upon request.
  18. The Boarding Office is open during office hours if students have requests, queries or problems regarding any aspect of boarding life. Evening and weekend supervisors and wardens will deal with any problems outside office hours and boarding staff are contactable 24 hours a day if necessary.

For other procedures and information provided to students, please contact the Head of Boarding.