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Headteacher’s Letter – November 2022

22nd November 2022

Dear parents and carers,

As we now find ourselves entering the months of winter and colder weather I would like to offer my continued thanks for your support in ensuring such high levels of student attendance, smartly worn school uniform and completion of homework tasks at Stepney All Saints.

Anti-racism

As a school community, we are committed to standing against all forms of oppression. We pride ourselves on being anti-racist and we stand against racism in all of its forms. The All Saints Way which was put together by students also states that we oppose racism, inequality and discrimination in all forms. Consequently, we do not tolerate the use of racist language in our school and failure to uphold our school values and the use of racist language will result in action being taken. We are proud of our school values and all members of our school community must feel respected and valued.

Mobile phones

I would like to remind you that Stepney All Saints School operates a gate-to-gate mobile phone policy.  This means that students are not permitted to use mobile phones or any other portable electronic devices such as headphones or speakers for any purpose during the school day unless directed to do so by a member of staff according to our ICT Acceptable Use Policy. The use of a mobile phone to film or take photos in school is strictly forbidden for safeguarding reasons and the creation of any online account in the name of our school or using the school logo will be treated seriously.

Students who do choose to bring mobile phones to school must turn them off and stow them away in their bags until the end of the day. Only when they are exiting the gates at the end of school may they retrieve their phones for use. This policy also applies to the sixth form. Students who are unable to follow the school policy will have their mobile devices confiscated. Items can be collected from reception on Fridays from 3pm by a parent or guardian.

Uniform

We are receiving a lot of lost property uniform items, in particular blazers, which we are unable to return to students as there is no name label. Parents are reminded to label all of their child’s uniform items with the child’s full name, so that items can be returned. There is an area on the inside right-side of the blazer on which student names can be written.

PE kit

Students may only wear PE kit to school on days when they have PE lessons. They should not attend school in PE kit on days when they do not have PE lessons, even if they have a PE club, fixture or competition that day. Students can use the changing rooms for clubs, fixtures and competitions.

Attendance

We have a duty of care to challenge poor attendance. Any absence from school is detrimental to a child’s learning – teaching is missed and achievement affected. The national overall absence rate of students not achieving Grade 9 to 4 at GCSE is over twice as high as those achieving Grade 9 to 5. Consequently, attendance is key to your child’s academic success.

It is important to note that The Department for Education only allows an absence/holiday in term time in “special circumstances”. Few requests fall into this category, the majority are refused and fines can be imposed for taking time off without the school’s permission.

If a family needs to make a leave of absence request, this must be done in writing to the headteacher. Parents will be invited into school for a meeting to discuss the application following which a decision will be made.

I would like to add that if a family’s request for term time absence is refused and a family nevertheless chooses to take their child out of school despite the refusal, a further meeting will be held with the headteacher to discuss the matter. Of course, no one wants this to happen, but we need to be very clear about the issue as the law does not grant parents an automatic right to take their child out of school during term time.

I hope you understand the reasons for these rules and you will support our efforts to ensure the highest standards of attendance and attainment.

Debate Mate

At Stepney All Saints we offer a wide variety of extracurricular activities and a full list is available on the school website HERE. It is our expectation that all students in Years 7, 8 and 9 take part in enrichment activities. We are monitoring attendance and we hope that you will support us in ensuring that students do not miss out on this important aspect of their development.

A recent addition to the enrichment offer is Debate Mate. In this after school club students learn to debate – a key feature in developing key skills such as confidence, communication, and empathy. Participation in this after school club will also enhance students’ profile when applying for university and employment and is strongly encouraged. If your child wishes to take part, Debate Mate takes place on Mondays after school in room 302 Years 7-10.

In addition, we ran a taster session in fencing last week and we will be asking students who are interested to sign up for a full fencing course which will start in the new year. We will also be adding further opportunities in the coming weeks such as a First Aid course and Skating Club.

Key Events for this Academic Year

We are only in November, however we already find ourselves looking to 2023-24 as we prepare for the Sixth Form Open Evening on 18th January. This is a key event in our school calendar and I would encourage those looking to join our Sixth Form to book your visit via the school website. Click HERE to sign up.

This is also a busy time with a number of key dates in diary for the coming weeks as follows:

The full set of term dates for the academic year are available on our website, https://stepneyallsaints.school/our-school/term-dates-school-hours/.

To remain up-to-date on what is happening in school, click HERE for our latest news articles and follow us on Facebook and Twitter @StepneyAS for a wealth of content from students and staff.

I will be writing again in the coming weeks as we move into December. In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns, please get in touch with us via email on info@stepneyallsaints.school.

Yours sincerely,

Paul Woods

Headteacher