Humanitarian Charter and Student Code of Conduct Appeals Procedure

As is stated in the Student Code of Conduct section of the Humanitarian Charter:

When dealing with any infringements under the Student Code of Conduct, the College recognizes:

• the right that the punishment be fair, reasonable, appropriate and consistent;
• the right of the student to understand any breach of standards;
• the right of the student to state the circumstances of his or her case;
• the right of the student to appear before and be heard by a Disciplinary Committee; and
• the right to appeal to the relevant Principal and/or College Director.

Infringements are issued at varying levels:

STAGE 1 Infringements ​​​- can be issued by any Class and/or Homeroom Teacher.

STAGE 2 Infringements: Category A ​- can be issued by any Class and/or Homeroom Teacher, Head of Department or Member of the College Executive.

STAGE 2 Infringements: Category B ​- can only be issued by a Member of the College Executive.

STAGE 2 Infringements: Category C​ – can only be issued by the Deputy Principal or Principal.

STAGE 3 Infringements -​ can only be issued by the Deputy Principal or Principal.

Appeal Procedure

In the case of Stage 1 Infringements – there is no allowance for Appeal on an incident- for-incident basis.

The monitoring of these Infringements is done by the Grade Controller and the relevant Head of Department.  Should either or both of these members of Staff feel that there is cause for concern about the number of Infringements issued by any one teacher for any particular Student, the Grade Controller or Head of Department can:

• investigate and determine if the fault lies with the Student or the particular Staff Member;
• provide additional disciplinary measures for the Student as prescribed in the Code of Conduct; or
• enter into discussion with the Staff Member and provide additional guidance in dealing with day to day disciplinary issues.

Should a Student feel that a particular Staff Member is issuing these Infringements regularly and without due cause, they can appeal to either their Grade Controller or the relevant Head of Department who will then:

• investigate and determine if the fault lies with the Student or the particular Staff Member;
• provide additional disciplinary measures for the Student as prescribed in the Code of Conduct; or
• enter into discussion with the Staff Member and provide additional guidance in dealing with day to day disciplinary issues.

In the case of Stage 2 Infringements: Category A

• These Infringements may not be issued by the Staff Member without the knowledge of the Student as to why they are being issued.  The Student has the right to – respectfully – discuss the issuing of these Infringements with the relevant Staff Member so as to fully understand the reason/s for their issuance.
• Should a Student feel that these Infringements are issued either unfairly, or that their case has not been heard by the Staff Member concerned the Student may request a meeting with the relevant Head of Department to state their case.
• The relevant Head of Department will make a judgement on the validity of the appeal and will either deny the right of the Student to appeal or call for a meeting with the Member of Staff and the Student concerned.  If a meeting is called the Staff Member will state his or her case after which the Student will be given an opportunity to respond.
• The relevant Head of Department will then make a final judgement on the validity of the Infringement.
• This judgement will be communicated to the Student at that time.

In the case of Stage 2 Infringements: Category B & C

Should any Disciplinary concerns arise that pertain to either of these Categories, a full investigation will take place in order to determine the facts of the case.  This investigation can include any and/or all of the following:

• Interviews of the suspected Student;
• Interviews of other involved Students;
• Interviews of witnesses – Student or Teacher or Parent;
• Confiscation of cell phones, tablets or other smart devices in order to extract evidence;
• Confiscation of any additional evidence; and
• Telephonic or face to face meetings with the Parents of the suspected Student/s.

These Infringements may not be issued by the Staff Member without the knowledge of the Student as to why they are being issued.  The Student has the right to – respectfully – discuss the issuing of these Infringements with the relevant Staff Member so as to fully understand the reason/s for their issuance.

Should a Student feel that these Infringements are issued either unfairly, or that their case has not been heard by the Staff Member concerned the Student may request a meeting with the relevant Head of Department to state their case.

The relevant Head of Department will make a judgement on the validity of the appeal and will either deny the right of the Student to appeal or call for a meeting with the Member of Staff and the Student concerned.  If a meeting is called the Staff Member will state his or her case after which the Student will be given an opportunity to respond.

The relevant Head of Department will then make a final judgement on the validity of the Infringement.

In the case of Stage 3 Infringements:

Should any disciplinary concerns arise that are considered to be Stage 3, a full investigation will take place in order to determine the facts of the case.  This investigation can include any and/or all of the following:

• Interviews of the suspected Student;
• Interviews of other involved Students;
• Interviews of witnesses – Student or Teacher or Parent;
• Confiscation of cell phones, tablets or other smart devices in order to extract evidence;
• Confiscation of any additional evidence; and
• Telephonic or face to face meetings with the Parents of the suspected Student/s.

If the Student is found to be guilty, he or she will be suspended for 3 Days.  On return, the Student and his/her Parents are required to attend a Disciplinary Hearing at which the following will be discussed:

• Full explanation from the Chair of the Disciplinary Committee – normally the Principal of the College – as to why he or she was suspended;
• Explanation from the Student as to why the Student infringed;
• Reasons from the Student as to why he or she should be permitted to return to the College;
• Input from the Parent is also permitted;
• Decision is taken by the Disciplinary Committee as to the way forward:
  • The Student may return to College;
  • The Student may return to College with additional support and remediation offered;
  • The decision is taken to cancel the Education Contract with the Parents of the Student.

Should the Parents disagree with the decision to cancel the Education Contract, they have the right of appeal to the Directors of the College:

• They should make this application in writing within 3 days of the decision being taken.
• The Directors will then convene a further Disciplinary Hearing at which the Student and his or her Parents will have opportunity to present their case.
• The Principal will also present the case on behalf of the College.
• The Directors will then make the final decision as to the outcome.