Handbook for Parents and Pupils Senior School, Years 7 to 13
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Handbook for parents and pupils Senior School, Years 7 to 13. Academic Year: 2018-2019 Contents Description Page Welcome from the Head 3 Communication 4 The Tutor system 5 Curriculum and learning The curriculum; Assessment, reports and parents’ evenings; Homework; Special 5 Educational Needs; Gifted and Talented; Citizenship; Sex education; Educational and curricular visits. Reward, sanctions and behaviour 7 Commendations; Colours; Sanctions; Suspension; Bullying. The House system 10 The School day School hours; Assemblies; Registration and late arrival; Collecting pupils during the day; 11 End of the school day; Parking, collecting and dropping off; Travelling by bus. Absence, sickness and medication 12 Extra-curricular 13 Sports; Clubs and activities; Trips; Music; Speech and drama (LAMDA) Careers and Higher Education 14 Prefects 15 Personal property 16 School Chaplain 16 Food and drink 16 The Learning Resource Centre 16 Parent Teacher Association 17 Old Derbeian Society 17 School closure 17 Safeguarding 17 Concerns and complaints 17 School staff 18 Uniform, dress code and classroom equipment 20 Term dates 22 2 Welcome It is with great pleasure that I welcome you and your child to our school. At Derby Grammar School you will find a real sense of purpose and pride that emanates from our community. Our aims and ethos are tangible: to enable pupils to achieve academic excellence along with the confidence and abilities to take on the world and succeed. We pride ourselves on bringing education to life, on providing a learning environment that challenges and inspires. We encourage our pupils to embrace every opportunity for learning and to indulge their intellectual curiosity. An innovative academic curriculum is offered by an outstanding body of well-qualified staff, committed to ensuring that our pupils reach their potential. Our academic results speak for themselves, placing us at, or very near to, the top of all major school league tables and are testament to the talents of our staff and pupils alike. Our pupils, however, not only excel in the classroom but also engage whole-heartedly with all that a broad -based, holistic education can offer. The day at Derby Grammar School is varied and rich. Pupils benefit from life-enriching sporting, musical, dramatic and cultural extra-curricular offerings. Ensuring that there is an effective balance between the core academics and a wider skills-based and character education is of paramount importance to positive pupil outcomes. There are exciting times ahead at Derby Grammar School. Your child will flourish as an individual, but more importantly, have fun along the way. Dr Ruth Norris Head Our aims To provide an excellent, all-round education with a commitment to academic excellence at its core. To equip our pupils with a breadth of skills and knowledge, which enable them to perform outstandingly well at school and in later life. To obtain places on good courses in higher education, and to succeed in a rapidly-changing world. To provide a range of well-run and diverse extra-curricular activities, which encourage and support our pupils in becoming confident, rounded, and socially responsible young people. Communication Communications from home to School Letter For all general correspondence or concerns you These will normally be hand delivered through your may have, the Tutor should be the first point of child. If a letter has been sent home, there should contact. Other ways you can contact School are: be an entry in the homework diary to inform you. Email Newsletter To contact or send a message to a member of During term time you will receive a weekly staff, use [email protected]. e-newsletter. This includes a message from the Please ensure your email is labelled with the Head and news of what is happening in school. recipient’s name. The calendar Contact the Head at [email protected] The school calendar shows events and key Letter activities. It is available on the website at www.derbygrammar.org/school-calendar Please address letters to the Tutor, Head of Year or Head as appropriate. Reports and Parents’ Evenings Telephone There is opportunity for you to discuss your child’s Contact the School Office on 01332 523027. It is progress throughout the year. The calendar details staffed in term time between 8am and 5pm. During parents’ evenings and timings for written reports the holidays there is an answering machine. which are sent home twice-yearly. (Please also see page 5). If you wish to speak to a member of teaching staff, they may have lunchtime or after school activities Pupil reports and associated documentation, in addition to