Latymer Upper School Year 7 guide for parents

The Year 7 Guide for Parents Everything you need to know to support your child through their �rst weeks at Latymer

Latymer Upper School, King Street, Hammersmith, London, W6 9LR www.latymer-upper.org Tel: 020 8629 2024

Contents Welcome

3

Pastoral structure

5

Who’s who

The school day

Two week timetable Subjects

Work and organisation Technology

The Medical Centre and absence Communications Map

Sport

Extra-curricular

Breakfast & lunch arrangements The school shop Uniform Rules

Transition teething troubles Latymer Habits

4 6 7 8 9

10 11 11

12-13 14-15 16 17 18 19 20

21-23 24

Welcome / 3

Welcome Dear Y7 Parent, The first thing to say is welcome! We are very glad that you and your child are joining the Latymer community and look forward to a long and fruitful relationship.

At Latymer we firmly believe that a happy and fulfilling education is one where the pupil, their parents and the School work closely together. Latymer is a very welcoming environment and there are lots of opportunities for you to get involved in the life of the School. Your journey as a Latymer parent starts here.

The transition to senior school presents many new and exciting challenges. Senior school is very different to primary and there is much to learn – for both pupils and parents alike – as the children become more independent. Your child will also be receiving a guide to help them navigate their first few weeks at School but we felt that parents needed something similar in order to understand all the new routines that you will be faced with (and you don’t have the benefit of a personal tutor guiding you through!).

This guide covers the basics that will help you navigate your way around Latymer, and will, in turn, help you better support your child. The pastoral team is very happy to help with any issues - no matter how small they may seem - so if something is bothering you or your child, please get in touch.

With warm wishes for the journey ahead, Amy Sellars Assistant Head (Head of Lower School)

4 / Who’s who

Who’s who

David Goodhew, The Head

Ian Emerson, Deputy Head in charge of the academic curriculum

David Boyd, Deputy Head in charge of pastoral care

Amy Sellars is the Assistant Head with responsibility for the pastoral care of Y7 and Y8

Will Goldsmith, Director of Teaching & Learning

Lucy Cole, Assistant Head responsible for co-curriculum

Charlie Ben-Nathan, Director of Studies working alongside the Deputy Head Academic

Katie Temple, Head of Year 7

Sarah Glencross, Assistant Head of Year 7

Pastoral structure / 5

Pastoral structure The first year in the Upper School is known as Year 7. Subsequent years are Year 8, 9, 10, 11, Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth. Your child will be in one of these 10 forms in Year 7 with their own Form Tutor.

Tutor Group

Tutor

E-mail address

7KLB

Ms Katy Blatch

klb@latymer-upper.org

7EBH

Ms Liz Hansford

ebh@latymer-upper.org

7PND

Ms Paige Davies

pnd@latymer-upper.org

7NA

Mrs Neetha Alishaw

na@latymer-upper.org

7SDH

Miss Stephanie Harris

sdh@latymer-upper.org

7JCM

Mr Jonathan Monk

jcm@latymer-upper.org

7RST

Miss Rebecca Thomas

rst@latymer-upper.org

7GST

Mr George Tidey

gst@latymer-upper.org

7CJP

Mr Cameron Palmer

cjp@latymer-upper.org

7WPW

Mr Will Wearden

wpw@latymer-upper.org

Form Tutors are there to help and support their tutees whenever they need them. In addition there are Heads of Year and Assistant Heads of Year at Latymer, who are also there to offer pastoral support and guidance.

Your child’s Form Tutor will be your first point of contact should you have any problems or queries. Every morning, form groups will meet with their tutor for 25 minutes except for the days when they have assembly. During this time, as well as registering, they will participate in group activities decided by their Tutor and Head of Year. Form Tutors are there to help your child settle into school life and advise on any questions or concerns that you or your child may have about school and should be your first port of call.

6 / The school day

The school day 8:25

Registration

8:55

Period 1

9:40

Period 2

10:25

Period 3

11:10

Break

11:40

Period 4

12:25

Period 5

13:10-14:25

Lunch

14:30

Period 6

15:15

Period 7

16:00

End of School

On Games days (Friday for Year 7) Period 4 starts at 11:30am. This will usually be a double lesson and pupils then go to lunch at 1:00pm so that they have sufficient time to eat and change.

