We do the best we can to support our parents / carers – and hope students benefit as a result.
With new parents to the Academy and people’s changing circumstances, we felt it worth revisiting free school meals and pupil premium funding.
We have done so in one, simple-to-understand letter, detailing who’s eligible for free school meals and how to apply.
Every child registered with the Academy for free school meals means we receive the pupil premium funding from the Government (£985 per child annually).
This welcome, additional finance has been used to improve resources and strengthen academic and wellbeing interventions.
If your child is eligible for free school meals, please don’t miss out. The letter will follow.
I hope it clears up the understandable confusion around free school meals. We are asked frequently about them.
I have always encouraged parents to contact the school and, through emails and the Arbor Parent Portal, communication between home and the Academy has never been easier.
Contact can be made at all times of the day and, indeed, with parents working during the day or on shifts, that is what happens. Teachers receive a lot of emails in the evening and late into the night, requesting help and support.
I would ask parents / carers to be patient and realistic please. Teachers have home lives too and competing demands for their time. They will respond. Thank you.
While on the contact front, Christmas / New Year is often a time when phones are changed or people move homes. Please ensure the Academy has your up-to-date contact details.
Eighty-plus young people attended the launch of our Combined Cadet Force last Wednesday, hosted by our 11 trained members of staff.
They delivered a brilliant night, including the first drill practice. Uniforms should be arriving within the next two weeks and we’re looking forward to seeing students kitted out.
It is an exciting time, and a host of opportunities will open up. Please keep an eye on our social media channels for further updates and developments.
Our Year 8 Parent Consultation Evening saw 74% attend. We want it to be in the 80s so there is work to do here, from a parent and school perspective.
A week today (25th), it’s the turn of Year 9s with their Parent Consultation Evening.
They and their parents / carers should be arriving at the evening armed with a host of questions. They should be asking about progress since September and what lies ahead in terms of their GCSE options.
“Your Choices, Your Future” is our tag line and Year 9 have a busy three months ahead considering their next steps.
An options letter will be sent out in the middle of March, following by a booklet later that month. Options Evening will be Tuesday, 18th April for parents / carers and students.
The deadline for choosing options is 26th April. Students’ progress will shape their options, hence why attendance is important at next Wednesday’s consultation evening. It presents a wonderful opportunity to start conversations around options.
It is also a key day for Year 9s tomorrow, with humanutopia coming in.
Their “motivational, life changing courses” aim to improve mental health and wellbeing by empowering young people to make positive changes in their lives. The company’s worked with half-a-million young people and more than 550 schools.
We invest in the programme every year and I hope Year 9 enjoy the day and benefit.
It’s another example of our support to students and their families.
