Acorns International School (AIS) provides a caring and nurturing educational environment, within an international setting, where all the members of the community feel safe, protected, loved, supported, encouraged and empowered in their personalised learning journey. And Policies document is one such practice the helps school establish rules and procedures in order to function effectively and ensure everyone is connected. Schools are highly complex and create standards of quality for learning and safety, as well as expectations and accountability.

We revise policies every two years. Below are the encapsulations (smaller version) of all the policies in alphabetical order, the detailed (longer versions) are published on our website www.ais.ac.ug, under Policies Section. Please do not hesitate to contact the AIS teaching staff or Senior Management Leadership Team member, if you need a hard copy of the detailed version or any further clarification. The following Policies encapsulations are made available below:

As a academic institution, AIS strives to uphold the highest levels of honesty, integrity and excellence. Our students are expected to maintain the same standards through academic honesty and personal integrity. The AIS teachers and staff are dedicated to the instruction necessary for the prevention of unintentional plagiarism and cheating, as well as helping students understand the role of responsibility in their own learning. This Policy includes sections such as implications of cheating, plagiarism, definitions and examples of academic dishonesty, citing sources and its examples. This policy also clearly layouts the implementation plan and its consequences.

For a full version of this policy, download PDF

The AIS Admissions Policy is designed to make the application process straightforward. The process, usually, begins with a request for information regarding the school, followed by a visit to AIS. Once you decide to join the AIS family, you have to complete the registration forms and submit it to the Finance Department, along with the fees.

This Policy includes sections such as visiting AIS, implementation of admissions policy, admission criteria and fees.

For a full version of this policy, download PDF

Assessments lie at the heart of the process of promoting a child’s learning. It provides a framework within which educational objectives may be set and child’s progress expressed and monitored. This should be done in partnership with learners and parents. At AIS, we believe that assessments provide the basis of informed teaching, helping learners to overcome difficulties and ensuring that teaching builds upon what has been learned. It is also how learners understand what they have achieved and what they need to work on.

This Policy provides a framework for all examinations and assessment testing carried out at AIS right from our Early Childhood, Primary, Secondary Departments.

For a full version of this policy, download PDF

AIS is committed to educating learners as a whole; this means not only providing quality academics, but also teaching learners how to be respectful to others and themselves. AIS aims to create a learning environment that is welcoming, safe, and secure for all learners. Therefore, the Behaviour and Motivation Policy is designed to support students through cooperation and communication between all stakeholders.

This Policy includes Early Childhood student behaviour expectations and how to achieve them through classroom management skills such as ‘thinking chair’; Primary students’ behaviour expectations and managing them through Teacher Expectations, Communication Between School and Home, Classroom Behaviour Chart, House Points and Behavioural IEPs; Secondary students’ behaviour expectations and managing through teacher expectations, encouraging positive behaviour, house points, sanctions, defining physical restraint. All these are accompanied with appropriate templates and formats used by AIS staff members.

For a full version of this policy, download PDF

We believe that all children have the right to be safe and protected in our society. At AIS, we recognise that it is our responsibility to not only ensure the welfare of our students while on campus, but also when with caretakers, parents, and guardians. This Policy outlines the measures we take to ensure our students emotional, mental, and physical wellbeing.

At AIS, we want to ensure our students reach their full potential by;

  • being as physically, emotionally and mentally healthy as possible
  • experiencing good quality education opportunities
  • living in a safe environment
  • learning in a safe environment
  • feel loved and valued as those around them
  • receiving support from a network of reliable relationships
  • are learning developmentally appropriate skills
  • has a sense of their own identity and a positive self-image
  • is appropriately developing their confidence and their interpersonal skills

The aim of this Policy is to outline the measures AIS takes to ensure students are safeguarded from abuse and neglect, to define abuse and neglect with risk factors and symptoms, and to communicate the procedure for reporting abuse and neglect.

For a full version of this policy, download PDF

As we (teachers, parents, family members, drivers, nannies, volunteers, and non-teaching staff) are all members of a school community, it is important that we are respectful of each other and set an example for our young people. AIS is committed to creating an environment where all members are treated with respect, patience, integrity, dignity, and consideration.

Therefore, expectations of teachers, parents, family members, drivers, nannies, volunteers, and non-teaching staff are all laid out clearly in this Policy.

For a full version of this policy, download PDF

AIS is very proud of the positive relationships it builds with our students’ families. We believe that connection, communication, and understanding between home and school is one of the most effective ways to promote a child’s education. For this reason, we provide multiple avenues for parents and teachers to communicate and also laid out clearly in the Policy which includes:

  • Phone and Email
  • Class WhatsApp Groups
  • Student Diary
  • Teachers’ ‘Open Door’
  • Complaint Procedure

For a full version of this policy, download PDF

AIS is committed to delivering a broad and balanced curriculum through a wide range of experiences. From Early Childhood (EC) to Year 6 in Primary, we follow International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IBPYP) curriculum framework; in Secondary Year 7 to Year 11, we follow International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (IBMYP); and at Upper Secondary Level from Year 12 to Year 13, our learners will have two options to choose from i.e. International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) or Cambridge A-Levels.

