Stepping up 2 Coleshill 2015

Stepping Up To The Coleshill School

Start of Term for Year 7 Students:

Only Year 7 and Sixth Form Students will start school on Tuesday 2nd September 2014 at 8.45

am. Year 7 will spend the day getting to know their school, teachers, making new friends and

engaging in some fun team building activities. The rest of the school will join them on Wednesday

3rd September 2014.

Transition Team 2015-16:

Mrs K Robinson: Assistant Headteacher [email protected]

Mrs V Barnes: Transition Manager [email protected]

Mrs S Smith: Inclusion Manager [email protected]

Mrs S Dagnan: Primary First Aider [email protected]

School Address and Contact Details: Coventry Road, Coleshill, Birmingham, B46 3EX Telephone Number: 01675 462435 Email: [email protected] Website: www.thecoleshillschool.org.uk

Stepping up to

The COLESHILL School

New Student and Parent/Carer Information 2015—2016

Dear Student

I am delighted to welcome you to The Coleshill School.

This is a very exciting time to join the school. We have high expectations of all our students in terms of achievement and behaviour. We will work together with you and your family to ensure that you achieve your full potential. You will have lots to offer and we look forward to finding out all about your talents and interests.

We believe in rewarding success and celebrating achievement so it is up to you

to show us what you can do! We have fantastic teachers here who will challenge you to be the best that you can be. You will be well looked after by a strong pastoral team; you will meet your Head of House and tutor during the induction process.

This is now your school and we look forward to you starting in September.

Mr I Smith-Childs

Associate Headteacher



School Term Dates for the Academic Year 2014—2015

Autumn Term 2014 Spring Term 2015 Summer Term 2015

Starts

Tuesday 2nd September

Starts

Tuesday 6th January

Starts

Tuesday 14th April

Half Term

Monday 27th October

To

Friday 31st October

Half Term

Monday 16th February

To

Friday 20th February

Half Term

Monday 25th May

To

Friday 29th May

Ends

Friday 19th December

Ends

Friday 27th March

Ends

Friday17th July

May Day: Monday 4th May 2015 is a public

holiday.

Teacher Training Days 2014-2015:

1 September 2014 24 October 2014 5 December 2014 5 January 2015 13 April 2015

Lesson 1 08.45 - 09.50 am

Lesson 2 09.50 - 10.50 am

BREAK 10.50 - 11.10 am

Lesson 3 11.10 - 12.15 pm

Assembly in Houses/Vertical Tutoring 12.15 - 12.35pm

LUNCH 12.35 - 1.10 pm

Lesson 4 1.10 - 2.10 pm

Lesson 5 2.10 - 3.10 pm

Times of the School Day


Meet the Transition Team

Mr I Smith-Childs Associate Headteacher

Mr S Roberts Deputy Headteacher

Mrs T Phipps School Business Director

Mr D Howard Assistant Headteacher, Learning Director

Mrs C Larkin Assistant Headteacher, Learning Director

Miss D Mainwaring Assistant Headteacher, Learning Director

Mrs E Bott Assistant Headteacher, Learning Director

Mr R Snelson Assistant Headteacher, Learning Director

Mrs K Robinson Assistant Headteacher, Learning Director

Senior Leadership Team 2014-15

Mrs K Robinson


Care, Guidance and Support

Pastoral Support, Vertical Tutoring and House System

The school operates a vertical

tutoring House System in which

students are all placed into

tutor groups of a mixed age

range from Year 7 to Year 13.

These tutor groups are then

part of the House Community.

Each house has nine tutor

groups led by a Tutor and a

dedicated non-teaching Head of

House is available to support

parents and students wherever

they can. Senior Staff oversee

each House to provide support

for the strategic development

and achievement of students.

The Transition Team work closely with the Heads of House. Upon joining the school Year 7

students will receive close monitoring and support from each member of the Transition Team.

