Dear Parent and Carers,

It gives me great pleasure to inform you of my new role at Altrincham College as Assistant Headteacher with responsibility for behaviour, pastoral care and Sixth Form oversight. I am delighted to be taking up this position and very much looking forward to building on the success of our school as we go from strength to strength.

As many of you will be aware, I have been teaching at Altrincham College for 11 years, including the last 2 years as Head of Sixth Form, and will remain heavily involved in the strategic leadership of the Sixth Form provision in my new role. I strongly believe that the students at Altrincham College receive an excellent educational experience and I am committed to ensure that your child(ren) continue to get the very best education.

It is essential that we continue to expect the highest standards of behaviour, attitude and dress to maintain, and even further improve, standards. The standard of uniform in school at the moment is good and I would like to thank parents/carers for your continued support with this. Behaviour around school is also good and all students continue to benefit from a strong pastoral system which is having a positive impact on the care, guidance and support given to each child.

Uniform
High uniform standards will help all students get back into the right routine and will allow us to welcome your child/ward positively, rather than confronting them with uniform issues as soon as they arrive at school. Here are some reminders of our high standards, which we expect all students to meet:

• Full school uniform: blazer, tie, jumper (optional), tailored trousers or skirt.
• Full PE kit for PE days.
• Correct footwear – no trainers.
• Hairstyles must be appropriate.
• No fake tan, false nails, heavy make-up or piercings (including earrings).
• An outdoor coat for inclement weather.
• A school bag to carry books/equipment and lunch if required.
• A face mask.
• A water bottle.

Hoodies and sports jackets are not allowed and will be confiscated on arrival at the school gate. Please ensure that your child has a suitable outdoor coat. 

If you are facing financial difficulties and will struggle to send your child(ren) to school in full school uniform, then please get in touch and we will work to support you.

Mobile Phones
We have all become reliant on technology during the Covid-19 pandemic and mobile phones are now an essential part of our everyday lives. When used effectively, mobile phones can aid the learning experience, as we have seen over the past year; however, they can also act as a distraction from learning. I have reminded students in assemblies this week of our mobile phone policy:

• Students can only use mobile phones at break and lunch in their year group zone.
• Mobile phones must not be seen/used anywhere else on the school site at any time and this includes earphones and airpods.

Students not following this policy will have their device confiscated until the end of the school day. You will be notified if your child has had an item confiscated. Should your child have an item confiscated 3 times, they will be issued with a Period 6 detention on a Friday after school for consistently breaking this rule and an adult will be asked to collect the item from reception. The mobile phone policy is currently under review for September 2021.

Punctuality
Thank you for your support in ensuring your child(ren) arrive on time for school; punctuality to school has really improved recently. The new system for monitoring punctuality has also helped in this improvement. Since September, the school day starts with Period 1 at 08:45am, so any student arriving late to school will miss the start of their lesson. If your child/ward is late to school 3 times (after 08:45am) they will be issued a Period 6 detention for one hour on Friday (15:10-16:10).

Students are expected to attend this after-school detention and will not be collected by a member of staff. If a student does not attend this detention they will be isolated at break and lunch times until they have completed it. I appreciate your full support in ensuring that students attend school each day on time in order to maximise learning time and reduce any unnecessary disruption to their learning and the learning of others.

I truly believe that partnership between students, parents/carers and school is fundamental to the success of every student and communication between school and home is vital and should be encouraged. If you have concerns, please let us know in the first instance by contacting your child’s form tutor. Heads of Year deal with more serious matters and, in some cases, a member of the Senior Leadership Team will become involved.

Finally, thank you for your continued and much valued support. I look forward to working with you to ensure the continued success of our students.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Mr A Keegan
Assistant Headteacher