This week we have held our first Year 11 Careers Fair. It was a fantastic event, very well attended by our students. The feedback from the stall holders was so positive of our students, their interest and engagement in taking their next steps in education, training or employment.

Our anti-bullying week has generated much conversation around the theme of “Reach Out”. Anti-Bullying week is an annual event during which schools are encouraged to do something that shows their commitment to tackling bullying. On Monday we asked students to wear odd socks to celebrate diversity and today we have enjoyed seeing a very colourful school community to raise over £600 for Children in Need. Secondary pupils have had dedicated assemblies around how they can stop bullying and reach out when they see something is not right and our primary students have also had assemblies on diversity and “kind hands” which allows them to identify a trusted adult they could speak to.

Finally, I do want to share some community wide warnings that are happening within the city.

• Contaminated vapes: several pupils within the city (none at our school) have recently become unwell and it is believed that they were using contaminated vapes. These vapes most commonly contain cannabis or other synthetic additives. Please do speak with your children about the risk of using vapes, talking through the adverse effects of smoking and vaping and not using any product if they don’t know where they have come from.
• Stranger danger: there have been at least two incidents where students have been approached by an individual in a car. They either call out or flash their lights to draw the attention of students, hoping they will come closer to the car. Please speak to your children about staying in groups and not interacting with adults they don’t know in public.

A reminder around our school procedures for secondary pupils travelling to school. We recognise that the weather is getting colder, damper and darker, however, this is no reason for parents and students to not follow the procedures we have put in place.

• Encourage your child to walk/cycle where possible. Create a walking or cycling group with friends.
• Park and stride from Tesco: if driving your child to school, please ensure that you allow 7-10 minutes for your child to walk over to school.
• Avoid using Thurmaston Lane or Furrow View to drop off/collect, as this is unsafe for pupils and is creating unnecessary traffic congestion.

A the weather has turned, there is an increase in parents choosing to drop off/collect along Furrow View in both the morning and the afternoon. It is disappointing that this small group of parents are affecting our local reputation, as the school has begun to receive complaints from local residents and businesses.

Please equip your child with a waterproof coat and encourage them to walk from Tesco.

• Monday 21st November: AST INSET Day (school closed)
• Thursday 24th November: Year 7 Wizard of Oz trip
• Thursday 1st December: Year 11 Arts Award theatre trip

As well as electing/re-electing the Key Committee posts we are looking to expand the team with both additional committee members and active ad-hoc volunteers. We are keen to have representation from all year groups, including Primary and Nursery, as well as some school staff and would like to encourage you all to consider joining our successful group.

PTFA AGM Letter 3 Nov 22

If you would like to discuss further or require some more details about what is involved, please email us on [email protected].

We hope to see you at the AGM.

Many Thanks

Avanti Fields PTFA Committee

Reg Charity No. 1183148

Absolutely amazing achievement by our table tennis team for becoming bronze medallists in the Team Leicestershire Table Tennis County Cup Final! What an achievement! The boys (Kai K, Jayal M, Anshh D and Ronak K displayed their incredible talent and stayed calm under pressure when it mattered the most. They had some tough competition but managed to secure 3^rd place which they should be extremely proud of. They represented Avanti with excellent sportsmanship and were a joy to watch. Well done boys!

The Winter Holiday Activities and Food Programme (HAF) will be available for children eligible for benefits-related free school meals.

This HAF round we will be sending out a letter to parents/carers of children who were receiving benefits-related free school meals on 7 November 2022.  The letter confirms a child’s eligibility and gives unique HAF Code for the parent to use when registering for a place.

We hope that this letter will widen participation from families.  However, we continue to ask for your help to reach children who may benefit from this programme.

Eligible children can register to attend one HAF programme over winter holiday and they will also receive a healthy lunch each day that they attend.

There are over 60 programmes taking place across the city for parents to choose from.  The dates, times and age suitability will differ by provider.

Spaces will be allocated on a first come first served basis to children and young people who meet all of the following criteria:

• live in Leicester City
• are receiving benefits related free school meals
• are in the age range for that programme

Please distribute the list of programme providers to parents/carers.  Parents/carers can also find details directly from families.leicester.gov.uk/haf.

We are pleased to announce the council is now accepting Household Support Fund applications.

The local authority has received funding of £3.4 million which we plan to distribute to the most vulnerable households within the City.  Our focus in this scheme is to support those who have not received financial support from the Government Cost of Living payments and the previous grant period of this scheme between April and September 2022 – therefore awards to households who have already received both of these will be limited to food only, unless there are vulnerabilities or risk factors identified in the household.  Please note, all support received is a contribution, and not a replacement for the applicant’s entire budget.

The fund will be used to support households most in need with:

• Food
• Gas and electricity (billed and pre-paid)
• Water bills
• White goods (via referral only)
• In exceptional cases of genuine emergency, it may also be used to support housing costs where existing housing support/discretionary schemes do not meet this need

A reminder that this is not a crisis service.

Funding has also been used to support various food banks around the city and to fund the Pop-Up Pantry Scheme available to those receiving free school meals in October 2022 and February 2023.

Supporting your vulnerable families

For this round of the Household Support Fund, support can be accessed by:

1. Application submitted directly by the family
2. Professional referrer form submitted by the school

Schools are not expected to act as professional referrers, this is optional dependant on your capacity.

Option 1 – Application submitted directly by the family

Families can apply directly if they need help with:

• Food
• Gas and electricity (billed and pre-paid)
• Water bills

Applications can be submitted by families, however, this will be live based on one week on and two weeks off (subject to demand).  The dates below show when the form will be live:

• 14 November – 21 November 2022 (please note form maintenance is planned from 10pm Friday 18 November to approx. 6pm on Sunday 20 November)
• 5 December – 12 December 2022
• 3 January – 9 January 2023
• 23 January – 30 January 2023
• 13 February – 5 March 2023

Full details can be found at leicester.gov.uk/householdsupportfund.

Option 2 – Professional referrer form submitted by the school (*school use only)

Schools are able to support their most vulnerable families by making an application on the families behalf via the professional referrer form.

Support available through the professional referral form includes:

• Food
• Gas and electricity (billed and pre-paid)
• Water bills
• White goods (via referral only)
• In exceptional cases of genuine emergency, it may also be used to support housing costs where existing housing support/discretionary schemes do not meet this need

Avanti Fields will be reaching out to vulnerable families prior to the holidays to offer support. If you believe you need the support of a school referral, please contact our admin team at [email protected]

Avanti Fields school is proposing to change our admissions policy for 2024-25. To engage in the consultation, please visit the Avanti Schools Trust consultation page here.

Communications – Wherever possible please use the contact form on our website to get in touch. This is detailed on the website at https://avanti.org.uk/avantifields/contact-us/. The appropriate member of staff will pick up the message and get back to you as soon as possible.

Absence

To report an absence to the school, parents should contact us by 8:00am (primary) and 8.30am (secondary) 

Email: [email protected]
Phone: 0116 326 6813 (Option 1 to leave a voicemail) 

Please remember to state your child’s full name, tutor group and reason for absence. If your child is unwell, please could you give a brief description of the symptoms. 

All education research highlights how crucial it is to a child’s academic progress and wellbeing they attend school , on time, all of the time. Therefore, a reminder that 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.   

This 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.