Parental feedback and school responses
Will my child be able to remain in school after 2pm on a Wednesday?
School will be closed for teaching purposes at 2pm. Students may go to the Learning Resource Centre
from 2pm until 4pm where they will be supervised (see below).
Will my child be supervised in the Learning Resource Centre on Wednesdays?
The Learning Resource Centre is supervised every day of the week. On a Wednesday there will be
additional staff to support homework and independent learning activities.
Will there be a register so that I know my child is in the Learning Resource Centre?
All students will be asked to sign in when they enter the Learning Resource Centre on a Wednesday
and sign out at the time they are leaving. They are however not required to be there as the school
day ends at 2pm.
Will there be an area in the Learning Resource Centre that lets the older students complete revision or
assessments?
In addition to the Learning Resource Centre we do have the opportunity of opening up the two ICT
classrooms on the Wednesday. These classrooms are located in the Learning Resource area and can
provide space for up to 30 students to work, again under supervision.
Will there be enough space in the Learning Resource Centre for all students who want to study?
The Learning Resource Centre has 46 computers, plus additional seating space for 40 students. There
are two additional computer rooms, which can be made available both providing space for up to 60
students.
My childcare arrangements mean my child needs to stay in school until at least 3pm on the
Wednesday, can you guarantee my child will be in the school?
We understand that knowing your child is safe between leaving school and arriving home is vitally
important to you, particularly for parents of younger students and those who will start with us in
September.
The end of school for all students on Wednesdays will be 2pm. If you require your child to be in school
until 3pm or up until 4pm, they can go into the Learning Resource Centre where they will be supervised
as an after school club. This is also the case for all after school clubs on other days of the week.
If you are worried that your child will not remain in school as you have requested, then we will of course
support you in communicating this with your child and monitor that they are using the Learning
Resource Centre between the times you have requested.
You will also be able to contact the school between 2pm and 4pm to request details as to whether
your child is in the Learning Resource Centre. Again, if you have concerns about your child staying in
the Learning Resource Centre please contact the school.
Will I have to pay for my child to stay in the LRC or go to after school clubs?
There will be no charge for after school activities or to stay in school in the Learning Resource Centre
on any day of the week.
Can Lesson 6 for year 11 students be on a rota so that they do not get disrupted?
There has been a rota in place for lesson 6 for a couple of years. This has meant that there is a priority
order for lesson 6 attendance, for example on a Tuesday in week A, students in year 11 should attend
maths, Wednesday Science and Thursday English. If students are not required to attend that priority
lesson 6, they can attend another subject area. A rota will still be in place and year 11 students should
continue to remain in school until 4pm on a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from September.
A provisional rota is detailed below:
WEEK A (Core + PSHE / RE Week)
Monday – English
Tuesday – Maths
Wednesday – None
Thursday – Science
Friday – PSHE / RE
Week B (Options Week + IT)
Monday - Option Block C
Tuesday Option Block B
Wednesday – None
Thursday – Option Block A
Friday – IT
Option Block C is: Art, Health / Social, PE Studies, Sociology, Music, History, Geography
Option Block B is: Geography, DT Food, Engineering, Art, Performing Arts, Health / Social, DT RM, French
and Spanish
Option Block A is: Geography, History, Business Studies, Art, Creative Media, Spanish, French, Sociology
and Engineering..
Why does my child have to develop the skills of independence, isn’t the point of school to be taught?
All young people need to develop good skills of independence in order to be successful adults. When
students leave secondary education and go to further education, training or the world of work, they
will need to manage their own time and have greater responsibility for their learning or work place
activities.
Students currently in year 7 and 6 will see big changes in the way that their learning is assessed in their
final year of secondary school. They will have final exams in each subject that will count for the full
100% of their grade. This is not the case at the moment where studes’ final examinations can vary from
100% to 20% of their final grade; currently some subject areas are required to submit student
coursework or portfolios. It is important that we prepare students for these changes as early as possible
in order to form very good learning habits.
Instead of homework, can students not do more work in lessons?