Two week timetable / 7

Two week timetable

Latymer operates on a two week timetable that we call week A and week B. This is clearly labelled on both Firefly and the Latymer Portal but it can still be confusing initially. This is the yearly overview: Sept 2019

October November December

w/c 2 Sept

9 Sept

16 Sept

23 Sept

Week A (A1) 3 days (Wed- Fri)

Week B (B1)

Week A (A2)

Week B (B2)

7 Oct

Week B (B3)

14 Oct

21 Oct

28 Oct

4 Nov

Week A (A4) 11 Nov

18 Nov

25 Nov

Week B (B4)

2 Dec

Week A (A5)

9 Dec

Half Term Week B (B5) 16 Dec

Week A (A6) 23 Dec

Week A (A7)

Christmas Holiday

Jan 2020

6 Jan

13 Jan

20 Jan

February

3 Feb

10 Feb

17 Feb

24 Feb

2 Mar

9 Mar

16 Mar

23 Mar

March

Week B (B9)

Week A (A8)

Week A (A10)

Week B (B8)

Half Term

Christmas Holiday 27 Jan

Week B (B10)

Week B (B10)

Week A (A11)

Week B (B11)

April

6 Apr

13 Apr

20 Apr

27 Apr

May

4 May

11 May

18 May

25 May

June

July

Week A (A14) 4 days (Mon-Thurs) (BH)

1 Jun

Week B (B15) Y7/ Y12 Exam Week Y8-10 6 Jul

Week B (B17)

Easter Holiday Week B (B14)

8 Jun

Week A (A16)

Week A (A13)

Week A (A15) 4 days (Mon-Thurs) 15 Jun

Week B (B16)

30 Dec

Christmas Holiday

Week A (A9)

Week A (A10)

Easter Holiday

Week A (A3)

Half Term

Week B (B6)

Week B (B7) (11+) 3 days (Wed-Fri)

30 Sept

30 Mar

Easter Holiday

Week B (B13)

Half Term 22 Jun

Week A (A17)

29 Jun

Activities Week

8 / Subjects

Subjects In Y7 and Y8 students study a total of 18 subjects which are taught in different locations around the school. Unlike primary school, students move to the lesson and this can often take a bit of getting used to but by half term pupils have usually grasped it!

Subject

Frequency per fortnight

Head of Department

English

6 lessons

Mr Jon Monk

Maths

7 lessons

Mr Patrick McMahon

Biology

4 lessons

Mr Matt Reeve

Chemistry

4 lessons

Mr Ed Forbes

Physics

4 lessons

Mr Alex Birchmore

Geography

4 lessons

Mr Mike Ashby

History

4 lessons

Mr Jonny White

Religious Studies

4 lessons

Ms Elizabeth Fletcher

PSHCE

1 lesson

Ms Helen Tindale

Spanish

4 lessons

Ms Holly Etherington

Mandarin

4 lessons

Ms Jenny Wong

Art

3 lessons

Mr David Mumby

Drama

2 lessons

Mr Justin Joseph

Music

2 lessons

Mr Tony Henwood

PE

2 lessons

Mr Tallan Gill

Latin

4 lessons

Mr Marcel Lewis

Games

4 lessons (every Fri afternoon)

Mr Tallan Gill

Design

3 lessons

Ms Liz Green

Work & organisation / 9

Work & organisation Homework Within the first few days of arriving at Latymer your child will be given a Homework Timetable which they will bring home for you to see. My advice is to stick this somewhere prominent like the fridge door so that you can keep a discreet eye on it. Each evening they will be expected to do work in two or three subjects, lasting about one hour in total. The guideline that we give to staff is that homework tasks should be around 20 minutes long. As well as noting the tasks in their planners, students will also be able to access instructions via Google Classroom.

As students progress up the School the amount of time they are expected to spend on homework increases. If you feel that your child is getting too much or too little homework then please do contact your child’s Form Tutor.

Planners and Google Classroom All students in Y7 and Y8 are issued with a paper planner. As well as providing a diary in which students can record homework tasks, the planner also contains useful information and space to write their targets. Students are also taught to use Google Classroom. Through this they can access information about their subjects, work from their teachers, homework tasks and extension activities. Google Classroom can be accessed remotely and we have used it to set work on days when students were unable to come to school because of adverse weather conditions.

The Library We have a wonderful Library on the ground floor of the Science Building which students can use before school from 8am, at break times, lunchtime and after school until 6pm. They will be given an introductory talk about the Library and its facilities shortly after they join the School.

Many students will stay in the Library after school to complete homework.

