Documentation Updated

THS Statutory Notice for publication

Statutory Proposal

Dear Families, Students and Staff,

The governing body of Tong High School is considering becoming a foundation school and acquiring a Trust with 1^st April 2010 as the proposed implementation date.

By acquiring a mutual co-operative trust, supported by a range of partners and stakeholders who are united behind our vision, Tong High School hopes to not only transform the life chances of every student who passes through the school, but also to have lasting, positive impact on the wider community. We aim to provide the best education for all students in our area by working together to provide a personalised education for all, as well as promoting community cohesion.

Trust schools are a new kind of school – part of the local authority system, but supported by a charitable trust which will appoint some of the governors. The governing body will continue to run the school and be responsible for its performance. It is not proposed to change staffing arrangements as part of these proposals.

Details of the proposals and the dates and times of consultation meetings can be found in consultation Booklet One which accompanies this letter.

We hope that you will contribute your views to the consultation. Details of how to make comments on the proposals are contained in this booklet along with a Response Form.

You may also want to read Booklet Two Questions and Answers which provides a series of commonly asked questions together with answers which have been collated from the Department of Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) sources.

Copies of the booklets and the response form can be obtained from the school or downloaded below.

Yours sincerely,

Lyn O’Reilly

On behalf of the Head and Chair of Governors – Tong High School

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Dear Families,

We close for half term at the end of Wednesday 10^th February and return to school for the second half of the spring term on Monday 22^nd February.

The beginning of term, after Christmas, brought the snow, which caused havoc everywhere and of course really badly affected schools. The very heavy snowfall caused us to be closed for one day in the first wintery week and the following Wednesday, when Bradford and Leeds hit the national news for icy road conditions, we were forced to close because we had more than fifty staff unable to get to school. In fact on that day, we had five members of staff involved in road traffic accidents on their way to school. I realise how disruptive this time was for families and I am sorry that we were closed on those two occasions. Overall, we did manage much better than other schools, some of which were closed for six and seven days. The Department for Children, Schools and Families has written to schools explaining to Headteachers how to record absence because of the terrible weather conditions and so we hope that attendance records of students will not suffer. I do want to emphasise however, that attendance at school is absolutely crucial to maximise achievement for all students and so I urge families to ensure that their children attend every single day.

I said in my last letter that we would have news of the Year 11 examinations at this time. I’m pleased to able to report to our families (and especially to parents/carers of Year 11 students) that 39% of our young people have now passed their English Language GCSE at grade C or higher. This is a great achievement and will allow these students to concentrate on their maths grades to achieve the same in this very important subject. English and maths teachers and extra one-to-one tutors are busy organising special revision sessions, workshops and individual tuition for all students in Year 11. Please encourage your child to attend in order that they benefit from this special provision. May I take this opportunity to thank parents of Year 11 students for supporting our students in this and for attending the recent parents’ consultation evening.

Can I also remind you about our e-safety practices in school? Through tutorials we have been teaching students about how to use the internet safely and currently we are working on countering ‘cyberbullying’. On the rare occasions that this happens we are urging students to report this immediately, so that we can tackle the issue and punish any perpetrators.   On our website you will see the Ceop (Child Exploitation and Online Protection) button. If parents and/or families access this website you will be able to see lots of information about e-safety. We recommend this to all our families.  Please also see e-safety fact sheet below.

Tong High School, as a Specialist Sports College has very strong links with our partners, Bradford Bulls RLFC. I am pleased to be able to tell you that the Bulls are moving in to a part of the old school building on the old site. The building has been refurbished and the Bulls are bringing their first team, their scholars and their admin staff on to Tong High School campus to train and work. This presents superb opportunities for our students (especially if they are studying sport) to rub shoulders with elite athletes and professional sports people. There will be a grand opening of the new Bulls facilities in the Spring and the media will certainly be covering the story, so look out for some good news in the press.

Finally, when we have vacancies for associate and teaching staff at the school the details of jobs are on the website www.tongschool.co.uk

Here are some important dates for your diary.

2010

Thursday 11^th February                      School closed to students

Friday 12^th February                           School closed to students and half term starts

Monday 22^nd February                        School re-opens after half term

Thursday 25^th March                           Y12 & Y13 Curriculum Evening for parents

Wednesday 31^st March                       Sport & Performance Presentation Evening

Thursday 1^st April                                School closes for Easter

Monday 19^th April                                School re-opens after Easter

Monday 3^rd May                                   School closed for May Day

Thursday 27^th May                              Y10 Curriculum Evening for parents

Friday 28^th May                                   School closes for half term

Monday 7^th June                                  School opens after half term

With thanks for your continued support.

Yours sincerely,

L. M. O’Reilly (Mrs)

Headteacher