Letters Home

Dear Parents/Carers

This year has, without question and on reflection, been a year when our students and their successes have again made us proud of them.

During the last term we have said our farewells to Year 11 students, the Year 10 prefect team has been elected and we have embraced a series of sports days that have been the first intra school competitive experiences for over 18 months. Our new Year 7 students for September, 2021, will start at the academy with a series of transition days and activities on Thursday 2nd and Friday 3rd September 2021. I’m sure the students are excited about starting at the academy and that they will be a huge success, as our class of 2026!

As we always welcome new students and say farewell to those who are leaving us, we also do the same with our staff. Leaving us at the end of this year will be:

• Mr Adam Gayfer, Senior Leader for Learning and Progress and formerly CPL for Maths, who has been here at the academy for 11 years. He has gained a promoted post as a Deputy Headteacher at a school in Lincoln.  
• Mrs Susan Jardine, CPL for English, who has been at the academy for 6 years and is retiring. 
• Mr Richard Lawton, Humanities Teacher, who has been at the academy for 2 years and has a Post 16 teaching post at a college. 
• Mrs Sally Simpson, PA to the Head of School and 3 previous headteachers, who has been at the academy for 15 years and is taking early retirement.
• Ms Sue Dorling, who has been at the academy 12 years supporting students and is retiring. 
• Ms Yvette Smith, Exams officer, who has been at the academy 18 years and is going onto ventures new.
• Mrs Sarah Robinson, who has been at the academy 12 years and is also going onto ventures new. 

I am sure you join me in wishing these staff well and in thanking them for all the support and help they have given the students at the academy.

This is also a time to welcome and celebrate some fantastic staff joining us in September:

• Within our Senior Leadership team, we are excited to welcome John Hancock as a Senior Leader who will also be teaching Geography. John will form a very important part of our Learning and Progress team.
• Matthew Smith will be joining us from De Aston School into the Maths department.
• Mr Laurence Fox will start his teaching career with us within the Humanities department.
• Miss Yasmine Chajid will also start her teaching career with us from September and will be part of our English department.
• Amanda Walker will be joining the academy as our Exams and Data Officer.
• Caroline Sephton will be joining the academy in the role of Examination Support Officer. 
• Most recently we have appointed two learning and teaching assistants to start with us in September. Jake Browne & George Graham were both successful at interview and having George join us as an ex-student of the Academy is fantastic for all involved.
• Kathy O’Callaghan who has been with us for some time has now secured a permanent post with us as our Inclusion Support Officer. 

As a result of these appointments, we have been able to afford some leadership positions to some of our staff who have been with us over time.

• Donna McDonald will now be our Curriculum Progress Leader for our English department.
• Jessica Knowles has been successful in becoming our second in charge of the English department from September.
• Aminul Hassan has also been successful in gaining promotion to second in charge of Maths.

GREAT Expectations

In addition to our 5 core values of Truth, Justice, Respect, Forgiveness and Generosity, we continue to promote and embed our 3 Academy GREAT Expectations for all our academy community.

• Be Ready – on time, correct equipment, uniform, attitude.
• Be Safe – being calm and thoughtful, keeping yourself and others safe.
• Be Respectful – this is an essential and core part of what we believe to be the basic expectation of all who are a part of the academy.

The St Lawrence Academy uniform

It is essential that we maintain high standards of appearance and uniform. We have attached our Uniform Policy as a reminder about our expectations in relation to uniform. 

• Uniform can be purchased either online or in person with details below.

https://www.pbuniform-online.co.uk/stlawrenceacademy OR in person at

Shah’s uniform supplier on West Street, Scunthorpe. https://www.shahsuniform.co.uk/st-lawrence-academy (the NEW PE top & black hoodie can only be purchased from Shah’s)

• Long, painted or acrylic nails are not allowed at the academy
• Skirts must not be of a tight and stretchy material and all skirts must be appropriate in length. If Y7 or Y8 students choose to wear a skirt it must be the TSLA branded skirt available from Shah’s.
• Please do not allow your child to have a new piercing towards the end of the holidays as there are no exceptions to our rule on jewellery, which is a maximum of one stud in each or one ear lobe and a watch.
• Please ensure any extreme hairstyles/hair colours are reversed for the return to school in September.
• Hooded sweatshirts are not permitted to be worn under blazers.

