I hope you and your family have had a restful break together. Thank you to the parents/carers who signed their child up to our Easter Extra club which took place in the first week of the holidays. We have had great feedback from Aspire Sports who worked with our students. Also, a huge thank you to Year 11 students who were in the Academy over Easter, working on a range of subjects. Their commitment is inspiring as they head into the final leg of their JQA journey.
Thank you to the parents/carers who attended our Spring Term Parent Symposium in the week before the holidays. A copy of the presentation is here. As a result of parental feedback, we are going to create some video guides on how best to support your child. Keep an eye out for these as part of our ‘Collaboration Collection’ to continue to support parents.
Remember, the Parent Survey is still live until Friday April 29th and we really value your feedback and views. It is important to be positive in the survey – remember, if you have a specific concern, you can always get in touch with me directly.
We will be issuing a form to each child to check that we have the most up-to-date contact details for you – please return these via your child’s form tutor. It’s really important that all families stay connected to the Academy so you stay updated on key events and news: I encourage all parents to download our Piota app and also follow the Academy on socials such as Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
We have 23 school days of this first half of the Summer Term and I expect all students to have strong attendance and punctuality. With Eid approaching, we must stress the importance of attendance and reinforce that only one day of absence will be authorised for the Eid celebration.
Children have missed too much school over the last two years and every day counts. When attendance drops below 90%, we take swift and strong action, working with Birmingham City Council: together, we have over 50 cases where legal proceedings have been started, with two cases going to court and fines issued. I must also stress the importance of punctuality and planning morning journeys so as to arrive by 8.35. We are preparing students for the adult world where they will be expected to be on time for work in employed positions. The consequences around being late when you have a job can be severe; school is safe place to learn that lesson before. There has been a slight change to our detention system, with students sitting consequences with their Head of Year and/or Year Group Co-Ordinator, rather than their tutor. I have spoken to all students about their responsibilities to meet our high expectations today.
There has been some changes in the pastoral structures at the Academy: Mr Francis takes up post as Pastoral Manager and Mr Yeomans has taken the role of Head of Year 10. We are also appointing a Year Group Co-Ordinator to further bolster this team. Lisa Taylor, parent governor, has also stepped up to be interim Chair of Governors. We thank the previous Chair of Governors, Andy Collyer, for all his hard work and dedication to support the school.
Over the holidays, we have installed two new computer suites, following feedback from Student Parliament. It is important our students have the best resources and we have a commitment to keep improving the provision for our students.
As the Summer Term progresses, it is vital that Year 11 students in particular are here everyday and attending their additional sessions to make the most of the time they have left before the exam series begins. A timetable for all Summer exams is here. It’s also an exciting time for Year 10 students too as they embark on work experience (the first cohort to be able to do this in two years!) and many will be applying for leadership roles as they step up to be the new leaders at the Academy, once Year 11 depart on June 30th.
A reminder to parents/carers of students in Year 10 to make their Parents’ Evening appointments via SchoolCloud for our in-person Parents’ Evening on 5th May from 4pm -6.30pm.
Please call us on 0121 729 7220, leaving a message if lines are busy, and we will support you.
You can always contact me directly at: [email protected]
I look forward to a successful Summer Term.