Pastoral Years 8-11 Letter

Dear Parents/Carers

I hope that you and your families are all well and that you are excited about the prospect of your son/daughter embarking on the next academic year of their secondary education. I am genuinely excited about the prospect of working with all of our students again when they return on Monday 4th September. As the Head of Anderson College and Vice Principal in charge of Behaviour, Standards and Welfare at Longfield Academy, I  will endeavour to raise standards of uniform, punctuality, attendance and behaviour to ensure that your son/daughter enjoys a very successful and positive learning experience at Longfield Academy.

So that we can offer the very best level of care and support to all students, we have a non-teaching team of Student Support Managers and Student Support Officers who work to support the students on a day-to-day basis. 

Each of our colleges have their own Student Support Manager and a Student Support Officer  who provide support for the students in their respective colleges. All pastoral matters are managed by each college’s pastoral support team, alongside your son’s/daughter’s form tutor. This year we are extending the range of supportive provision and interventions to ensure that students can maximise their true learning potential.

Pastoral Care and Support

The Student Support Managers and Student Support Officers will run a range of different programmes and initiatives for targeted students throughout the year to help them fulfil their learning potential. Please see the allocation of Student Support Managers/officers in the table below.

The Student Support Managers, Student Support officers, Family Liaison Officer and the Safeguarding Team are trained and qualified to deal with any child protection or welfare issues. It is paramount that we keep our young people safe, happy and engaged in their learning so that they are able to perform to their full potential.

The academy’s pastoral system enables specialist staff to support students in all year groups with their attitudes to learning, behaviour, attendance, mental health and emotional well-being. We will be extending the range of different supportive provisions throughout the year to ensure that students who are facing difficulties at home or in the academy are offered the most appropriate form of supportive provision so that they achieve well in every aspect at Longfield Academy.

At Longfield Academy, we take the well-being of our students and staff very seriously. We endeavour to ensure that the systems that we have in place meet the needs of each of our students, whether or not they have an identified additional need. If there is ever an issue that you wish to discuss about your child’s education, the first point of contact is through your child’s form tutor. If you have any safeguarding concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Behaviour, Standards and Attitudes to Learning

To ensure that we are able to provide a positive and inspiring  learning experience for your son/daughter, there will be an even greater requirement for all students to demonstrate sensible and calm behaviour in lessons, and when moving around the academy. We expect our students to be excellent ambassadors when travelling to and from the academy and when in the local community.  In your role as parents/carers, we expect your full support with this and our behaviour curriculum. 

The academy does not tolerate poor behaviour or any disruption to learning at any time. At Longfield Academy, we aim to create a culture where there is ‘Disruption-free learning’. This is so that our teaching staff can empower your son/daughter with inspirational and engaging lessons. Students must remember that the academy has very high standards for teaching and learning and that it will not accept any disruption to learning in classrooms or other teaching areas. Should any students fail to meet academy expectations in lessons, they will be given a warning and the opportunity to self-correct their behaviour and then, if there is no improvement, there will be sanctions imposed. This could include removal from a lesson and an after school detention, which is 45 minutes in duration. The academy will be running 45 minute centralised after school detentions on every day of the week, except on Wednesdays.These detentions will be used as a deterrent for unacceptable behaviour and as an opportunity for our students to be reflective so that we can try and correct any poor behaviour.  

Parents/carers will always be given 24 hours’ notice should your son/daughter be given an after school detention. Should a student be issued with an after school detention, the relevant parent/carers will receive official notification via text message, this message will only provide you with brief details of the detention, it will not provide you any information regarding the reason for the detention. In order to find out more details about the reason for the detention, please log on to your ‘My Child at School’ web portal and mobile app – MCAS. You will receive further details about using the ‘My Child at School’ app in a letter that will be sent to parents/carers early next week. This is so that you can make suitable arrangements for your son/daughter to get home safely at the later time of 4.00pm for an after-school detention, or 4.30pm for the Principal’s detention on a Friday.  Please ensure that you inform us if your current contact details or if your phone numbers change so that we can update it on our system. Failure to attend an after school detention will result in a 75 minute Principal’s detention on a Friday. 

The Principal’s detentions are given for more serious offences/incidents of unacceptable behaviour that occur around the academy. These will be held on Fridays from 3.15-4.30pm on Fridays. Parents/carers will receive a text message and a letter via email with notice of their son/daughter’s detention with the Principal.

To ensure that we have the highest standards of behaviour at our academy we really need your full support as parents and carers when we need to correct a young person’s behaviour. Our centralised detentions at the academy need to be taken seriously by all of our stakeholders.

Attendance

The academy recognises that students with high levels of attendance are most likely to succeed and be happy at the academy. The academy encourages all students to attend every day, so that they will be able to take full advantage of the educational opportunities available and so that they can maximise their learning potential. The expectation is that students should achieve a minimum 95% attendance target. 

