This week the bulletin will solely focus on getting ready for next academic year, and will outline some of the key systems, procedures and expectations already in place for students and parents. A second “getting ready” bulletin will be shared in the summer 2 term to re-share information prior to the summer holidays.  

The reason for sending a bulletin of this style is two-fold. Firstly, we need to ensure that the school is ready to welcome nursery and reception students in September which will require a change to some of our current systems. Secondly, the school needs to begin to prepare for our first opening Ofsted inspection. Although it is never good practice to run a school solely to tick off Ofsted criteria, there are a few areas of the school that require a small improvement to allow us to have a successful inspection.  

The remainder of the bulletin will address the following: 

• Attendance and Term Dates 
• Student Behaviour 

• Uniform expectations 
• Behaviour systems and restorative practice 

• Curriculum and Homework 
• Onsite drop off and collection 
• Whole school communication 
• Govindas and school lunches 
• Parent feedback 

Student attendance this year has continued to be impacted by COVID-19, however I am starting to notice that overall attendance, not COVID-related, has started to dip. It is important that families organise events or holidays outside of school time to ensure that their child is at school as often as possible.  

The school works closely with the Education Welfare Officer at LCC, and we do seek to ensure that any requests for authorised absence are dealt with on a case-by-case basis, in a sensitive manner. However, the school can never authorise a family holiday or a trip abroad to visit family members during term time.  

Next academic year, families will have two weeks at the October half-term, three weeks at Christmas and two weeks at Easter for extended family holidays. Please do ensure that if booking holidays, they fall within the holiday periods. A copy of next year’s secondary term dates can be found here.   

We understand that uniform isn’t just purchased at the start of an academic year, as students grow out of shoes and other clothing throughout the year and these will need replacing. To support families who may need to purchase uniform prior to the start of next academic year, please be reminded of the following expectations: 

Uniform and achievement are a high priority at Avanti Fields School; we believe the way in which student wear their school uniform reflects the importance which is placed on attention to detail and pride in the school. 

• Blazers: Blazers and jumpers must have the school’s logo. Blazers are compulsory and must be worn at all times. 
• Jumpers: Only V-neck jumpers with the school logo are allowed. Jumpers will not be permitted without a blazer. 
• Ties: All students will be expected to wear a tie. These should be worn with a traditional knot; large knots or short ties are not acceptable. 
• Shirts: A white school shirt must be worn with a top button, which is fastened at the neck. The shirt should be long enough to be tucked in at all times. Blouse style shirts with rounded collars are not allowed and no visibly coloured clothing should show through. 
• Skirts: Girls may wear a grey skirt, which has two inverted kick pleats and no splits. It is important to ensure that the skirt is knee-length and not made of stretchy material. Students will be asked to replace skirts which no longer comply with the length requirements. 
• Trousers: Trousers must be grey (not black or charcoal) and of a classic wider style: straight, with no visible zips, studs or buckles and which do not fit closely on any part of the leg. 
• Shoes: Shoes should be plain black leather or leather-type, with plain black soles and black laces. Black suede, fabric or canvas type shoes, boots or trainer type shoes are not permitted. Shoes need to be comfortable enough to walk to school in and suitable to wear in wet weather. In winter, student may walk to school in boots, but these should be changed upon arrival at school. 
• Socks and tights: Socks should be plain black; tights should be plain black. 
• Piercings: Only one small, plain silver or gold-coloured stud in the bottom of each ear lobe is permitted. 
• Jewellery: Only religious bracelets and/or necklaces will be allowed and with the exception of a pair of earrings no other jewellery will be permitted. Religious necklaces should be worn inside the shirt for safety reasons. 
• Make-up: Make-up, including tinted moisturiser or concealer, is not allowed. 
• False nails: Excessively long nails are not suitable for school as they have been known to cause injuries to the student, if they become caught or bent backwards during sporting activities. Only natural looking non-coloured false nails are permitted. 
• Hair: Extreme hairstyles are not allowed. Unnatural hair colours are not permitted. Boarders and patterns, including a shaved parting, must not be shaved into the hair or eyebrows. 
• Hoodies: Hoodies are not allowed to be worn in, or on the way to school and will be confiscated. 
• PE Kit (boys): Avanti School shorts, polo shirt, tracksuit bottoms (optional). Avanti School football socks and sweatshirt. White ankle length socks and sports trainers (not plimsoles). Appropriate blue or black waterproof, plain thermal base layer (in winter, optional), sweatbands (to cover any religious bracelets, bands that cannot be removed). 
• PE Kit (girls): Avanti PE skirt, polo shirt, tracksuit bottoms (optional). White ankle length socks and Avanti sweatshirt. Sport trainers (not plimsoles). Appropriate blue or black waterproof, plain thermal base layer (in winter, optional), sweatbands (to cover any religious bracelets, bands that cannot be removed). Hair tires where required. 

