Admission Policy – Middle Years

Introduction

Fountainhead School is an all-inclusive school which aims to provide high-quality educational experience through its IB Middle Year Programme (MYP). The IB Middle Year Programme is an academically challenging and balanced programme of education. The MYP has been designed as a coherent and comprehensive curriculum framework that provides academic challenges and develops the life skills of students between the ages of 11 to 16. Middle Years at Fountainhead school comprise of Grade 7 to 10. The school’s admission policy ensures a fair and transparent admission system and avoids unfair discrimination on grounds of disability, gender, religion or belief. However, if the disability of the candidate hinders his/her ability to effectively cope up with the challenges posed by the programme then the school may deny admission to such students. Further, the policy also ensures that proper admission procedure is followed in respect to each application received for admission.

Objectives of the policy

• To ensure that the school gets the maximum admissions possible without making a compromise.
• To have a fair and transparent policy for all parents.
• To make the admission process easy for parents and students.

Applicable to:
This policy applies to all parents seeking admission for their children at Fountainhead School.
Value (s) guiding policy:*(Please refer http://fountainheadschools.org/aboutus/philosophy)

1. a) Value Term: Fairness, Excellence
2. b) Why:

• Every student should get a fair chance to get admission in school.
• Always implement practices that continue to produce valued outcomes

Policy Guidelines

Eligibility Criteria for taking admission in  MYP Year 2 & 3 (Grade ­ 7 & 8) & MYP Year 4 & 5 (Grade 9 & 10)

• The child must have cleared the previous grade.

• There will be interaction for admissions and Readiness tests for Grades 7 – 10. Please note that admissions for grade 7-10 will be confirmed only after the readiness tests (For grade 10, to be eligible for the MYP Certificate a candidate must participate in the programme for a minimum of one year (MYP year 5). The recommended period is at least two years. Hence, admission will only be granted if the above-mentioned requirement is fulfilled by the candidate). These readiness tests are a tool for both the school and the parent to get a genuine assessment of where the child stands and if there are any particular areas of weaknesses that need to be focused upon.

• If the child has a known special need (dyslexia, autism, lack of interest in writing, slow learner etc) details of the same should be communicated while applying for admission. Failure to do so will lead to cancellation of admission. Please note that for a candidate with special needs, the admission process is different and maybe lengthier.
• At this point in time, we have limited capacity to support SEN students and we will take a call on the admissions on a case to case basis.
• Students with severe special needs are not recommended to do the MYP as the requirements of the program are rigorous. Students with learning disabilities on the lower spectrum may be admitted based on the conditions given in the Annexure ­ 3: MYP SEN guidelines.
• We will continue to provide Language support to the students coming from PYP. For other subjects, the parents can appoint a support teacher/shadow teacher who will coach the child. School will work in collaboration with the support teacher.

Admission procedure

1. Collection & payment of Admission Packet.
2. Submission of Documents & Submission of online admission form.
3. Readiness test.
4. Communication of the result and admission status/waitlist number.
5. Deposit fees.
6. Confirmation

STEP 1: Collection and payment of the admission packet:
Parent has to come to school to collect the admission packet.

• Senior Years (Grades 7, 8, 9 & 11) -Rs 2500/

STEP 2: Submission of all documents and online admission form (hard copy)
*Please submit the following to the school.

1. Admission Form Request with complete details, signed by the parent.
2. Attested (notarized) photocopy of Birth Certificate
3. Five passport size photographs of the child and one family photograph (parents, child & siblings only) in hard copy.
4. “Parents’ Undertaking” signed by both the parents.
5. Previous two year’s Report Card (for Grades  1-9 and Grade 11)
6. Original School Leaving Certificate (Please submit it before 25th May or admission may stand cancelled).  
7. Parent Evaluation Form.

Please note that the admission process will be treated as incomplete if any of the documents mentioned above are not submitted.
Submission of online admission form
You will be required to fill the online admission form when you come to school to submit the required documents.  
Step 3: Readiness test and “Education for Tomorrow” workshop:
It is mandatory to attend this workshop (preferably both parents) if you are seeking admission at Fountainhead School, Kunkni. If parents do not attend the workshop, then it might lead to cancellation of admission. Parents will have to attend the workshop while the child will be appearing for the test.
Middle years programme(Grade 7­ to 10)

• After the above given procedure is completed readiness test will be conducted for the student to know their capability and if the child will be able to cope up with the school’s methodology.
• Readiness Test will be given in hard copy.
• After the child has cleared the Readiness test intimation will be sent via email, phone or sms.

