NewsletterFirbeck Times

A big welcome back to everyone after the half term break. 

It is amazing how fast this academic year has gone but we recognise that there is still lots of learning to be done this half-term. 

Currently, school leaders are finalising their thoughts around their vision for Firbeck. They will be wanting input from you so do look out for a date to come into school to explore this further. 

As a school we fully appreciate and understand that there are many genuine reasons that can impact a child’s attendance, some of which can even be down to school-based decisions.  However, it is a legal requirement and a part of our duty of care to inform parents when their child’s attendance falls below the expected government requirement, as poor attendance can have a significant impact on a child’s progress, social skills and friendship groups.

Due to this, regular attendance monitoring information will be going out to parents to keep you informed of your child's ongoing attendance and regular support meetings will be offered to those families where their child's attendance drops below 90%.

Any child with attendance below 90% is considered to be persistently absent from school.  This is the equivalent of missing 19 school days over one academic year.  To add further context, this final half term equates to 20% of your child’s learning time in this academic year, so ensuring they are in school every day has never been more important.

It's important that we instill habits of good attendance from the start of a child's educational journey, which is why regular attendance from nursery is important and will be monitored. 

Please find a link to the current government guidance regarding attendance: Working Together to Improve School Attendance 23-24

As of September 2024 this guidance will be updated and become statutory policy for all schools: Updated Working Together to Improve School Attendance.  The legislation around fining for school absences will also be changing as per the below:

We do require ALL children to wear the Firbeck Academy School uniform as we find it helps to create a positive school identity, a sense of belonging and pride, and finally, a calm and focused learning environment.

We are however finding that more and more children are wearing items that are not part of our school uniform expectations.

Please can we reiterate that the following items are NOT part of our school uniform:

• Cycling shorts
• Leggings
• Trainers
• Open toe sandals
• Nail varnish
• False nails or extensions
• Make up
• Jewellery
• Football shirts or sportswear as part of the PE Kit
• Hooded sweatshirts

Going forward we will be providing a school uniform 'swap shop', any child coming into school in incorrect uniform will be given a school owned item to borrow and change into to ensure they are wearing the correct items, this will also be the case for PE kits.

Whilst we do not want to implement sanctions for those children wearing incorrect items this will be considered in the future if standards do not improve.

Sweatshirts, cardigans and polo shirts with the school logo are available from Morley’s School Outfitters. However, plain versions are perfectly acceptable and are available from most supermarkets such as Asda, Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury's.

Our school uniform includes:

• Blue sweater/cardigan
• Grey or Black skirt/trousers/tailored shorts - of an appropriate length
• White polo shirt/shirt
• Blue gingham summer dress
• Black ankle height footwear, that is smart and appropriate for break and lunch time play

Our School PE Kit includes

• White T-Shirt
• Black shorts/jogging bottoms
• Black jumper
• Black plimsols/trainers

We appreciate that due to the economic climate that purchasing uniform items can be costly. If you need any support with this please do come and speak to us and we will explore how we can support you. 

 

We have a lot of school staff who live in our local community. Please can we remind parents that you should not be approaching our staff team, outside of school, to discuss any element of school related business.

Staff are not allowed to discuss school related issues outside of school and should not be approached in this manner or put in this situation by our families.

If you need to discuss anything regarding your child with school, please contact the school office or your child's class teacher in the first instance.  If they are unable to resolve your query the next step would be to escalate your query to  a member of the senior leadership team.

Please also be mindful that teaching staff and senior leaders are not readily available during the school day so you may have to leave a message with the school office that will be returned at the earliest opportunity.

Thank you for your support.

Don't forget the Trust Parent Survey is currently open for feedback.

Please can we ask for your support in completing this so we can celebrate what is going well and reflect on any areas that may need further development.

We need your views to help support positive change for Firbeck.

The link for the survey is below:

Parent Survey

On Friday 28th June we will be hosting a whole school Cultural Experiences day.  This will give our whole school community the opportunity to share what makes different cultures unique and can include anything from food dishes to family traditions.

We would love to invite our families in to share and enjoy this day with us and would like to invite parents and families in to share their knowledge and traditions with us all.

If you would be interested in contributing to this day please complete the expression of interest form below:

Cultural Experiences Day - Expression of Interest

Nottingham City Schools will be taking part in transition days on the 2nd and 3rd of July.

On these days our Year 6 pupils will be going to visit their new secondary schools and the children in school will be spending time in their new classes with the staff who will be supporting them in September.

On the afternoon of the 3rd July we hope to invite parents in to meet with classroom based staff and share tea and coffee in the dining hall with the senior leadership team.  In addition to this our school meals provider will be hosting a tasting session so parents can sample the school meals on offer.

More details to follow...

Friday 14th June - Year 6 Trip to 'Come and Sing' at Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham

Wednesday 19th June - Trip to Parliament, London 

Tuesday 25th June - Go For Gold Run @ Fernwood

Thursday 27th June - Year 1 and Year 5 Trip to the Synagogue

Thursday 27th June - New Parents Transition Meeting (Reception 2024)

Monday 1st July - Year 6 Transition Workshop (in school)

Tuesday 2nd - Wednesday 3rd July - Nottingham City Transition Days

Thursday 11th July - Year 1 and Year 2 Trip to Twycross Zoo

Friday 12th July - School reports sent to parents

Tuesday 16th July - 3.30-4.00pm - Informal parent drop in to discuss school reports (optional)

Monday 15th July - (am) Sports Day

Thursday 18th July - Year 6 Trip to Gullivers Kingdom

Thursday 18th July - Year 3 and Year 4 Trip to York

Wednesday 24th July - Last day of term