Dear Parents and Carers
Welcome to module six.
I hope you and your family managed to enjoy a well deserved break.
Year 11 and 13
As we start the last module of this academic year, I would like to congratulate our year 11 and 13 students for their resilience and commitment to their GCSEs and A Level examinations so far. As an academy, we have left no stones unturned in our quest to ensure the best outcomes for the students. As has been our practice over the last couple of years, students – particularly pupil premium and vulnerable students – have been offered one-to-one tuition through our tuition partner, MyTutor, using the funding from the Department for Education (DfE). 470 hours of tutoring have taken place helping 64 pupils. Students have also been offered early morning breakfast clubs, Saturday school and half term revision sessions. In addition to these, the timetables for these year groups have been collapsed so that students can have extended revision sessions with their subject teachers the day before their examination in a subject, as well as the morning or afternoon before the examination.
There are still three more weeks to go until the examination season is finished and I am sure you will join me in wishing our students the very best for these examinations and also for their future.
Year 10 and 12 Pre-Public Examinations (PPEs)
To ensure that year 10 and 12 students are equipped with the necessary examination skills and practise, these year groups will be sitting their PPEs from this week. These PPEs are crucial for helping staff to identify students’ areas of strength and areas for development so that appropriate interventions can be put in place well before their year 11 or 13 PPEs in the autumn term. The PPEs will also offer students the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the conditions for their real GCSEs next year and hopefully set them up for success. I would be grateful, therefore, if parents and carers of students in year 10 and 12 could take some time to talk to students about the importance of these PPEs to ensure all students prepare appropriately and attach the right levels of seriousness to these examinations.
Expectations
To facilitate our journey towards school improvement and as part of our usual practice, senior leaders will continue to visit classes regularly to check standards of uniform, active engagement in lessons, behaviour and equipment, including chromebooks. Amongst other things, we will be emphasising our core values of RAC (Respect, Aspiration and Care). We will also be talking to students about STAR expectations (Sit up, Track the speaker, Ask and answer questions, Respect) when in lessons, as well as conduct in and around the academy. As has always been the case, uniform infringements will be challenged and non-compliance sanctioned as per our behaviour policy.
Attendance
Pupils’ attendance at Longfield Academy continues to be a key priority as students cannot ‘Achieve Beyond Expectations’ if they are not in the building to learn. The majority of students attend regularly and have attendance above the 95% threshold we expect. I hope that we can continue to work in partnership to ensure that all students are appropriately supported so that they can attend regularly and on time. Please liaise with your child’s college in the first instance if you require support with this.
Toilets
I have on a number of occasions, earlier on in the academic year, written to parents and carers to inform you about the rationale for installing the gates on our toilets at the start of the year. I had believed that your concerns had been addressed until I received information that some parents have started a petition to have the gates removed. I would like to emphasise that the decision to install the gates was not taken lightly. This was taken with the best interest of our students at heart, to safeguard our students and to ensure that learning time is maximised.
It is important to let parents know that the academy has on its roll a high proportion of vulnerable students compared with your typical secondary school. We also have very high numbers of students who have been issued toilet passes due to medical reasons that have been confirmed by a doctor. During lessons, when most staff are teaching, it is important to ensure that toilet passes are not being abused, students can easily be located if needed and students are not engaging in any anti-social behaviours etc. It is for this reason that we only leave the Matisse toilets, with 18 available cubicles, and the toilets in the reception area open.
It has always been the case that students can use the toilets between lessons, at break and at lunch time but not during lessons. This situation has not changed except that by installing the gates we are better placed to enforce this expectation. Even so, students with medical notes or those with a desperate reason to use the toilets are still able to use the Matisse toilets (upstairs and downstairs) and those at the reception area.
Enrichment Week
Students in year 7-9 and 12 will be invited to participate in trips as well as engage with rich activities, both within and outside of the academy during the last week of this module. For years 7-9, this includes trips to the seaside and London, with a range of exciting enrichment activities also being planned within school. Students in year 10 will be taking part in work experience, whilst 54 students from multiple year groups will be embarking upon their assessed Duke of Edinburgh’s expedition. I have no doubt that this will be an excellent and enjoyable week for all, and that the experience will offer our students opportunities to engage in social activities, team building and confidence building.
Celebration Event
We are really looking forward to hosting our annual Celebration Evening towards the end of this module. It is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate some of our most exceptional and hard-working students and staff. If your child has been nominated for an award, you will receive a separate letter shortly, confirming the details.
I thank you for your continued support and I look forward to another successful module.
Kind regards
Dr F. Donkor
Principal