The curriculum not only includes the formal requirements of education, but also the range of extra-curricular activities that are organised to enrich the experience of children. It also includes the ‘hidden curriculum’, where the children learn from the way they are treated and expected to behave. To achieve these goals, they need rigorous academic preparation and a passion to become the best they can be. Through our engaging, inquiry-based environment, students reach their full academic potential and become responsible, caring, multilingual, and culturally literate global lifelong learners.

For a full version of this policy, download PDF

ICT in the 21st Century is seen as an essential resource to support learning and teaching, as well as play an important role in the everyday lives of children, young people and adults. Consequently, schools need to build in the use of these technologies in order to arm our young people with the skills to access lifelong learning and employment.

Early Childhood Department
Age Range: 18 months to 4+ years
Yearbands: Crèche – Reception
Curriculum Offered: IB Primary Years Programme (IBPYP)

Primary Department
Age Range: 5+ years – 10+ years
Yearbands: Year 1 – Year 6
Curriculum Offered: IB Primary Years Programme (IBPYP)

Lower Secondary Department Age Range: 11+ years – 13+ years Yearbands: Year 7 – Year 9

Curriculum Offered: IB Middle Years Programme (IBMYP)

Upper Secondary Department Age Range: 14+ years – 18+ years Yearbands: Year 9 – Year 11

Curriculum Offered: IB Middle Years Programme (IBMYP) Yearbands: Year 12 – Year 13

Curriculum Offered: IB Diploma (IBDP) or Cambridge A-Levels

Everybody in the school has a shared responsibility to secure any sensitive information used in their day to day professional duties. Even staff not directly involved in data handling should be made aware of the risks and threats and how to minimise them. This Policy for (for all staff, Directors, visitors and students) is inclusive of both fixed and mobile internet; technologies provided by the school (such as PCs, laptops, tablets, webcams, whiteboards, voting systems, digital video equipment, etc); and technologies owned by students and staff, but brought onto school premises (such as laptops, mobile phones, camera phones, mp3 players and portable media players, etc).

For a full version of this policy, download PDF

AIS believes that field trips and outdoor excursions enhance students’ learning by providing opportunities for students to participate in curriculum-related activities outside the normal school setting. School excursions are well-planned curriculum-related activities that aim to maximise students’ learning experiences outside of the classroom. This policy includes content such as responsibility of Management, process and implementation of trips, including all the necessary templates such as risk assessment and consent forms etc. used by AIS staff.

For a full version of this policy, download PDF

AIS aims to provide a safe working and learning environment, by ensuring a systematic approach to the identification of risks and the allocation of resources to control them. The Health Policy includes health-related matters such as medical details, first aid, Incontinence, cleanliness at school. Safety Policy includes evacuation and non-evacuation procedures. Though these two are not published due to confidentiality purposes, a clear lay-out plan is made available to all staff members who also sensitise children on a regular basis, along with standard drills (evacuation drills three times a year and non-evacuation once a year) taking place at school on a regular basis. The Security Policy includes components like entering and exiting campus, change in personal details to be communicated to school and its procedure, Exit IDs, school bus and security guards, etc.

For a full version of this policy, download PDF

Acorns International School’s (AIS) philosophy of language is that the teaching of language has a crucial role to play in equipping learners with the communication skills they need to become effective learners in the world of work and society in general. We believe that our language curriculum reflects the benefits of our cultural and linguistic diversity and provides learners with positive images through their reading of literature. Every learner at AIS is entitled to an experience of language learning that supports his/her development in all areas of education. All our students, irrespective of age, ability, gender and ethnic origin are entitled to participate fully in, and benefit from a broad range of appropriate language teaching and learning activities at every stage of their education. In line with IB philosophy, our goals remain to learn the language, learn about language and learn through language.

For a full version of this policy, download PDF

The policy includes components like English: the language of instruction/official working language, mother tongue, English language learners, language acquisition, planning language learning, approaches to teaching language, assessing speaking and listening, reading and writing and reading.

AIS is a school that believes in the education of all young people. This is not limited to high achievers with good assessment scores. AIS accepts students with varied needs and level of education. Learner Support Services (LSS) is a team of teachers and professionals dedicated to working with parents and teachers to enable all students to reach their greatest potential. As a team, LSS:

  • Provides Language Support Classes for students performing low in the English Language.
  • Creates plans and supports students with Special Needs.
  • Implements and monitors behaviour plans school-wide and for individual students.
  • Provides counseling to students and families.

For a full version of this policy, download PDF

AIS aims to enable every learner to be successful at their year level. Through the school year, students take MAP Assessments in order to track progress of individual learners. The MAP results are given to parents and also monitored by the Learner Support Services (LSS) department, in order to ensure students are meeting year level expectations.

If a student has attended less than 90% of a Term, AND is scoring in the ‘Low’ range, retention will be mandatory.

Students who have missed a MAP Assessment due to travel in Term 3 will be required to take it before being placed in a class the following academic year; to ensure they are place appropriately. EVEN IF their scores previously were above the “Low” range.

For a full version of this policy, download PDF

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