Each student within their first month of arriving will have a 1-2-1 learning conversation with

Mrs Barnes or their tutor or head of House. Each Form Tutor will then continue this mentoring

for students to review their progress and personal development. Below we have listed the

contact details for the relevant Head of House as well as the senior members of staff linked to

each house:

Mr D Howard [email protected]

Miss D Mainwaring [email protected]

Mrs K Robinson [email protected]

Ms M O’Neill [email protected]

Mrs E Bishop [email protected]


How Parents and Carers Can Help and Support

Any school is only as good as the support it gets from its parents and carers, and at The Coleshill School we have always greatly valued this support. Please will you continue to help us by:

Ensuring that your child starts every day in a positive way by arriving in full school uniform, with the appropriate books and equipment and having eaten a good breakfast.

Checking your child’s Personal Planner to ensure home learning is listed and completed and sign it every week in preparation for the Form Tutor to counter sign.

Talking to your son or daughter about work and progress at school and letting us know

straight away if you or she/he has any worries or concerns. Letting us know if your son or daughter has a particular talent, gift or skill that we might

encourage and develop further. Ensuring that reply slips on letters sent home are completed, signed and returned straight

away. It is often worth checking school bags for letters that have disappeared. We endeavour to send out correspondence where possible on a Friday.

Important letters will often be followed by a text, an email or will be available on our website.

We are determined that the partnership between the school and home should be as strong as possible. It is our aim to ensure that every student here achieves personal excellence. Please work with us and support us on matters of study and behaviour. It is important that students see teachers and parents/carers working together in partnership to maintain standards.

The first point of contact should be Mrs Barnes/Head of House or your child's Tutor.

Arriving at School in the Morning:

Students need to enter via the Coventry Road gate it is imperative that they walk on the pavements at all times. The main entrance is for use by staff and visitors only. The students should enter school via the side gate, to the left of the Post-16 Centre. The school canteen serves breakfast from 8.00am and students are urged to wait in the dining room if they arrive early to school. ABM Catering offers all students a free bowl of porridge. We have staff on duty from 8.00 am in the canteen and request that all students who arrive to school at this time go to this area, as the rest of the site is unsupervised. We would also like to add that students are not allowed on the school site before 8.00 am. Should you need to come into school for any reason, all visitors must sign in at Reception and wear a visitors’ badge at all times. We advise that you book an appointment in advance.

Bicyles:

Should students wish to cycle to school, this is permitted. Students are expected to cycle safely, wear a helmet and make sure their property is locked in the designated bike shelter located in the front car park. Students bring cycles at their own risk. We prefer students to have undertaken some cycling proficiency training.

Collecting students:

We appreciate just how difficult it is to park near the school, especially at the beginning and end of the day. Parents/Carers are asked not to obstruct our main entrances on Coventry Road and Packington Lane. If you wish to drop off children please drive into the main Coventry Road entrance and make a complete loop, dropping students in the bus lane, but not parking. For collecting your son/daughter at the end of school, please could parents not park on school site as this can block the school buses.


Encourage your child to attend every day, punctually. When your child needs to be off school, please contact

the school on the day that they are going to be absent by calling the main school number and selecting the appropriate option.

When your child has been absent encourage them to come back at the earliest opportunity so that they can begin to catch up on work they have missed.

If you are at all concerned about your child not wanting to come to school, or notice any change in behaviour or attitude towards school please contact your child’s Head of House.

Attendance

At The Coleshill School we have worked hard to improve the attendance of our students and have raised attendance from 90.5% to over 95%. This puts us above the national average and OFSTED praised the school for the dramatic improvements which we have made. The minimum expectation for students’ attendance is 95% and we would ask you to help your child achieve this target in the following ways:

Mrs T Rawlins is our Attendance Manager, her email address is

[email protected], should you have any queries regarding attendance

We will keep you informed about your child’s attendance by:

Contacting you by break time via text if your child is absent and we do not know why. Sharing your child’s current attendance and attendance target at Parents’ evening and in

interim reports. Contacting and visiting you if we have concerns about your child’s attendance.