It is essential for students to be prepared to continue their learning out of lesson time. Homework and
independent revision is important in every year group. Students are able to access homework and
revision on www.iamlearning.co.uk , www.mymaths.co.uk and other web based programs. We
understand that it is not always possible for students to use a computer in every lesson or have access
to a computer at home.
Will finishing at 2pm affect my child’s attendance? If I took them out of school for one hour at another
point then that would.
The school day on a Wednesday will be from 08:50 until 2pm, therefore your child’s attendance will
not be affected if they are in lessons during those times. Attendance to school is about good
attendance to their lessons, absence from school is when students are taken out of their timetabled
lessons.
Can I make medical appointments for my child on a Wednesday after 2pm?
Yes
Can staff not use the training days for meetings?
The Department for Education (DfE) require maintained schools to be open for 190 teaching days per
year, which is 380 half day sessions. The five teacher training days are added on after the 190 days.
These days are staggered throughout the year and are fully planned to ensure statutory and legal
training is completed and school priorities are addressed. There is however a need to continually
improve teaching practice through regular and planned professional development. Improving the
quality of teaching in this way will have the greatest impact upon students’ learning and outcomes.
Can staff use time before the school day or lunch times to meet, if more time is needed?
There are staff meetings every morning before school. Staff attend a briefing meeting every morning
prior to the start of school at 08:50. They also meet every Monday after school and Leadership meet
Wednesday. The staff at Haughton Academy are highly committed to students, the school and their
own profession and complete Professional Development activities continually throughout the year.
Lunch time is only 35 minutes, this is too short to bring all staff together for a worthwhile meeting or
training session.
Haughton used to finish early on a Wednesday in the past, why did this stop?
Approximately 12 years ago the school day ended early on a Wednesday. The day was organized in
a different way than we are planning now. Lunchtime was moved to the end of the school day (2pm)
and students were able to stay in school or go home. It was felt that the day wasn’t structured very
well and the location of hot food stations around the school, which provided students with
opportunities to eat before 2pm, interrupted lessons and learning. The school also brought in coaches
and trainers for enrichment activities that took place before 2pm, the increasing costs of those
activities made it prohibitive.
Are there any examples of successful schools who finish early?
Yes there are many. Carmel College in Darlington is a local example.
There will be an impact on the community if students are wandering the streets at 2pm.
Like parents, we would hope that students behave in a positive, respectful and courteous manner
when they are leaving school at either 2pm or 3pm. We liaise closely with local resident groups and
the local police to identify any problems and seek to resolve them quickly. In order to make sure that
students do leave in an appropriate manner, staff will escort students out of school and onto buses
and into the community for the first few weeks to establish positive behaviours. We will of course
continue to work with community partners and address all issues and concerns.
Curriculum
Which subjects will my child not be studying?
We have removed Personal Social and Health Education (PSHE) and Religious Education from discrete
one hour teaching for year 8, so this will not feature on your child’s timetable if they are in year 8. The
statutory parts of these subjects will be delivered either through a range of subjects and either in a
carousel approach or a half day block.
Doesn’t RE have to be taught in schools?
Yes. However the way in which RE is delivered is able to be determined by the Academy. As an
Academy in Darlington, we use the local agreed syllabus, developed by SACRE. An updated version
is due to be agreed in July 2014. We will use this to make sure we cover the agreed learning. Students
in year 7 will be taught RE in a one hour lesson. Students in year 8 will have their RE lessons delivered in
a different way. Students in year 8 will also be able to take this subject in their options.
What are the ‘opportunities’ that will be created to deliver PSHE and RE?
Students in year 10 and 11 currently studying RE and Citizenship (PSHE) will continue to do so. Students
in year 8 are able to take RE as an option lesson next year, this will then form part of their studies in
years 9, 10 and 11.
Year 7 will have a timetabled lesson of RE. From September Year 8 will not have a one hour lesson of
RE, like all year groups they will have a programme of study delivered through assemblies and tutorial
time. We will also cover key concepts through other curriculum areas or collapsed timetable sessions,
where we will run workshops of learning in blocks.
