AEL Letter

3 April 2025

Dear Parents/Carers

As we begin our Easter break, can I first take the opportunity to wish you and your families a happy and Holy Easter, when it finally arrives. As a community we have journeyed together during Lent, culminating with a prayerful passage through our own in-school Holy Week, created by Holly, our School Chaplain. While in reality, Holy Week is still some time away, Holly has expertly recreated this experience for our pupils taking them from Palm Sunday right through to Good Friday with a series of reflections and activities.

I write now to share some important messages with all of you.

Governance

You may, or may not be aware that schools are held to account by a governing body. These bodies comprise of a number of persons, who give of their time voluntarily, to support in setting the strategic direction for the school. This body is led by a chair and I am delighted to announce that we have recently appointed Anthony Kamara to this position. Anthony has been a governor for some time and has received the unanimous backing of the governors to take up this post. Anthony brings a wealth of experience to the role and we are delighted with his appointment.

Year 11 and Year 13 Exam Preparation

As we approach the public exams, which begin for many almost immediately after we return from the Easter break, our staff continue to do everything they can to support your child in their final preparations. Most immediately this is in the form of a very substantial Easter study programme that runs across the next two weeks. This has already been sent out to you, and has been shared with your child, but it can also be found by accessing the following link: Easter Intervention

Please support this programme by checking what sessions your child should come in for and ensure they are in attendance and on time.

This programme must be supplemented by your child working hard at home, and I ask that you support them in their endeavours here. As best you are able to, monitor their work, ensure they have a quiet space to work in, and that they are free of electronic devices, not specifically being used to support their revision. Use of phones during revision windows should be an absolute no! All departments are making a wealth of resources in both hard copy and electronic form available to them, so work to do will be in plentiful supply.

Safeguarding

As a parent or carer, you may worry about whether your child is safe online. It can help to understand what the risks are, and how to talk to your child about them. Given the recent media attention to the Netflix series Adolescence, we have also included more information about online groups that focus on misogynistic views. We have updated our website with information and advice on various areas of safeguarding as well as our section on online safety: Safeguarding

Following the recent road traffic incident near the school, we understand that some families may be directly affected. If this is the case, please reach out to our Designated Safeguarding Lead, Miss Agolli, via admin@st-james.barnet.sch.uk

Barnet Integrated Clinical Services (BICS) will be running workshops aimed to increase parents' knowledge of common wellbeing and mental health difficulties faced by children and young people. Workshops will be on understanding: Emotional Based School Avoidance (EBSA), Understanding and Managing Anxiety Workshop, Supporting your Child to Manage Difficult Emotions, Understanding Low Mood and Self-Esteem Workshop Further details and how to register can be found here.

Attendance

Attendance at school continues to be a key focus at St James, and we are pleased that our average attendance across the school has been consistent throughout the Spring Term.

As a school we continue to reward excellent attendance and punctuality in a number of ways, and during the Summer Term there will be an increasing amount of rewards and raffles for pupils with excellent attendance and punctuality. More news on this in our school newsletter and our half termly updates on attendance.

As parents you hold the key to supporting your child in having excellent attendance and punctuality. Please support your child in organising themselves and ensure they leave home on time to make their way to school. Also spend time reinforcing the positive educational, mental and social benefits that excellent attendance to school has. You can support your child in maintaining or improving their attendance with the following strategies:

Maintain a consistent routine: Encourage your child to follow a consistent sleep schedule to ensure they are rested and ready for school each day, including removing your child's mobile phone from their bedroom so that it is not used throughout the night.
Plan ahead for appointments: Where possible, try to schedule medical or dental appointments outside of school hours or during school holidays to minimise disruptions to their learning.
Talk to your child about the importance of school: Engage in conversations about the value of education and how attending school regularly contributes to their long-term goals.
Stay in communication with the school: If your child is unwell or there is a concern that might affect their attendance, please contact the school as soon as possible so that we can offer support where needed.
Create a positive learning environment at home: Encourage your child to engage in their homework and any school-related activities to maintain a positive attitude towards their education.

It is important that you communicate with the school regarding any absences that your child has, including any reasons for these absences; this will enable the school to support your child with returning to school. The following NHS guide to illness and school should be considered, when deciding if your child is too ill to attend school.

Expectations and Support

We continue to insist on the highest standards of behaviour and wider adherence to policies, e.g uniform, and we must rely on your support in this regard. It is essential we work in partnership, as where this is the case, we are able to provide the very best opportunities for your child to fully live out our mission statement. On this note, here are a few reminders:

Full school uniform, including year group specific lanyards, is expected at all times. A link to all our expectations in this regard can be found in the following linked letter: Uniform Expectations

Jewellery is not permitted other than a small single stud in each ear lobe for all pupils. Multiple piercings and those not in the lobe of the ear fall outside of this permission.

Items not permitted or banned will be confiscated.

We, along with many Barnet schools, are a no mobile phone school. A pupil caught with a mobile phone in school will have it confiscated, or be issued with a detention if observed using it outside of school. Any confiscated phone will need to be collected from reception and by a parent.

I wish to make two further points here regarding mobile phones. Firstly we are of the firm opinion that your child is at greater risk when in possession of a mobile phone than they are without one. Secondly the vast majority of negative interactions between pupils begin outside of school and stem from the use of social media on smartphones that is not being effectively monitored. Below is a link to the safeguarding section of our website, where you can find out how to set up controls and monitor the use of your child’s phone: Setting up Parental Controls

Summer Term Dates

School resumes, after the Easter holidays, on Tuesday 22 April 2025 at the normal time of 8.30am. This will be Week B on the timetable. We ask you to ensure that pupils have the correct uniform and all the stationery, kit and resources that they need ready for the new term. Please also ensure that there are sufficient funds on your child's canteen account.

Monday 5 May 2025 is a bank holiday and the half-term ends on Friday 23 May 2025. The last half term of this academic year will then start on Monday 2 June 2025, ending on Tuesday 22 July 2025.

I conclude by wishing you all a happy and Holy Easter and hope that you are able to spend time with your family and loved ones. Please do open the link below to access our Easter card to you all: STJ Easter Card

God bless you all.

Anthony Ellul

Headteacher