French visit: 3 day residential visit to St. Omer and Lille – A group of 38 students from Years 8, 9 and 10 enjoyed a very full and interesting cultural visit to Northern France. Travelling by coach and ferry, the students visited a chocolate factory in Belgium, competed against one another at a bowling alley and embarked on a walking tour of the landmarks of the city of Lille, including sampling the Christmas treats at the Christmas market. One of the highlights was a ride on the 150ft. / 45 metre high Ferris Wheel which gave a beautiful view of the city. Our final visit was to a 100-year-old bakery where Bruno the baker gave a fantastic presentation on how bread is made. Bruno spoke entirely in French which gave a very real experience for our students.

Our students behaved beautifully throughout the trip; thank you to all the staff who worked hard behind the scenes to make the visit run so smoothly (Ms. Aboud, Mr. Holliday, Ms. Lusty and Ms. Smith). Thank you also to parents who have emailed and spoken with staff to provide such positive feedback – it is much appreciated.

   

Year 9 Theatre Trip – Woman in Black – Malvern – In line with the published Pupil Premium Statement (please see website), the school is highly committed to ensuring that all children can access extra-curricular activities. The school has dedicated funding so that each year group can participate in a theatre visit at no charge (subject to appropriate behaviour). This term Mr. Holliday organised a trip taking 100 Year 9 students to Malvern to watch the gothic horror play, Woman in Black. There was much screaming in the second half when the play hit its climax – the students clearly enjoyed themselves and we look forward to our next visit to Birmingham in January with our Year 7 students.

Music Concert – Ms. Knight held a small, but intimate school concert this term showcasing the musical talents of our students. We hope that this will be the first of many musical moments this year. Congratulations to all those who played so well!

Alice in Wonderland – The end of term has finished with a witty, panto-style version of Alice in Wonderland. In record time, Ms. Jones and Ms. Saunders created an evening of acting and dance which allowed our students to get fully into character and show off their many talents. Thank you to all students and parents for being such a supportive and enthusiastic audience. Thank you also to the staff providing the ‘front of house’ and ‘behind the scenes’ support.

  

 

Social media

In a world where we are being increasingly dependent on technology, please do take time to check that your children are using their social media responsibly. Children do not need to spend hours of time on their phones; indeed a significant number of children express concern that they have become ‘hooked’ on their phones. Friendship issues are nearly always tracked back to inappropriate use of phones – please see the link on our website to e-safety. https://www.barnwood-park.gloucs.sch.uk/e-safety

 

Uniform and equipment

Our children continue to look extremely smart in their uniform; thank you to all parents for your support of this.

As we move into the colder months, just a gentle reminder that students are allowed to wear a school jumper underneath their blazer. Hoodies and sweatshirts are not permitted.

We are phasing in the change to grey uniform over the next 5 years with each new year 7 cohort. There is no requirement for students in Yrs. 8-11 to wear grey until they outgrow their navy trousers/skirts.

All students are expected to wear black shoes; trainers are for PE lessons only. After February half term, if students arrive to school in trainers, they will be expected to loan a pair of shoes from school. This is for all year groups. 

 

Community

The school held a cake sale for Children in Need earlier in the term; demand was extremely high with cakes selling out in the first 5 minutes of break time!

The penultimate day of term was our Christmas Jumper day; students will be donating to one of the school’s chosen charities.

Our 12 Days of Christmas Raffle raised £484 which will go towards renewing the Peace Garden. Thank you to everyone who bought tickets and donated prizes.

 

Last week, we held the Year 11 parents’ evening. Thank you to all parents and students who attended and completed the survey. As with the Year 10 parents’ evening, the feedback was overwhelmingly positive:

 

 

On behalf of all the staff, I would like to wish all students and their families a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

 

Kind regards,

Karen Clinton

Headteacher

 

 

Appendix:

Parent/Visitor Code of Conduct

In line with other public sector organisations, e.g. doctor’s surgeries, hospitals, and public buildings, including shopping centres, supermarkets, the school governing body has approved the Parent / Visitor Code of Conduct.

