News

 

Monday 24th April

 

Dear Parents, Carers and Students,

Welcome to our newsletter for the second week of the Summer Term 2023 - I hope all members of our community who celebrated Eid at the weekend had an enjoyable time.  It’s Week B, so therefore year assemblies are taking place. Our character theme this fortnight is ‘humility’.

We are now entering a period of disruption to our usual working weeks with Bank Holidays on Monday 1st and 8th May. There is also planned strike action by members of the NEU on Thursday 27th April and Tuesday 2nd May. Nationally, the NEU has granted dispensation for teachers of classes in Y11 and Y13 to attend school on the two strike days and teach their classes - this is being enacted on an individual basis. At Lampton, we intend to be open for students in Years 11 and 13 on both days with other year groups learning at home online as per previous strike days. Could I ask that you keep a close eye on your child’s year group Google classroom page for any updates on the two strike days themselves. A reminder, that for students in Y11 and Y13 these days, and the two long weekends, must be used for study in order to maximise their potential for success in the exams.

Looking ahead, you may have seen and heard in the media that more industrial action in the form of strikes could take place between now and the end of 2023. A number of other teaching unions, including those representing school leaders, will be balloting for strike action. This level of action is unprecedented and demonstrates the challenges facing our education system nationally with respect to staff pay and the funding of schools. As the situation develops further, I will update you via this bulletin.

On a much more positive note, we very much look forward to welcoming Y8 families to school for the year group celebration event tomorrow, Tuesday 25th April. Events for Y9 and Y10 will take place in May.

With best wishes for the week ahead.

Stephen Davis

 

Safeguarding bulletin - stress

As exam season approaches, it may be that students in Year 11 and Year 13 are starting to feel stressed by the thought of examinations. In assembly this week, Year 11 students have been encouraged to embrace the concept of ‘positive stress’: in other words seeing stress as a normal and productive state of mind that helps us to motivate ourselves to achieve our aspirations and goals. This TedX talk also shares this perspective, and gives a primer on how to ‘make stress your friend’. However, we are also aware that sometimes stress can be overwhelming and counter-productive. In these cases, we encourage students to let us know so that we can provide support. If you are concerned that your son or daughter is unduly stressed or anxious, please contact us via safeguarding@lampton.org.uk. 

Also, there is information here which may encourage young people to speak about their mental health: Information for 11-18 year olds on opening up about your mental health - Mind. April is Stress Awareness Month, and this site has further information and we would recommend the following site too: What is stress? - Mind

 

 

Summer term extra curricular activities

We have recently updated the timetable for extracurricular activities for the summer term. For more information, please visit our extra-curricular page. We are also in the process of lining up a range of curriculum trips in the second half of the summer term, and more information will be sent via email to parents / carers when opportunities are available.

 

 Beezee bodies - family supportive event

Hounslow Council is sponsoring a series of events for parents to find out more about how to support their children to be healthy. For more information and to sign up, please follow this link.

 

Y12 End of Year Exams

Year 12 Examinations will start tomorrow and run until Friday inclusive.  The exams will be held in the Sports Hall and students should pay particular attention to timings.  Students only need to attend for their exams and can study at home if they don’t have exams.  The exams will not be affected by Thursday’s NEU strike action.

 

Attendance and Punctuality 

A reminder to parents and carers that students are expected to be in their tutor base by 8:40am. Parents/carers will be sent a message if their child continues to be late for school. 

Also, positive attendance leads to better outcomes academically and developmentally for young people. We ask all parents/carers to encourage strong attendance. Parents/carers should now be receiving messages every three weeks with their child’s personal attendance figure with a corresponding praise or improvement message. Please note that attendance below 90% is regarded as ‘persistently absent’ by the Department for Education and will require follow up by Lampton and, potentially, external agencies such as the Education Welfare Service.