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Email sent to all parents

Dear Parent/Carer,

We are emailing to make parents aware that we have recently been informed that some of our students have been followed home from school by a man in a blue car. He pulled over, wound his window down but before he could speak fortunately the two boys shouted at him and he speedily drove off. There was also a previous incident at a weekend where a man in a blue car also followed one of our students. We would like to encourage parents/carers to speak to their child about safe behaviours to and from school, as well as at the weekend/during holiday times. In addition we would encourage parents/carers to inform the police of any suspicious incidents like this and also inform the school so that we are also aware.

 

Finally, we would like to inform you that as from Tuesday 1st March (the students first day back after February Half Term) we will not be requiring students or staff to wear face masks in lessons or around the school site. We have continued to analyse the number of positive cases amongst the staff and student body and have seen a dramatic reduction in positive cases. In fact our numbers are so low now as to be negligible. Without question this has been down to the school needing to implement it’s COVID Outbreak Management Plan that required the wearing of face masks in lessons and enclosed spaces to ensure that not only could we have as many students in school as possible and not isolating at home, but also limit the number of staff absent due to also testing positive. This has really had a dramatic impact and enabled us to keep all of our year groups open and in school.

We thank you for your support in ensuring your child came to school a face mask at the times when it has been necessary.

 

Wishing you all a wonderful half term holiday.

Many kind regards,

Mr R Morey

Deputy Headteacher

Student lateness to school and lessons

Dear Parent/Carer,

We are writing to you to ask for your support in ensuring your child arrives to school on time, at 8.45am, so that they are ready to start mentor time at 8.50am. Not only is a register taken during mentor time but also a number of relevant topics and issues discussed around student well-being, careers, study habits etc that if students arrive late for, they will not benefit from. In addition, we are often asked to comment about a student on aspects such as attendance and punctuality and we do include mentor time when providing that information.

Recently we held an assembly where it was explained to students what being late is. Our definition is “not moving straight away from one lesson/mentor period or the end of break/lunch to lessons”. We explained that their teacher will start the mentor session/lesson as soon after the bell as possible and if you arrive after this you are late”. You will have been deemed to be purposefully and unreasonably late at this point.

We have asked all staff to record purposeful and unreasonable lates from the time the lesson starts. This information is being captured and mentors, Well-Being Officers and College Leaders have been asked to contact home weekly where a threshold has been reached and the number of times and/or the amount of time late is becoming a pattern both to and in school. Moving forwards this information will also be provided on your child’s progress report.

We ask for your support in speaking to your child about the importance of being on time to school and lessons, as this will not only maximise learning time in class but also safeguard all students so that at the start of each lesson we know each child is accounted for in school.

 

Many kind regards,

Mr R Morey

Deputy Headteacher

Safeguarding and Social Media

Dear Parents/Carers,

As parents/carers you will understand that our role in supporting children is to help them understand how to use the internet safely and to build the interpersonal skills that allow them to flourish as active and responsible global citizens. In line with guidance that is in place to protect and safeguard children, Finham Park School would again like to take this opportunity to remind all students and their parents/carers that the minimum age for all social media platforms is 13 years, with the exception of WhatsApp, which has a higher minimum age requirement of 16 years in response to data protection legislation.

Across all of our year groups we are increasingly concerned by the number of incidents happening in and out of school hours on social media platforms. We see cases of bullying, discrimination, prejudice and unkindness; all of which are distracting pupils from their learning, causing upset and in some cases leading to serious behaviour consequences. We continue to speak to pupils about the dangers and recommended age requirements around social media. This is done in assemblies, lesson time, PSHE and mentor periods. Our strong recommendation is that parents/carers also discuss the dangers around social media and remove social media accounts from their child’s phone as appropriate, whilst also monitoring closely their interactions online where they are above the legal age.

Below are some websites that may help parents/carers in giving advice and support:

In addition, attached you will find two online safety guides – one for 11-13 year olds and one for 14+ year olds – I do hope you find them useful.

We do hope this will limit the number of discussions that contain highly inappropriate language, discriminatory language and inappropriate images. Instances of racism, homophobia or any other form of discrimination are considered serious incidents under our behaviour policy and, as such, does lead to severe consequences. We will continue to deal robustly with incidents of this nature where they spill over into the school day and where appropriate will advise parents to report hate crimes to the police, especially where they are taking place outside of school hours.

We are planning a session with all of our students on Tuesday 8th February (Safer Internet Day) but also appreciate your support in ensuring we are safeguarding the children in our care and urge you to revisit the social media platforms and online access that your child has.

Finally, can I again encourage parents/carers to share their views via the parent questionnaire link below so that your feedback can inform our decision making on policy and practice within our school https://tinyurl.com/45nby38x.

Yours faithfully,

Mr R Morey

Deputy Headteacher