Catching up on work missed through absence If your child is absent through illness we expect them to catch up on any work missed by copying notes from friends and seeing their teachers for any missed classwork when they return. If your child knows in advance they will be absent, they should contact the relevant teachers to see if they can give them any work to do. Google Classroom is also a useful repository, in most subjects, of lesson resources, presentations and notes that your child should also check for missed school work.

If this proves problematic, or absence is prolonged, our pastoral staff may get involved to offer extra support and to liaise with your child’s teachers to centralise missed work and catch up. This would be your child’s Form Tutor who may also involve the Head of Year if appropriate. The Academic Mentoring Department can also help.

10 / Technology

Technology Chromebooks All Y7 students are issued with a Chromebook when they start Latymer. This is stored overnight in a special charging locker located in their form room. Chromebooks are not to be taken home overnight and are only allowed to be used in lessons or in the Library during break times. We spend time in the first few weeks teaching students how to use their Chromebooks effectively by familiarising them with G-Suite (Google Drive, Slides and Classroom) and showing them how to set up filing systems to organise their work.

Mobile phone policy The School operates a ‘no mobiles’ policy in the Lower and Middle School. Students must lock their phones away in their lockers at 8.25 am and are not allowed to use them again until the end of school at 4pm. If you need to get in touch with your child during the school day, you should call the main reception.

The Medical Centre and absence & communications / 11

The Medical Centre and absence If your child needs to take medicine at school, you should either email the school nurse or send in a letter with them stating when they need to take it. The email for both school nurses is nurse@latymer-upper.org

If your child does need to leave school during the day, you should email absence@latymer-upper. org in advance. You should also email this address if your child is ill as soon as you can in the morning.

All medicines need to be labelled clearly with your child’s name and form group. Medicine must be left with one of the nurses in Medical Room 1.

All pupils with an inhaler for asthma or an Epipen will need to carry this on their person; a spare can be kept in Medical Room 1 but it needs to be clearly labelled.

If your child feels unwell during the school day they should go to the school nurses who are located in Medical Rooms 1 and 2. Students should not contact parents directly or leave school without permission from one of the school nurses. If the nurse feels that a student is too unwell to stay in school they will contact you and arrange for you to collect your child. The Medical Rooms are open from 8am until 6pm .

Medical and dental appointments should be made outside school hours where possible.

Communications School post Information and letters are emailed to parents using school post. If you have any problems accessing this please do contact the Office Manager, Lindsey Smith at lss@latymer-upper.org Classlist Communications between parents in the year group or tutor groups are made easy via the Classlist app. This can be downloaded on either Android or iOS devices.

Latymer Portal This website is the “one stop shop” for parents. When your child starts at the School you will be sent login details and asked to sign up to Latymer Portal. Here you will find all information pertinent to your child, including their timetables, reports, announcements and wider school topics of interest.

12 / Map

2

SCHOOL MAP

Edward Latymer Theatre & Arts Centre Ground

First

Second

LATYMER UPPER SCHOOL SITE AND TEACHING ROOMS

THEATRE

MPR1

MS1

MPR2 MPR3 MPR4 MPR5

MS2

MPR6 MPR7

to LPAC

Atrium

1

School Nurse

Library, Science & ABC Block Ground

First

06

SC

LIBRARY

SC

07

SC

11

SC

01

05

SC

D9

09

SC

12

SC

SC

10

SC

C1 B3 B2 B1

8

B4 B5 B6

C3 C4

B7

C7 C6 C5

York House Ground

2

C8 C4

1 8

First

School Shop

School Office

E Block & 61 Weltje Road

Ground

First

Second

E5

E10

E2

E6

E3

E8

Third

reet King St

7

BIG STUDIO

13

SC

SC

D10

Third

08

04

SC

IT Helpdesk

to D Block

Second 03

02

SC

Cafe

MPR8

7

Map / 13

3

Third

4

SPORTS CENTRE Ground

First

D Block & Dining Ground

First to Big Studio

Pool

S3

S2

S1 GYM

A2

Student Dining

A3

STUDIO

STUDIO

Second Staff Dining

Sports Hall

Kitchen

A7

A8

STUDIO

Rive

Boat House

STUDIO

r Tha

rt rcou Rive

Road

mes Upp

3

er M

all

4 6

5

Main Building & Design

Ground

5 6

5

M A I N

4 3 2

H A L L

oad R e ltj

12

We 6

13

Latymer Performing Arts Centre (LPAC)

