1. education
2. school

DJ/lh
May 2015
Dear Parents and Carers,
Please find enclosed with this letter a copy of your child’s progress report. You will note that we are providing
additional information around any achievement points your child has received as well as any sanctions. We
provide this information so that you can more easily monitor your child’s progress in school. If you would like
to discuss this further, then please do email your child’s Head of House or Head of Infants
JohnsonS@mayfield.portsmouth.sch.uk
Reid@mayfield.portsmouth.sch.uk
HowlettJ@mayfield.portsmouth.sch.uk
Temperton@mayfield.portsmouth.sch.uk
Gleedm@mayfield.portsmouth.sch.uk
Head of Victory House
Acting Head of Discovery House
Head of Intrepid House
Head of Endeavour House
Head of Infants
Equally, pupils in Years 7 and 8 should now have completed their Summer 1 ‘Prep’. If you have any questions
about preparation for learning then please do contact your child’s Head of House using the email address
above.
'Preparation for Learning'
Thank you to all parents for their support of our new ‘Preparation for Learning’ HW. As a reminder, pupils
have been guided to focus on their extended writing and so should hand write each project. The new project
overviews for Summer 2 for Year 7 and 8 are enclosed with this letter.
Building Work
We are set for another busy summer of building work to improve facilities for pupils. As part of this project
funded by the Schools Food Trust, work has already started to extend the seating capacity with a further 60
seats by knocking through into an adjacent room. The school will also be creating a new state-of-the-art
Science lab as part of these works.
We are also in the process of upgrading our Design Technology and Art teaching spaces and our brand new
Textiles room is due to open for the new academic year in June.
Over the half-term holidays, we will also be installing a large shade sail on the Infant Section play area to
provide shade from the sun or shelter from the rain for our youngest pupils when they are working outside.
We are very excited about Phase 2 of the building works for the ‘all-through’ school project which is due to
start in early July. This will involve the conversion of the Maths classrooms along the front of the school to
become purpose built accommodation for classes in years 1 to 5. Four brand new pods will be built on the
front of the school to house toilets and washing facilities and to enable pupils to access the new play area
which is going to be developed on the lawns at the front of the school.
Rights and Respect School Award
Mayfield School is currently working towards achieving UNICEF’s Rights Respecting School
Award (RRSA) and the status as a rights respecting school. This means that all staff and
pupils are aware of the rights that all children are entitled to and how having these rights
has an impact on their lives. Last term all Year 7 and 8 pupils completed lessons in PSHE
on UNICEF and the work that they do around the world to ensure equality for all. Mayfield
has been awarded their Recognition of Commitment from UNICEF as an
acknowledgement that, as a school, we are committed to ensuring that all children
understand the rights they are entitled to and how to respect these rights both in school and at home. Over
the next year Mayfield is going to be working very hard to achieve the Level 1 accreditation from UNICEF as a
recognition that we are a rights respecting school. If you would like any further information on UNICEF’s Rights
Respecting Schools Award or if you would like to be involved in helping the school achieve its accreditation,
please email us on rrsagetinvolved@mayfield.portsmouth.sch.uk
Attendance and Punctuality
If you child has been persistently absent from school this academic year (missed 15%) we will be working with
external agencies to put in place plans to ensure that this is not the case next year. It is essential that if your
child is absent for any reason that you contact the school on each day of the absence. Please note that from
September 2015 pupils who miss 10% of the school year will be considered to be persistently absent.
Improving attendance will continue to be a high priority for the school and pupils and parents should expect
to be kept up to date with the level of absence across the school year.
Uniform and Dress Code
Firstly, I would like to thank all parents and carers for their ongoing commitment to our uniform policy.
However, please be aware that we have made a slight change to the policy around schools skirts. From
September 2015 all school skirts will need to have the Mayfield emblem on them. All future purchases from
Penelope Anne will be sold with the emblem already on the skirt. If, however, you have already purchased a
Penelope Anne skirt without the emblem, please return it to them and they will stitch it on for you free of
charge.
A small number of are arriving to school in shoes or boots that have white/gold logos, metal tags/gold or silver
decoration on them. Please be reminded that all shoes must be completely black and ‘polishable’, not canvas.
Pupils must not wear boots to school. If pupils do not comply with this or we unable to make contact home
to agree a date to correct an issue, then pupils will be required to borrow shoes if available or an alternative
timetable will be put into place for them. With respect to haircuts, please make sure that your child’s cut is at
least a “grade 2”.
Behaviour and Detentions
As evidenced during our last OfSTED inspection, behaviour at Mayfield is now “good”. We are however,
determined to eradicate all low level disruption and further improve our pupils’ “behaviours for learning”. To
this end, we have revisited our behaviour management system and made some changes. We have been
explaining these changes to pupils via tutor time and assemblies. The new system will be implemented from
17th June 2015. Poor behaviour will lead to pupils being issued ‘behaviour points’ and good behaviour will
result in ‘achievement’ points. Many of our school trips, visits and events require pupils to meet certain criteria
with respect to behaviour and achievement points.
New Academic Year
Our new academic year will begin on Wednesday 17th June 2015. At this point all year groups will ‘move up’
one year and will get their new timetables. New year 9 and year 10 pupils will begin their option subjects at
this time. Our new year 11 pupils will also be expected to have their year 11 ties for this date – these can be
purchased from room 205 between 8.00 am and 8.40 am and at breaks and lunchtimes for £5 or from the
school supplier.
As part of the transition to the new academic year all pupils will be given a new pupil planner – this is an
important piece of equipment that should be brought to school every day. All pupils are given their pupil
planner for free – should it be lost or damaged beyond reasonable use then a replacement will need to be
brought for £4.00.