Holidays During Term Time:

There is never a good time to take your child out of school. There is a clear link between outstanding attainment and good attendance. For this reason we do not authorise any holidays during term time. In extreme circumstances a leave of absence may be requested by completing a form which can be collected from the Student Support Office. A leave of absence form is necessary for any absence request.

Illness, Accident or Medical Issues:

The Coleshill School has many trained first aid officers and a member of staff is always on duty providing first aid for any student requiring it during school hours. Should your child become unwell during the school day they will be encouraged to continue in school. If this is not possible a first aider will make the decision whether or not to contact you to ask you to collect your child. Students should not contact parents directly.

Parents will be contacted to assist in medical matters and any emergencies involving the need for a student to attend hospital. In this instance it is vital that the school has the most up to date telephone numbers for parents/carers.

Where children have a medical condition which does not prevent them from attending school but required administration of medication or following an agreed schedule or programme (e.g. diabetes, asthma), Mrs Dagnan, Primary First Aider at Student Support must be notified.


Daily Routines

Personal Equipment:

A strong waterproof bag for carrying books.

A pencil case with blue/black pens, coloured pencils or felts, 30cm ruler, and rubber.

Protractor, compass and a simple scientific calculator for maths.

A Student Planner provided by the school. If a student loses their planner they will be

expected to purchase a new one at the cost of £2.00.

Lost Property:

Please mark all property with your son’s/daughter’s full name and tutor group. Any student who

has mislaid an item of clothing or equipment should contact the Student Support Office.

Group Call:

Group call is a service where we are able to send text messages to your mobile phone to advise

you of emergencies, school closure, parents’ evenings, etc. Please keep us up to date with your

current mobile phone number.

School Website:

The website, www.thecoleshillschool.org.uk, provides a central source of information of the school

and its activities. The website homepage is also used to advise parents of any emergency closure

due to extreme weather or site problems. It also features useful links to other sites and useful

information for parents, carers and students.

Valuables and Personal Property:

The Coleshill School will not accept responsibility or liability for the loss or damage incurred to any

valuable items such as mobile phones, tablets and IPods, and staff will not look after them for safe

keeping in PE lessons. We have a policy of no mobile devices in lessons and if staff see students

with these items they will be confiscated.

Student Code of Conduct:

As students of The Coleshill School in order to make the most of learning, we will:

Be ready to learn for our lessons: meaning we will turn up on time, with the correct uniform and equipment in order to start learning as quickly as possible.

Complete all home learning set, meeting all deadlines and producing work to the best of our ability.

Show sustained interest and commitment to our learning: We will contribute to classroom discussions as necessary and support others in our class if they require help.

Demonstrate SPIRIT skills: We will show Self Management, Perseverance, Innovation, Reflection, Independence and Teamwork (SPIRIT)

Treat the school environment and all members of the community with respect.


ANTI-BULLYING

Getting Involved

Student Voice Community:

We also actively encourage the involvement of students to support the leadership of the school

through joining the Student Voice Community (SVC). Student voice is something that is highly

valued at The Coleshill School by staff and governors and we currently have in excess of seventy

students involved with the SVC. We again welcome students of all ages and backgrounds.

Anti-Bullying Committee:

Here at the Coleshill School we take accusations of bullying seriously. All students are given an ABC

card with details on who they can talk to should they experience any problems.

Usually we can sort out differences quickly and easily. Any student believing they are being bullied

are fully supported by the ABC Team, Mrs Barnes and the Pastoral Team who follow up any

concerns that are made to ensure a satisfactory conclusion is made for all. Ongoing support and

guidance is given to all parties involved so that we are able to move forward in a positive way.

07528 128 383 [email protected]

We’re always here to listen and help


Things to look forward to...

The following extra-curricular activities have taken place during the last two academic years for students in Key Stage 3. Similar opportunities will be made available in 2014-15.

