News

Monday 18th November 2024

Dear Parents, Carers and Students,

Welcome to our newsletter for the eleventh week of the Autumn Term 2024.

It’s Week A and our whole school assemblies are being taken by members of our Sixth Form. The students are feeding back on their once-in-a-lifetime experience of taking part in the recent US Presidential Election campaign. The Breath Easy team came about as a result of applying to be part of the Talent Foundry’s competition to win this experience in the USA. The team beat 500 other hopeful teams to spend time in Pennsylvania and Washington DC in the closing days of the election campaign. Among the messages shared by the team, a key takeaway was to seize opportunities when they come along!  My congratulations to Yusuf, Bhav, Diyan and Reul for their success and for showing the grit and determination to apply to be part of this competition. My thanks to Mr Bates (Deputy Headteacher) for supporting the team and accompanying them on the trip.

Students in year 13 and year 11 have completed their PPEs and will have received results and feedback from their teachers. It’s imperative that no time is wasted in acting upon this feedback. Year 11 have their first Parents’ Evening on Thursday 12th December - booking details will be issued shortly.

The focus now turns to year 10 who will have their first set of PPEs starting on Friday 13th December. The examination timetable for year 10 will be issued shortly and revision outside of lessons is crucial. 

A reminder that year 9 Parents’ Evening takes place on Thursday 5th December. This evening will mark the start of the GCSE options process for the year group, so attendance is critical.

My thanks to all staff, alumni and other visitors who supported our careers ‘You can Do’ day with year 11 last Friday. The occasion provided inspiration to many students about future careers and it was excellent to see former Lampton students returning and sharing their success. 

A reminder that the school will be closed for students in all year groups on Friday 29th November and Monday 2nd December for a long weekend break. School will resume on Tuesday 3rd December at the usual time of 8:40am - students to be on site for 8:30am.

With best wishes for the week ahead,

Stephen Davis

 

Parents' Evenings

The first parents' evening of the academic year is the year 9 parents' evening on 05 December 2024. We publish the dates of all parents evenings on our website. They can be found here. We believe that parents' evening are important as they provide parents and carers with an opportunity to find out about how well their child is progressing in their different subjects. It is important that students attend with their parents' / carers' when they meet with their child's subject teachers. This is so that they can review their progress and set new targets with their teachers. Parents' evenings now take place face to face and so the meetings will take place in school. We do continue to use the online booking system. Details of this system will be emailed to you approximately 3 weeks before the parents' evening. 

Attendance

We have been really impressed with how many students have 96% attendance and above- we want every child to have the same consistent experience of school by ensuring they are here and present every day.

How can I help? 

• Parents/carers can support their child by: 
• Making sure that their child attends school on a full-time basis. 
• Making sure that their child arrives on time - students should be on site by 8:30am and in their tutor bases ready to learn by 8:40am. 
• Not taking holidays during term time 
• If your child is ill, contact the Attendance Team on absence@lampton.org.uk  stating the reason and providing any medical evidence.
• Ensure that appointments are made out of school hours. 
• Sign up to the Parent App to receive live information on attendance and punctuality. 

Why is attendance important? 

The link between attendance and attainment is clear. In 2018/19, just 40% of persistently absent (PA) children in KS2 achieved expected KS2 standards, compared with 84% of pupils who were regular attenders. • And 36% of persistently absent children in KS4 got 9 to 4 in their English and maths GCSEs, also compared with 84% of regular attenders

What is the Lampton target? 

96% above. 

What is lost learning? 

Research is clear that absence leads to less successful academic outcomes for students. It is useful for parents/carers to understand that even small periods of absence can lead to significant lost learning for their child. This can cause them to fall behind in their knowledge and skills. Students below 90% are classified as persistently absent. 

Is my child well enough for school? 