Details of Readiness test

For Internal Candidates : No readiness test is required
For External Candidates : All candidates who have done CBSE, ICSE,  State Boards or have done IGCSE, PYP or MYP have to appear for an readiness test. The readiness test will comprise of the following subject papers (50 marks, 1 hr each)
English: The test paper will be designed to check the student’s ability in successfully meeting the requirements for Language and Literature at MYP.
Math: The test paper will be designed to check the student’s ability in successfully meeting the requirements for Mathematics at MYP level.
Science: The paper will be designed to check the conceptual base of the student.
Hindi: The paper will be designed to check the skill development phase of the student.
Step 4: Communication of admission status:
You will be informed about your child’s admission status through call, SMS or email.
If you child is placed in the waiting pool, you will receive a final decision latest by 30th May 2017.
Step 5: Deposit of Fees:
If your child is able to secure admission at Fountainhead School, then you need to pay one time admission fee and security deposit in any of the HDFC Branch by 15th February 2017,  through the slip given to you in the admission packet.
Step 6: Confirmation of admission:
We will be sending a confirmation sms/email to you once we receive your child’s admission fees and security deposit.
Selection Criteria for admission in MYP
English: 60% minimum score
Maths: 50% minimum score
The candidate may appear for re- assessment if he/she feels that he/she can do better. There will be a gap of minimum two days between two readiness tests. However, if the student is not able to score (as mentioned above) in the re-assessment test then the school might ask the student to register for MYP Course during e-assessment of Year 5 (Grade 10). The requirements of getting admission as MYP course student will be communicated to the candidate and his/her parents and their consent in written form will be taken for the same.
Subject Allocation
For allocation of Extended level in Mathematics: For allocation of Extended level in this subject, a high score in the school’s readiness test and high level of proficiency in this subject (based on previous school’s academic reports). However the student may still go for Extended level in the subject of his/her choice on the condition that a review regarding the progress of student in that particular subject will be done after three months and the student may be transferred to Standard level in that particular level if he/she is not able to meet the expectations of Extended level in the subject.

Waitlist Criteria for Admission

Admissions will be granted as per below given criteria used:
Basic Criteria

Categories

For other categories

Students will be listed as per above given criteria.

• We can ask parents (max 5 nos, who have already attended EFT workshops) to fill up the form, explain them criteria of admission and where they stand.

Important Note:

• The school will not ask for any donation for granting admissions. The fee structure is transparent and the parents need to meet the requirements.
• The admission process does not ask for any religious/caste/political/social affiliations & is agnostic to this. Parents too must be aware of that same applies to them. We do not want any interference in this matter.

Rejected Parents/Admission offered

• For already issued forms: If fees is not submitted within the new given deadline, the form willst and cancelled. The parents will be welcome to come back and fill up the form as per athe vailability of seats and follow the same procedure as any other parent. However, they will be given lower priority than an altogether new parent, if there’s an issue of seat availability.
• If we have limited seats or no seats availability, students will be in waitlist criteria (to follow admission criteria policy )

Annexures

Annexure ­ 1 : Details of Orientation to Middle Years Programme (MYP)

Knowing MYP

1. What is the IB education?

An IB education is the result of a dynamic interaction between IB learners (who), teaching and learning in the IB (how), global contexts for teaching and learning (why) and the pursuit of significant knowledge and understanding (what). The IB’s philosophy of education is informed by research and by over 40 years of practical experience in international education. This philosophy remains open to reflection and review; the IB has always championed a stance of critical engagement with challenging ideas, one that both values the past and remains open to innovation.
IB programme models highlight important shared features of an IB education.

• Developing the attributes of the learner profile
• Approaches to teaching and approaches to learning
• Age-appropriate culminating experiences
• An organized and aligned structure of subject groups or disciplines
• Development of international-mindedness as a primary aim and context for learning

Source: www.ibo.org. (2017). MYP: From principles into practice For use from September 2014/January 2015. [online] Available at: https://2014edl664.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/myp-principles-into-practice-assessment.pdf [Accessed 10 Apr. 2017].

2. What board is offered in Middle Years at Fountainhead school?

Middle Years at Fountainhead comprise of Grade 7 to 10. Currently (Academic year- 2016-17), the school offers Middle Years Programme (MYP) of International Baccalaureate (IB) in grade 7 and  CIE- IGCSE programme for grade 8 to 10. Next year (Academic Year- 2017-18) the school will offer Ma YP in grade 7 & 8. CIE- IGCSE programme will gradually be phased out and the school will offer Middle Years Programmes (IB-MYP) in Middle Years. Right now, the school is a Candidate school and is eligible to implement the Middle Years Programme (MYP) of International Baccalaureate (IB). The MYP has been designed as a coherent and comprehensive curriculum framework that provides academic challenges and develops the life skills of students from the ages of 11 to 16.

3. What is e assessment?

MYP eAssessment offers students opportunities to demonstrate disciplinary and interdisciplinary understanding, international-mindedness, critical and creative thinking, problem-solving skills and the ability to apply knowledge in unfamiliar situations. On-screen examinations and ePortfolios provide a balanced model of assessment for schools seeking IB-validated grades. Official IB recognition of achievement in the MYP is only available for students who participate in and successfully complete the required e-Assessments.

4. What are the requirements to get IB MYP certificate?

The IB MYP certificate will be awarded when all conditions have been met in compliance with the General regulations: Middle Years Programme and as described below.
A candidate may register for any number of subjects (including language acquisition, arts, physical and health education, and design), but only six subjects contribute to the award of the certificate. A candidate must also register for the personal project and an interdisciplinary on-screen examination. If a candidate takes more than one subject from the same subject group, the highest grade from all the subjects in that subject group will count towards the certificate. Where a candidate chooses to take multiple subjects from arts, physical and health education or design, the highest single grade from these subject groups will count towards the certificate.
A grade from at least one subject from each of the following six subject groups must contribute to the award of the certificate.

