July 2016
Dear Parents
Please find enclosed with this letter a copy of the latest edition of SFXtra. I hope you enjoy reading about the many activities which have taken place in school.
I would like to keep you up to date with all the progress in terms of the post Ofsted action plan and I have listed below the strategies which have been put in place so far.
· A link Governor has been established for each Department in school. All Link Governors have been into school and have met pupils and staff.
· Link Governor meetings with Heads of Department have now been calendared for next year. During these meetings discussions will centre around pupil progress.
· Additional staffing is now in place in the SEN area with Mrs Grace having been appointed to the role of Assistant SENCO on a full time basis.
· A review has been undertaken of SEN provision.
· A new marking policy is now in place to aid pupils’ progress with greater emphasis on children responding to comments and suggestions of teaching staff.
· The implementation and effectiveness of the marking policy has been the subject of a quality assurance exercise. The College has now embarked upon the Liverpool Reads quality mark and greater emphasis is being placed on literacy via the new marking policy and other initiatives being introduced by the Literacy Team.
· A new assessment policy has been approved by Governors and will be implemented from September. The main elements include termly reporting to all parents via email (at the end of term), reporting to be based on pupil performance in tests, homework and class work, reporting to be in the form of ‘above, on or below target’ where the target is expected achievement at the end of Y11 or Y13 based on prior attainment at Primary School (Y7-11) or at GCSE (Y12-13). Y11 and Y13 will have reporting periods which don’t completely coincide with the end of term. They will be issued with assessment results following the October half term holiday, in January after the trial exams and then at the end of the Spring term. All year groups will have a formal examination week in the Hall and these are shown on the calendar.
· Systems are now in place for the careful monitoring of pupil progress.
· In order to reduce persistent absenteeism amongst pupils (ie an attendance rate of less than 90% over the year) additional support is being provided by the Educational Welfare Officer and a pilot group of Y9 pupils have been involved in an attendance project.
I would like to reassure all parents that a large amount of work has been undertaken over the past 5 months since our Ofsted visit and that we are beginning to see the results of this already in school.
Last day of term
School will close at 12.25 pm on Friday 22nd July 2016.
Start of new term and academic year
School will re-open after the summer holidays at 8.40 am on Tuesday 6th September 2016 for pupils in Years 8-11 and students in Year 12. Students will be dismissed at lunch time on this day. A limited lunch service will be available.
New Year 7 pupils should report to school at 9.45 am for a 10.00 am start on Tuesday 6th September and will be dismissed at 3.10 pm. Year 13 students should report to school on Monday 5th September at 1.30 pm (Year 13 remain at home on Tuesday 6th September).
Normal timetable will operate for all from 8.40 am on Wednesday 7th September.
School Uniform
Thank you to all parents for striving so hard to ensure that pupils have correct uniform. Could I please remind you that plain black shoes are required. It may be helpful to bear this in mind whilst choosing new school shoes. Please do not buy canvas or training style shoes. A reminder also regarding hairstyles – hair must not be longer than collar length or shorter than a numbered cut of 3 and fringes must be away from the face. Small ‘mini bags’ which are designed to be worn around the neck rather than over the shoulder are not permitted.
Results Days
Year 12/13 AS and A Level Thursday 18th August 2016 (Y13 8am – Y12 10am)
Year 11 GCSE Thursday 25th August 2016 (Y11 8am)
Medication
If your son/daughter has to take any medication in school we would be grateful if you could ensure that a spare is left in the main school office. It should be clearly labelled with their name and year group and is within the use by date.
Armed Forces
We are entitled to tap into some extra funding if parents are employed by the Armed Forces. If this applies to yourself and you feel that you are able to share this information with us please let the school know.
Pupil Premium
All children adopted from care, or who have a residence order or change of legal guardianship are now eligible for Pupil Premium. In order for school to receive higher rate funding for these children, parents and guardians will need to self declare their child’s status to school in writing. Please contact Miss Butcher or Miss Lindop on
288 1000 for further information. All information is treated as confidential.
Attendance
There is a clear link between pupil attendance and achievement – an attendance rate of 97% or higher is essential, therefore please do not be offended when holiday requests are declined.
Email Address
As we are attempting to reduce postal charges could you please ensure that we have your accurate email address. If you do not have an email address please let school know.
New Year 7 Pupils
Following the meeting for parents at the end of Induction Day we have now obtained sufficient information from the Key Stage 2 results from Primary schools to be able to place pupils in initial sets for English, Maths and Science. Separate English and Maths sets will be arranged based on results in the two subject areas. Science sets will be based on the average score pupils achieved in English and Maths. Non core subjects (ie those other than English, Maths and Science) will also be based on the average of all Key Stage 2 results for an individual. We will carry out further tests known as CATs (Cognitive Ability Tests) in mid to late September and these together with the Key Stage 2 data could lead to further adjustments to sets. We will obviously endeavour to keep set movements to a minimum at a time when pupils are settling in.
Dropping off pupils by car
Could I please remind parents of the need to keep the school entrance clear. Under no circumstances should you stop on the yellow zig zag markings. This is illegal and a danger to pupils crossing the road. I would appreciate your co-operation with this request.
Could I conclude by thanking all parents for their support over the last year. I wish you all a peaceful and restful summer.
Yours sincerely
Mr L Rippon
Headteacher