The guidance below is provided by Professor Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer, England:

‘There is wide agreement among health professionals and educational professionals that school attendance is vital to the life chances of children and young people. Being in school improves health, wellbeing and socialisation throughout the life course. The greatest benefits come from children and young people attending school regularly.  It is usually appropriate for parents and carers to send their children to school with mild respiratory illnesses. This would include general cold symptoms: a minor cough, runny nose or sore throat’. 

My child is suffering from anxiety. Should I send them to school? 

We encourage your child to attend school and for families to report their concerns to their child’s Head of Year. For mental health needs, there is a specialist and experienced team on site who can support your child’s needs. A Pupil Care Team referral will be made. Families may even be invited to our family support sessions delivered by our Lead Wellbeing Practitioner. The following guidance is provided by Professor Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer, England: ‘In addition to respiratory illnesses, we are aware that more children may be absent from school due to symptoms of anxiety than before the pandemic. Worry and mild or moderate anxiety, whilst sometimes difficult emotions, can be a normal part of growing up for many children and young people. Being in school can often help alleviate the underlying issues. A prolonged period of absence is likely to heighten a child’s anxiety about attending in the future, rather than reduce it. DfE has published useful guidance on mental health issues affecting a pupil’s attendance and those who are experiencing persistent symptoms can be encouraged to access additional support’. 

What other support is in place? 

There are many ways attendance is encouraged and supported. This can include and is not exclusive to: 

• Strong and effective teaching 
• Teaching the Lampton Character including the importance of responsibility
• An extensive enrichment programme 
• Rewards in place such as achievement points, Shout Outs. prizes in year assemblies and celebration events
• A detailed and effective tutor time offer which focuses on students’ personal development 
• A reading school focus including a mental health and wellbeing library offer. 

Is Term Time Leave Permitted? 

It is imperative your child attends school. There are plenty of opportunities within the calendar year to book appointments or take holiday for example. Holidays will not be authorised in the academic year. There are 365 days in a year and only 190 days are spent in school. Please note these 190 days are statutory. This leaves 175 days that can be spent with families for holidays or used for appointments

How do I check my child’s attendance? 

• Your child’s attendance % will be shared every three weeks via SIMS InTouch. This is sent to contact 1 on SIMS. 
• Attendance and punctuality information will be on your child’s reports such as those shared at Parents Evening. 
• We strongly encourage all families to join the SIMS Parent App - you will then be able to access live information on your child’s attendance, punctuality and behaviour record. Further information can be found here: https://www.lampton.org.uk/2296/sims-parent-app

What should I do if I wish to discuss attendance further? 

Please contact your child’s Head of Year or a member of the Attendance Team. Ms. Virdi has been meeting students and parents to support through a formal attendance contract of how we can support families and students remove barriers to issues with attendance.

Safeguarding: Report Remove, Childline

Report Remove is here to help young people under 18 in the UK to confidentially report sexual images and videos of themselves and remove them from the internet.

The children and young people of today have been socialised within the confines of the internet age. Pornography has been an important element in the online space since the beginning. Whilst the meeting of one's first 'intimate' partner may still occur within an educational setting, much of the relationship will take place in the e-space. Cycling to a girlfriend or boyfriend's house is no longer the norm and has been taken over by a constant exchange of texts and images over different technological devices.  The erosion of the aforementioned boundaries of acceptability in cross-gender conduct, may lead to individuals engaging in a trade of explicit images without thinking forward to the potential consequences. This has led to a swathe of cases across the smart phone era, where students take revenge on line. Childline has built a new tool designed to aid subjects of this format of harassment, gain back control of their images and their internet life. If you are interested in finding out more about this tool please click on this link.

Behaviour

In tutor period form tutors are explicitly talking and teaching self-regulation. This is a vital skill for all students and connects to our behaviour expectations and our focus on character. Please take time to look at this short video . It explains the “managing the chimp model of self-regulation” which is what we are specifically focusing on. Please support your child and discuss self-regulation with them at home. You may wish to ask your child how they can manage challenging situations.