If you are an Academy why do you have to stick with the changes the Government are making about
examinations and subjects?
We do have Academy freedoms to review and amend the curriculum, however it is extremely
important that students are able to leave Haughton Academy with excellent academic results that
mean they can apply for further study, or secure a job. We work with partners at QE Sixth Form,
Darlington College and Carmel College to make sure the subjects students take at Haughton
Academy will support their future ambitions.
Vertical Tutoring
Will the younger students be scared around the older students?
Vertical tutoring is about creating really positive relationships across the whole school community.
Students will develop friendship groups and relationships across the year groups and will be more
confident around students in other year groups. This approach to tutorial time is to be based on a
family unit – and will encourage students to take on roles & form positive relationships with others.
What if my child doesn’t know anyone in the new group?
After speaking with students and finding out how they felt about the changes, students were able to
select someone that they wanted to be in a group with. Students have joined together in pairs, if they
wished, and have been asked to return their choices to Mrs Taylor.
Where can I find out more about this?
We have created a leaflet with some key information. There is a lot of information available on the
Internet if you would like the names of some schools who successfully run vertical tutoring, we can
provide them to you.
Will my children be in the same tutor group if they are in the same house?
Siblings will be in the same house but not in the same tutor group, unless they select each other as their
preferred person to pair up with.
Can my children be in the same tutor group if they want to be?
Yes – they would need to speak with Mrs Taylor.
Is changing the Year Manager role not just creating more administrative work for the staff?
The changes that we make are always influenced by what is the right decision for improving student
outcomes and well-being. We do consider staff work load too and have spent some time reviewing
the current work load of the Year Managers as individuals and as a team. Although Year Managers
manage a specific year group, part of their other duties are to work with all students across the school.
We believe that developing the Year Manager role in this way will be better for Year Managers and
families. To support students in their learning we do work very closely with a number of students and
their families, sometimes this requires Year Managers to attend meetings in school or off site, liaise with
other agencies and producewritten reports for each student in a family. Changing to Heads of House
will allow the staff to be responsible for and get to know the families better, and it will mean that one
member of school staff will be able to attend meetings and liaise with other professionals instead of a
number of staff.
We will of course continue to review the workload of the team.
My child doesn’t like the new house ties, why do they have to change?
The year 11 prefects who have just left school, have designed the ties as part of their legacy project.
They have worked with students in other years to take into account other students’ opinions. The ties
will represent the House that students belong to, which we hope will create a greater sense of
community and belonging.
How will the children in year 6 feel about joining forms that have older students in them?
During transition fortnight, we are planning to introduce the year 6 students to some older students in
the school so that they experience being around other students. They will also meet prefects during
their first week of transition; these students are extremely responsible and excellent role models. We
are sure that by the end of transition fortnight the year 6 students will have had positive experiences
with older students.
How much time will there be for students to interact between the House groups?
Students will be in their House groups during tutor time and in House Assemblies. The House Assemblies
will take place fortnightly, alternating with year group assemblies. There will be planned opportunities
for all students to take part in House events, these will be led by Heads of Houses, the lead for the
House System and the prefect House Captains. Students will be able to earn and win points for their
House through competitions and taking part in House activities. We will provide a plan of these
activities when we return in September.
Lunch time
Can the canteen / Kitchen accommodate all students?
Yes. There are two areas for students to purchase food in school, the canteen and the Bistro. Students
are then able to eat at a number of seating areas in school and outside.
You will be limiting students to eat in the canteen or bringing a packed lunch.
Yes this is the case.
Students have previously been able to go home, or buy a sandwich from a local shop at lunch time.
This has never been the case since the Education Village opened. Students have only been able to
eat in school, either from the canteen or with a packed lunch. Students have never had permission
to visit a shop at lunch time. Students have to apply for a lunch pass where a parent or guardian signs
to say the child is eating at home. Parents therefore take responsibility for their child going home during
the 35 minutes of lunch time. In liaising with the local community and shopkeepers we are aware that
this has not always been the case for a minority.