As I freelance dance teacher I teach for a number of different organisations, for the purpose of this task I have used just one of my places of work which is a Theatre Arts School, for children aged between 4-18.
Here are my own thoughts on the codes of practice that guide this setting:
- Respect and work in conjunction with the principal and other members of staff to achieve the aims and objectives set out each term.
- Arrive on time, dress and speak appropriately
- Treat all students equally.
- Motivate and encourage students to achieve their personal best
- Never leave your students unattended
- Suitable use of music, moves, games, tasks for age groups and abilities
- Be aware of all the health and safety risks, conduct classes in a safe manner, and be aware of fire regulations
- Be CRB checked, and keep up to date with own national insurance and tax contributions
- Report all incidents and accidents as soon as they occur
- Encourage the wearing of the theatre school uniform, make sure appropriate footwear is worn by students, hair tied back and jewellery removed
I then went on to read the ‘Code of Professional Conduct and Best Practice for Teaching’ for this organisation. I was pleased to find that everything I have written above was on there but there were also a number of other points that I would not have thought to include. Within the section on child protection it stated:
- not exchange mobile numbers or social networking site details with students
- not offer lifts to students without the prior consent from the principal or parent
These are things that I know not to do, (I often get requests from students on Facebook to become ‘friends’, but would never accept) but just take them for granted and so did not included them in my own code of ethics for the school
Having said this, I know that on at least one occasion a fellow colleague has given a lift to a couple of older students after Stagecoach as it was dark outside and pouring down with rain and they had to walk home and she was going the same way as them. I have never questioned it until now, and I know that she was only doing out of kindness as she didn’t want then getting soaked and was headed that way anyway. Was she in the wrong to do that? I guess she was judging the situation using her own code of ethics rather than that of the schools.
Other areas I had not covered:
Publicity
- a teacher should not under any circumstances, promote his or her services.
- a teacher should not publish, or cause to be published, any notice, newspaper, advertisement or any other matter likely to damage the reputation of the Theatre Arts School or any colleague.
Child Protection
- only touch a student when absolutely necessary in line with our child protection policy and with the student’s permission
When dancing we often work in partners and groups, and I may physically help a child find the correct placement of arms and so quite I often I do come into contact with the children. I had not included anything about this in my own thoughts on ethics at the school and is something I may need to think about to get the correct wording for in the future.
Confidentiality
A teacher should:
- behave in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.
- ensure that any confidential information obtained should not be used for personal advantage or be disclosed without the consent of the pupil or parent, except where there is a legal right or duty to disclose. A teacher should be aware of and abide by current data protection legislation
Reading this Code of Conduct has made me realize how detailed a code of practice needs to be, it needs to cover everything no matter how small or obvious. Some of the areas it covers I would not of even thought to include, for example about the Data Protection Act 1998, as I myself do not know enough about it to include it in my own set of ethics. I need to do some further research into data protection, child protection and publicity to have a fuller understanding of these ethical areas.
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