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Parent Bulletin 13/05/2022

Please see the latest bulletin from Mr Solly below...

Dear UCC Families


I met with the Student Council yesterday to discuss a number of the topics they had raised with me a fortnight ago. I've had discussions with a number of colleagues around school in order to make decisions on the issues they raised, and these are summarised below:

The uniform 'reset' has been very positive, however students asked for a couple of adaptations to be considered. Based on this I have agreed that charity and school issued badges are allowed on blazers. When a student wishes to support a charity that is important to them, they should make their form tutor aware through a quick discussion.

  • 1 necklace and 1 bracelet per wrist are now permitted items of jewellery, along with 2 studs per ear and 1 ring per hand.  
  • Smart watches that can be used to communicate in any way are not allowed. If a watch is used to track steps and cannot be used to exchange messages or make calls then this is ok. 
  • Students asked for a system for recycling uniform when they leave Year 11 - we are happy to make this happen, as it is a good, sustainable practice.
  • Students asked for a quiet place to study or print homework before school, so we are going to organise LRA4 being a supervised space from 8:10-8:30 each morning as a trial for the rest of term to gauge how much usage this gets.
  • We have been doing some work this year through Mr Heppell to reignite our House System and Student Council have been involved in this. Changing the names of our Houses has long been on my list of things to do, and has been pushed back somewhat in recent years, but I think it is something we can do for September. I have asked the Student Council to bring me some suggestions of names we could use that are more inclusive than the current ones, along with why they believe they would be a suitable choice. 

The Student Council are an absolute joy to work with. They are mature, empathetic and very responsible young people who care deeply about our school. I have been very impressed with the work they have completed this year, on behalf of their peers, and thank them for their positive attitudes and excellent ideas.

Members of the local Uppingham community have brought my attention to a small number of students who have not been treating the park area on Tod's Piece respectfully. The main issue has been litter, so please could you talk with your child about taking responsibility and behaving appropriately whilst out in the local community. On the flip side to this, in the same email I was asked whether we had any students who would like to volunteer with the local Rotary Club during their litter picking sessions in that area. I have received a great response so far, and it is lovely to know so many of our students are willing to give up their own time to support the environmental push in their local area.  

As you know we are launching a new PE kit in 2022-23, and this is now available to order from Kids and More in Oakham. The weblink is here, and the phone number is 01572 771 775. All students in current Y7, 8 and 9 need this kit ready for the start of the 22-23 academic year, with current Y10 students having the option of whether to retain the current one or purchase the new one. Where a child qualifies for Pupil Premium funding we are purchasing the compulsory items (t-shirt, mid-layer, and one of the 'bottom-half' options) on their behalf and a separate communication will be sent out regarding this soon. 

If your child has to attend an appointment, we strongly encourage you to try and organise this on a day when they won't miss school. However, we know that sometimes this is unavoidable, despite the best efforts of parents/carers to avoid disrupting their child's learning. When this occurs, parents/carers need to email absences@ucc.rutland.sch.uk with the details and evidence of the appointment, along with when the child will be collected and by whom. We have recently experienced a number of instances where parents/carers have arrived with no prior communication to collect their child for an appointment. It should also be noted that we always ask for ID when you collect your child as part of our safeguarding measures - we aren't being difficult, it is just essential that we know that an adult with parental responsibility is collecting the student, and the ID details match those we have on our SIMS database. Many thanks for your support with this. 

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I hope you have a great weekend, take care.
Mr B Solly