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Parent Bulletin

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

Dear UCC Families

Last night we hosted an open event for Year 7 and 8 families. We recognised that for many people, visiting UCC had not been possible during the pandemic, and it was such a great pleasure to meet families who were visiting our school for the first time. There was a lovely atmosphere and it was great to see students acting as tour guides for their family, taking great pride in showing off the learning environment they work in everyday. Some parents, who are former UCC students, had not been to the school site since 1989 and definitely noticed a significant change. However, for people who have already had children go through the school, or who have children that are in Key Stage 4 currently, it was really nice to hear them remark on how the school has evolved, grown and improved the facilities and opportunities available to students. A lot has changed here in the past few years; we are very proud of our school and we are very excited about how our future plans will further enhance the environment, particularly with our new MFL block in 2023 and new music and science teaching spaces beyond that. 

I would like to signpost an opportunity to support a UCC student who is working to support a charity.  Noah is donating his hair to raise funds for the Little Princess Trust and the Just Giving page is here if you would like to contribute: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/rachael-millard?utm_source=Sharethis&utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=rachael-millard&utm_campaign=pfp-email&utm_term=e37796a631374909ba1eb97856ab66d1.<BR><BR>Donating

As part of our continual work to improve and become incrementally more effective, we are inviting a team of Safeguarding experts from Leicestershire County Council into school next Tuesday to help us evaluate the effectiveness of our safeguarding provision and identify ways in which we could further enhance it. Safeguarding is the number one priority for schools and it is a constantly changing landscape so it is important for us to keep our finger on the pulse and ensure all our provision is entirely up-to-date.

Next week is officially Diversity week and we have a range of events and educational messages planned to help develop our awareness of diversity and inclusion. In an ever-changing world, this is another topic that is always evolving and I am grateful for the huge strides we have made as a school community in becoming more inclusive and welcoming, particularly for LGBTQ+ young people and young people who, for any number of reasons may have been marginalised. We are far from perfect, we are always learning, and I think we will make further progress next week. One reassuring element of our focus on diversity and inclusion is that it is not a bolt on, nor is it something we only talk about during a focus week. We are embedding this as an integral part of our school culture and Mrs Hirst is leading the way in ensuring we continue to challenge ourselves to become better every day in this area. 

The window has opened for students in Year 10 to apply for student leadership positions. Myself and Mr Sievewright will be making these appointments over the coming weeks and I am looking forward to interviewing students who have put themselves forward to take on responsibilities in Y11. The leaders from this year have been absolutely incredible, so Year 10 have some big shoes to fill!

Unfortunately we have experienced vandalism to the toilet facilities at school which is really disappointing. Throughout the year we have spent thousands of pounds and countless hours of our site team's time fixing these issues and it has reached a tipping point where we have needed to act. We have taken some steps to reduce this, which has meant that during lesson times, the main boys' toilets are locked. The toilets are open for boys before school, during each 5-minute lesson changeover and throughout break and lunch. In exceptional circumstances, during lesson times there are facilities available for boys. We have also introduced members of staff monitoring these areas during the times they are open to act as a deterrent to the vandalism. We know this will be a very small number of boys and it is a huge shame to have to tighten up on the use of toilets for everyone, however as I'm sure you will appreciate, it is impossible to identify the culprits as these are the only places in the school where direct supervision is not possible. The girls' toilets are open all day as usual, and teachers allow them to use the facilities during lesson time if they need to. I hope that we can revert to our usual arrangements soon and I will take a view on this over the next few weeks. 

On a more positive note, we have made progress this week in revamping our House system as well as the rewards framework for students. Students have been voting on their preferred choice of themes for our new House names and Mrs Briers from our maths department has created a superb new system to reward students for their efforts and attitudes at school. The finishing touches will now be put on these pieces of work and I will communicate the outcomes to you in the final weeks of this term.

It has been a very hot day and we have allowed students to take their ties and blazers off. Next week the weather looks like it will be a little cooler, so normal service will be resumed with regard to uniform. However, when we can see that uncomfortably hot days are on the horizon, we will make similar arrangements with students through our morning Notices. From a parental perspective, please ensure your child brings their blazer and tie each day, unless instructed otherwise; the blazers are the 'home' for many a vital item of school equipment for most students, so it is important they always bring these with them.  

I hope you have a great weekend.

Mr Solly.