Ethics

After a couple of attempts of scrambling through drawers and cupboards I have finally located my Staff handbook. The staff handbook is given to all staff at my work and is designed to provide information including staff roles, facilities, college rules and policies.

The Role of Teacher
It is important that the teacher establishes an environment where students can develop their full potential. In order to do this the students need to be given an environment that allows them to feel safe and supported, in order for my inquiry to work it is vital that my student feel comfortable to discuss the opinions.

Code of Conduct
A code of conduct is intended to be a central guide and reference for users in support of day-to-day decision making. It is meant to clarify an organization's mission, values and principles, linking them with standards of professional conduct. It is an open disclosure of the way an organization operates, and provides visible guidelines for behaviour. A code is also a tool to encourage discussions of ethics and to improve how employees should deal with the ethical dilemmas, prejudices and grey areas that are encountered in everyday work.
As it is our experiences that shape our ethical views all teachers will have different opinions on certain behaviour and whether it is acceptable. The handbook contains a list of rules that students must abide by, however for other behavioural issues that are not covered by this list it is the decision of the teacher as to whether they find the behaviour inappropriate.

Anti- bulling Policy
The aim of the anti-bulling policy is to ensure that pupils learn in a safe and supportive environment, without fear of victimization. Procedures are in place to allow complaints of bullying to be dealt with. During my inquiry I will be asking students to talk freely about their thoughts and feelings, I will remind students of the schools anti-bullying policy and as them to be respectful of others and their opinions.

Equal opportunities
Regardless of race, colour, ethnic origin or gender all students should be treated equally. The handbook refers to the Race relations Act (2000)
The Race Relations Act (RRA) 1976 amended 2000 makes it unlawful to treat a person less favourably than another on racial grounds. These cover grounds of race, colour, nationality (including citizenship), and national or ethnic origin. -http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1976/74/introduction

Data Protection
The Data protection Act 1998  http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/29/contents
The workplace stipulated that all data should be cared for appropriately and confidentially. No personal data is to be sent by email. The use of communication under the college name is not permitted unless permission is given and no college material is allowed to be shared publicly unless permission is given. Gaining this consent is an important part of the Inquiry process, not only have I been given permission to use certain data in an anonymous format, I have ensured that my employers have a link to my blog and I inform them each time I post something of interest.