Helpful for parents
for parents Moving from primary to secondary school is an exciting and significant event in a child s life. It is an important stage where children have to take on more responsibility for independent working and selforganisation. Parents play an important part in helping their children prepare for the change and develop the skills they will need. At Sponne, lots of information is available for both parents and students to help students to feel confident starting secondary school. Sponne School has an active Parent Forum, which works with the school, to help parents feel engaged and supported. This booklet was compiled by the Parent Forum from questions asked by year 6 parents during their child s transition experience to Sponne.
TIMETABLE-RED WEEK/BLUE WEEK How does this work? Sponne has a two week timetable which allows greater flexibility to the curriculum. The two week timetable is separated into red week and blue week to help identify the individual weeks. It s a good idea to copy your child s timetable and keep a copy on display at home. LOCKERS Does my child require a locker in Year 7? Lockers are not compulsory but a locker enables students to leave items in a safe place rather than carrying them around school all day. When does my child get their locker? Lockers are issued during the first term of Year 7. Does my child have to re-apply for a locker every year? A student will keep their locker until the end of Year 11 and the cost is currently 10. MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS How does my child know when their music lesson is? Music lesson times can be found on the noticeboard in the Music Department at the start of each week. Times vary on a weekly basis. Can my child leave their instrument somewhere safe on the school premises without having it on their person all day? Instruments can be left in the Music Department, in the allocated area. Does my child require a pass to leave a lesson for a music lesson? No, a pass is not needed for music lessons.
SCHOOL BAG Is there a recommended size? There isn t a recommended size, but it is important that the bag is comfortable to carry. PE Kits can be carried separately or kept in a locker. To help with organisation, encourage your child to keep their school books together in a box in their bedroom. PLANNERS Students are given a planner at the start of term. In the planner will be a copy of their timetables and they will use their planner to record homework. CYCLE RACKS Where are they? There are cycle racks along the edge of the bus park and near to the science block Are they secure? We recommend bikes are locked up to help ensure they are secure. Bikes are left at students own risk, it is not the school s responsibility. AFTER SCHOOL CLUBS What are they? There are a variety of lunchtime and after-school clubs for each year group. Details can be found on FROG or the noticeboard in Student Services. How does my child go about joining an after school club? Students need to see the teacher in charge of the club they are interested in joining. CANCELLATION OF CLUBS How does my child find out if a club has been cancelled? Cancellations are read out in assembly or form time. If a club is cancelled last minute a notice will be displayed. If it is not possible for the student to go home as normal at the end of the day they can wait in the LRC.
HOMEWORK Students are given homework from most subject areas, but this is proportioned over the two week timetable. The homework is inputted onto Go 4 Schools. If possible, organise a quiet place at home for your child to do their homework. An A4 plastic wallet may be useful for completed homework. ENHANCEMENT BUS How does my child catch it? The bus runs Monday to Thursday and leaves by 4.30pm from outside Student Services. Students should go straight to the bus when their club finishes. How long does the bus take to bring my child home if their club has finished at about 4.15pm? The bus leaves by 4.30pm and it is dependent on how many villages the bus has to drop off at. Does my child have to pay for the after school bus? There is no charge. How does my child book a place on the late bus? There is a daily list in Student Services for students to put their name down. There are 15 places and it is on a first come first served basis. The list stays up until 1.45pm. What if they miss the bus? It is the student s responsibility to get home.
PARENTS EVENING How do I book appointments with teachers? Parents make appointments through the online Parents Evening Booking System (PEBS). Full instructions are sent to parents prior to the evening. How should you come prepared? Bring your appointment sheet. A pen and paper may also be useful. The evening can be very busy, so allow plenty of time, but try to keep to appointment times. Jot down any questions prior to the evening Can I email teachers with queries? If you are unable to attend Parents Evening, it is possible to email teachers directly with queries. Contact details can be found on FROG. Do I take my child with me to the event? It is recommended that you take your child to Parents Evening to participate in the discussions relating to their progress. They can also help guide you and find the relevant teachers. TUCASI SCHOOLS CASH OFFICE (TSCO) How does it work? TSCO is the school s online payment system which allows you to make secure online payments by credit and debit card. It is used to pay for school trips, deposit money onto student s cashless canteen account and fundraising mufti day payments. Can I make school payments using cheques or cash? Sponne predominantly uses TSCO, so prefers not to accept cash or cheques. ASSEMBLIES Will my child attend assemblies? Year group assembliesusually happen once a week during the registration period.
