Ready to learn and Celebrating Success

Ready to Learn - A guide for parents and carers

Expectations

Our Ready to Learn system is in place to ensure that all students are able to learn in all of their lessons without interruption. To that end, we have clear expectations that all students can now understand and easily achieve:

• Arrive on time.
• Sit where you are told.
• Use appropriate language
• Follow instructions first time
• Listen respectfully when others are talking.
• Keep off-task conversations for social times.
• Allow others to learn.

Students Who Break the Rules

If a student breaks a learning rule, they will be given a clear warning by a member of staff and their name will be written on the board.  If any further rule is broken, the student will be asked to make their way to the Ready to Learn Isolation Room.  Students will stay in isolation for a lesson, and an hour after school; they will be expected to work during their time in isolation. Students who are referred in the last twenty minutes of a lesson will need to spend the following lesson in isolation. Parents and carers will be contacted by the Student Team to confirm that the student will be required to stay for an after-school detention for 1 hour, either the same or following day. 

Students who refuse to go to the Ready to Learn Isolation Room or who continue to cause disruption in isolation, will be suspended from school.  Parents and carers will be required to attend a post-suspended meeting. Students will then need to complete a time in the Ready to Learn Isolation Room before re-joining the school community.

Behaviour around School

Students who fail to behave in a sociable and respectful manner around the school and during social times will be referred for a 20 minute/red card after school detention. If a student is defiant or refuses to follow the expectations/instructions from a member of staff, the red card may be escalated to an RTL referral for defiance.

Any student failing to attend this detention will be issued with a 1 hour after school detention.  Failure to attend this will result in a 2 hour after school detention.  Failure to attend this will result in the student attending the Ready to Learn Isolation Room for 1 lesson and breaktime and a 2 hour after school detention.

Students with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities

The RTL system applies to all students at Castle School. However, we recognise that students with diagnosed additional learning needs may need a ‘reasonable adjustment’ to the RTL system, which we are happy to make.

The Student Centre

The Student Centre Team lead on all aspects of student care, guidance, behaviour, attendance, child protection and student well-being and are highly skilled in supporting students experiencing any difficulties that affect their learning and progress. The Student Centre also provides first aid and help with lost property.

Celebrating Success

Celebrating success  -  Achievement Points

At The Castle School, we understand how important it is for students to have their achievements recognised and celebrated.  We use our ‘Achievement point’ system to reward students’ positive behaviours, whether that relates to their academic studies, their contribution to school life, or the way that they uphold our school values.

What are achievement points awarded for?

Any member of staff can award achievement points to students.  Examples of what achievement points are awarded for include:

• Excellent classwork
• Excellent homework
• Demonstrating one of the school’s values: aspiration, kindness or fairness
• Having 100% attendance for a term
• Having 97% + attendance for a term
• Improved attendance
• Contributing to extra-curricular activities
• Contributing positively to the school community
• Carrying out senior student responsibilities
• Having all purple 'attitudes to learning’ in a report

The number of achievement points awarded for any of these will vary according to the positive impact the student has had.

What happens to achievement points?

Achievement points are recorded for each student on our information system and will be reported to parents and carers.

There are award for students as they accumulate achievement points during an academic year.

100 points earn a ‘Bronze’ award, which is a certificate

200 points earn a ‘Silver’ award.  As well as a certificate, the student has our ‘silver’ badge to wear.

300 points earn a ‘Gold’ award, certificate and badge.

400 points earn a ‘Platinum’ award.  Students who achieve this level will be invited to meet with Miss Lobbett to receive their badge and a ‘Castle School pen’.

Additional incentives

Each term (six times a year), we add up all students’ achievement points, and award a prize to the tutor group in each year with the highest number of achievement points.

Essential Equipment for Learning

Every student should bring the following equipment to every lesson: 2 blue or black pens, a purple pen, pencil, ruler, rubber, pencil sharpener, highlighter, coloured pencils/felt-tipped pens.  No ‘Tippex’ allowed.

A compass, protractor and calculator will be required for Maths and Science lessons.