Should your son/daughter not be able to attend for any medical reason, then parents/carers should phone or the academy prior to 8.00am or email our attendance officer attendance@longfieldacademy.org on each day of absence. Medical evidence may be required for a prolonged period of absence. For any students that require some adjustments to be made to help them in their learning, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Punctuality to the Academy- x 3 strike rule.

It is essential that your child arrives at the academy on time every day so that they have sufficient time to get to their tutor base and be sat down at their desk, ready to learn by 8.30am. Students should be on site by 8.25am every morning. If a student arrives at the academy between 8.30am and 8.45am, on 3  occasions, they will be given a 45 after-school minute detention. 

This sanction will be issued on every third occasion that a student is late to the academy.  If there is a valid and legitimate reason that must be confirmed via phone call from a parent/carer prior to their son/daughter arriving at the academy. Please be aware that the roads surrounding the academy can become very congested by 8.30am so it is important that your son/daughter allows sufficient time for their journey to the academy. 

Failure to attend the 45 minute after-school detention will result in a Principal’s detention for 75 minutes on a Friday.

If a student arrives after 8.45am (without a legitimate reason) this could be truancy and would have a negative  impact on their learning time and therefore the student will be given an after school detention for 45 minutes on the following day. It is essential that your child arrives at the academy on time every day.They should be in full and correct uniform, and that they have all their necessary equipment with them. 

Punctuality to lessons – x 3 strike rule.

Students must ensure that they are punctual to all lessons and when they move around the academy and must do so in a calm and sensible manner. The academy day allows for 5 minute ‘transition time’ in between lessons. This allows sufficient time for students to arrive at their next lesson on time, regardless of where their lesson is located within the Academy building. If a student does arrive late for a lesson (without a legitimate reason), the classroom teacher will record the number of minutes late on bromcom and if a student is late on 3 different occasions they will be given an after-school detention for 45 minutes. This sanction will be issued on every third occasion that a student is late to a lesson.  

At Longfield Academy, we want to create a culture of  ‘Disruption Free learning’. It is vitally important that students are punctual to lessons so that they do not miss any crucial learning time and so that lessons are not disrupted by students arriving late. We are going to take a firm stance on punctuality to lessons this year as the consequence for a student arriving late to a lesson (without a legitimate reason) on 3 occasions will result in a 45 minute after-school detention.  With 5 minutes of transition time built into the Academy day to allow students to get from one classroom to another- there should be no excuse for lateness. This strategy will help teach our students to take personal responsibility for their own self-management and it will place emphasis on the importance of learning time.

Uniform

Students in years 7-11 are expected to be of smart appearance and to wear the academy uniform on the way to and from the academy as well as during the day. By requiring students to wear the academy uniform, we hope to develop a sense of identity and loyalty to the community of which they are members and encourage them to take pride in their appearance. Full details of the academy uniform policy can be found on our academy website: Academy Uniform – Longfield Academy.

Promoting Positive Behaviour – Rewards System

The academy recognises that praise and reward are always the most powerful of motivational tools. As such, our staff actively seek opportunities to praise and reward students for meeting the high expectations that we have of them. 

Staff are encouraged to praise and reward students, through both formal and informal opportunities. At Longfield Academy, students are recognised and rewarded for demonstrating and promoting our academy core values, being respectful, aspirational and caring. Students in Key Stage 3 are also rewarded for demonstrating MYP attributes. Through the academy’s Rewards system, students are able to set  their sights on achieving the following awards.

We are committed to  promoting positive behaviour amongst our students and our staff always aim to treat our students with unconditional positive regard and try to  develop positive working relationships with our young people. Students can also be rewarded for the following;

• Excellent contribution to the Academy/local community 
• Excellent ambassador to the Academy 
• For making excellent progress 
• Improved attitude to learning 
• Improved behaviour 
• Outstanding achievement and producing excellent work 
• Student leadership 
• Working with Pride  
• Consistent high standards
• Homework of a very high standard 
• Exceptional performance in class 
• Consistent effort over time 
• Services to the Academy outside of school hours 
• 100% Attendance for each week, half term and year 
• Excellent punctuality 
• Acts of courtesy, courage, cooperation, contribution and community   

At Longfield Academy we are committed and determined to achieve a high-quality learning experience for all students. We want to work with your full support to get the very best outcomes for your son/daughter. We want them to be happy, safe and fully engaged in their learning. If there is anything that you would like to discuss in greater detail about any of the above, then please do not hesitate to contact me at the academy. 

We thank you for your ongoing and loyal support in the pastoral systems we employ in our attempts to make a world-class academy for all our young people.

Yours faithfully

Mr L Anderson | Vice Principal (Behaviour, Standards & Welfare), Head of Anderson College