Our Policies

Familiarisation and agreement with these policies and procedures constitutes Clause 24 of the Terms and Conditions of Booking, which can be viewed in its entirety at Academy Royale International Terms & Conditions.

Medical and Dietary Information Form

We will request all Students (or, where the student is aged under 18, their parent or legal guardian) to complete our Medical and Dietary Information Form prior to the Student’s arrival in the UK. It is essential to the safety and well-being of each Student that their form is completed accurately and fully. The form will be available to all summer students from the March before their summer attendance. The form will be available in the Portal.

Basic Medication

Please note that, if you or your child is unwell, the Programme Director, Welfare Officer and Campus Administrator are authorised to administer the medication listed below (and only that listed below):

• Paracetamol (for pain relief and fever reduction)
• Piriton (to relieve symptoms of mild allergies, such as hayfever)
• Strepsils (for sore throat relief)
• Simple Linctus (for mild coughs)
• Rennie (for heartburn and indigestion)
• Olbas Oil (decongestant for colds / congestion)

As part of the Student’s Medical and Dietary Information Form, the student (or their parent / legal guardian where the student is under 18) is asked whether they agree for each medication type to be administered to them or their child without prior contact with the parent and/or legal guardian of the Student. It is possible to “opt out” of your child receiving these medicines without prior contact. For more information, please contact us.

Beyond-basic medication (prescription, storage and dispensing)

Academy Royale International Limited staff members will not prescribe or recommend or store or dispense beyond-basic medication for or belonging to the Student as they are not authorised or qualified to do so. For this reason the Student is responsible for keeping their beyond-basic medication with them at all times and taking the correct dosage at the correct times. Students unable to store/administer their beyond-basic medication personally are strongly recommended to notify Academy Royale International Limited in writing not less than 60 days before the start date of the course to ascertain whether an independent medical professional is likely to be available in or near the Campus to carry out this role. Should Academy Royale International Limited in the exercise of its absolute discretion make available an independent medical professional to fulfill this role, the Student shall nevertheless remain responsible for taking their beyond-basic medication in the correct dosage and Academy Royale International Limited shall neither be liable for any failure of the Student to do so nor for any medical advice given or treatment administered by the independent medical professional. Epipens, asthma inhalers or any similar medication that a student needs to carry on their person in case of a medical emergency will be treated as an exception to the above rule, and will need to be carried by the student. If, however, the parents or guardians would prefer a staff member to carry the medication, they should contact Academy Royale International before the course to discuss a personal arrangement.

Injections

Academy Royale International Limited’s staff, including independent registered nurses engaged by it or other medical staff employed by it, are not authorised to administer medical injections to students. If a Student will require any such medical injections during the course, the Student is strongly recommended to notify Academy Royale International Limited of this fact at least 60 days prior to the start date of the course or immediately upon becoming aware of the need for the injection (if later). Upon receipt of such notice Academy Royale International Limited will consider whether arrangements can be made for the necessary injections to be administered but shall not be under any obligation to make provision for such. Should Academy Royale International Limited agree in the exercise of its absolute discretion to arrange for the administering of injections, the Student shall nevertheless remain responsible for ensuring that they receive their injections at the correct time and Academy Royale International Limited shall neither be liable for any failure to receive any injection or any incorrect administration of any injection nor for any medical advice given or treatment administered by the independent medical professional.

Academy Royale International Limited reserves the right to request medical evidence of the need for such injections and shall not be responsible for the provision of the appropriate prescription or other medical instructions to the person or body administering the injection which, for the avoidance of doubt, shall remain the responsibility of the Student.

Parents or guardians are responsible for ensuring that the student has sufficient amounts of medication to last throughout the entire course of their stay with Academy Royale International, regardless of the nature of this medication.

Medication Guidelines (Prescription, storage, and dispensing)

All campuses: Please note that in case of a medical emergency Academy Royale International team will take the Student to the nearest available medical facility.

