NEWSLETTER - 2 SEPTEMBER

WELCOME BACK

A very warm welcome back to the new school year.  We are very much looking forward to seeing the students back in school next week.   

This Summer has brought a great deal of success for our Year 11 and Year 13 students, more information will be in next week's newsletter.

The arrangements for the start term are as follows:

MONDAY 5 SEPTEMBER

Year 7, please go to the netball courts at the front of the school next to the drop off area.  It is likely to be very busy so please allow good time and if possible park away from the local area.  There will be members of staff in the courts to welcome the students.

Year 12, please go straight to the Sixth Form Common Room.

TUESDAY 6 SEPTEMBER

All year groups are to come into school and report straight to their tutor rooms.  A list of tutor rooms can be found below.

Tutor Room Allocations 2022-23

It has been a long summer for us all and I hope that everyone is fully rested ready for an exciting Autumn term.  Please do make sure that you remind yourselves of our procedures around reporting absence and the ensure that your sons and daughters are in the correct school uniform. 

As we start the new school year, we are very much aware of the pressures that all families will be under with the cost of living crisis and the pressure on household income.  As a school we will be feeling these pressures too and as such we will be having to make decisions, like households, that are going to be difficult unless there is a change in direction regarding more support being provided for schools.  During these challenging times it is important that we are aware of any issues that may be impacting families and the stresses that may be being created, and we will do our upmost to support where we can.   Please do make sure that we are kept informed of any such issues. 

Over the next few weeks each year group will be having an information evening , on zoom, hosted by the Head of Year in which we will focus on key themes that we are sharing with the students as well as important dates.  Please do make every effort to attend.  More information will follow early next week.  All of the dates can be accessed via the school calendar here.

As you know attendance in school is extremely important and there are direct links to academic outcomes as well as social development.  Mr Wright, Deputy Head Behaviour and Attitudes, has overview of this area of school.  He and the team in the Pastoral Support area are able to support individuals to ensure that attendance is as high as it can be.  It is important to note that unless there are exceptional circumstances no term time holidays will be authorised.   As always, it is important that we are kept informed on any concerns there may be that are impacting attendance, please do make sure that your son/daughter's tutor is kept informed.

The new school year means a new beginning and opportunities for all - I would encourage all to grab these opportunities both in the classroom and also outside the classroom and get involved in our extensive extra-curricular programme. 

We appreciate that this year will bring many external challenges for us all but by working together we are confident that we continue to provide the best possible education for all.

PRIORITISING POSITIVE SCHOOL ATTENDANCE

Before we broke up for the well earned summer break we shared some information with students, parents and carers about the importance of school attendance. We will try hard not to repeat ourselves too much but with the return of further normality in school life, and the start of a new academic year, we are going to again be prioritising positive school attendance for all students and providing as much support as we can when and where it is required. One of the things we have done is provide some further clarity of what intervention takes place and at what point. This is clearly shown on the infographic that you can find here.

As we look forward to welcoming back all students next week, it is a great opportunity to start a new year afresh and set a new target of attending school each and every day. We do understand that there are all sorts of reasons why students can miss school, and we know that we all can be too unwell to attend school/work at some points. We just want to minimise absence where it is possible and promote positive school attendance in order for all students to experience all of the valuable personal development opportunities that we offer at Charters School and have the best possible chance of success academically. Our target, for the whole school, is to have an overall attendance figure in excess of 96%. By a commitment to work together we can do this!

As ever, tutors should be the initial contact for any concerns or questions regarding school attendance, but if you have very specific questions for the attendance team, please do email attendance@chartersschool.org.uk where your query will be directed to the correct place. We have also put links here to access something from ‘The Parents' Guide to’ regarding school return and a further link here where young people may feel anxious about the return to school.

COMMUNITY

DRIVE YOUTH NIGHTS

Drive Youth Nights are a fun and safe place for young people to come and hang out, play games and build friendships. With table football, table tennis, chill out zones, video games, tuck shop, football, basketball and much more.

This youth group is for school years 8-10, 7-8:30pm at Ascot Life Centre on the second Friday of the month. It is free to attend, although you might want to bring a long a little bit of money for the tuck shop.  

Please click here for flyer.

PARENT CURRICULUM/SUPPORT INFORMATION

 Disclaimer: Any websites or apps mentioned in the Weekly Newsletter are not endorsed by the School and are used at your own discretion.  Any views or opinions expressed within the website or app are not necessarily those of Charters School.