Mobile Phone Policy - 'no see, no hear'

At John Colet we have a 'no see, no hear' policy for mobile phones while students are on school site.  In a community of over 1000 people it would be disruptive to learning for phones to be used by students. Insisting that a parent or carer collects the phone acts as a deterrent to phones being used. 

During school hours, should you need to contact your child please telephone the School Office and we will get a message to them.  Alternatively if a student needs to contact their parent/carer they should go to the Student Support office or Reception where they can request to ring home.

Unfortunately, at times parents try to contact students directly which causes their phone to go off during lessons - this results in the student having their phone confiscated as per our school policy and it will be a parent/carer that will have to pick the mobile phone up from the School Office.   If you are unable to collect the phone please arrange for a family member, or responsible adult to collect it on your behalf.  Students will not be able to pick up their phone themselves under any circumstance.  A number of students have raised the issue of having to use their phone to pay for transport home. If this is the case the student needs to come and speak to the school office. We will arrange for a loan which will need to be reimbursed the next day.  

School Attendance

Following our return to school in the new year, we have seen an increased level of seasonal illnesses and know that a number of students have missed school as a result. The NHS advises that children are able to come to school with symptoms such as a minor cough or cold, and are encouraged to throw away used tissues and wash their hands regularly to minimise the spread of germs. We saw the importance of good hand hygiene during the pandemic, and it is a timely reminder to continue with thorough hand washing as often as possible.

We have also seen an increase in the number of students arriving late to school.  We do appreciate that the traffic in the local area can be unpredictable, and the buses and trains have also made an impact with strikes and delays. We ask that you mitigate any delays by checking timetables and using apps such as google maps or Waze to plan your journey in the mornings. We continue to see a number of students arrive late who tell us they simply did not get up or leave the house in time for them to arrive in school for registration. If your child is arriving late to school, please do support them with their punctuality by ensuring they go to bed at a reasonable time, and get up in plenty of time to get ready and leave the house on time.  Please also encourage them to pack their bags and ensure their uniform and any equipment they need is ready the night before to minimise any last minute delays.

We have previously mentioned the impact that taking term time holiday has on a child's attendance and engagement in school, and ask again that you make any arrangements for family get togethers, trips, celebrations and adventures in the 13 weeks of school holidays. We know that students not only miss lessons when they are away but also miss out on important time spent with their friends, joining in with extra curricular activities and engaging with school. We are seeing an increasing number of behaviour issues and school avoidance in students who have had term time holiday, and these issues can be easily avoided by making school a priority and taking breaks outside of term time.

We do understand that parents/carers are often given no alternatives when offered medical appointments during the school day. Of course, it is important that children are accessing medical treatment, and ask that you let us know of any appointments by reporting the absence using the google form on the home page of the school website, and also emailing proof of the appointment to attendance@johncolet.co.uk. We do ask that you make appointments outside of school hours where possible, including for routine appointments such as eye tests or dental check ups, and return students to school immediately afterwards.

We hope you all have an enjoyable half term break, and the brighter weather of the Spring term will bring health, happiness and good attendance!

With kind regards

Di and Natalie, the attendance team

Careers update

Careers Fair

As part of the National Apprenticeship Week programme we held our annual careers fair on Wednesday and we welcomed 19 exhibitors from a wide range of organisations.  All year groups got the opportunity to attend and find out more information about possible next steps after year 11 and year 13.  We were pleased to have Louie, an ex-student, now working with Tesla on their Future Talent Programme visit and bring a Tesla vehicle to show our students.

Rewards and Consequences

Current Job Vacancies - with flexible working patterns

Do you know of any one who would like to join the John Colet School.  We have vacancies for a Cover Supervisor, Learning Support Assistants, a teacher of Humanities (full or part-time) and Casual Invigilators.  

Full Job Descriptions are available on the John Colet School website.  These can be found under 'About'  tab on the 'Vacancies' section of the website.

Free School Meals

If your circumstances have changed recently and you think you are eligible for free school meals please get in touch via pupilpremium@johncolet.co.uk and we can complete a simple check for you.