Throughout Covid times our PE kit had been relaxed to ensure flexibility when students could travel to school in their kit. 

From September, the academy PE kit is ESSENTIAL. Students must have the correct PE kit.

Detentions

From September, we will be reintroducing a detention system. This will be a whole academy system and detentions will be held every day after school. These will be communicated to you and we will be expecting the support from our families in students attending these.

Mobile phones

Mobile phones should not be seen in the academy; if they are seen or heard they will be confiscated. If a student brings one into the academy, and it is lost or stolen, we will not take any responsibility. If a student needs to contact home during the day they can use one of our telephones. The use of mobile phones is a distraction to learning and there are serious consequences for students who take photos or videos in the academy and then share them on social media.

The Academy Day 

We will be reverting back to the normal academy day times that we had pre pandemic. These can be seen below. The important thing to note here is the start of the day for all year groups is 8.30. We encourage students to arrive into the building no later than 8.20am.

Students will be dismissed from the academy at the following times:

• Monday 3.45pm
• Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 2.45pm
• Friday: end of lessons 1.15pm, students can stay for lunch up to 1.30pm

GDPR/Data Protection Act

Throughout the year we encourage staff to take photographs of our students learning or when they are out on school trips. We like to put up displays around the academy to celebrate student achievements and we also want to continue developing our website/social media platforms.

We would like your permission to display images for celebratory purposes of your child. We are regularly visited by the media to celebrate the talents of your children as we always try to promote their successes when we can. Please ensure you update the consent form which we send you each year, otherwise we will assume you are happy about us using these positive images.

Use of technologies

Can I please ask you all to monitor your child’s use of their phone/computer at home in relation to social media, as sometimes they may use it inappropriately or they may be sharing too much personal information.  It would be wise to check their privacy settings so that they are not sharing information too widely, as sometimes this can result in safeguarding concerns. 

Medical information

Our Student Services provide a basic first aid service for all students but they do not give specific medical advice.  If an illness or injury occurs outside of school hours it is your responsibility to follow this up, please do not rely on us to do so. Any medication, if sent into the academy, must always be in the original packaging and clearly labelled, and a consent form completed. Antibiotics must be managed at home, not in the academy. 

If you believe your child requires a specific Health Care Plan for school and this is not already in place, please contact student services to discuss.

We want to work in partnership with you to make sure that the Academy can provide the best possible education for your children. We recognise how important it is to have the support of all the staff, parents, carers and students and we hope that our partnership with you will continue to grow over the coming years. Our mission statement reflects our vision: Transforming Lives and we are very optimistic about the future, especially after having had another very successful yet disrupted year. 

Operation Encompass

We are an Operation Encompass School. Operation Encompass is a partnership between police and schools. One of the principles of Operation Encompass is that all incidents of domestic abuse are shared with schools, not just those where an offence can be identified. Mrs West, DSL, will be informed of all domestic instances that the police have attended.

Food Bank 

We are a distributor of Food Bank Vouchers. Please contact us if you need this support.

Moving forwards

We have appointed some fantastic staff at the academy for the start of the new academic year who are very excited about their new roles and being part of The St Lawrence Academy. We believe we have an excellent team of staff who will inspire your children to do their best.

In September, students will need to be organised and plan in advance. They will need to:

• be on time for the start of the day and arrive in good time.
• have the correct uniform including shoes and not trainers.
• bring the correct equipment for learning (pen and pencil as a minimum expectation).
• bring their PE kit (The St Lawrence Academy PE kit only) on PE days.
• bring their student ID card every day. If misplaced they can be reordered on Parent Pay.
• be prepared to complete homework when it is set.

Communicating with us

If you need to get in touch with a staff member around either a subject or a year group matter then please see the attached sheet where a list of staff contacts are supplied. Please go through these channels to speak with the relevant person or people.

A lot has changed since February, 2020, but we have been gradually returning to normal and realise that, in September, a good start needs to be the focus for our children’s futures moving forward.

I hope you have a safe and happy summer.  

Yours sincerely

Phill Dalowsky – Head of School
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Contact List