2024
Transition Welcome Pack
Dear Parents, Carers and future Southgate students
WELCOME TO SOUTHGATE SCHOOL
We are delighted that you have been offered a place at our school You have done particularly well to get a place here as we had well over 1,000 applications for our 240 places, so now that you are here, you must take advantage of all the exciting opportunities that we will give you.
It is very good news that you will be coming to a school that is strongly committed to excellent teaching, alongside a caring and supportive pastoral system. We believe that this makes for happy students and happy students are invariably successful students.
Transition to secondary school is one of the biggest and most significant changes in your educational journey to date, but whilst some nerves about joining a new school are normal, you should be excited about the new experiences that await you and all the new friends that you will make here. We have years of experience in making sure that new Year 7 students have a safe and pleasant start to their time with us, so I am confident that you will be just fine.
Whilst some of our transition programme will be done online, you are invited into school on 24thJune 2024 for your induction day when you will meet with your new schoolmates and teachers.
I hope you found our online Welcome Event on Tuesday 12th of March useful and informative. This Transition Welcome Pack will provide you and your parents with details about our upcoming events and activities designed to help you settle into Southgate School, long before your first day in September.
Last year our students achieved fantastic results, well above the national average, with lots of students going onto top universities. We believe that our school will continue to go from strength to strength and we look forward to a very exciting and promising future which, I am pleased to say, you will now be a part of.
I am confident that your time with us will be happy and filled with many achievements and successes. Life at Southgate School is fast and fun, vibrant and full of enrichment activities, including after school activities that you will be expected to join in with. We believe that learning does not stop at the classroom door and that it is through these enrichment activities that you will really make strong friendships and truly make the most of your time with us.
I look forward to meeting you soon.
Yours faithfully,
Mr. Martin Lavelle Headteacher
Dear Parent/ Carer,
We are so pleased to welcome you and your child to Southgate School. We are sure that your child will be excited about the next stage in their educational journey and that whilst leaving their primary school is a huge step, they are keen to start transitioning to us.
This welcome pack contains documents which we ask you to read through carefully.
In this pack you will find the following:
Information from the PE department
Information from the Music department
Uniform guidelines
DT and Art essential equipment list
Details of our online platforms
A school site map
We have also included our transition timeline so that you are aware of the transition events planned for the summer term. There are various stages to the transition process to ease your child’s move from primary to secondary school, all of which have been outlined in the attached programme. Exact details for each event will be emailed separately nearer to the time. We recommend that you regularly check your email.
Once again, We would like to welcome you and your child to our school. If you have any further questions or queries, please do not hesitate to contact our Admission Co-ordinator, Ms Flower, either by phone (020 8449 9583) or via email: aflower@southgate.enfield.sch.uk
Yours faithfully,
Ms Douglas Assistant Headteacher – Support and Intervention Team
Ms Gabrel Assistant Headteacher - SENDCO
Ms Flower
Transition Programme – Summer Term 2024
Date Event Details
1st March
Headteacher’s Welcome Letter Sent
Mr Lavelle’s welcome letter is posted to all Year 6 students offered a place.
Wb 4th March Online Admission Form Sent Parents should complete documentation and return to the school by 15th March.
Wb 11th March
12th March
Welcome Phone Calls Made
All parents will receive a welcome phone call from a member of the Senior Leadership Team.
Welcome Event 4.00pm-5.30pm - Virtual
Parents will be invited to attend a welcome from Mr Lavelle (Headteacher), Ms Douglas (Assistant Headteacher – Transition Lead) and Ms Gabrel (Assistant Headteacher – SENDCO). Parents will have the opportunity to submit questions. Exact details and link will be emailed.
Wb 15th April Welcome Pack Sent
April –June
21st June
15th July
25th or
26th July
Contact With Your Child’s Primary School
4th Sept (tbc)
All parents will receive a welcome pack full of useful information.
One of the Southgate Transition Team will contact your child’s Year 6 teacher or Primary School SENDCO to gather appropriate information/ documentation.
Cognitive Ability Tests Timings tbc – Sports Hall
All students will sit a range of tests so that we are able to best meet individual student needs. Students cannot revise/ prepare for these tests. Following the tests in the morning, students will have lunch and then experience Southgate taster lessons. Exact details will be emailed.
Tutor Interviews 10 minute interviews will be held throughout the day from 8.30am to 2.30pm - Sports Hall Students (and parents) will have the opportunity to meet their Form Tutor. The signed School Contract will be returned by parents at this session. Individual appointment times will be confirmed by email.