Ground

First

Second

P24 RECITAL HALL

P23 P22

P25

18 19 20

P38 P37

34

21

33

P26 P27

P35 P36

P28

P34

DANCE & DRAMA STUDIO

41 42 43 44 45

22 23

to Arts Centre

P11

Reception

39 38 37 36 35

Third

Foyer

RECITAL HALL

First

24

32 31

25

30

46

Design Computers & Mezzanine

P21

P32

P31

WS2 WS3 SENIOR WORKSHOP

ENGINEERING WORKSHOP

WS1 JUNIOR WORKSHOP

28 DESIGN STUDIO

14 / Sport

Sport All students have one period of Physical Education each week and one afternoon of Games. PE is held in the school Sports Centre or the Swimming Pool. Games is held at different venues including our Wood Lane playing fields and the University of Westminster Sports Ground in Chiswick. Students will be taken and returned by coach. Year 7 have their Games afternoon on Friday. Most fixtures take place on Saturday morning with the occasional midweek fixture.

Boys play rugby in the Autumn Term and football in the Spring Term. Girls play hockey in the Autumn Term and netball in the Spring Term. In the Summer Term boys can choose from athletics and cricket whilst girls have the same choice plus rounders. We endeavour to field as many teams as possible and it is normal to have A to D teams in each of the major sports, so lots of pupils are able to represent the School. If your child is chosen for a team, it is very important that they attend all fixtures including Saturdays.

You should therefore make sure that their Saturday mornings are kept free.

If they are selected but not able to play on a particular date for an exceptional reason, we would ask that you seek permission for their absence by writing to the relevant teacher at least two weeks in advance, via sport@latymer-upper.org.

There are other sports open to students as out-of-school activities, sometimes before school, at lunchtime and also after school. These include swimming, table tennis, badminton and basketball.

Details of all activities and timings can be viewed on the Latymer Portal for parents under the extra-curricular tab. These pages are reviewed prior to the start of each new term.

Training for our major sports is held after school on Tuesday evenings from 4-6pm for Year 7 students. This is compulsory for students involved in our teams but all are encouraged to attend. The training schedule follows the sports that are being played in school; hockey and rugby in the Autumn Term and football and netball in the Spring Term. In the Summer Term training for rounders and cricket is offered with an additional training session on Monday evenings from 4-6pm for those students interested in athletics.

Sport / 15

If your child is selected to play for a team you can find all the fixture information on the Latymer Portal by clicking on the Sports Fixtures button. Here you can filter to select only information relevant to your child’s year group. Team Sheets are posted here two or three days before the fixture. To access the Team Sheet, find the relevant fixture and choose Team Details. You will need to enter a password – this can be found on the Latymer Parent Portal under School Information / Upper School Publications / Sports Password (we are unable to share it here for data protection reasons).

If you choose to save the password, you will only need to enter it once.

Last minute alterations and cancellations are advertised via Twitter. These can be viewed on the Latymer Portal, but for the most up-to-date information we recommend following @latymersport on your mobile device.

Please be aware that PE kit changes over the course of the year depending on the season and what sport is being played.

Full details can be found on the uniform list sent out with your joining documents.

For the first term, all students will be required to wear a gum shield which can either be purchased in the school shop and self-moulded or fitted by the

designated mouthguard company at school. Further details about this will be sent to you via the Sports Department.

If your child is unable to play Games due to illness or injury then you will need to let the sports department know either by filling in the off-sports form on the Latymer Parent Portal or by emailing offsport@latymer-upper.org. All other sports related enquiries can be sent to sport@latymer-upper.org Students who are “off Games” are expected to work in the Library until 4pm.

16 / Extra-curricular

Extra-curricular Music At Latymer the range of Music is huge and exciting. There are boys’ choirs and girls’ choirs and also Chamber Choir. Your child can also – depending on ability – join one of the many orchestras, bands and groups.

These include the Latymer Orchestra, the String Group, the Concert Band, the Wind Band, Brass Group and the Jazz Band.

Students can have private Music lessons on a wide range of musical instruments and take part in musical theatre via the Drama Department.

The administrator for the Music Department can be contacted at music@latymer-upper.org if there are any issues with private lessons or extra-curricular music.

Clubs and societies There are a wide variety of activities available at school (over 150 clubs at last count and always rising!) These include Art Club, Jewellery Club, Board Games, Chess Club, Computing and Debating.

