Start of Summer Term Update

Dear Parents/Carers,

I hope you are all well and that your son/ daughter enjoyed the Easter holiday. As always, I am writing to you at the beginning of term to share some key updates. Last term, I was delighted to see our students consistently displaying “respectful” behaviour as we continue to embed our new “Safe, Ready, Respectful” ethos. It was fantastic to see the improving work ethic and commitment of students in lessons and I look forward to them continuing to work in this way in the term ahead.

As well as continuing to focus on the importance of “respectful” language and “respect for school facilities and equipment”, this term as a team of staff, we will be working with students on “respect for their health and the health of others”, “respect for the law” and “respect for the learning environment”. We have chosen to begin this focus by spending increased curriculum time educating students about the dangers of smoking/ vaping as you are no doubt aware that:

  • Smoking can be addictive and increases the risk of developing more than fifty serious health conditions, some of which are fatal, and cause irreversible long-term damage to health.
  • Passive smoking is a danger to anyone in the proximity of a smoker because it increases the risk of developing the same health problems as a smoker.
  • Following the changing of the law in 2007, it is illegal to smoke in all public enclosed or substantially enclosed areas and workplaces.
  • It is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to purchase cigarettes, and for an adult to purchase cigarettes for anyone under the age of 18.

Any students who attempt to smoke or vape on school premises will therefore be subject to the full-range of sanctions detailed in our behaviour policy, which may include fixed-term exclusion. Our safeguarding team will as always be available in school to offer help and support to students who have any particular questions or anxieties regarding smoking.

To support uninterrupted learning in the term ahead, I also want to make you aware that we have now installed easy access “thumb turn mechanisms” on the inside of all classroom doors. These mechanisms do not require a key, can be activated when necessary by staff to allow for extended periods of concentration in lessons, and are easily deactivated by any person turning the mechanism to release. The classroom can also still be accessed by staff from the outside through use of their key. Please be fully aware that students are never locked in rooms as at any point, the door can be opened freely from the inside to exit.

I look forward to the term ahead and to sharing the OFSTED monitoring report from the end of the Spring Term with you as soon as it is published. In staffing updates, Jackie Bailey and Nick Self departed at the end of the Spring Term and we wish them both well for the future. If you have any further questions regarding this letter, please feel free to contact me at [email protected]

Yours faithfully,

Andrew Wakefield

Principal