- Mar 13, 2020
- Jan 8, 2019
Dear Parents and Carers,
I’d like to begin this letter by thanking you for your support in ensuring your children returned to school after the half-term break smartly dressed and ready for learning. Now that the vast majority of restrictions have been lifted, it is wonderful to see school returning to a greater sense of normality and not to be writing to you with what has felt like endless lists of instructions or guidance regarding the pandemic!
In this letter there are some key reminders and information about how school is currently operating. Please read this letter carefully and if you have any queries please contact your child’s form tutor or Head of House.
COVID RELATED ABSENCE
If your child tests positive for Covid-19, they should follow the current government recommendations to stay at home and isolate for 5 days from the onset of symptoms or, if asymptomatic, from the day of their positive test result. From day 6, 2 consecutive negative lateral flow tests (taken 24hrs apart) are required for your child to be able to return to school.
If any member of your household tests positive, there is no need for your child to self-isolate unless they develop symptoms or test positive.
ATTENDANCE
I am now expecting all pupils to be in school unless they are genuinely unwell. It is my wish to ensure that whole school attendance returns to pre-pandemic levels and every child should be striving for a minimum of 95% attendance.
Over the coming weeks we will be contacting families where we have concerns around poor attendance. I cannot reiterate enough the importance of your child’s regular attendance to school; it has a significant impact not only academically but poor attendance can also cause additional stress and anxiety for children, especially if they fall behind with their work.
If you are struggling to ensure your child’s attendance is at the required threshold, please contact Ms Whelan, our Attendance Officer.
CONTACTING SCHOOL
If you need to see a member of staff in person, please telephone the school first to make an appointment. School is a busy place and staff cannot leave their classes or duties to see parents or carers who have arrived without an appointment.
Thank you for your support and understanding with this matter.
UNIFORM
I am extremely proud of how smart our pupils are and the high standards they uphold. Our uniform policy is very clear on how pupils should be dressed and we work hard to maintain our standards.
The rule on piercings is very simple: pupils may wear one small stud per ear, not multiple ones and nose studs/rings are prohibited. We advise pupils who wish to get additional piercings to do so at the start of a school holiday to allow for enough time for the piercing to heal so it can be removed for school. I believe our policy is fair and reasonable and we will enforce this with all pupils in years 7-11.
SUPPORTING STEPS
At Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School we firmly believe that one of the ways we can live out our school motto of ‘Just and Firm of Purpose’ is by showing kindness and respect to each other. In school we use STEPS to model and educate pupils on how to talk to others politely, using good manners.
STEPS stands for:
S: Sir or Miss when addressing staff
T: Thank you
E: Excuse me
P: Please
S: Smile!
Visitors to our school often comment on how polite our pupils are and this is something we are very proud of. As parents and carers you can support us by talking about STEPS at home and encouraging your child to always speak to others with kindness and respect. This will enable your child to develop the social skills they need when they enter the world of work.