Overview

After many years of experience in operating both schools and hostels, we have identified the following Rules that are necessary to keep order and discipline in any school:

Non-Negotiable Rules
Rules related to the Christian Value-Base of our Private Schools
Rules related to General Discipline
Rules related to Financial Commitment made

Rules related to General Discipline may be amended, depending on the location of the specific Private School. These rules can be reviewed from time to time, on request by the learners or parents. When a new school is established, Draft Rules related to General Discipline will be drafted (Draft 1) by the School Management Board and presented to the Learner Representative Council to make suggested amendments (Draft 2). The Learner Leadership Council will then consider the proposed amendments and submit a third draft (Draft 3) to the Parent Representative Body. The Parent Representative Body will then consider this draft and make a final recommendation to the School Management Board (Draft 4). The School Management Board will either accept this draft, or – if there are pertinent reasons why a particular recommendation cannot be accepted – raise these concerns with the Parent Representative Body. If the Parent Representative Body is in agreement, the Final Draft will be amended and accepted. Because implementation of the Rules related to General Discipline rests with the School Management Board, the overall Board of the School will have veto rights on any amendments, because of its role as the employer of the Educators serving on the School Management Board. Only rules that can be effectively enforced by the School Management Board and the Educators can be accepted by the Board of the School.

Our Six Non-Negotiable Rules

After many years of experience in operating both schools and hostels, we have identified Five Non-Negotiable Rules that are necessary to keep order and discipline in any school. All parents or guardians and learners have to sign a Commitment Letter that they have read, understood and agree to honouring these rules. If a learner breaks one of these rules, he or she will be placed in disciplinary suspension and after a disciplinary hearing has been conducted, in the presence of the parents or guardians (or if the parent or guardian refuses to attend such a disciplinary hearing) may be expelled from the school, while parents remain responsible for the school fees for the full academic year.

From experience we know that we rarely have to actually suspend any learner, because the large majority of learners whose parents or guardians would register them at a school that has a Christian, biblical foundation, actually are very happy, even grateful, that they are finally in an environment where they don’t have to constantly be pressurised by their peers to use drugs, prove their ‘courage’ by vandalising, breaking or stealing something, or to be coerced to engage in sexual activity. Instead, they appreciate that the learning environment created was geared towards each learner being able to focus on learning and developing their individual God-given potential.

In the cases, where disciplinary action was necessary, generally there was a problematic family situation – either the learner was an orphan, or the victim of divorce, or being sent away from home to boarding school, because either parent had a new life-partner, which had caused conflict at home. Most of the time, we would give such a learner a warning, and offer counselling and an understanding ear and prayer, to help that learner to feel loved and cared for, and to deal with their frustration or sense of isolation, and see a positive behaviour change.

But sadly, sometimes we realised that the only way a learner was going to learn that bad actions have bad consequences, is by expelling the learner. Over the years there have always been expelled learners or their parents reaching out to say THANK YOU for doing so, because having to leave the school caused them to seriously consider their behaviour and to subsequently course-correct.

Based on all the experience we have, our Admission Process and Registration Process is aimed at gathering information about the family situation of each learner, not to judge, but to know if a learner may be vulnerable in any way and to proactively offer support and counselling, to prevent the need to ‘act up’, which is generally a cry for help.

It is our wish that our Six Non-Negotiable Rules give assurance to all our learners and parents or guardians, that our Private Schools are safe and supportive learning environments. These Rules are not there to steal anyone’s ‘joy’ or to cause an anxiety-filled environment: they are intended to create six ‘walls’ established for safety of all the people in our school environment. We want to create an enjoyable learning space, where the focus is on good, clean FUN, while learning, knowing that you as a learner will be treated with respect and feel WELCOME!

1. Respect your neighbour

Disrespectful behaviour towards an Educator or fellow learners or anyone on campus or anyone learners interact with during school events or outings will never be tolerated. This includes any form of bullying, harming or violence, whether physical, mental or emotional, including on any form of social media or using digital technology. If a learner has a negative experience with an Educator, other employee of the school or a fellow learner, he or she must report this to their responsible Class Representative (or ask a friend to do so!), who will report this to the responsible Learner Leader. The Learner Leader must report this issue to the relevant member of the School Management Team, or if the Educator in question is the responsible member of the School Management Team, the Learner Leader must report this issue to the Chairperson of the School Management Team, who will not be an Educator, but one of the Advisory Board Members of the school. A learner’s concern with an Educator will ALWAYS be taken VERY SERIOUSLY and an investigation will be made to understand the reasonableness of the concern raised. All efforts will be made to enable the Educator involved to address the concern in a manner that is appropriate and acceptable to the learner, or if the learner’s issue is found to be unreasonable, with the learner’s parents.

2. Guard your tongue

Cursing or foul or ugly or aggressive language, including racial or gender-based slurs, or shouting in anger or frustration by any learner is not tolerated. We aim to develop leadership skills based on biblical values, and want to help all learners to learn effective conflict and stress management techniques. Also, we will explain to learners the power of the tongue, as explained in the Bible, and the importance of words spoken or thought. A key reason for establishing our Private Schools is to share SI – Spiritual Intelligence, and the way we use words to shape our reality is an important part of this knowledge.