There are lots of sports options, and a Classics Club, Science Club, Language Club, Astronomy Club….. the list goes on and on and is regularly updated on the Latymer Portal.

Trips, excursions and tours Each year many of the academic subjects arrange field trips as part of the work your child will do in their course. In the Summer term the whole school takes part in Activities Week. This is a fantastic Latymer tradition in which all students take part in a week long activity with other students across form and year groups.

Many of the options are residential and your child will be able to choose from a wide selection of exciting trips both in the UK and overseas. More information will be sent to you closer to the time.

Breakfast and lunch arrangements / 17

Breakfast and lunch arrangements We offer breakfast to pupils between 7.55 and 8.15am. There is a healthy selection of fruit, yoghurt, cereals, toast and juice. The cost is ÂŁ1.70 per day, recorded via the biometric scanners and will be added to the next termly bill. If your child has school lunch, they will go to the dining hall at the time allocated for their year. The rota for lunch is below; Y7 have priority most days.

Time 1:00

1:10

1:10

1:20

Monday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Y10 Games

Senior Games

Y9 Games

Y7 Games

Early lunches

Early lunches

Early lunches

Early lunches

Early lunches

9

9

9

11

9

10

11

10

10

th

th

8

7

1:25

11

1:35

6

1:30

Tuesday

Y8 Games

10 7

11 & 6th

8

6

When your child joins the School they will register their biometric thumb print which will be used when they enter and leave the School and also if they are taking school lunch.

If your child brings their own lunch to School, they can eat in the dining hall or in the playground. Food is not allowed to be eaten in classrooms. Hot and cold snacks, pastries and baguettes can be purchased and eaten in the Atrium cafĂŠ. If your child has allergies or intolerances and you would like to discuss the food options at school in more detail please do feel free to get in touch.

7

8

9 7

8

6

th

7

11 8

10 6th

18 / The school shop

The school shop The school shop is open during term times and all through the summer holidays.

During term time the shop hours are: Monday: 11am - 4.30pm Tuesday: 11am – 2.15pm Wednesday: 8am – 2.15pm Thursday: 11am – 2.15pm Friday: 11am – 2.15pm Appointments need to be made during the summer holidays by calling 020 8687 1502.

The shop has a comprehensive range of school uniform, games kit and stationery items. Parents may make arrangements for payment by telephone – the direct line for the shop is 020 8741 4341. It is also possible to open an account for the purchase of items from the school shop and goods will be charged to your termly bill.

Uniform / 19

Uniform Uniform requirements – boys • Regulation black blazer with School badge and School tie.

• White shirt.

• Ties should have a regulation knot and top buttons should be fastened.

• Shirts should be sufficiently long in the tails not to come untucked from trousers.

• Regulation charcoal trousers of worsted woven material only.

• Black polished shoes in leather or imitation leather. Laces and stitching must be black. Training shoes, suede shoes and boots are not allowed.

No coloured flashes, labels or logos.

• Socks should be plain and of a dark colour.

• Regulation V-neck sweater. In the Middle School this can be grey or black. In the Lower School a grey sweater trimmed with the School colours is required.

• A plain white T-shirt or vest can be worn under the shirt.

• Hair should be neat and clean.

Extreme styles or garishly coloured hair are not allowed.

Hair should not touch the shoulders.

Hair should not obscure the eyes.

• No jewellery should be worn.

Uniform requirements – girls • Regulation tailored blazer with blue lining and School badge.

• No tie.

• Regulation blouse with revere collar (striped for years 7 & 8, blue Oxford weave for years 9, 10 & 11).

All buttons to be fastened. No long tails and no visible midriffs.

• Regulation School skirt, charcoal grey, knee length.

• Black sturdy shoes in leather or imitation leather with flat heels.

Laces and stitching must be black.

Training shoes, suede shoes and boots are not allowed. No coloured flashes, labels or logos.

• Black plain tights – minimum 40 denier.

Plain, white ankle socks may be worn as alternative during the Summer Term and in the Autumn Term until October half-term.

• Regulation V-neck sweater. In the Middle School this can be grey or black. In the Lower School a grey sweater trimmed with the School colours is required.

• Hair should be neat and clean. Extreme styles or garishly coloured hair are not permitted. If shoulder length or longer, hair may be restrained with ribbon, slides or scrunchies of a subdued style and colour. Hair should not obscure the eyes.

• The wearing of make-up is not allowed.

• Nail varnish should not be worn.