Option Choices
If you are the parent of a Year 8 or 9 child you will find a copy of the options they have been allocated for the
next school year.
Mayfields
Pupils in Years 7 to 10 have been sitting their ‘Mayfield’ internal examinations over the last couple of
weeks. These exams are designed to give pupils a chance to experience what important end of course
examinations are like to prepare them for their GCSE studies.
Results statements for all year groups will be posted home in the week commencing 8th June with information
on what these levels mean and how your child has performed. We have been very proud of the mature
attitude shown by our pupils in these challenging internal examinations and would like to congratulate them
on the results they achieve.
Friends of Mayfield
The Friends of Mayfield (FOM) are a group of like-minded volunteers who support the school by raising funds
for the ‘little extras’ our budget cannot reach. The time commitment can be large or small. If you or someone
you know is interested in joining this group, then please do email Mrs Maria Gleed on
Gleedm@mayfield.portsmouth.sch.uk. It is a great way to make friends and get involved!
Pupil Premium Funding
The Pupil Premium was introduced two years ago to provide additional funding for schools to support children
from low-income families and children whose parents are in the armed forces. Since Pupil Premium funding
has been introduced, we have been able to reduce average class sizes in English and Maths from 22 to 16
pupils. We need your help to ensure that we are able to keep receiving this funding and continue to make a
difference.
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Are you currently serving in the Armed Forces? If so, please can you inform the school by emailing
Mrs Anders, Assistant Headteacher, at the school on AndersE@mayfield.portsmouth.sch.uk
Do you think that you may be entitled to Free School Meals? The current eligibility criteria for Free
School Meals and the application form are available on our website. The form is quick to complete
and you get a reply quickly.
Recruitment Opportunities
As we enter the examination season, we have vacancies for casual examination markers at Mayfield. If you
have a Degree in English, mathematics or science and are interested in developing your skills as an examination
marker, please email stedmanm@mayfield.portsmouth.sch.uk to find out more about this important role.
We currently have vacancies for examination invigilators. The job description and application form for this
role can be found in the vacancies section of the school website.
Year R Extra-Curricular Clubs
Summer 2 extra-curricular clubs that run from 3.30-4.30pm every day are now available for booking. You can
use the online booking system to secure a place. If you need any help using this system then please email Mr
Backhouse on backhoused@mayfield.portsmouth.sch.uk
Please note that you must receive a confirmation email to ensure that your child has a place.
Years 7 and 8 Accelerated Reader
Regular reading is at an all-time high at Mayfield School! Over the past three years, our borrowing of books
has increased by 239%, which is superb. Pupils at Mayfield School have read an incredible 138, 837, 290 words
so far this academic year which demonstrates the enjoyment our pupils gain from reading widely and often.
Remember, twenty minutes reading a day maximises achievement at all levels of education!
Year 11 Update
Year 11 are now in the final phase of their time here at Mayfield. Many important examinations have already
been taken and our Year 11 pupils have acquitted themselves superbly.
During half term we have a variety of revision opportunities in school, including: GCSE English, History and
Maths revision. In the first two weeks back there are important exams in English, Maths, History, Geography,
Computing and Dance. We would encourage all Year 11 who still have these exams to do to come in and take
part in the available revision sessions. There is a timeline of all of the key exams and revision sessions for Year
11 included in this posting.
The Leavers’ Assembly takes place on Tuesday June 16, and pupils will have to complete their ‘Passport to the
Leavers Assembly’ in order to attend. This will require pupils to get their subject teachers to sign them off to
confirm they have fully completed their courses. In addition, pupils will need to ensure they have paid any
money they owe Pupil Services for equipment they have borrowed, return any items of uniform they have
been loaned, as well as any books from the Library. We hope to see all our Year 11 pupils on the sixteenth to
celebrate their time in the school.
Year 11 Careers Week
In recent years, we have stopped sending our upper school pupils out on work experience and have developed
a Careers Week for our new year 11 pupils instead. This year’s Careers Week will take place in the week
beginning 6th July and will include:
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A Careers Fair
A Conference led by local employers and
Careers Professionals on developing
employability skills
A mock interview with an employer
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Talks about the post-16 choices in the local
area
A Taster Day at Highbury College
More information about these events will be sent to the parents of new Year 11 pupils by Mrs Sliwinski,
Careers Co-ordinator, after the half-term holidays.
Staffing Update
At the end of this term, we are saying thank you and goodbye to the following colleagues:
Mrs A Wooller, teacher of Science
Miss N Palmero, teacher of Spanish
After the half term break, we will welcome:
Mr B Currier, teacher of Modern Foreign Languages
Key Dates for Summer 2
Event
Senior Section Reward Day
Senior Section Reading Age Tests
Inset Day
Inset Day
Year 11 Leavers Day
New Academic Year Starts
Senior Section Sports Day
Year 11 Prom
New Year 7 Induction fortnight starts
New Year 7 Induction Evening
Year 11 Careers Week
Whole School Presentation Evening
End of term, School closes to pupils at
1.35pm
Date
June 10th
June 11th
June 15th
June 16th
June 16th
June 17th
July 3rd
July 3rd
July 6th
July 7th
July 6th
July 15th
July 22nd
INSET Days 2014/15
During the year the school will be closed to pupils for staff training for 5 days. The remaining dates for this
year are the 15th and 16th June 2015.
Finally, I would like to thank all parents and carers for their continued support and wish you all a pleasant half
term break.
Best wishes
D Jeapes
Headteacher
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