Learning Resource Centre-LRC(LIBRARY) How does my child become a member of the school library? As soon as your child starts at Sponne, he/she is automatically enrolled in the school library. How often may they visit the library? As often as they like in their own time. In Year 7 they will also visit the LRC with their English teacher once a fortnight for an Accelerated Reading lesson and for other subjects when they need to do research using both computers and books. When are students able to access the library? In their own time, they can visit before school (it opens at 8.00 am), break time, lunchtime and after school (it is open until 4.45 pm Mon Thurs and 4.30 pm on Friday). YEAR HEAD Does my child have a Head of Year? Each year group has a Progress Learning Leader Does my child s Head of Year/Progress Learning Leader change each year? The Progress Learning Leader will normally remain unchanged from Year 7 to 11. FORM TUTORS Other than writing a letter to my child s Form Tutor, are there any other ways I can communicate with them? Form Tutors can be emailed directly, contacted by telephone or by writing a note in your child s planner. How often does my child see their Form Tutor in a day? Students see their Form Tutor once a day at form/registration time. Students can go to see their Form Tutor independently at break or lunchtime if needed. Does my child have a new Form Tutor each year? Form Tutors normally remain unchanged each year.
REGISTRATION When is it taken? An electronic register is taken in each lesson by the subject teacher. A register is also taken by the Form Tutor during daily registration/form time. What if my child is late to school? Students that are late must sign in at student services. Lateness incurs a short breaktime detention. What if my child misses the school bus? Alternative arrangements have to be made by parents/carers to get their child to school. SETS What is A and B half? Year 7 is split into A and B to help manage the timetable planning. What is the difference between the two halves? There is no difference. Do the two year groups A and B ever merge? In Year 7 the groups merge for weekly assembly and may merge for school trips or special events. MOBILE PHONES Can my child take a mobile phone to school? Students are allowed mobile phones in school, but they must be turned off during lesson time. Mobile phones are brought into school at the students own risk and the school does not accept responsibility if they are lost or damaged. COMPUTERS Will my child need to take their own laptop/tablet to school? No, computers/ tablets are made available, if required, in lessons. During breaktime, lunchtime and after school, computers are available in the LRC. IT classrooms are also made available during these times.
SCHOOL CANTEEN What is cashless catering? When students start at Sponne they register their thumb print with the canteen. When they use the canteen, they scan their thumb and money is directly debited from their online canteen account. How does Grab and Go work? To order a Grab and Go and avoid the lunch Try to check and top up your child s account on a regular basis. queue so you can do your homework, or attend a lunchtime club, simply complete a Grab and Go form available in the canteen, before 8.40am on the morning the student wishes to place your order. Hand the form in to a member of canteen staff who will then deduct the amount from your catering account and give you a ticket, which you will need to collect your Grab and Go at lunchtime. Can my child buy food during morning break? Canteen opening hours- Before school 8.15 to 8.35am Break 10.45 to11.05am Lunch 1.05 to1.40pm and after school from 3.05pm Examples of food available at break: Range of paninis, hot wraps, pizzas, hot ciabattas, sandwiches, croissants, tray bakes. How much money will buy my child a decent meal? Currently, a main meal costs 2.20. Desserts and tray bakes are 1.00. Pizza slices are also 1.00 per slice. Generally an allowance of 3.20 is sufficient to buy a meal. A daily limit can be allocated to your child s account and increased or decreased as you wish by emailing the school. If I send my child to school with a packed lunch, where can they eat it? There are seating areas at various places around school. Each year group also has an allocated area to use. MONEY How much money does my child need to take to school on a daily basis? Students do not need to bring money to school unless they are topping up their canteen account at the allocated machine located next to the canteen.