• No jewellery should be worn. Matching plain single stud earrings are permitted in pierced ears - not hoops.

20 / Rules

Rules Latymer students are expected to respect their peers, their teachers and their environment. All students are given a copy of the Lower School Code of Conduct (below) and go through it with their tutors.

1. Respect the people that you come into contact with. This includes teachers, support staff and anyone that you meet around the school.

Remember, respect is a two way street, if you want it yourself, you first must show it to others.

2. Be polite. Manners cost nothing but make a world of difference. Say please and thank you and think about what you can do to help others around you.

Be punctual to lessons and appointments. Time is a precious commodity so don’t waste yours or other people’s.

3. Look after the environment around you. Treat the classrooms and their contents in the same way as you would treat the things in your house.

When things get broken, it costs money to replace them, that could be better spent elsewhere. Think about the people who come in at the end of the day to clean up after us and don’t add to their work unnecessarily.

4. Do no harm to others. Never be physical with other students but also do not hurt them with your words. They can also cause bruises, it’s just that they are not as visible. Don’t exclude others or try to isolate them in the real world or online and don’t spread rumours.

5. Be careful what you post online. The internet lasts forever and it is very difficult to control. Don’t post things online that you wouldn’t be prepared to say to someone’s face, or if you think it would be difficult to explain to a parent or teacher. Remember most universities and employers now carry out digital checks. THINK 6. Be present. Chromebooks are not there to replace human contact so don’t use them in your form rooms during lunch or break. Talk to each other instead!

7. You worked hard to get into Latymer so wear your uniform with pride. It represents our community and who we are. Adhere to the uniform regulations and aim to look as smart as you can.

8. Two words that have no place in the Lower School are “banter” or “snitch”. These are words that are used to excuse bad behaviour and allow others to keep getting away with it. If you are being bullied or you know someone who is being bullied, tell someone.

9. If you or your friends are feeling down, sad or worried, don’t bottle it up. Talk to your Form Tutor, a Peer Mentor, your Head of Year, a school counsellor, the Nurse or to Mrs Sellars. A problem shared is a problem halved and there are lots of people who will be happy to help.

10. Respect the property of others. Do not move or tamper with their belongings even as a joke.

Transition teething troubles / 21

Transition teething troubles Moving from primary and prep schools to Latymer is an exciting and significant event in the life of your child. It is an important milestone which, for many parents and teachers, marks a change in expectations regarding crucial life-skills such as independent working and self-organisation.

When a child starts at senior school, they are expected to cope with a whole variety of new experiences and changes, many of which demand skills and abilities that they have not had to use before.

The problem is that these skills do not spontaneously develop in children during the summer before they begin secondary school – like reading and writing, they have to be taught and our children need support in developing them.

Children are also used to small schools and usually stay in one classroom for the whole day. Latymer is a large and dynamic environment where year groups consist of nearly 170 students.

Most students will not know anyone else joining Latymer and will have to navigate the sometimes nerve-racking experience of new social groupings and making new friends. For some this can be overwhelming in the first few days.

As parents there are things we can do in order to try and make the transition as painless as possible.

Help your child with organisation • Make a copy of your child’s timetable (it is in their planner and on the Latymer Portal). Keep this on display so that you and your child can refer to it.

• Get your child a watch.

• Help your child to set up a good system for keeping books and equipment.

• Talk through with them what equipment is needed for each lesson (e.g. ruler, compass, calculator for maths).

• Encourage them to use their planner and (if your child lets you) read it through occasionally to check they are using it properly. Show them how to use a planner if they are not sure.

• Get them in to the habit of packing their bag at night for the next day and leaving it somewhere obvious.

• Help your child organise their living space so that they have a place for everything to do with school. Try to make sure they have access to a desk, good light and storage space for their school books.

• Equip them with tools they will need at home (it’s best to keep two sets of everything – one for school and one for home so that losing a pen at school does not stop them doing their homework).

• A filing system is useful for children with organisational problems – each file can be labelled with the subject and all books, worksheets etc. can be kept ready to pull out and put in the schoolbag when required.

22 / Transition teething troubles

• A labelled A4 plastic or card folder to take to school is useful – pupils are given lots of worksheets which they are not used to organising. Folders can hold these until they get home where they can be sorted in to the relevant files.

• An additional A4 plastic or card folder for finished homework is very useful as they can check it each lesson to see if there is homework to be given in.