Summer School 9.00am to 2.30pm
A fun and exciting day of learning activities designed to help your child settle into their new school. Students will attend on one of the three dates along with their tutor group so that they can start to make friends and feel reassured about the first day in September. Dates will be confirmed with parents once students have been allocated to tutor groups.
First Day of Term Timings to be confirmed
Students will spend the day with their Form Tutor and new classmates getting prepared for the year ahead and completing a range of activities which include: tour of the school, individual photograph, registering their finger print for cashless catering, signing the school contract, setting targets for the future, understanding their individual timetable, understanding our rules and expectations. No books or kit are needed on this day.
Uniform can be purchased from:
Smiths Schoolwear
25 Station Parade, Cockfosters Road, Cockfosters. EN4 0DW.
Phone: 020 3818 3622
Email: store@smithsschoolwear.co.uk
Please note the following are not permitted:
Trainers (including Nike trainers), any sports branded footwear (shoes/ trainers), canvas shoes, boots, boot style shoes
Extreme hairstyles (including sculpting or shaved patterns to hair or eyebrows and dyed hair), nail varnish/nail extensions/false eyelashes
Facial piercings
Hoodies
Parental support with uniform is essential. Please ensure that your child is correctly dressed each day All clothing should be clearly marked with the student's name so that it can be more easily returned if lost.
Over recent years, we’ve attempted to reduce the cost of school uniform to all parents. Some parents prefer to purchase all items from our school uniform supplier, whereas other parents purchase only certain items from them.
Items that must be purchased from the supplier are:
- School badge (this can be sewn onto a blazer purchased from a different supplier i.e. a supermarket)
OR the blazer with the badge already sewn on can be purchased from Smiths.
- Clip on tie (yellow stripe).
- Kilt (if preferred to the option of tailored black trousers which can be purchased from a different supplier).
- £5 embroidery charge for the school logo to be put onto a black V-neck jumper (optional item) purchased from a different supplier OR the embroidered V-neck jumper can be purchased from Smiths.
- PE polo shirt
- PE shorts
- Summer polo shirt (optional item – can be worn in the summer term only)
- Other items, such as the PE joggers/ leggings/ tracksuit top are optional, but if desired, must be purchased from Smiths.
We would ask that if you are buying items from other suppliers i.e. tailored trousers, you ensure they are similar to those sold by Smiths. Please check Smiths website for examples.
https://www.smithsschoolwear.co.uk/
Uniform
Physical Education
We would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to the Physical Education Department and give you a brief indication of what your child might expect from PE at Southgate School.
Expectations
We have high expectations of students in all respects and your child should have similar expectations of us as a department. We are committed to delivering challenging, enjoyable PE lessons which are both physically and mentally demanding. In return, we expect students to arrive at lessons with a very positive mind-set, with the correct PE kit, prepared to do their very best in a wide range of new activities and situations.
PE Kit
We would urge you to take the option from Smiths (the school’s PE kit supplier) to have your child’s initials embroidered on all pieces of clothing. For Year 7 parents spending over £100, this is free. Additionally, please write your child’s name on the label of all their PE kit items. Therefore, if it is misplaced, we can return it to your child. The PE kit should include the following compulsory items: Southgate polo shirt, Southgate blue shorts and trainers. Optional items include: Southgate blue tracksuit bottoms and top, Southgate blue socks, plastic-studded boots, shin pads and a mouth guard. We teach both indoor and outdoor lessons throughout the year, so it is advised students have the tracksuit top particularly for the winter months.
All jewellery and watches must be removed for every PE lesson and long hair must be tied back. If the item is particularly valuable, it should stay at home on PE days in case it gets lost when changing. If your child is going to have their ears pierced, please do this at the start of the summer holidays so that they can be removed for PE lessons in September. If a piercing cannot be removed due to medical reasons, then tape or a plaster should be used to fully cover the front and back of the piercing.
Illness or Injury
Should your child be physically unable to take part in the lesson, you must write a letter addressed to your child’s PE teacher explaining the injury and an indication as to how long they may be unable to participate for. Longer term injuries require a Doctor’s note. Rather than missing out on the lesson, we expect injured students to still change into their full PE kit in order that they may adopt the role of coach and/ or official. Therefore, we expect your child to bring their full, named PE kit to every lesson whether they are injured or not.