The uniform expectations have not changed this year, however there are now a small number of pupils who are not meeting our high standards. This is predominantly around the wearing of jewellery and school shoes. Students that are wearing incorrect jewellery items will be asked to remove them, and if repeatedly asked, will be issued with a C3 detention. Students that do not have the correct type of school shoes will be spoken too, however discretion over sanctions will be taken if students have only one set of school shoes that do not meet the requirement. This will be until the start of the next academic year.  

A brief reminder about the school behaviour systems, should behaviour not be meeting our high expectations. The behaviour policy can be found here. 

• C1: A chance – first warning given about the behaviour 
• C2: Time to change – second warning given, asked to move seats, 10-minute break/lunch detention 
• C3: Accept the consequence – possible removal to another classroom, 30-minute detention after school, notification sent home via Arbor to parents 
• C4 – one off or serious incident, either a seclusion or suspension, notification sent home via Arbor to parents. 

We aim to enable all students to be the best version of themselves and believe that restorative practices support student development. There will be instances where a more restorative approach will be taken with students to ensure they have time to reflect on their behaviour, accept the consequences for their actions and how it has affected others, and to make amends with any other students. We believe that a balance between sanctions and restoration are important in building positive behaviour across the school.  

In conjunction with the behaviour policy, the school has an expectation that parents will work alongside staff to ensure a consistent message regarding behaviour. Staff will communicate with parents if a serious incident has occurred and will seek to explain what actions the school has taken to resolve the matter. Staff are never able to indicate the sanction issued to another student but can reassure other students/parents that an appropriate one has been issued.  

“Learning is a quest to discover each student’s unique gifts and potential and lay the foundation for their lifelong journey of learning.” 

At Avanti Fields, we deliver a rich, broad and balanced curriculum, which has an academic foundation but is adapted to meet the needs of individual learners so that every student has the maximum opportunity to succeed and realise their ambitions. Our curriculum is carefully planned in order to prepare students for success at GCSE.  Students learn the key skills for success during Key Stage 3 and will begin GCSEs in Year 10.  

Students are set regular homework that provides them the opportunities to practice independently what has been modelled for them in the classroom, consolidate and extend the learning from lessons, or prepare for future lessons, through pre-learning.  All homework tasks are embedded in the curriculum and relate to the programme of learning. Homework can be completed at home or by using the facilities within the school, e.g. the library, computers or lunchtime study clubs. Students will be assigned homework once per week, in most subjects, up to an hour maximum. KS4 students will also be given revision tasks in addition to homework to support retrieval practice and interleaving of topics within a subject. 

Students MUST log their homework in their planners, which parents should check and sign on a weekly basis. Planners are then checked weekly by tutors. Additional resources are uploaded on Google Classroom to support students’ with their learning. 

Next half term, we will be trialling the use of Arbor with a few groups across years 7-10 to assign homework in addition to the use of the planner.  We will ask for your feedback if your child is in the pilot groups regarding the use of Arbor and if the feedback is positive we hope to use Arbor in addition to the planner next academic year for all classes. 

