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Module 1: Welcome to SKOLA & Our Core Principles

1. Welcome Aboard!

A warm welcome to the SKOLA team! We're thrilled to have you for Summer 2025. Our mission is 'Learn English and Discover Other Cultures'. Founded in 1969 and uniquely located in a Royal Park, we welcome over 1000 students from 60+ countries annually. Our core values, underpinning everything we do, are: Ready, Safe, Kind. You are joining a professional team dedicated to providing an exceptional and safe learning experience.

2. Who We Are: SKOLA's Mission, History, and Values

These three principles form our behaviour policy and apply equally to staff and students, ensuring consistency across the school. Understanding and modelling them is vital. 

  • Ready: This means being prepared, punctual, attentive, and equipped for your role. For teaching staff, it involves following the SKOLA Teaching Framework and curriculum. For all staff, it means being purposeful and clear in communication. Poor examples include being late or unprepared.

  • Safe: Ensuring the physical and emotional safety of our students and staff is paramount. This involves adhering to safeguarding procedures, conducting risk assessments, maintaining professional boundaries, and communicating in a way that creates a secure environment. Unsafe behaviour includes violence or dangerous actions.

  • Kind: We expect all interactions to be polite, supportive, considerate, and empathetic. This applies to how we speak to students, parents, and colleagues. It means fostering teamwork and trust and challenging unkind behaviour like bullying or derogatory language.

Putting it into Practice: Your calm, consistent behaviour sets the standard. Focus on positive behaviour first ('1st Attention'). Use established routines like 'Meet & Greet' and 'End & Send' to support a structured environment.

3. The SKOLA Way: Ready, Safe, Kind

Your role is vital. Consistently model 'Ready, Safe, Kind', engage positively with students, and maintain professionalism. A key part of your role involves understanding and adhering to our core policies. You must familiarise yourself thoroughly with the full versions of:

These documents provide essential guidance for your work at SKOLA.

4. Safeguarding is Paramount

Protecting the children (under 18s) in our care is our highest priority – this is central to being 'Safe'.

  • Your Duty: All staff share this responsibility. You must read the full Safeguarding Policy.

  • Report Concerns: If you see, hear, or are told anything that causes a safeguarding concern, however small, you must report it immediately to a Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) using the incident report form. Do not investigate yourself.

  • DSLs: Connor Middleton (Principal), David Stephenson (DoS Gloucester Gate), Malgosia (Explorers), Teddy (Gloucester ADoS)

  • Professional Boundaries: Maintain professional conduct at all times.

Further detailed safeguarding training will follow in Module 2.

5. Effective Communication

Our Communication Policy promotes efficient, respectful, and professional interactions aligned with 'Ready, Safe, Kind'. Use appropriate channels and respect colleagues' 'Right to Disconnect' outside working hours (except for emergencies). Please read the full policy for details

6. Summary & Next Steps

This module introduced SKOLA, our core Ready, Safe, Kind principles, your role in upholding them, the essential policies you must read, and the absolute priority of Safeguarding.

Please complete the quiz (provided separately) to check your understanding.

Module 2 will provide detailed Safeguarding training and cover school operational specifics. Welcome aboard!

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