Parents

This page provides access to information and documents that parents of students at Sprowston Community Academy will find useful.  If there is anything else that we can help with, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Information on Sprowston Community Academy

• DirectGov school summary (external web site)
• The 'Explore Your Neighbourhood' map for the Sprowston area aims to help members of the school community to identify routes to school and encourage them to give walking or cycling a go. Explore Your Neighbourhood map
• For our latest Ofsted Report please visit the Statutory Information page

Helping your Child

• Working together for good behaviour leaflet by the Department for Children, Schools and Families that sets out the legal powers that schools have in relation to children’s behaviour; every parent’s responsibility for ensuring the good behaviour of their children; and what you as a parent can expect from the school, in return.

Financial Support

• Further information of eligibility for free school meals (Norfolk County Council website)
• When applying for free school meals please ensure you bring originals of the documentary evidence required, as we are unable to accept copies. Original documents will, of course, be returned immediately.
• Parents who are on low incomes or in receipt of certain benefits may be eligible for financial support from a number of local charities to help funding specific matters such as school trips, music tuition or providing school uniform. To help parents we have put together a list of charities that parents have approached in the past detailing their application criteria, procedures and contact information. We advise parents to approach charities in the order in which they are listed in the document.

Attendance

• Good Attendance at school is necessary for students to meet the Every Child Matters outcomes as identified by the DCFS.

• These are to:
  Be Healthy;
  Stay safe;
  Enjoy and achieve;
  Make a positive contribution;
  Achieve economic well being.

• Attendance matters and we monitor students’ attendance closely. Heads of Year scrutinise students’ attendance on a weekly basis and meet with our Attendance Improvement Officer to discuss the attendance of individuals.
  
  It is important for parents/guardians/carers to keep the school fully informed of any attendance problems so that they may be addressed and a plan put in place to support a student to attend regularly. 

• We would like to remind parents and carers that any unforeseen school closures will be broadcast on local radio stations (Radio Norfolk, Radio Broadland and Radio Norwich) as well as being posted on the County Council website. Of course, any school closure will also be posted here on the front page of the school website.

Holiday Absence Requests

The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 currently allow head teachers to grant leave of absence for the purpose of a family holiday during term time in ‘special circumstances’, of up to ten school days leave per year.

However, changes to the regulations have removed references to family holidays and make it clear that head teachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Exceptional circumstances may be:

• Armed forces personnel returning from a tour of duty.
• Police or other service personnel whose leave has been cancelled during school holidays (for example during the Olympic Games last year).
• Family funeral

Therefore, the current law does not give any entitlement to parents to take their child on holiday during term time. This means that from 1st September 2013, schools in the Sprowston Cluster cannot authorise any holidays.

Please be aware that these rules are set by the Government, not the schools, and if you decide to take your child out of school during term-time unauthorised, you may receive a penalty notice from the Local Authority.

Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you are unsure how these changes affect you.

Attachments:

File
Sprowston Community High School Smoking Procedure.pdf