Y10 End of Summer Term ltr 19.7.2022

18 July 2022

Dear Parents/Carers

Year 10 – End of Summer Term 2022

As the summer term draws to a close, I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for all of your support over the last academic year. We have had a busy term with the build up to the Year 10 exams, their reflection on performances and goal setting for the following academic year. The behaviour of the students for the exams has been excellent and I congratulate them on their attitude and application during the Summer term. This positive attitude to learning needs to continue into next year more than ever as time is short and the demands of GCSE study great.

From September, Year 11 students for 2022-23 will have an extended school day and attend a ‘Period 5 lesson’, starting at 3.10pm and finishing at 4.00pm. This ‘Period 5 lesson’ is compulsory for all students to attend. The introduction of this fifth period was very successful for Year 11 students in 2021-22, in preparing them for their examinations and we believe will really help the Year 11 students in 2022-23 achieve the very best possible GCSE grades. The details of Period 5 are below:

On a Week A, Year 11 students will have a Period 5 lesson on a Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in English, Maths and Science. On a Week B, Year 11 students will have a Period 5 lesson on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in each of their GCSE options subjects.

*Period 5 will not go ahead when any Parents Evening events are taking place and students will finish at 3.10pm on these days.

PREP
In addition, during PREP, we will be running Maths and Science support twice a week for each student by subject specialists from 8.40am until 9.20am.

This academic Year 10 students have amassed an enormous 79,000 positive points which they should be proud of. The majority of students have continued to demonstrate this excellent attitude towards their learning and exceptional work within lessons.
Year 10 students were given the opportunity to participate in a Taster Day providing sessions for Sixth Form and college. All of the students were fully engaged with this process and were able to participate in subjects that are currently not in the Year 10 curriculum such as psychology, criminology and sociology. Many of the students were also able to hear from our current Sixth Form students about what it is like to be a Sixth Former at EPCS. It was a brilliant day organised by Mr Tamale and Mr Clark, who were extremely impressed by the enthusiasm and maturity demonstrated by our wonderful Year 10’s.

As the learning environment is ever changing we have provided your child access to a number of technological learning resources. Please ensure you and your child can access ClassCharts as there will be announcements made throughout the year with important information. Students should all be able to access the following learning platforms to support them during their final year:

• Tassomai – Science and English
• Dr Frost – Maths
• GCSE POD – A variety of subjects
• ClassCharts
• Google Classroom

If they are unable to access any of these, please email sandra.norris@epschool.org who will be happy to assist with your query so that your child can get the maximum benefit in preparation for their exams.

If you or your child have any questions throughout the year then please email your child’s tutor in the first instance. Your child has had two opportunities to meet their tutor and discuss any questions about the final year.

Equipment
The Summer provides an excellent opportunity to replace and restock your child’s equipment. A student that is not equipped, causes significant disruption to the learning environment and valuable learning time is lost as they are not organised. It also means they cannot be successful across the school day. We ask for your support with this, making sure purchased items to support your child. A personal reading book, their own water bottle and a fully stocked pencil case to fully engage with their learning are the minimum required. We will provide them with a student handbook and a place to write their timetable in, upon their return to school. Stationery equipment can be purchased from school via your ParentPay account.

Uniform
We return in September in our winter uniform (not polo shirts) and we ask that you resolve any issues you identify with your child’s uniform in readiness for the start of term. In particular many students have outgrown their shoes so please ensure that these are replaced in time. If students are without the correct uniform then we ask that you provide them with a dated and signed note and that the issue is rectified within three days. Students attending school without the correct uniform and without a qualifying note will have break and lunch time removed until the issue has been resolved.

Trainers
From September there is a change to the School Uniform Policy in which students will be able to wear plain black trainers to school. Trainers can be branded but cannot have any other colour than black on them. Students can still wear school shoes if that is their preference. We hope this measure will cut down the number of students with issues with shoes and expect to see a significant reduction in notes excusing students for being in trainers. Please support the school to reiterate that trainers must be plain black and have black soles and black laces.

Mobile Phones
All students in Year 7, 8, 9, 10 and Year 11 must hand in their mobile phone during morning tutor (Roll Call) as they are not permitted to have mobile phones in their possession. The phone should be silenced and notifications turned off. Students arriving late (after Roll Call) will be expected to hand their phone into Raising Standards for safekeeping. The phone will be collected by the ‘lates team’ when they enter via reception, if late without a valid reason they will incur a late detention to be served the same day after school.

Students who have a planned appointment, for example, the dentist must let their tutor know, then hand their phone into Raising Standards so that they can collect it at the appropriate time, when signing out of school.

Parents and students should be clear that the misuse of mobile phones will not be tolerated and failure to hand in their phone will be treated seriously by the school as it is in clear breach of our rules. Parents wanting to communicate with their child during the school day should do so via the school office.

Misuse of their mobile phone will be dealt with using the principle of “see it, hear it, and take it”. If a student is found in possession of a mobile phone between 8.50 am and the end of the school day, communication will be made to home and the parent/carer will be responsible for visiting the school to collect the mobile phone by appointment.

We ask for your support with this and to explain our clear expectations to your child to avoid any conflict with staff. Full details of the school’s Mobile Phone Policy can be found on the school website.

Medical issues
Please update the school regarding any changes in your child’s medical history that will impact on our duty of care or compliance with standard school rules. Please email welfare@epschool.org with any details. Our welfare team will be happy to discuss with you any changes to ongoing conditions or medication and you should make sure any out of date medicines are replaced if still needed.

Communications
Please inform the school of any changes in your named contacts (two are required for legal reasons) or if any other details have changed, for example your email, mobile phone number or address. Please email info@epschool.org.

Attendance
We will continue working in partnership with WPA Education Welfare Services in promoting a positive approach to attendance. Could I please remind parents to contact the school before 8.00 am if your child is unable to attend for any reason. The telephone number of our student absence line is 01344 304567 option 1 or 01344 390824 (direct line) and the e-mail address is attendance@epschool.org. It is likely that you will receive a telephone call or text message from the school if your child does not arrive and you have not informed us of the reason.

Return to school in September
The school will open on Friday 2 September 2022 for Year 7 and Year 12 students only. All other year groups will return on Monday 5 September 2022. We hope this approach will support our new students who are joining the school with ‘finding their feet’ before the whole school returns.

On both the Friday and Monday the school day will begin at the normal time of 8.40 am and will finish at 3.10 pm. Friday 2 September will be Week B and Monday 5 September will be Week A.

Finally, I would like to take the opportunity to wish you and your families a safe and happy summer holiday; I look forward to seeing the students back in school for the new academic year in September prepared for the final part of their GCSE journey and helping them plan their Post-16 pathways.

Yours faithfully

Mr S Puttick

Head of Year 10