If your child would like support with homework, please continue to encourage them to speak to their teacher for further guidance. Your support with monitoring your child’s homework completion and helping them to manage their time productively at home is appreciated. 

Following the May half term break, from Monday 6th June 2022, there will be no onsite collection of secondary students except for those parents who are blue badge holders.  

Please consider the following options:  

1. Park and Walk (from TESCO)  

1. Walk from Humberstone Lane/Barkbythorpe Road  

1. Cycle  

1. Public Bus Service  

1. Paid for Bus Service (Beaver Bus).  If you are interested in signing up for Beaver Bus for the next academic year, please visit the Beaver Bus website www.beaver-bus.co.uk and click on: “School Buses” tab followed by “Reservation form”.  You will need to complete the reservation form even if your child already travels by Beaver Bus. 

We are also requesting that parents think about whether they need to use Thurmaston Lane as a drop off/collection point for their children. As a school, we are part of a local community, and there have been concerns raised by local residents about the traffic along Thurmaston Lane around school times. We recommend that Thurmaston Lane is for pedestrian/cycle traffic only, and that one of the other suggestions above is used if travelling by car.  

The school works hard to ensure that we communicate effectively and timely with parents and other community members. To support our communication strategy, I would like to highlight some of our expectations for parents, and also reiterate our commitments to you around communication.  

We request that parents: 

• Contact the school via telephone or email to notify us of any student absence prior to 8.30am each morning. 
• Are mindful of repeated phone calls to the office or emails to the school. In the event of an emergency, we are more than happy to receive a call or email, but please note that due to other commitments at school, specific members of staff may not be immediately available.  
• Use the contact form on our website for more specific queries. 

• General enquiry: goes to school email address, picked up by our admin team and passed on to relevant member of staff 
• Head of Year: goes to the relevant head of year for your child 
• Form Tutor: goes to the relevant form tutor for your child 
• Curriculum/Subject Query: goes to the relevant head of department and passed onto member of staff 
• Special Educational Need: goes to Miss Bigginton, SENDCo 
• Concern/Issue: goes to the school email address and principal 
• Finance/Payments: goes to school admin team and Trust finance 
• Yoga: goes to our Yoga subject lead (not accessed by the school) 
• Govinda’s catering: goes to Govinda’s catering team directly (not accessed by the school) 
• Clubs: goes to school email address, picked up by our admin team and passed on to relevant member of staff 
• Bus: goes to school admin team and Beaver bus 
• Uniform: goes to school email address, picked up by our admin team and passed on to relevant member of staff 
• Lettings: goes to school admin team and Trust lettings officer 
• Admissions: goes to school admissions officer 
• Medical: goes to school medical officer 
• PTFA or SSC: goes to PTFA and SSC chairs directly (not accessed by the school) 

As a school, we are committed to: 

• Sending a weekly bulletin to the school community to share key information about the school, celebrate student success and advertise upcoming school events and opportunities.  
• Responding to email and website communications in a timely manner, usually within 2 full school working days.  
• Being available via telephone to answer queries about the school. 
• Providing a termly report on your child’s academic progress, with one report containing comments about your child’s learning. 
• Sharing information about your child’s attendance and behaviour, via the Arbor app/portal, and using Arbor to communicate information about any behaviour sanctions. 
• Recognising and celebrating exceptional student behaviour and attendance on a termly basis through Arbor communications.  
• Using appropriate social media to share and celebrate the successes and achievements of our pupils.  

Please be reminded that students are only able to purchase a drink at lunch time if they purchase a full meal. This is to ensure that students are eating a healthy and balanced diet, which includes a substantial midday meal. Drinks and snacks are still available at break time for purchase.  

As a school, we are open and happy to receive feedback on how we can further improve. I would like to open up a survey to gain an understanding of your views on our school and will be providing an update in the Summer 2 term about the results of the survey and how the school will use this information to inform our next steps. I would also like to take the opportunity to share areas where we are doing well.  

https://avanti.wufoo.com/forms/afs-parent-survey-questions/ 

Yours sincerely

Miss Bardsley

Acting Principal