their normal teaching commitment, so including timetables and examination entries, are will respond as soon as they can. made available through SchoolBase at https:// schoolbase.online Homework diary The homework diary is the quickest and most SchoolBase efficient way for staff and parents to communicate. SchoolBase is where you can access information You are urged to check this daily for information relating to your child’s progress at School. We call and to note queries for Tutors to deal with. For this the Parent Portal. more significant concerns, please telephone You will be informed by email of your login details School to arrange an appointment. once your child arrives for their first day at School. Please use the space on the right hand side of the Access the Parent Portal at https:// current week’s page. The Tutor will initial your schoolbase.online using the domain DGS and the message, however, this does rely on your child log in details you have received. showing the diary to his Tutor. The Tutor only signs the book as a matter of routine once per week. SchoolBase App The SchoolBase App is available for iOS and Communications from School to home Android. You can access the calendar, notice Information to parents from the School can be board, documents and your child’s timetable. found in your child’s homework diary, or it is sent (Apple users need at least iOS 10 installed). by letter or email, or on the calendar which is To set up the app, enter the school code 7330 available on the website. when prompted, followed by your usual username Homework diary and password. You will also need to set a PIN code which should be entered each time you open Tutors or subject staff may put comments in the the app. homework diary. Please initial all entries to show you have received them. Any queries relating to SchoolBase, should be directed to the IT manager at [email protected] 4 The Tutor system Curriculum and learning Heads of Year The curriculum Senior Master Mr P Hilliam Detailed curriculum guides for Year 9 going into Head of Lower School Mr K Clark Year 10 to start GCSE, and for Year 11 going into (Years 7 to 9) the Sixth Form are issued during the year. Head of Upper School Mrs V Charnock There is a synopsis of the curriculum in all (Years 10 and 11) subjects for all Year groups published at the start of the autumn term and available on the website. Head of Sixth Form Miss K Stebbings Assessment, reports and parents’ Tutor groups evenings All pupils belong to a Form. Their Form Tutor forms the basis of our pastoral care. We continuously assess a pupil’s progress and keep you up to date with this via parents’ The Tutor develops a detailed knowledge of each evenings and written reports. pupils’ development and attainment, nurturing and providing them with a close-knit support network of Written reports are issued twice a year, with the both peers and staff. exception of Year 11: Year Report date Year Tutor Form Room 7 Spring and Summer Mr Fletcher / 7 R6 8 Spring and Summer Mr Watson 9 Autumn and Summer Mrs Watson / 7 R3 10 Autumn and Summer Mr Critchlow 11 Spring 8 Mrs Collins / R1 12 Spring and Summer 13 Autumn and Spring 8 Miss Sellors / A1 We also hold parents’ evenings at which we 8 Miss Trubilina P1 discuss your child’s progress: Year Parents’ Evenings 9 Mrs Schroeder R4 7 Autumn and Summer 9 Mr Lakritz C1 8 Autumn 9 Spring 10-11 Mr Allen D21 10 Spring 10-11 Mr Benjafield D12 11 Autumn and Spring 10-11 Mr Hills P2 12 Autumn 13 Autumn 10-11 Mr Lowden B1 Dates of Parents’ Evenings are published in the School Calendar. 12-13 Mrs Burton / R5 In addition, Progress Checks for pupils in Years 7 to 11 are completed mid-way through the autumn 12-13 Dr Buckenham B2 term. This check enables us to highlight areas where your child has shown particular effort or has 12-13 Mrs Lacey / Mr Coley D13 achieved high standards of work, and equally means we can discuss any area of concern. 12-13 Mr Taylor D11 5 Grade cards range of issues: ethical, moral, social, religious and Progress of Sixth Form pupils is also recorded via health that affect the pupils and society in which we the Grade Card which is updated at the end of live. each half term. It is available on the Parent Portal Sex Education and shows grades for the current standard of work and their level of effort, alongside their potential A Pupils have the opportunity to learn about the Level grade. nature of sexuality and the processes of human reproduction. These issues are discussed within a Homework and homework diaries framework of values and an awareness of the law Homework is an integral and important part of relating to sexual behaviour. school life and is essential to support academic Sex education is delivered through biology work.