It has been an absolute pleasure seeing the school and our pupils flourish this academic year. We could not have achieved what we have without all of your continued support, along with the determination of our pupils.
We would like to thank all of our parents and local volunteers, who have assisted both in and out of school.
We would also like to take this opportunity ot thank those of you that have worked with us to improve your child's attendance. The difference this has made in their social skills, attainment and progress is very noticeable.
We need to say a massive well done ot our Year 6 pupils. Their SATs outcomes were the best the school have had. So a big thank you to them and the team for their dedication in making this possible.
Our journey to being transformational is only just beginning. There are exciting plans ahead and I look forward to sharing these with you during our first coffee morning on Wednesday 11th September.
Enjoy the summer break. And we look forward to welcoming you all back on Tuesday 3rd September.
Team Firbeck
At Firbeck Academy we believe that every child has a right to learn in an environment that is safe, where everyone is respectful and values education. It is important to have high expectations with regards to behaviour, at all times of the school day. With this in mind we have revamped our behaviour expectations and consequences overview.
We feel it is important to share these with you prior to the end of term as we will be implementing these from the start of next academic year. You may wish to remind your child(ren) of these over the summer break.
As we continue to raise our expectations at Firbeck we will be quite firm around our uniform expectations. From September if a child arrives at school wearing something that is not in-line with our uniform they will be asked to 'exchange' it with an item of appropriate clothing from our Firbeck Uniform Box. As their parent(s) you will be contacted and will be able to pop into school with the correct uniform item. Thy 'non-uniform' item will be returned to them at the end of the day.
Please be aware that the only item of jewellery permitted is one pair of small stud ear-rings. All pupils will be asked to remove any other items of jewellery. These will be stored safely until the end of hte day.
It has been heartening to see this week that all classes had attendance above 90%. However, this is still not where we want to be as a school.
Good attendance and punctuality are vital for success at school, and to establish positive life habits that are necessary for future success. As a school we are committed to reducing absence, increasing attendance and punctuality.
We expect every pupil to maintain at least 96% attendance and above. Under Section 444 of the Education Act 1996, parents/carers have a legal duty to ensure that their children attend school regularly. If your child is persistently absent or late you could be referred to the Local Authority’s Education Welfare team and may be at risk of a penalty notice.
All parents should promote good attendance and work in partnership with us to make this happen.
Attending school on a regular basis is the key to your child doing well at school and will set them up with good habits for later life and the working world. Firbeck Academy is an amazing school offering your child many exciting opportunities and experiences to develop and enhance their learning. Through regular attendance, your child can:
Can my child ever be absent?
When a pupil is absent from school, this will be classified as either ‘authorised’ or ‘unauthorised’.
The Head Teacher will decide which absences are granted as authorised. Authorised absences are only permitted for valid reasons such as:
Wherever possible, parents should always try to arrange medical and dental appointments during school holidays or after school hours. If your child has an appointment they must still attend school before or after the appointment, they should not miss the whole day. School will only authorise the session the appointment falls within.
What are unauthorised absences?
Unauthorised absences are those which the school does not consider essential or reasonable. These include:
If your child is absent form school because they are ill you must:
If your child is absent and we do not know why we will contact you immediately and may come to visit you at home .
Next Steps
We are really keen to improve the attendance of our pupils and want to work with you in a positive way to do this.
Over the next few days we will be sending out letters to parents/carers of all pupils, whose attendance is currently below 95%. If we feel we need a meeting as their attendance is already classed as persistent absenteeism or in danger of this we will let you know. The focus for the meeting will be: ‘how can we work together to improve your child’s/children’s attendance?
Remember we should all work together to ensure every child has amazing attendance and does not miss out on fabulous experiences at Firbeck Academy.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have concerns about your child’s attendance or need support in getting your child to school.
Over the summer period we will be rolling out the My Child At School application that is linked to our school management system.
This application will enable you to do the following:
Please look out for an email invitation over the coming weeks, it is important you accept this invitation and follow the link to set up your account within 24 hours of receiving the invitation. The system can be accessed through both a web browser and mobile app, if you decide to use the mobile app please ensure you keep notifications turned on so you don't miss any important messages.
As of September we will be using MCAS as our cashless payment system and will no longer be accepting cash or BACS payments direct into the school bank account.
Any payments still outstanding when the app goes live will be added as an owing balance to your MCAS account, these overdue fees will need to be paid before you make any further bookings as they system will not allow parents to accumulate debt.
Breakfast Club and School Meals will need to be booked and paid for in advance, failing to do so may result in us being unable to admit your child to Breakfast Club or provide a School Meal.
Please do not go out buying your child(ren) a huge bag for school. At Firbeck this is not necessary.
Your child will need:
We will provide all children with:
Thursday 29th August - Staff Training Day (school closed)
Friday 30th August - Staff Training Day (school closed)
Monday 2nd September - Staff Training Day (school closed)
Tuesday 3rd September - School Re-opens to Pupils
Monday 9th September - Year 5 Swimming Lessons Start (1.30 - 2.30pm)
Wednesday 11th September- Coffee morning and opportunity to hear Mrs Smith's vision for Firbeck. Come and contribute.
Thursday 12th September - Website Photographer in School
Wednesday 9th October - Drama 4 All Workshop (EYFS, Year 1 and Year 2)
Friday 11th October - Staff Training (School Closed)
Friday 25th October - Last Day of Term
Monday 4th November - School Re-opens to Pupils
Tuesday 12th November - Individual Pupil Photos
Thursday 12th December - Whole School Pantomime Trip (Year 1 - Year 6)
Friday 13th December - Last Day of Term
Monday 6th January - School Re-opens to Pupils
Firbeck Academy
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