Dear parents and carers,

As we approach the end of a busy half-term, please find below the following updates.

New App for Home-School Communications

During the Christmas break, our IT and Data Teams were busy moving our management information system from SIMS to a new system, Arbor. This will ultimately help us to communicate more effectively with parents and carers. In the short term, we will continue to use Reach More Parents (Weduc) for most of our parent communications, together with emails for some more specific
messages.  This means that we ask that you check your emails for information from school. 

Further details will follow about the launch of the new Arbor Parent Portal – your online access to information about your son or daughter’s attendance and progress – and the Parent App, the mobile version of the portal. This will replace Reach More Parents (Weduc) and supplement our email communications.

Unfortunately, there is a temporary reduction in the amount of information
available to you through Reach More Parents (Weduc) as we prepare for the change of system. You will receive a welcome email when the new Arbor Parent Portal and App are launched after the February half term. In the meantime, you can familiarise yourself with the Parent Portal and App by using the following links:

• Introduction to the Arbor Parent Portal and Parent App
• Arbor information and resources for parents and carers

We will send further communication on the Parent Portal and Parent App, and how to register, at the beginning of next half-term. Please look out for this information and register when prompted. If you have any queries, please contact enquiries@silverdale.chorustrust.org.

Moments Matter, Attendance Counts! 

We know that sometimes our students cannot come to school because they are really unwell - and that's the right thing to do for them and other students. Medical advice is clear however, that children with a mild illness will often be well enough to attend - for example, if they have a cough, or cold, without a temperature. The NHS guidance “Is my child too ill for school? - NHS (www.nhs.uk)” is designed to support parents in their decision-making about mild illness.   

If we have concerns about your child’s attendance, school will:

• Check your child’s attendance every day
• Contact home to discuss your child’s attendance with you
• Invite you into school for attendance meetings if we are concerned
• If we cannot establish a reason for absence, then we may make a welfare home visit

As a parent/carer:

• Try to telephone the school before 8.30am each day of your child’s absence
• Tell the school in advance, of any medical appointments and bring in appointment cards/letters
• If you are not sure whether your child is well enough to attend school, send them in anyway as they often perk up on arrival
• Have a backup plan for if your child misses transport, call on a family member, neighbour, or friend.
• If you and your child are experiencing difficulties with school attendance, then talk to us as a first step so we can help!

We aim for each pupil to have an attendance of at least 97%, which is equivalent to a maximum of 6 school days missed in the whole school year. If a child's attendance drops to 90% this is equivalent to 19 school days in a year which can have a huge impact on their future. From the first day of term to the last, the small moments in a school day make a real difference to your child.

Student-led Magazine

Please find linked the new edition of our informative and entertaining student-led magazine, Argent: Vol 6 

Dates for your diary

Up and Coming Events:

Thursday 29th February Tuesday 12th March Wednesday 17th April Thursday 2nd May Monday 20th May Thursday 23rd May

Year 13 Parents Evening Year 10 Parents Evening Year 12 Parents Evening Year 8 Parents Evening Post 18 Information evening for Y12 parents/carers Year 7 Parents Evening

Term Dates 2023-24:

Spring 1: Monday 8th January – Friday 9th February 2024
Spring 2: Monday 19th February – Thursday 28th March 2024
Summer 1: Monday 15th April – Friday 24th May 2024
Summer 2: Monday 3rd June – Friday 19th July 2024

Thank you for your continued support.

Best wishes
Sarah Sims
Head of School