• Teach a routine for ‘emptying the day’.

The subject folders or books should be replaced in the system you have set up and the ones for the next day selected and packed.

• Encourage your child to glue any worksheets/odd bits of paper into their workbooks if possible each night – otherwise the sheer volume of ‘bits of paper’ becomes impossible.

• Set up a routine for doing homework at the same time each night if possible.

• A good time for homework is after a short break when your child returns from school, get it done early, leaving the rest of the evening free.

• The displayed timetable can be used as a checklist for subject folders and equipment. Write the equipment needed at the top of each day.

• Encourage your child to check their planner and Google Classroom for any reminders/notes each night. It’s usually worth double checking. Help your child structure their time and use it productively – provide a clock or timer and agree the tasks that should be done in each, say, 20 minute period.

•

Try to be available to do ‘progress checks’ – have they completed the task in the set time? (Otherwise leave them to it – don’t establish a pattern of always doing homework with them – it’s unsustainable and they won’t learn to work independently.)

Make sure your child always writes the date and title, and clearly labels homework (either in their book or on a worksheet or computer printout). So helpful if files break.

Transition teething troubles / 23

Help them develop their resilience Just as it is hard to know how to achieve the balance between offering your child too much support (and being accused of fussing) and leaving them to flounder and perhaps fail, it is also hard to achieve the balance between becoming the ‘over-anxious parent’ and letting things go on too long because you don’t want to interfere.

The job is made much easier if you keep talking to your child about how things are at school. Open lines of communication are so important, especially in the early days. Talking will help you to have a good idea about how the work is going, and your child’s general feelings about school.

Often children (especially the “tweens”) are reluctant to respond to direct questioning and will feel more comfortable chatting during a car journey or whilst walking the dog. Don’t feel despondent if you keep getting the “everything is fine” response to your well-meaning enquiry. Just try a different tack later on.

It is perfectly normal for children to make and break many friendships in the first few weeks and to take time to settle in. It is important that you are not too reactive to this. Offer them a sympathetic ear and a space for them to vent their feelings but encourage them to talk about the positives too. It is best to help them work out ways they could feel happier rather than trying to “solve the problem” for them. As tempting as this might be it will not teach them the coping strategies they need to develop.

Sometimes children need a bit of “encouragement” to step out of their comfort zones. You know your child better than anyone, and if any aspect of school life is persistently distressing them it is probably best to err on the side of caution and intervene early. If you have talked to your child, offered reassurance, helped them come up with ways of solving the problem themselves and things haven’t changed after a couple of weeks, then it is time to speak to us.

If you believe that your child is being bullied then you should contact us straight away. Latymer operates a zero tolerance approach to bullying of any shape or form.

24 / Latymer habits

Latymer habits At Latymer we believe there is more to an education than just facts and information.

Our aim is to produce rounded and grounded students who have all the skills necessary to succeed in life. That is why we have developed the “Latymer Habits”.

Latymer pupils seek to develop and reflect on the Latymer habits of heart, head and hand. A habit is a learned pattern of behaviour that is repeated so often that it becomes automatic. Horace Mann described the development of habits as like a cable: ‘we weave a thread of it each day, and at last we cannot break it.’

Habits of head – ways of thinking

3. Curiosity: inquisitiveness, questioning, engagement, love of learning, sense of wonder.

4. Inventiveness: creativity/ imagination, making connections/ seeing patterns, adaptability/ flexibility, resourcefulness.

5. Critical thinking: analysis, evaluation, argument/ synthesis.

6. Problem solving 7. Concentration/commitment: focus, effort, rigour.

8. Independence: self-direction, independent learning

Habits of hand – ways of doing 9. Collaboration/teamwork

10. Study skills: research, noting/ making sense, revising, consolidating and embedding, organisation, planning.

The Latymer habits: Habits of heart – ways of being:

1. Awareness of self: self-awareness, growth mindset. meta-cognition (learning to learn), reflection, courage/ risk-taking, personal responsibility, resilience, self-discipline.

2. Awareness of others: understanding/ empathy, acceptance of others (tolerance) – appreciation of diversity, compassion, service, social responsibility.

11. Communication skills: listening, watching, writing, discussing, body language, presenting, oral, visual, statistical and multi-media.

12. Digital and information literacy: critical reading/viewing; evaluating sources; understanding different media; intellectual property.

These habits are not “stand alone” but are ingrained into the culture and language of the School and practised in all lessons and extra-curricular activities.