P.E KIT Is it worth purchasing two lots of P.E kit? Most students have only one PE Kit but it may be an advantage to have a spare kit. Don t forget to label your child s uniform, including their PE kit. SKI TRIP When is it? The ski trip runs every two years and is normally during February half term. How much does it cost? The cost is approximately 800 Will my child have the opportunity to go? The trip is open to all year groups but spaces are limited. When will we get the details about the trip? Details are presented to the students at an assembly and they will be asked to collect a letter about the trip from the PE Office if they are interested. The next trip is scheduled for 2018. SPORTS How does my child get picked to represent the school? Students get the opportunity to represent the school by attending lunchtime and after-school practices on a regular basis and showing enthusiasm for their sport. If my child is particularly good at a sport, would the P.E teachers recommend my child to join an individual club outside of school? Students will be signposted to the relevant clubs in the area. SPORTS DAY Can parents attend? A whole school Sports Day happens each year. Parents are unable to attend due to the potential volume of people involved. However, parental support is more than welcome at home and away fixtures and at District and County Competitions.
REWARDS Are children recognised for their hard work and effort e.g class contribution, homework, additional homework, good behaviour, school representation? Sponne uses www.vivoedge.com which enables teachers to award students electronic points called Vivos, redeemable on a wide selection of high street items through the Vivo shop. DETENTION Can my child be given detention? We have a behaviour policy which sets out the consequences and sanctions procedures; detentions are included within this. The policy can be viewed on FROG under Information for Parents. What reasons might my child have detention for? Students can get detention for behaviour concerns, arriving late to school with no reason, not completing homework or equipment concerns. Am I told by the school of my child s detention? You will be informed of late detentions, lunchtime and after school detentions. A teacher may hold a teacher detention at breaktime without informing a parent. What does detention involve? In the detention the student will complete a task set by the member of staff who issued the detention. ABILITY GROUPS What subjects are divided into abilities in Year 7? There is setting in Maths and sometimes in English but this will be clarified at the start of the term. How soon are the children divided into their ability groups? This would normally happen at the end of the first term. What process is involved to assess individual children s abilities? KS2 results this does not depend on levels or sub-levels but by total marks however, current performance at Sponne is also considered and movement up or down the groups can happen at any time, depending on what is going to be best for the student. Regular testing is carried out throughout the year which may also determine moves between groups.
Is there a Gifted and Talented programme at Sponne? Faculty Learning Leaders identify students in their subject areas who meet the criteria and then provide for them accordingly. FORM GROUPS In Year 7 are children placed in their new form groups with friends from their primary schools? Every effort is made to ensure that every student is in a form group with someone else from their feeder school. Advice regarding keeping together or separating individual students is taken from the Year 6 teachers at their current school, during discussions in the Summer Term. It is not possible to take requests from parents regarding friendship groups as, from experience, these groups can be transient. Friends will have many opportunities to meet up in social times and students often benefit from making new associations and friendships in their new school environment. LUNCHTIME PASS Since lunch is a short period of time we tend to discourage students from going home. However, should this be necessary, a letter from home is required and a lunchtime pass will be issued to the student at the discretion of the PLL, with an advisory letter being sent to the parent. Passes are only issued to go home not to the shops! GO4SCHOOLS What is it? Parents will receive log in details for GO 4 Schools. It will allow access to students reports and see their attainment, attendance and also their behaviour records. Students also receive log in details for GO4S. When they initially sign in they will be asked to change their password ( from the generic one), it is important that students use a memorable password. FROG What is it? Frog is the Virtual Learning Environment for Students and Staff. It enables students to access their timetable, resources, information relating to school and alloes them to access their work from home, via the Citrix network