3. Do not use addictive substances

No addictive substances, except sugar (!), are allowed on campus. This includes smoking any substance, including vaping, any alcohol and any chemical drugs, whether legally prescribed, declared legal by the State or declared illegal. This includes, for instance, the use of marijuana (dagga), anti-depressants (we will assist learners to overcome depression in a natural and spiritually-founded manner), and cocaine or any new form of drug mixed on the street. We consider sugar a highly addictive substance and will ask Learner Leaders to guard the school entrance when learners arrive, to enable them to hand over any sugary drinks and sweets for safekeeping, if we become aware learners bring them to the school. Sugar spikes insulin levels and affects our ability to focus. It may also cause highly disruptive behaviour in class. Such sugary products will be returned to the relevant learner on departure from the school grounds. All learners and parents or guardians have to sign a Permission Letter to enable the School Management Team or the local Police Services or other suitably accredited service providers to conduct unannounced searches from time to time on the campus to help learners to keep this rule.

4. Do not engage in any form of sexual or sexualised activity

One of our foundational values is respect for the institution of marriage. This includes helping all learners to learn how to manage their sexuality in a healthy manner and to abstain from engaging in sexual acts outside of marriage, as a matter of spiritual principle. We are living in a time where media and marketing are sexualising every aspect of life and we believe that this is leading to unhealthy sexual behaviour, that is damaging to our society. We wish to create a safe environment for all our learners, where they are not placed under any pressure to engage in sexual activity outside of marriage. If we become aware that a learner has been subject to sexual abuse or is caught in sexual sin, we will offer counselling and guidance, with the aim to enable healing and restoration. Viewing and sharing images that are sexually explicit, listening to music that promotes engaging in sex outside of marriage and any form of inappropriate touching or sexual stimulation, either by the learner him or herself or involving a fellow learner or anyone else on the school campus, or – if there is clear evidence thereof – off-campus, are all included in this rule.

5. Do not damage, vandalise or steal any property

Theft, wilful damage and vandalisation of any school property, or the property of any learner, Educator, other staff member or anyone else or any place, with whom or which the learner engages in the course of the School Day, is grounds for immediate disciplinary action, almost always leading to expulsion from the school.

Our experience has been that learners who engage in this kind of behaviour have serious psychological challenges and will need more intensive care and counselling than our Private Schools are geared to offer.

We can only offer our services to learners of parents or guardians who have already taught their children over the age of twelve (12) years the basics of civil behaviour and ethics.

We will give all primary school learners up to the age of twelve (12) years an opportunity to correct their behaviour, if they are found to engage in habits or behaviour that involves damaging, vandalising or stealing (which includes lying), but only if we have the full cooperation of the parents or guardians. Such parents or guardians will be expected to take part in parenting classes, based on Biblical teaching, so that they may also develop the ability to guide and correct their children in a loving, caring and constructive manner.

6. Do not leave the school campus or supervised off-campus group activity without written permission

The School Management Team and Educators can only take responsibility to care for and protect learners who willingly submit to such care and protection. We cannot take responsibility for learners who leave the school campus or disappear from supervision during off-campus school activities and events.

We consider every individual under the age of 18 (eighteen) years old as a child, who needs adult supervision, because the world out there is not a safe place! Learners who wilfully leave our care and supervision cannot be part of our Private School system: in doing so, they have automatically removed themselves from the institution. This will be explained to all new learners and their parents and no disciplinary process will be granted to correct learner behaviour. A learner who cannot understand that it is their safety that we are concerned about through this rule, needs to be placed back in the care of their parent or immediate family, until he or she has understood that ‘skipping school’ is not a fun activity, but creates an opportunity for personal endangerment and extreme reputational damage to the institution.

Our Private Schools are not ‘Reformatories’, but spaces of voluntary learning and personal development, with the aim to achieve MASTERY, EXCELLENCE and a PURPOSEFUL Life.

Rules related to the Christian value-base of our Private Schools

These rules are aimed at helping all parents, guardians and learners to understand what is expected of them as members of our Private School community.

Learners are expected to:

Accept that the Biblical worldview explained may be different to their own worldview. They are welcome to ask questions to better understand the Biblical worldview, but not spend time presenting their own worldview or trying to convince educators, or other learners, of their own worldview, unless asked to do so.
Attend and be respectful of our daily Morning Opening and Afternoon Closing Devotions and Prayers.
Listen and learn when any spiritual information is shared.
Actively participate in all classwork and curriculum work, even when such subject matter involves learning about the Biblical perspective on the subject. (They don’t have to agree with the Biblical perspective, only understand and be able to explain what this perspective is).
Attend church-based activities, generally choir or music performances, when such activities are arranged by the school and conduct themselves in a respectful manner while on the premises of the church.
Parents and Guardians participating in School events and activities are also required to be respectful of Christian discussions, devotions, prayers and sermons.

Rules related to General Discipline

These rules are based on standard school rules and will be presented as a “Draft” to the Learners’ Representative Body, the Learners’ Leadership Committee and the Parents’ Representative Body for input and finalisation by the School Advisory Body.

Rules related to financial commitment made

These are the Terms & Conditions of your contract with the Christian Business College, which will be presented to you as part of the Registration process.

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