Charlton School

Dear Parents/Carers

Standards and Expectations

I hope that this update finds you safe and well at the start of this academic year. I am proud to say that our students have returned to school with purpose and there is a calm and hardworking atmosphere right across the school.

As we continue to look ahead, I would like to draw your attention to some important reminders. We are extremely proud of the high expectations and standards at our school and expect all students to demonstrate our core values of Respect, Responsibility and Resilience always. Please could you take some time to read through and discuss with your son or daughter these key reminders

Wellbeing

It is natural to be a little anxious and excited about the first few weeks of our return to school. Should you feel that your son or daughter has not settled back quickly into a positive routine then please let us know.

Attendance and Punctuality

Full attendance is expected at school, and it is very important that all children return to school. Our Attendance team will be monitoring this very carefully. Students should arrive punctually at the correct entrance. If your child is not able to attend at any time, please report absence in the usual manner.

We strongly advise against any appointments taking place during the school day to further minimise absence from school.

Uniform

We expect all students to take pride in their uniform and appearance, including PE Kit, and we would like to thank parents for their continued support regarding our high expectations of uniform. Most students have returned to school smartly dressed and remain so throughout the academy day.

Our uniform items are available from Bakers and Sons and uniform guidance can be found at the link here: http://charlton.uk.com/parent-student-information/uniform

Fundamental Equipment

We strongly recommend that a school bag is brought into school every day and be large enough to carry the basic equipment, exercise books and A4 documentation. Every student is expected to bring the following basic items of equipment for every day:

• A black or blue pen, red pen, pencil, ruler and PE kit (required as timetabled)

Behaviour

Many of the school’s previous COVID-secure rules have remained in place, including one-way systems and staggered break and lunchtimes.

To maintain the usual good order and safety of all the school community, the school will maintain its very high expectations in terms of behaviour each day. Students throughout the school and in the community are expected to take responsibility for their own behaviour for learning, to meet, and go beyond, the expectations of Respect, Responsibility and Resilience. The Home School Agreement gives students and adults clear guidance about our very high expectations. This, and other important information about our expectations, can be found in the Behaviour for Learning Policy on the school website.

Mobile Phones and Headphones/Pods

A reminder that mobile phones are to be switched off and away during the school day. We would very much welcome your support with the policy and would ask that if you need to contact your son or daughter you do so through reception. A reminder that any student found to have their phone out during the school day will have their phone confiscated until the end of the day on the first occasion. Any subsequent confiscation will require the phone to be collected by a parent/carer.

Students must also remove headphones (including wireless pods) at the gate.

I understand that these continue to be unknown and strange times for all of us. Keeping routines and familiar systems in place for students, where we can, will continue to be our priority. High standards and expectations at the school underpin our key focus of providing high quality teaching and learning in the classroom and embedding a positive community culture. Thank you so much for your continued support in helping us equip students with clear standards and expectations.

Sanctions

To ensure high levels of behaviour for learning within the classroom we have three levels of detentions at Charlton:

• C1 detention lasts for 10 minutes and takes place with the member of staff who has issued the C1
• C2 detentions have returned to 30 minutes and take place in the Media Open Classroom with a member of the senior leadership team. If students are issued a C2 the detention will take place the next day and it is vital that students attend their detention to stop it escalating to a C3 detention
• C3 detentions last for 60 minutes and are also held in the Media Open Classroom by a member of the senior leadership team. Failure to attend a C3 detention will lead to an internal exclusion in our Behaviour Recovery Room

End of School Day

We would like to highlight the provision that is made for students at the end of the school day. As you are aware, the school day finishes at 3.00pm and students are always encouraged to attend supervised extra-curricular activities.

At the end of the school day, some students are waiting outside the building unsupervised for long periods of time. Even though there are some staff patrols at this time, the students are not supervised and as such they can cause a disturbance and pose a risk to those drivers entering and exiting the school premises.

We request that, unless students are in a supervised club at the end of the day, your children are collected in a timely manner from the school premises. Failure to do this puts your child’s safety at risk and, if conduct is poor or unsafe, then the risk of sanctions being imposed increases significantly.

Yours faithfully

Mr L Evans

Vice Principal