• Language and literature

• Language acquisition (or a second language and literature)

• Individuals and societies

• Mathematics

• Sciences

• Arts  OR Physical and Health Education OR Design

The IB will award an IB MYP certificate to each candidate who has:

• gained a grade total of at least 28 from six subject groups, the interdisciplinary on- screen examination and the personal project combined, out of a possible maximum of 56.
• gained at least a grade 3 in at least one subject from each subject group
• gained at least a grade 3 for the personal project
• gained at least a grade 3 for the interdisciplinary on-screen examination
• completed the school’s requirements for community service.

Source:
occ.ibo.org. (2017). Handbook of Procedures for the Middle Years Programme: Assessment 2017. [online] Available at: http://occ.ibo.org/ibis/occ/Utils/getFile2.cfm?source=/ibis/occ/home/subjectHomeMYP.cfm&filename=dSpace%2Fen%2Fm_0_mypxx_coh-nc_1609_2_e%2Epdf [Accessed 20 Mar. 2017].

Easy interpretation of the passing criteria

5. Is e-assessment compulsory for all?

E assessment in MYP is optional. However, the school recommends all students to go for e assessment. Option will be provided on a case to case basis. Final call will be taken by MYPC. If students don’t opt for e assessment then they will get MYP pass certificate from the school recognized by IB after successful completion of the programme requirements. In this case, the result will be given based on the performance exhibited during school examination which will be assessed by school faculties.

Annexure ­ 2 : Format for Letter of Recommendation

Date :______________

Admissions, Fountainhead School
Middle Years Programme
Surat, Gujarat

Dear MYP Coordinator,
I am writing to recommend (Name of the candidate) for admission into the Fountainhead
school’s MYP Programme. I have known (Name of the candidate) for___________months /years, and he/she has studied in my school for __________months/years.

Please include here your views about the candidates on : Sincerity level, Timely Submissions, Active participation in school’s activities, discipline record, Academic performance, Ability to work independently and in teams and any other relevant information.

Name of the Person (Writing recommendation)____________________________
Designation_________________________
Contact No._________________________

Annexure­ 3: Format of consolidated report on each student

Grade :
1 -­ Not Satisfactory
2 ­- Average
3­ – Good
4 ­- Very Good
The Grade descriptors for the above purpose are as follows:

Annexure ­ 3 : MYP SEN guidelines

Introduction

At Fountainhead School (henceforth to be addressed as FS) we acknowledge that at any stage in his/her school life the child may have Special Educational Needs. Here it is necessary that school should make special educational provisions for meeting the needs. SEN provisions should be in addition to or otherwise different from, the educational provision made generally for children having common educational needs.

Criteria to admit  / recommend SEN students in the MYP
If the SEN student’s disability  doesn’t affect his/her ability to meet the demands of the program then the school will admit the student. In addition, the following two conditions need to be fulfilled for granting admission.

• The school and/or the parents are able to find a trained teacher with specific needs (who is able to provide support as listed later in this document) for the same, if a special educator is necessary. The school will try its level best to explore options for providing support to the student.

• The parents are willing to bear the complete expenses of any such support provided.

• The student have the aptitude to meet all curriculum and assessment requirements but require support to reach their full potential in learning and assessment.

If the above criteria are met and the admission is granted to the student then the school will use the following approaches and strategies for meeting the needs of the SEN students:

• To focus on student’s key strength areas so as to build confidence in him. Also ensuring that he/she is motivated to learn.

• Using multi sensory approach for each student so as to customise the opportunity for effective learning.

• Assisting students in surpassing their learning difficulties through providing special assistance like giving spoken instructions for students with reading difficulties.

• Ensuring that students get first hand learning experience by implementing active learning strategies.

• Provision of a range of activities so as to ensure differentiation in learning.

• To match the demand or expectations to the level of attainment.

• To provide similar work to the group and adjusting criteria for allowing different outcomes.

• To adopt a step by step approach for development of concepts and skills.

• Using simple and clear language by starting with student’s mother tongue or the language he/she is most familiar with.

• Using new words gradually and then repeating them daily so that the student gets familiar with it.

• Customising the pace of lessons by taking into consideration the difference among individual learners.

Other strategies

• Provision of extra times for completion of class assignments and assessments
• Oral assessment in case the child is unable to express himself/ herself in writing.
• Ongoing activity like morning reading session etc.

Assessment

• Early detection and identification is vital in such cases. The respective Mentor teachers informs the parents so as to alert them regarding his/her concerns and also encourages them for their  active help and participation.

• The SEN teacher and the Mentor teacher assess and monitor the children’s progress in line with existing school practices. This is an ongoing process.

• The SEN teacher plans an appropriate programme of support.

• As far as possible the assessment should reflect participation in wthe hole curriculum.
• Also ,the Mentor teachers along with SEN teacher breaks down the assessment into smaller steps in order to assist the progress and provide detailed indicators of progress.