This is to support all staff working at the school who continue to receive verbal and written abuse, threats and harassment on a regular basis from a very small minority of parents / carers.

 

Barnwood Park School:

Parent and Visitor Code of Conduct

We are very fortunate to have a committed and supportive school community where staff, governors and parents recognise that the education of our children and young people is a partnership between all of us.  Accordingly, we welcome the full participation of our parents in the life of the school.  We endeavour to maintain positive relationships with parents and visitors.  We are committed to resolving difficulties in a constructive manner through open, positive communication.

Our school values and ethos require that all members of our school community can expect to be treated reasonably and with respect.  Barnwood Park School further has a duty of care to its employees and volunteers to protect them from behaviour which is rude, intimidating, abusive, aggressive or threatening.

Purpose: This code is intended to ensure that we share a common expectation and understanding in relation to the behaviour of parents and visitors.

Code of Conduct

We expect parents and visitors to:

• Respect the inclusive, caring values and ethos of the school
• Understand that the values and ethos of the school encompass relationships with staff and volunteers
• Demonstrate that all members of the school community are to be treated with respect and dignity
• Respect, and cooperate with, the school’s policies, processes and procedures
• Recognise that school staff are endeavouring to act in the best interests of the child/ren involved in events
• Approach the school in a proportionate and measured way to resolve any issues of specific concern
• Recognise that school staff have many competing duties during a typical day which may mean that they are not immediately available, for example, staff should not be expected to respond to a queries within an unrealistic time-frame e.g., staff may not be able to respond on the same day
• Understand that requests for meetings without appointment or for an unspecified reason cannot be accommodated and allow time for staff to look into and respond to a query/issue rather than seeking a meeting in the first instance
• Respond calmly when any incident is reported by a child or young person and contact us to clarify what has happened, so that issues can be resolved swiftly and positively
• Use our Complaints policy appropriately to raise concerns and complaints

We are obliged to secure a safe and calm school environment, and to support the well-being of all members of our school community.  We cannot accept, and will not tolerate, any of the following behaviours towards any child or adult:

• Disruptive behaviour which interferes with, or threatens to interfere with, the normal business of the school
• Violence or the threat of violence
• Shouting or raising of the voice
• Speaking in an aggressive or threatening tone
• Abusive or aggressive communications
• Physical intimidation e.g. standing close, blocking exit
• Physical contact
• Swearing
• Spitting
• Language or actions which breach our commitment to Equality and Diversity, for example, racist, sexist, LGBTQ-phobic
• Behaviour which causes staff or volunteers to feel uncomfortable or bullied
• Threats of non-violent action designed to intimidate staff or volunteers
• Defamatory, offensive or derogatory comments (direct or implied) about any member of the school community, including unfounded and/or blanket comments about the professional competency or motivation of staff or volunteers – this extends to comments made on social media.
• Damaging of school property
• Approaching someone else’s child in order to chastise them because of their actions towards their own child
• Smoking, vaping or consuming drugs or alcohol whilst on school property (alcohol may be consumed only during authorised events)
• Bringing animals onto school premises (other than assistance dogs)

This applies to personal interaction and also all telephone, email, text, letter or social media communications.

Unacceptable behaviour may result in:

• A letter from the school requesting that the behaviour ceases
• An invitation to attend a meeting to discuss and address the behaviour
• Restrictions on the school’s response to communications (any restrictions will be detailed in a letter to the parent/s or visitor concerned)
• A ban on entering school premises (usually for a limited period in the first instance)
• Complaints/communications being deemed vexatious
• Information being passed to the police
• Police being called to remove people from the premises
• The school taking legal or local authority advice

Complaints:

This Code of Conduct does not prevent parents or visitors raising legitimate concerns or complaints.

Concerns and complaints can be resolved through constructive, open dialogue with members of staff, utilising our Complaints Policy as appropriate.