Newsletters

GHS Connect #10 Monday 17th November

Mia's notes

I’m really hoping that everyone has had a nice, slightly longer weekend and feels refreshed for the last few weeks of this term.

Last week we undertook a book look at SLT and saw some really good examples of best practice. 

Thank you for helping students to focus on organisation in books, providing helpful scaffolds and providing clear, live feedback in a red pen so it is obvious. We will be sharing some of these as part of our drive for consistency at the staff meeting - nothing to be concerned about; just simple and straightforward strategies to help students use their books to best effect for their learning. 

The last week of November will feel a bit tricky to get through - it often does.  The weather doesn’t look great this week, but please try to push through - it will be December next week!

Mia

The week ahead

Monday
Normal Day

Tuesday
Whole Staff Meeting/Training – 3.15pm - 4.30pm

Wednesday
No briefing due to Tuesday Staff Meeting.
CPD - 3.15pm - 4.15pm

Thursday
Normal Day

Friday
Normal Day

Notes
Year 12 Interim 2 due
Year 13 Assessment Week (In Class)

Learning and Teaching Tips and Strategies

This week, RE and Childcare share their tips for live marking:

In RE and Childcare, we have refined our approach to live marking to ensure that feedback is immediate and impactful. This is what we consider:

• Whose work? We are intentional about whose work we are marking in each lesson. For example, we prioritise PP, SEN, borderline students, whilst ensuring a balance across all ability levels (HA/MA/LA).
• What focus? We choose a single, high-leverage focus for the lesson. For example, key word checks, correct use of exam structures, targeted SPaG feedback, or the use of sentence stems.
• ·Modelling Feedback: We use the Ipevo visualiser to collaboratively mark work and use mini-whiteboards to support students in practising assessing work and assigning grades.

New this term! The third episode of our Learning and Teaching podcast: Sample Marking with Jen Williams. Listen here.

Pastoral Reminders

Safeguarding

What are five key areas of emotional abuse, as set out in KCSIE?

Answer

• Making a child feel worthless, unloved, or inadequate
  Including valuing them only when they meet someone else’s needs.

• Silencing, belittling, or restricting a child’s voice
  Not allowing them to express their views, mocking how they speak or communicate, or deliberately shutting them down.

• Imposing developmentally inappropriate expectations
  Expectations beyond the child’s capability, overprotection, preventing exploration, or limiting normal social interaction.

• Exposing a child to the ill-treatment of others
  Seeing or hearing abuse happening to someone else in the household.

• Bullying, frightening, exploiting, or corrupting a child
  Including serious bullying or cyberbullying that causes fear, danger, or emotional harm.

Exams Access Arrangements:

Please continue to upload student work via the whole school Drive: Exams

Inclusion Updates

We have been running the Lion Project in School.  This has been hugely successful to date, students are learning negotiation skills, gaining an insight into gangs and grooming. See below for photos from the session.

Gurvinder

Bright Spots

A number of Bright Spot nominations this week. Firstly, Tam has nominated Barbara Radomska saying:

Congratulations to Barbara who was successful in her recent application to be our Post 16 Administrator.  Barbara already does a fabulous job with Hardeep as our Exams Assistant and has now added this new string to her bow.  Richard and the Post 16 team are delighted to have her join them.  She will now be with us all day and will spread her time across the two departments.  Well done Barbara.

Next Amandeep has nominated the following members of staff:

• Sarah Packman, Waris and Ruth- they all worked together in making sure the Reader’s Theatre intervention with Aim Higher and St Mary’s still went ahead in my absence. This was a 6-week programme that I had organised where 10 students worked on their reading skills through theatre. All the sessions took place in hourly sessions at various times. Sarah sat with the students and welcomed the visitors making everyone welcome.
• Ruth and Kiran in organising the letters for year 7 tutors evening.
• The year 7 team and tutors for all the work in the background to ensure maximum attendance for Tutors’ Evening.

If there are any concerns about Equality and Diversity (staff)  at GHS please contact A Johal (DHT)