Welcome to the new term and to our first newsletter of 2026. We would like to share with you the key messages that have been delivered to students during assemblies this week.
Our School Values
Everything we do is underpinned by our four core values, which guide us as individuals and as a community:
- Kindness - Treating others with compassion and care
- Confidence - Believing in yourself and your abilities
- Ambition - Striving to reach your full potential
- Courage - Standing up for what is right and overcoming self-doubt
This half term, our focus values are Kindness and Confidence.
School Rules
Students have been reminded of our school rules: Ready, Respectful, Safe.
Just as laws help society function, our school rules exist to help everyone thrive together. While students may not always agree with every rule, they are in place because they support:
- Safety First - Creating an environment where everyone feels secure enough to learn
- Fairness for All - Ensuring consistent expectations and equal opportunities
- Preparing for Life - Developing essential skills and habits for the future
Mobile Phones in School
We have reiterated that mobile phones must not be used during the school day. Phones should be switched off and kept in the bottom of bags at all times. Any phone seen in school will be confiscated and must be collected at the end of the school day.
This policy supports both the smooth running of the school day and students’ mental health. Research highlighted in The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt shows a scientific link between smartphone use and increased anxiety, depression, and self-harm in young people. By reducing these distractions, we help protect students’ wellbeing and developing brains.
If you would like to explore this further, there are useful podcasts and videos available online, including the following link here.
Group Chats and Online Safety
We strongly encourage parents, particularly those of students in Key Stage 3, to carefully monitor or limit group chats.
We are seeing an increase in friendship issues that originate from group chats and calls, often involving large numbers of children, including individuals they may not know. This can lead to unkind behaviour and raises safeguarding concerns about who is involved and what information is shared. Messages are frequently misunderstood due to lack of tone, causing situations to escalate very quickly.
We have also received reports of group chats taking place as late as 4am. We strongly advise that children do not have access to their phones in their bedrooms overnight. There is a powerful advert currently highlighting the importance of this, which can be found here.
If you have concerns about online interactions, please check your child’s phone and inform us so we can support by speaking with the families involved. Any threats should also be reported to the police.
Support and Safeguarding
We want every student to feel safe, valued, and listened to. Support is available in several ways:
- The Student Hub - Open during break 1 and break 2, or by appointment
- “Call It Out” - Students can speak to any adult or use our reporting system if they are worried about themselves or a friend. QR codes are available on external windows and via Google Classroom
Our strength lies in caring for one another. If you or your child are struggling, please reach out so we can help.
Respect
Respect is fundamental to everything we aim to achieve - respect for ourselves, for one another, and for our school environment.
Thank you for your continued support as we work together as a school community. We encourage you to revisit these topics with your child at home.
We hope you have a lovely weekend.
Mrs Paul, Mrs Mursell and Mrs Sandiford
Executive Headteacher and Co-Heads of School
Year 11 Revision Evening – Invitation for Families 
