Welcome to this week’s update.
Our assemblies this week have focused on the UK Parliament. It is important for all young people to understand the basics of how Parliament works, beginning with the difference between Parliament and the Government. With UK Parliament Week taking place next week, this has also been a perfect opportunity to raise awareness of the UK Youth Parliament - a group of young people from across the country who speak up about issues that matter to them.
This week, we were pleased to welcome Sarah Ward-Lilley, our new Chair of Trustees for HISP MAT, to the Medina College and Island VI Form sites. Sarah brings a wealth of valuable experience that will help support the vision for all HISP MAT schools. We also hosted Trust colleagues on Monday, who worked with us to review some of our procedures and processes as part of our ongoing development journey. This new chapter for Medina College is already well underway.
As the weather becomes colder and wetter, please ensure your child comes to school with a suitable coat. We want to continue allowing students to use our covered outdoor areas at break and lunchtime, but they must be dressed appropriately to stay warm and dry. During wet breaks, students may still choose to go outside, but they must act sensibly and aim to stay dry. Additional indoor seating areas have been made available, and after approximately 15 minutes, the canteen has plenty of space once the initial rush has passed.
We have noticed an increase in students wearing non-uniform jumpers and hoodies in school. This is not acceptable. Students may wear their school jumper and blazer inside the building if they are cold. Any other jumpers or hoodies worn in school will be confiscated.
We have also seen more students wearing leggings under their skirts. While some may look similar to tights, others are clearly sports leggings, and we are especially concerned that some students have been removing their skirts during the day. Leggings are not part of the school uniform. Students must wear either school trousers or their skirt as expected. If a student arrives in an incorrect uniform, they will be offered clean, appropriate items from our uniform store to wear for the day. If they do not comply, they may be required to work separately from the rest of the school. If you have any concerns about purchasing uniform or need support, please contact your child’s Year Team, who will be happy to help.
Next week is our ‘Kindness Week’, and we look forward to celebrating the kindness tokens that have been flooding in! You can read more about these below.
We hope you have a lovely weekend and manage to stay warm.
Mrs Paul, Mrs Mursell and Mrs Sandiford
Executive Headteacher and Co-Heads of School
Thank you to our local neighbourhood policing team for visiting our students this week as part of Operation Sceptre – the national policing week of action to tackle knife crime. 