Yale Campus: Please note that the students will not be allowed to self-carry any medications, and all medications will be distributed by the appointed Registered Nurse or supervised by the Director of First Aid on Shift in accordance with the protocols provided by your Healthcare Practitioner in the intake Health Exam Forms. Please note that our basic policies require that all personal medications, both over the counter and Prescription Medications, must be notated in the Authorization for Administration of Medication form and given to the Welfare Officer/Health Director or Director of First Aid for safekeeping in the Welfare Office upon arrival. Any medications requiring self-administration (ie. inhalers, epi-pens) must be clearly marked on the form with permission from the prescribing physician.

Medications must be in the original container and labelled with the child’s name, name of medication, directions for medication’s administration, and date of the prescription. Parents or guardians are responsible for ensuring that the student has sufficient amounts of medication to last throughout the entire course of their stay with Academy Royale, regardless of the nature of this medication. Parents are responsible for administering at least one dose of the medication with the exception of emergency medications to the participant and ensuring that there were no adverse effects, in advance of the program.

Discrimination and Hate Speech: Zero Tolerance

We take pride in the multicultural and diverse environment of our summer schools, having welcomed students from more than 175 countries throughout our history, and each year we assemble a diverse team of staff to run each programme. This diversity in our workforce significantly contributes to our ongoing success. We are fully committed to fostering and safeguarding a culture of respect for everyone at all times.

We do not tolerate behaviour that we determine, in our sole opinion, to be discriminative or racist in nature, nor do we tolerate hate speech of any kind. Any and all accusations of discrimination and harassment will be thoroughly investigated by a senior member of staff (a company Director, a member of the senior management team, or a Programme Director). Any student found, in the opinion of Academy Royale, to have demeaned, bullied, harassed or caused distress or humiliation to any other student or any staff member on the basis of their race, their ethnicity or the colour of their skin will be instantly dismissed from the course pursuant to Clauses 6 and 7 of the Terms & Conditions.

Bullying Policy

We see bullying and harassment as obstacles to becoming internationally minded students. The following part of this policy describes our roles in responding to bullying and in supporting the culture of Academy Royale.

What We Mean by Bullying

Bullying occurs when a student, or group of students, attempts to take power from another student. Often bullying is repeated and intentionally harmful, where students fall into the roles of bully (the student that is bullying), bully-follower (a student that goes along with the bully), target (the child being bullied) and bystander (a student that sees the bullying but does nothing to stop it). The main ways in which bullying happens are:

Physical Bullying

When a student uses physical force to hurt another student by hitting, punching, pushing, shoving, kicking, spitting, biting, pinching, getting in their way, or holding them down. It is also bullying to interfere with another student’s belongings, to take or break their possessions and to demand or steal money.

Verbal Bullying

When a student directs words at another student with the intention of putting them down or humiliating them. This includes threatening, taunting, intimidating, shouting, insulting, sarcasm, name-calling, teasing, put-downs, and ridiculing. It is also verbal bullying when a student uses hostile gestures towards another student, such as making faces, staring, giving the evil eye and eye rolling.

Relational Bullying

When a student influences another student’s friendships and relationships through deliberately leaving them out, spreading gossip and rumours about them, whispering, giving them the silent treatment, ostracising or scape-goating. This also includes writing words or creating cartoons, posters or drawings about another student designed to hurt or humiliate that student.

Cyberbullying

This refers to the use of cell-phones, text messages, emails, instant messaging, chat-rooms, blogs and social networking sites to bully another student. Examples of cyberbullying are sending threatening or insulting messages by phone and email; posting untrue information or embarrassing pictures about another student on message boards; blogs or social networking sites such as Facebook, Snapchat or Instagram; using another student’s email address or IM name to send messages that make the student look bad; creating a website devoted to putting down another student; forwarding a text-message or email that was meant for your eyes only. Engaging in these behaviours or any online activities intended to harm (physically or emotionally) another person, will result in disciplinary action. Any and all accusations of bullying will be thoroughly investigated by a senior member of staff (a company Director, a member of the senior management team, or a Programme Director).

