Weekly Newsletters

On Tuesday we welcomed back the whole school from the summer holidays and I addressed every year group about our fundamental expectations. These are:

• To embrace the new changes to the school day and behaviour for learning expectations which Mr Whales (Vice Principal) will share in more detail later in this newsletter
• To ensure that every day counts as time goes by very quickly
• To match or better the excellent set of results achieved by the previous Year 11 and Post 16 students
• To have no regrets

May I send the parents of year 7 and those who have joined in other year groups a warm welcome to our school and to this, the first newsletter of this academic year. The first week of secondary school is a big step and it is important that they have the best possible start – my youngest daughter started secondary school this week too so I also had that same feeling from a parent’s point of view! I wish to thank Mr O'Neill and the year 7 pastoral team who have been on hand to ensure a smooth and welcoming transition. We all understand that the movement from primary to secondary school presents some degree of challenge, however I am confident that our new year 7 students will quickly embrace life at KSCS and will welcome the forthcoming exciting opportunities. I enjoyed meeting with them all and we really look forward to getting to know them.

We also welcome a number of new staff to the school and they will introduce themselves in future editions of the newsletter.

Following Parents Forum feedback we have added a number of additional parental/subject consultation meetings this year.  There will be two consultation meetings calendared for Years 9, 10 11 and Post16.

Given the new arrangements in our tutor system this academic year, there is also a Tutor Consultation Evening on Tuesday 19th September, for parents/carers to meet their child's tutor. A letter to explain the process of booking an appointment will be going home and is also attached to this newsletter. In the vast majority of cases students have new tutors and we would encourage you to attend the consultation. There is a Post 16 subject evening on 26th September and we will take a pragmatic approach to this, meaning that if you have a child in Post 16 you may wish to only attend the subject evening, which is an essential early feedback on your son/daughter's start to their courses.

• Post16 Consultation Meeting Tuesday 26th September 4-7pm
• Year 11 Consultation Meeting Tuesday 17th October 4-7pm

In addition we will have a Parents' Forum meeting on Wednesday 11th October and I would encourage you to attend to find out more about the school and have your say!

Finally, I wish all the students a very productive year and I look forward to meeting many of you in due course.

Bryan Erwin
Principal

At KSCS, we need to be clear, your children are only with us for a relatively short period of time. We have a huge responsibility to ensure they achieve the best possible results during their time with us. Alongside this we need to support and guide your children through the turbulent teenage years, preparing them to take on the world, as fully rounded young people.

This September we are pushing hard to raise the standards and expectations of everybody at KSCS. The behaviour policy has been updated, which represents some small changes to the way things work. I think it is important to stress that the behaviour strategies work most effective when there is a strong partnership between school and home. Fundamentally, we all want the same thing - for your child to succeed.

As a very brief update, we have introduced daily after-school detentions (ASD) which can be up to 60 minutes in length. Students are given an ASD if they are removed from a lesson and taken to the Internal Exclusion Unit (IEU). They can also be given for general poor behaviour. We are hoping to move to an electronic system whereby you will be alerted by email or text if they are in ASD. We have also revamped the Exclusion Unit, where students are isolated for short periods of time.

The rationale behind the updated policy is that if students conform and take responsibility, their sanctions may not be so severe. Most aspects, in fact, recognise when as student starts making good decisions and the policy reflects this in a potential reduction in the sanction. If however the student continues to make poor choices, the sanctions will continue to increase in severity, which is clearly something we are very keen to avoid.

Here is a reminder of some of the key rules:

• Please ensure your child has the correct uniform. If you are in any doubt please visit the website or contact the school for advice.
• Piercings are not allowed and will need to be removed, with no exceptions (one stud in each ear is permitted).
• If a student is late they will receive a 30 min ASD that day.
• Mobile phones are only permitted during break times and will be confiscated if necessary.
• Hoodies are not permitted.

Lastly, I think it important to stress, all these measures are in place to ensure your children excel while they are with us. Disruptive behaviour of any kind is not conducive to ‘Outstanding’ results, something we are firmly committed to delivering. If classes are disrupted due to any poor behaviour, we will take swift and robust action. I am sure this is something you support and I look forward to working with you to achieve our shared goals.

Mr Whales
Vice Principal

Attendance = Achievement.

It is vitally important that pupils have high levels of attendance so that they can achieve the most out of their education.

In order to support your child to achieve, here are some top tips our parents have found useful:

• Make getting students to school on time every day a top priority.
• Monitor your child's attendance. Remember more than 7 absences in an academic year can put your child off track.
• Provide medical documentation if ill for 3 days or more.
• Develop back up plans for getting to school if something comes up.
• Avoid medical appointments and holidays during the school day/term.
• Do not permit missing school unless your child is truly sick.
• Ask reception staff for a form to allow you to bring tablets into school to be held by our first aider. Please put the students name on the box. E.g. Paracetamol, ibuprofen, allergy tablets.
• Let the school know if you are facing a major barrier to attendance so they can offer available supports and resources.
• Talk about the importance of attendance for success in school and life.

Some absences could be avoided and will be unauthorised by Ken Stimpson. These include:

• Trivial illness
• Minding the house or waiting for deliveries etc.
• Being on holiday or packing or getting ready for a holiday or trip
• Looking after brothers and sisters
• Looking after a sick relative
• Helping with housework or family business
• Translating services for others
• Being unhappy or not getting on with others at Ken Stimpson

Penalty notices will be issued:

• If the pupil has attendance levels of 90% or below and at least 8 sessions of unauthorised absences.
• Unauthorised holidays (please note any absence for 2 days or over will need medical evidence)
• If a student is late after the close of the registers persistently and their attendance is below 90%

Student Arriving Late

The school will take account of individual circumstances in each case however we wish to make It very clear that the following reasons are not valid reasons for being late to school and will result ih a "Late after registration closed" code being issued, alongside the 30 minute late detention after school.

• “I got up late or "My alarm did not go off."
• "The bus was late" or "Traffic." (except for accidents or breakdown)'
• “I couldn't find my uniform/coursework/PE Kit"
•  “My parents made me late."
• "l was taking my brother or sister to school”

If the detention is not attended this will increase to 1 hour.

We thank you for your continued support in helping our school to further improve attendance and punctuality