Year 9 Parents Information Evening Booklet 2019

Year 9 Parents’ Information Evening th

Tuesday 17 September 2019 Key Dates and Schedule of Assessment 2019-20

Tarleton Academy is at the centre of a community of inspirational partnerships which nurtures respectful, independent, lifelong learners working together to shape a better future for all.

Our motto states that ‘we make our future’ (Facimus Nostrae Futurae) and to this end as a school within Endeavour Learning Trust our overall aims are to provide:  A world class education for all our students, regardless of ability or background, which builds resilience, confidence and drive, in an ever-changing world  A workforce of the highest calibre, with a winning combination of teamwork, skill, experience, passion and an unwavering commitment to excellence  A relentless focus on individual and collective improvement and personal and professional development, in an ethos of high expectations and personal ambition  The moral imperative to ensure that no child is left behind and no individual is overlooked in their uniqueness and distinctive potential  A nurturing environment, where everyone feels safe and valued and where we get the balance right between encouragement and support and stretch and challenge, so that all of us can aim high and work together to make those aspirations a reality  A genuine commitment to foster partnerships, across our family of schools, with our parents, other strategic partners and our wider communities  The expertise to efficiently and effectively deploy and maximise our resources across the Multi Academy Trust (MAT)

Key Dates Friday 29th November 2019

Full Report out to Parents

Thursday 16th January 2020

Year 9 Parents Subject Consultation Evening

Thursday 13th February 2020

Year 9 Option Consultation Evening

Friday 3rd April 2020

Data Report out to Parents

Friday 1st June 2020

Full Report out to Parents

Monday 22nd June – Friday 26th June 2020

Year 9 Examinations

House Progress Leads Daley House – Mrs Leathard c.leathard@tarletonacademy Ennis House – Mr Fletcher j.fletcher@tarletonacademy.org Farah House – Mrs Lowe j.lowe@tarletonacademy.org Wiggins House – Mr Taylor j.taylor@tarletonacademy.org Pastoral queries please contact the Pastoral & Behaviour Manager; Mr Ashton m.ashton@tarletonacademy.org To report a student absence please contact the Academy answerphone 01772 812644 (option 1) or alternatively you can email attendance@tarletonacademy.org giving the student’s name, tutor group, reason for absence and estimated date of return to school.

Student Bands All students are placed on a flight path from their Key Stage 2 results based on exceeding expected progress.

KS3 Threshold

New GCSE

Old Legacy GCSE

Band D

9-8

A* - A

Band C

8-6

A–B

Band B

6-4

B–C

Band A

4-2

C–G

Reporting to Parents Over the course of the academic year you will receive 3 reports on your child’s progress. There will be 2 data reports and a tutor comment report containing specific targets. There will also be a tutor consultation evening and a subject consultation evening.

Reporting on Progress Progress judgements based on flightpaths will be given in each data report and they will state if your child is:  Making more than expected progress  Making expected progress  Not making expected progress Reporting on Engagement Engagement in Learning reflects the ‘big picture’ including behaviour, attitude to classwork and homework, motivation, organisation etc. and is be judged in one of the following categories:  Excellent – A highly motivated student with an outstanding attitude to learning. They consistently display resilience, independence and are committed. They clearly have a thirst for learning.

 Positive - A committed student who has a positive attitude to learning. They regularly display resilience, independence and a thirst for learning.  Inconsistent – A student who generally has a positive attitude to learning. Occasionally they may be off task, engage in low level distractions or fail to meet deadlines.  Disappointing – A student who shows an unsatisfactory attitude to classwork and homework. They are too often off task or engaging in behaviour that results in warnings or removals.

Year 9 Options Process

On Thursday 23rd January, Year 9 will spend their PSCHE day beginning to think about the options process and choices.

In January 2020 Year 9 will be asked to express a preference for the subjects they would like to study at GCSE. After this ‘dry run’ we will assemble our GCSE offer for 2020-22.

Students will be expected to take at least one subject from Geography, History and Spanish plus two other subjects.

On Thursday 13th February 2020 we hold our Options Evening and parents and students will be given a full overview and the opportunity to speak to the teachers of option subjects in order to evaluate the GCSE offer and make their choices.

The choices made by the students will then be reviewed before an individual meeting with a member of the Senior Leadership team or their House Progress Lead. Once all meetings have taken place a summary of the choices made will be sent to parents for their confirmation.

Classcharts ClassCharts is our online platform through which we do most of our communication with parents.

Your child will receive their logins during curriculum time. They can also download the Student App, which is available on Android, iOS and on their Chromebooks.

ClassCharts contains information on all aspects of school life, including:  Announcements and Messages - information on upcoming school events.  School Timetable - See what lessons your child has each day.  Attendance - Weekly details on morning and afternoon registration.  Behaviours - Achievement and Behaviour Points.  Homework - Information on work set for your child, including any attached links or documents.

Details on how to access ClassCharts will be sent out in the next week.

User guides are available on the school website and staff can be made available at any time during the school day if you would like us to help you get started.

We also highly recommend the ClassCharts Parent App, which is also available on Android and iOS devices.

Tarleton Academy School App and Social Media

The Tarleton Academy School App will give you access to news, events, announcements, the school calendar and term dates. If allowed the app will also receive ‘push notifications’ for short key messages.

In order to download the app you will need to: 1. Search ‘Schudio School App’ on ‘Google Play’ or ‘App Store’ 2. Select to download – it’s free!

3. Search for Tarleton Academy and select 4. Allow push notifications to the app in phone settings You can also keep up to date through following us on Facebook and Twitter;

Using the school website www.tarletonacademy.org