Educational Trips & Visits:

Visits abroad - Recent examples have included:

Sporting trip to Barcelona

Educational visit to Germany, Prague and Amsterdam, Geneva.

Geography field visit to Paris (Euro Disney) and Chamonix

Other recent visits include:

Theatre visits, including the Royal Shakespeare Company

Visits to Universities (Cambridge, Warwick, Birmingham, etc.)

The Houses of Parliament

Art Galleries in Birmingham and London

Rolls Royce Business Challenge

Enrichment Clubs & Activities:

We have an extensive range of extra curricular clubs and are always looking for new ideas. Please see our Enrichment Co-ordinator, Mrs Rawlins with suggestions. Some examples of these clubs include: Computer club and 3D Club, Library and Resource Centre, Home Learning club, Snake Man, Performing Arts club, whole school production, Rock School and other musical clubs.

Sports clubs and teams include:

Football, Netball, Gymnastics, Track & Field, Cricket, Basketball, Dance, Trampolining and Rugby.

Rewards:

Students at the school are rewarded through the use of achievement points for being ready to learn and committed to being the best that they can be. In return we exchange points for prizes as well as organising rewards trips. Recent examples include: Pizza and movie afternoons, Drayton Manor Adventure Park, Tamworth Snowdome for ice-skating and snow adventures and Alton Towers.

Making Music @ The Coleshill School:

Providing high quality individual music and instrument lessons plus our ever popular Rock School! Playing a musical instrument or learning to sing could be one of the best things your child ever does and can help develop self-discipline and self-esteem, social skills and improve concentration. Above all else it is a highly rewarding activity and great fun!






ParentPay is the school online payment system that lets you make secure online payments by credit and debit card.

ParentPay enables parents to pay for School Meals and other items such as Trips and Music Lessons and offers you the freedom to make payments whenever and wherever you like, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Parents will have a secure online account, which will be activated using a unique username and password. The School will send you information on how to activate your account along with your activation details in due course.

Financial Assistance

Since July 2014, Warwickshire has changed their Free School Meals application process making it much easier for parents/carers to find out whether they are eligible. The process can be completed quickly online using the address below and requires no other lengthy forms to complete. You will only need your contact details, national insurance number and the details of your child to apply. For parents/carers currently claiming for Free School Meals, you will be sent a letter outlining the application process and for any parents/carers who are applying for the first time, the following web address will lead you to the required forms.

http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/freeschoolmeals

The process is quick and confidential and provides further benefits to your child, as for every child who is eligible for Free School Meals, The Coleshill School receives additional government funding called the Pupil Premium. The Pupil Premium is a vital resource providing funding for additional staff, smaller class sizes and other resources such as lap tops for students to help with home learning, bus passes, uniform assistance and peripatetic music lessons. The spending of the Pupil Premium is intended to improve the achievement of students who are:

entitled to free school meals, or have received free school meals in the last 6 years.

children in care or children whose parent/carers serve in the armed forces.

children who have been adopted from care, or who left care under a Special

Guardianship Order/ Residence Order.

For further details of the impact of the Pupil Premium at The Coleshill School, please see our website. Should you have any further questions please contact Mrs Fletcher ([email protected]) in the first instance.

http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/freeschoolmeals

mailto:[email protected]


We value a safe environment based upon respect and positive relationships We actively participate in our House communities We value and promote partnerships with

other schools, businesses and members of the community

We develop leadership at all levels

TOWARDS OUTSTANDING

You experience inspirational teaching, with learning activities that challenge you

You accelerate your progress through engaging in quality student—teacher dialogue

You have opportunities to develop enterprise skills through letting your SPIRIT shine

You understand your targets and how to make progress, with tracking and intervention used to ensure you reach your potential

You experience high quality 1-to-1 learning conversations and know how to improve

Your achievements are celebrated in a culture of success

THE COLESHILL CHARTER

2014-2015 Learning and Achieving Together

Documents

Stepping up 2 Coleshill 2015