Homework

Mobile phones at school We recognise that students of Secondary age and some of their parents may wish that they carry a mobile phone with them. Students in the Secondary School may bring their phone to school but it must be switched off during the day unless a teacher allows the student to use it during a class. It is the students responsibility to keep it safe; it is their responsibility if it is lost or damaged. Students who are found using a phone during the school day without permission from a teacher will have it taken and stored safely in the Secondary Office. Phones may be collected at the end of the day for a first ‘offence’ or after a week for subsequent ‘offences’ in the same half term. If a child needs to call home during the school day they may do so from the school office. This has the advantage that we are aware of any issues and we can therefore help should a parent need to call back. Parents too may call the school office to pass on vital messages to their children. Please do not contact your child by mobile phone during the school day as inevitably we end up with lockers ringing when a student has forgotten to turn their phone off. A sure way to interrupt learning!

Laptops/iPads Students are encouraged to bring a lap top or iPad to school and use it in lessons. When not being used in the requested class, students should keep their lap tops locked in their lockers. School does not specify a particular type of device– the students can choose whether it is a PC, Macbook or iPad

Lost Property Lost property will be sent to the front office or the Head of Secondary’s office. Please contact the office regarding anything your child has lost. Periodically lost items will be laid out in the foyer to encourage students to ‘find’ their losses.

By labeling everything your child brings from home you are assuring it is returned much sooner.

Homework

Homework is an integral part of the learning process. Students develop successful independent learning behaviours by participating in relevant homework. As lessons in class are differentiated so is the homework your child completes. They should find success within the structure provided and if they are struggling we have allowed time for students to ask for help. We hope that all homework tasks build connections between home and school. All homework given out has a deadline set. This deadline allows your child enough time to ask for help from their teacher. Homework should usually be attempted the night it is set to allow your child this opportunity. We do not operate a strict homework timetable as it is not educationally sound to set a piece of homework just because it happens to be a particular day of the week. To be effective, homework must be valued by the students as helping their learning and not just some pointless chore to be endured. Students are therefore given homework where it is appropriate to their learning and they record it in their planners. Students are increasingly expected to plan their studies at home to avoid being overloaded on one night and then having nothing to do on another. This requires your help and support, hence we ask you to check their planners regularly. If a child has not been set a specific homework task, we expect them to be reviewing their work done in class and reading as much as possible. All students should be doing this every night. Teachers post a majority of homework tasks on google classroom or in Firefly (the online learning platform) together with relevant worksheets. The deadlines are also clearly displayed and often the students are asked to submit work electronically.

Parents Absent from home On rare occasions you may have to leave home. During this time we would advise that you appoint a temporary guardian who is responsible for your child during this absence. This guardian will act in locoparentis and they may have to work with the school regarding your child’s social, emotional or intellectual development, support the school in dealing with issues that arise or take responsibility in case of accident or injury.

Please write a letter or send an email to the school in advance, addressed to Mr. McGee (kmcgee@standrews-schools.com), informing us of this and giving the guardians contact details. He will let teachers know that you are away from home and another responsible adult is temporarily in guardianship.

SCHOOL SUPPORT SERVICES

Safeguarding Green Valley staff are committed to safeguarding our school community. Safeguarding means; · Protecting children from abuse and maltreatment · Preventing harm to children’s health or development · Ensuring children grow up with the provision of safe and effective care · Taking action to enable all children and young people to have the best outcomes Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and all adults have a duty of care to keep students safe from harm. Laura Kerr (lkerr@standrews-schools.com) is our Designated Safeguarding Lead and a number of staff are also trained to an advanced level. If you have a concern about the safety of a child, please do not hesitate to contact Laura Kerr or a member of Senior Management.

English as an Additional Language (EAL) We currently have up to one fifth of our students (both primary and secondary) on the EAL register. These students are classified into Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced users. Four teachers are employed to meet the needs of the school population. Bill Minty is the EAL coordinator and he works along-side teachers supporting these students. He can be contacted at wminty@standrews-schools.com if you wish to discuss any issue in regard to EAL. Within the Secondary School, where there is a need, students may be taken out of a particular subject such as History or PSHE to give them extra EAL support.

Learning Support Learning Supports caters for students who are:  Educationally able – Gifted and Talented  Students who need support to achieve benchmark expectations. The numbers of students registered continually changes as does their need for support. Laura Kerr is the Learning Support coordinator lkerr@standrews-schools.com and works along-side teachers supporting these students.

There is a specific process that teachers are required to follow in regard to learning support and parents are involved once several intervention strategies have been tried with little success.

Within the Secondary School, where there is a need, students may be taken out of a particular subject such as History or PSHE to give them extra learning support.

STUDENT SERVICES

The School Canteen

Khun Penny pennyb@standrews-schools.com operates the canteen. She provides morning snacks and lunches to all students and adults who wish to purchase meals from her.

At morning break students may purchase their snacks from the canteen.

At lunch time the students go to the cafeteria to eat lunch. The canteen is located in the centre of the school. The students line up and select their food, then sit with colleagues to eat. There is always a teacher on duty in the canteen to supervise the students whilst they eat.

Billing is between each family and Khun Penny. The school does not participate in this process. Khun Penny is available in the school cafeteria each morning so that cafeteria bills can be paid. Parents are encouraged to pay these bills in person as sending money with students can sometimes be problematic, or there is an option to pay online.

Vegetarianism, allergies and specific food requests can be catered for on an individual basis. Please make sure that Khun Penny is aware of your child’s preferences as soon as possible.

Using the canteen is not compulsory. You may choose to send food to school with your child if you wish. Your child will still be able to eat with their classmates.

Transportation The school provides transportation if this is required. We manage the mini bus service and maintain a high quality of provision. In an attempt to make this accessible to all students the school does not charge an additional fee for the management of the bus service. The cost of the transportation depends upon the area covered by each bus.

The current list of transportation charges is available from the school office. These and any other enquiries regarding buses should be directed to Khun BC. bc@standrews-schools.com

We aim to provide a door to door school bus service that is safe, reliable and efficient.

Each bus has a Driver and a Bus Monitor. The bus should not leave without both members of the team. Bus Monitors are in mobile phone contact with the school at all times. Students are expected to show respect to both members of the bus team.