Student Disability Policy

Aim and Objectives

The aim of this policy is to embed a culture of inclusion for students with disabilities.

Academy Royale International works with the Equality Act’s (2010) definition of a disabled person: “A person has a disability if they have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.”

The objectives of this policy are:

• To commit to having an inclusive environment, which facilitates disclosure of disability and gives all students the opportunity to demonstrate and realise their full potential;
• To provide fair and equal treatment to all students;
• To comply with the legislative requirements under the Equality Act (2010), in particular the need to avoid discrimination and to provide reasonable adjustments for disabled students.

Policy Statement

Academy Royale International will ensure:

• That the requirements of those students who disclose a disability are assessed on an individual basis;
• That all discussions and information regarding a disability or specific learning difficulty are treated in a confidential manner and in accordance with ORA’s Student Privacy Policy;
• In the case of non-standard adjustments for disabled students, the Programme Directors will be involved in any discussions regarding adjustments to ensure that academic rigour is maintained and that the necessary resources are available;

All staff and students at Academy Royale International are expected to be responsible for implementing this policy.

Monitoring and Review

A member of the Admissions Department will collate feedback received from disabled students, in order to monitor the effectiveness of the policy and will report findings to the Directors.

The policy is reviewed on an annual basis by Management, where any amendments or improvements will be discussed.

Student Special Educational Needs Policy

Academy Royale International uses the following definition of Special Educational Needs, as outlined in the Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEN Code of Practice (2015):

A child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her.

A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she:

• has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or
• has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions

For example:

• Behavioural/social (e.g. difficulty making friends)
• Reading and writing (e.g. dyslexia)
• Understanding things
• Concentrating (e.g. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)
• Physical needs or impairments

At Academy Royale, we welcome students with special educational needs. We recognise that we will need to consider the individual needs of students when planning our curriculum and we aim to provide a curriculum, which is accessible to the individual needs of all of our students. When a student registers for one of our courses, they will be asked to provide any relevant information about their medical and learning needs. In cases where significant additional needs are flagged, we will create an Individual Student Support Agreement, to detail how we will support the student’s needs during their time with us. This document is compiled with the input of the student and their parent/guardian if they are under 18. The document will be circulated to relevant members of staff (as agreed with the student) , to ensure that everyone who has a part to play in supporting the student is aware of their additional responsibilities. The document is reviewed and updated throughout the student’s stay to ensure it best meets their needs. Overall responsibility for ensuring the plan set out in the agreement is implemented lies with the SENCO and the Programme Director.

At Academy Royale, our Special Educational Needs Inclusion Coordinators (SENCOs) are an appropriate member of staff. They are responsible for the day-to-day provision for SEN. The SENCOs maintain and oversee all records for students with SEN, and will liaise with other staff about the needs.

We will ensure:

• That the requirements of those students who disclose a disability are assessed on an individual basis;
• That all discussions and information regarding a specific learning difficulty are treated in a confidential manner and in accordance with Academy Royale’s Student Privacy Policy;
• In the case of non-standard adjustments for students with SEN, the Programme Directors will be involved in any discussions regarding adjustments to ensure that academic rigour is maintained and that the necessary resources are available.

All staff and students at Academy Royale International are expected to be responsible for implementing this policy. A member of the Registrations Department will collate feedback received from students with SEN, in order to monitor the effectiveness of the policy and will report findings to the Directors. The policy will be reviewed on an annual basis by Management, where any amendments or improvements will be discussed.

Medical, Religious and Disability Requirements

Academy Royale International commits to reviewing any Medical, Religious or Disability requests or requirements on an individual basis.

Should a Student have any particular requirements as a consequence of any disability or for other medical or religious reasons the Student shall notify Academy Royale International Limited in writing at least 60 days prior to the course start date so that non-standard adjustments can be considered and, if deemed appropriate, made. Academy Royale International Limited reserves the right to request medical evidence in such form as it in its absolute discretion deems appropriate of a medical complaint or disability giving rise to the requirements.

