3rd April 2025

Letter to Parents 03.04.2025

Dear Parents/Carers,

 

I hope this letter finds you well.

Well, what a term it has been! So many highlights to share with you and we are super proud of every single one of our pupils for a highly successful term. This week has been wonderful to see so many students cashing in their positive points achieved this term for prizes and rewards in Swap Shop, and we look forward to final celebrations tomorrow as we conclude the week.

 

End of term arrangements and post Easter return

As you are aware, school closes for the Easter break on Friday 4th April. The day will end at the normal time of 3pm and Friday detentions will run as normal.

Due to Easter Monday, pupils are expected to return to school on Tuesday 22nd April 2025.

 

School photographs

Yesterday, your child will have brought home the sample card of the professional photographs we had taken last week. Details of how to purchase them, should you wish, in a variety of sizes are included on the card and on the consent letter circulated previously by Mr Kirkby.

This is the first time the school has had professional photographs taken of all our pupils and it was wonderful to see them so proud. They are a true credit to yourselves as parents/carers and the NUSA community. The photographers commented on how beautiful and polite they were when having them done!

For those that did not submit their consent in time or for anyone who was absent on the day, a ‘mop-up’ day is being organized for after Easter so pupils will have a second opportunity to have this taken.

 

Parental meeting requests

A polite reminder to parents/carers that any requests for meetings with staff are booked in advance via reception or direct contact. Parents/carers arriving at the school without a prior booking may not be accommodated due to teaching and other school commitments, and therefore turned away to arrange a meeting for another time.

 

Behaviour curriculum uplifts for next term

As you’ll be aware, the school has been on a considerable journey over the last 6 months to rapidly improve behaviour and standards across the school, which pupils have responded to excellently. Over the last week I have been giving tours to potential candidates for the Headteacher position and every candidate has commented on how polite, beautifully behaved and well presented our pupils are. This is a testament to pupils, staff and yourselves as parents/carers in working in partnership to achieve this – offering now a culture where teaching and learning can really thrive.

Next terms uplift will focus on punctuality to lessons, ensuring pupils arrive on time to every lesson and are ready to learn. This means that for each of the 5 lessons throughout the day, every pupil must arrive to their next lesson on time (by the second bell) and be inside the classroom ready to learn. For most pupils, this is achieved most lessons – however, I feel this will be our biggest challenge yet, so we are taking a two-pronged approach to tackling the issue.

Rewarding those that get it right! At the beginning of the summer term (date and details to be confirmed), we will be taking the whole school for a free rewards trip. We want every pupil to join us on this trip and therefore every pupil is currently ‘opted in’. However,…

3 single instances of being late to a lesson throughout the term (Wednesday 23rd April – Friday 23rd May, inclusive) will revert to this being a paid for rewards trip for the individual pupil.

5 single instances of being late to lesson across the term (Wednesday 23rd April – Friday 23rd May, inclusive) and the pupil will no longer have the opportunity to attend the trip and will remain at school that day.

Correcting the lateness in the moment: From Monday 28th April, if a pupil is late to lesson (not arrived and in the classroom by the second bell) and does not have valid reason confirmed by a staff member, then a 15 minute after school detention will be issued on that day and recorded on Kickboard. This is in line with the lateness to school detention structure.

All pupils will have the above information shared through assemblies and tutor time on Tuesday 22nd April, and reminded of the importance of the positive choices they can make to ensure they attend well and can access their learning successfully.

 

Uniform: Jewellery and piercings reminder

A polite reminder, in readiness for after half and as per the schools Uniform Policy, pupils are only allowed to wear a watch and one small stud or sleeper per ear.

Facial piercings are not permitted but a clear plastic nose stud can be worn as a retainer. No other body piercings/studs are allowed.

Year 11 mocks and Easter interventions

A huge well done and congratulations to all of year 11 who have participated in their final round of mocks this week. We are super proud of each and every one of them, and know they gave it 110% as they continue preparing for the real exams starting in just 4 weeks time!

Parents/carers of year 11 pupils will have received a series of letters indicating the Easter intervention programme on offer to your child. Please do encourage them to attend. These are highly valuable sessions, focusing on key content and examinations skills, of which many of our staff are giving up their break to facilitate.

Programme and timings reminder:

Also, a final reminder of the master class being offered to Year 11 pupils and parents this evening, Thursday 3rd April. A separate letter about this has been circulated by Mr Kirkby.

 

Attendance

At NUSA, we are committed to ensuring that each and every child in our school fulfils their potential. To help us achieve this we want all of our children to have the best possible attendance. We expect all students to secure attendance of 96% or above.

Over the course of the last term, we have seen positive improvements in attendance across the school, but we still have a significant way to go. Therefore, please ensure your child(ren):

Attends every single day

Arrives on time by 8.40am at the latest

** Please note: Arrival after 9.10am will result in a ‘U’ code, which means they will lose their AM mark and receive only a half-day (0.5) attendance value for the day. This is a DfE statutory requirement as per the Working Together to Improve School Attendance (2024)guidance.

A day here or there may not seem like much, however…

Reminder of the reporting absences procedure:

Notification of absence must be made to the school at your earliest convenience and before 8.40am.

Notifications to school can be made via:

Email – attendance@nusa.org.uk

Phone - 0115 929 1492 (option 1). Please ensure a voicemail is left detailing your child’s name, tutor group and reason for absence.

Contact with the school must be made for each day of absence, and everyday within a period.

Should your child have a preplanned medical appointment, please ensure the school is notified in advance of this absence via the above attendance line or reception. This ideally will be done in at least 24-hours in advance.

Free School Meals

For pupils in receipt of free school meals, vouchers for the Easter break will be emailed out to parents/carers tomorrow (Friday 4th April).

Governor vacancy

A vacancy has recently become available to join our Local Governing Body (LGB) as either a community or parent governor.  This is an exciting time to join the board as it supports school leaders in shaping the next stage in the journey and future of the school.

Further information of the role of a governor is available here.

For an informal discussion about the role or to submit an expression of interest, please contact our clerk to governors, Ms A Bullard, via email - abullard@nusa.org.uk.

Summer exam season dates reminder

The Summer exam season for Year 11 and Year 13 will start on Tuesday 6th May and finish on Wednesday 25th June. We wish all of our pupils the very best and know you will do yourselves proud!

I hope you have a wonderful Easter break when it arrives, and we look forward to welcoming all pupils back on Tuesday 22nd April.  

 

Kindest regards,

Ms. Leah Miller

Acting Headteacher