Activities
Within lessons, students follow a rotating carousel of activities throughout their first year. Some of the activities in the autumn and spring include: Basketball, Fitness, Football, Netball, Gymnastics, Rugby and Table Tennis. The summer term rota includes: Athletics, Tennis, Cricket and Rounders/ Softball.
In addition to PE lessons, the department run a wide variety of after school clubs between 3pm-4pm as well as attending competitive fixtures against other schools. If you child wishes to attend an after school club, they must sign up in advance through epraise.
Attendance at any after school activities is free of charge; students also earn achievement points for regular participation. Should you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact the Head of PE, Mr M Bird, at mbird@southgate.enfield.sch.uk
Music
Southgate School’s Music Department is a busy and vibrant place. Some of the opportunities available to your child are:
Instrumental Lessons
We have many peripatetic teachers who come into school to teach instrumental lessons. The lessons are delivered by the Enfield Music Service.
If you would like your child to learn an instrument or voice at Southgate School, please visit the Enfield Music Service website in order to book lessons for September: https://traded.enfield.gov.uk/musicstore
Ensembles
Music is an important part of the extra-curricular life of Southgate School and we encourage students to attend after school activities.
Ensembles currently taking place are: Concert Band, two Woodwind Ensembles, String Group, Samba Band, Jazz Band, and a Vocal Group.
To help us organise our ensembles and ensure that your child is catered for musically, we will send out a digital form at the start of the academic year in September and would appreciate your support in completing and submitting it back to us.
For any further information about music at Southgate School in the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact our Head of Music, Ms L Barker, at the email address: lbarker@southgate.enfield.sch.uk
Art
Please either purchase a school Art Department KS3 Art Kit or purchase the following items individually:
2B drawing pencil black fineliner/gel
A set of 10 coloured pencils
A small pointed painting brush (Size 4)
A set of water based paints (either acrylic or gouache)
Glue stick
30 cm ruler Rubber Sharpener
The price of the KS3 Art Kit varies from year to year but it is usually between £25-£30. Details of when and how to purchase this from the school will be sent to parents at the beginning of September.
Design Technology and Food Technology
All students need to have an apron for their Design Technology lessons. These can be purchased from Smiths school shop.
MyEd:
Satchel One:
E-Praise:
Southgate School Platforms
MyEd is a free parent app that gives you a multitude of communication and information features to stay in touch with what is going on at school. The app gives you direct access to your child's attendance, absence records, school events, school dinners and much, much more
There is no login for MyEd. Parents simply need to download from the app store. Providing they download with the mobile number and email address we have on SIMS (MyEd syncs with SIMS) for the main priority 1 contact they will be able to see all their child’s information. If both parents want access to the app, they just need to let us know and we will make both parents joint priority 1.
Satchel One is a simple online homework calendar your child can use to keep up to date and on top of all their homework. It gives you all of the information and tools to get involved and support your child with their homework. It can also be accessed online and through the Satchel one app on iOS or Android. Both students and parents will have login details for this.
Their login details will be their Office 365 username and password that they will also use for other Office applications such as E-praise. This will be set up in school.
Epraise – our school rewards system where students can keep up to date and access their achievement points, badges, leader boards, certificates, activities and rewards. Epraise is designed to motivate and engage students.
All students will be placed into a House team when they begin school: Fire, Air, Earth or Water and will work as a team throughout the year during competitions or individually to gain Epraise points for their House team, leading to rewards. Epraise will also be the platform that students use to sign up for enrichment activities and after school clubs.
Parents/ carers will not have access to Epraise, only students Their login details will be their Office 365 username and password that they will also use for other Office applications such as Satchel One. This will be set up in school.
Parent Pay:
ParentPay is a secure online payment system that replaces cash payments for school meals, trips, events and activities in our school ParentPay is easy to use, secure and protects your details. You can top up your account when you want, so you can budget money for lunches, trips and activities. When payment is required from school, you will be able to log in and use this platform to pay and top up your child’s account for lunches.
Secondary schools are a lot bigger than primary schools and Southgate has a very big site. But don’t worry, because you will get to know where to go very quickly. In the first couple of weeks everyone will help you and direct you!
Map of the school site
Socials, Updates and Parent Information
Parents and carers can keep up to date with students’ achievements, competitions, trips, charity work and other exciting news on our social media platforms:
@southgateschool @southgate_secondary_school
http://www.southgate.enfield.sch.uk/