Safeguarding Policy

Academy Royale International is dedicated to students’ welfare and safety.

Academy Royale International takes seriously its responsibility under section 11 of the Children Act and duties under “working together” to safeguard and promote the welfare of children; to work together with other agencies to ensure adequate arrangements exist within our setting to identify, and support those children who are suffering harm or are likely to suffer harm.

Academy Royale International recognises that all staff have a full and active part to play in protecting our pupils from harm, and that the child’s welfare is our paramount concern.

Academy Royale International aims to provide a safe, caring, positive and stimulating environment that promotes the social, physical and moral development of the individual child free from discrimination or bullying where children can learn and develop happily.

This policy applies to all staff and volunteers working in our establishment.

The aims of this policy are:

• To support the child’s development in ways that will foster security, confidence and resilience;
• To provide an environment in which children and young people feel safe, secure, valued and respected, feel confident and know how to approach adults if they are in difficulties;
• To raise the awareness with all staff of the need to safeguard children and of their responsibilities in identifying and reporting possible cases of abuse;
• To provide a systematic means of monitoring children known or thought to be at risk of harm, and ensure we contribute to assessments of need and support plans for those children where appropriate;
• To acknowledge the need for effective and appropriate communication between all members of staff in relation to safeguarding children and young people;
• To develop a structured procedure within the summer school which will be followed by all members of the staff in cases of suspected abuse;
• To develop effective working relationships with the OSCB and other language and tutorial colleges in Oxford involved in safeguarding children;
• To ensure that all adults within our establishment who have access to children have been checked as to their suitability. This includes other community users of our facilities, following correct staff recruitment and selection procedures.

Prevention Policy

Academy Royale International understands its responsibilities under the Counter Terrorism & Security Act 2015 to prevent people of all ages being radicalised or drawn into terrorism and seeks to meet its obligations. Academy Royale International has always promoted a multi-cultural environment where respect for and tolerance of others beliefs is required.

Academy Royale International will:

• Make and maintain contact with the local authority Prevent coordinators to understand their role and the support available;
• Make contact with the local authority to ascertain other useful local agencies;
• Develop local area Prevent links with other similar organisations;
• Share information with all local organisations as appropriate.

Academy Royale International will endeavour to implement the following:

• Promote a safe and supportive international environment via clear expectations of accepted behaviours and those, including radicalisation and extremism, that will not be tolerated;
• Promote core values through student inductions and notices around accommodation sites;
• Develop critical awareness and thought to counter accepting extremism without question, primarily through restricting internet access;
• Challenge radical or extremist views in any context (formal or informal) via stated procedures;
• Be ready to react when world or local events cause upset and the likelihood of conflicting feelings being expressed. The Prevent lead will take initiative in these situations;
• Have strong filters on IT equipment and clear rules on accessing extremist/ terrorist websites/ uses of social networks to exchange extremist/ terrorist views;
• Ensure that extremist speakers do not use premises to distribute material or expound views; have system for vetting any visiting speakers/ presenters;
• Staff will get to know students, their home circumstances and friendship groups, making it easier to spot changes in behaviour, and will be observant and vigilant in noticing any signs of radical or extremist behaviour, making it easier to identify vulnerable students.

Further information can be found in Academy Royale International’s Safeguarding Policy and Procedure.

Compulsory Staff Training

Prior to the start of the programme all staff will be required to complete training on

• The campus’s policies and procedures pertaining to behavioural management and supervision,
• Safeguarding policies and procedures targeting the recognising, prevening and reporting of child abuse or neglect including mandated reporting,
• Emergency preparedness & Campus Health and Safety procedures,
• The campus’s policies on First Aid, and Medication Administration,
• The campus’s surrounding location, available facilities and orientation including out-of-bounds and potentially hazardous areas,
• The company’s policies and procedures on planning and running activities and events.