SCHOOL DIARY OF EVENTS/TERM TIMES These can be found on FROG, the school website and also the Sponne App. HEALTH AND SAFETY ISSUES The school has a Health & Safety policy which is regularly reviewed. EMAIL ADDRESSES A full staff email list is available on FROG. BEHAVIOUR POLICY A copy of the policy can be found on FROG. HOW DOES THE SCHOOL COMMUNICATE? Communications are sent out by a variety of methods including letters posted or given directly to students. Information is also sent out by email, text, via the Sponne App and posted onto FROG or Facebook. WEATHER CONDITIONS- In the event of bad weather information regarding any school closures will be posted on the school s web site and on FROG as soon after 7am as possible on each day. PFA-PARENT AND FRIENDS ASSOCIATION Sponne School PFA exists to raise funds for the school to purchase items for the direct benefit of students. The Committee is made up of a mix of parents and school staff which helps to ensure good communication between fund raising activities and funding requests. The majority of the funds raised come from raffles, profit from refreshment provision at events, Treasure Trove and match funding by local employers PARENT FORUM Sponne Parent Forum comprises of parents from a cross section of years. The forum enables parents to meet, share ideas and feed back to the school. It helps to develop a partnership between parents and school. For more information please contact:parentforum@sponne.org.uk
Make sure students have the correct equipmentcalculator(recommended Casio fx-83gt PLUS or fx-85gt PLUS), 360⁰ protractor and a maths set for every maths lesson Check whether homework is completed every week. Use online text books (available on Frog) and www.mymaths.co.uk if additional help is needed. -Make sure students have a set of earphones/ headphones (standard 3.5mm jack), which the student needs to bring to every lesson. Parents to check their child s homework, which is usually a theory task set, relating to the current unit of work. Homework does not always require the use of a computer, but ICT suites are made available outside of lesson times. A tip for all lessons always ensure that all correct materials, equipment, planner, exercise books and writing equipment are brought every day to school. Students to use their timetable and pack their school bag the night before so that a morning rush is avoided. Students should get into the habit of checking their email on a daily basis, for important messages from staff -Students should always arrive promptly to lessons and come with a willing and open mind. There are no wrong answers in Drama, so most important of all is to be prepared to encourage and support your classmates in all of their work. -Make sure students have their calculator in case they need it for their science lesson.
-Make sure students have the correct and full PE kit and it is packed in a closable bag (to avoid pieces falling out)-all kit should be clearly named as this helps ensure lost/mislaid kit is returned to the owner. Students should come to lessons prepared and willing to get fully involved with a positive attitude. Please name all food items that come to school. Students will also need a NAMED container to take their finished products home in. All recipes for practicals will be issued by staff at least a week in advance of the practical. If your child misses a lesson, it is well worth them checking with their teacher to see what they have missed. Copies of all recipes are also available on FROG. Make sure your child always has an Accelerated Reader reading book ready for their English lessons. Students in Years 7 & 8 are expected to read at home for 20 minutes, 3 times a week. Please encourage your child to read a range of fiction and non-fiction texts to support their learning and also work on individual spellings. Students to have a pencil case containing, pencil, pen, ruler, rubber, sharpener and some colour pencils and bring to every lesson. There is also CAD software that can be downloaded and installed from Frog VLE; 2d design and Sketch Up which would be well worth installing on home computers where possible at the earliest opportunity. -Make sure students have a school sketch-book, a range of shading pencils, a good rubber and sharpener that the pupil needs to bring to every lesson. Parents to check their child s homework, which is often an observation drawing and ask their son or daughter if there is anything else they could further develop in the drawing. -Open Mentoring Years 7-13 Come to Open Mentoring, bring a friend. For help and advice to make Sponne an even better place for you. The Learning Mentors are always available to talk to. (Based in C5, in the Student Services corridor).
Originally compiled and collated by Anne-Louise Sargent Parent Support Advisor on behalf of Parent Forum June 2013-Updated June 2016