Colton Hills School Bulletin

Website: https://www.coltonhills.co.uk/highperformancelearning

Safeguarding our pupils is of the utmost importance at Colton Hills and all are staff are committed to safeguarding all members of our school community. We have a comprehensive safeguarding curriculum at the school which teaches our pupils, through the curriculum and assemblies, how to stay safe in different situations. Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility.

Our students have been very busy and had exciting term. We are extremely proud of Year 10s taking part in mock interviews with a range of employers. Well done to all involved. Last weekend, our 6th formers had a great time travelling to London, enjoying the sights with a trip to Winter Wonderland. Our four Houses also took part in the best decorated Christmas tree along with the Christmas card competition and ending the year with the Winter Showcase, this Thursday 19 December. If you have not purchased your tickets, please do so as we would love to have as many people as we can supporting our wonderful students.

Christmas is around the corner and many children will be receiving devices over the Christmas period. We strongly advise that parent controls are set up on their devices before the children are allowed to use them. Safer Internet have lots of information for parents about setting up parental controls. They also recommend having open and honest conversations with children about their online use.

It is also important to recognise Christmas can be a difficult time for anyone and you might be struggling this year for the first time. Or you may have found Christmas difficult in the past, and you're dreading it again this year. You may also enjoy Christmas, but not be able to celebrate it how you'd like to, or you might find some parts enjoyable, but other parts stressful. Christmas can feel tough and may affect your mental health. The following link will help support your emotional wellbeing at this time of year: https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/tips-for-everyday-living/christmas-and-mental-health/why-christmas-is-hard/

Happy Christmas to everyone who is celebrating and I wish you all a peaceful holiday season.

Thank you to Doreen (2nd from right) from Divine Ministries Education Enterprise (Nonprofit) Ltd, who has personally delivered some personal care products to our school last week. We appreciate her generosity and the products will come in handy for our students.

Our House trees have been proudly on display in Student Reception since the start of December! Credit to all the students and Miss Webb, who stayed back on a Monday afternoon to put the trees and decorations up. The winning tree goes to CURIE!

Well done to our Year 7 and 8 Futsal Squad and Basketball Team students for their participation this term. Great to see new faces trying out some new sport. Keep it up!

Well done to everyone who submitted their Christmas Card entries for this year's card competition. We received an overwhelming number of submissions and it was a difficult decision to choose the winners. Designs were amazing this year, using a range of techniques and different mediums.

Congratulations to Sabina in Year 7 for being the overall winner with her design of a wintry scene, and coming in at a close 2nd is Jaivir in Year 9 followed by Japji in Year 7, who scooped up 3rd place with her festive tree. Their respective houses will also benefit from the extra points gained from this competition. Well done to everyone for their efforts.

Do you have a keen interest in playing a part in the future of the next generation? Our school is seeking a committed and dedicated Community Governor to be part of our Colton Hills Governing Body.

Core Strategic Functions

• Ensuring clarity pf vision, ethos and strategic direction
• Holding Headteacher to account for the educational performance of the school and its pupils
• Overseeing the financial performance of the school and making sure its money is well spent

Role Specification

• attending meetings of Governing Board, usually outside of school hours and contributing to governing board business
• reading reports and papers and keeping up to date on the progress the school is making: and
• visiting the school from time to time during the school day
• strong commitment to the role and improving outcomes for the children
• good inter-personal skills
• inquisitiveness to question and analyse

Qualifications

No special qualifications required. However, a DBS check is a statutory requirement and must be applied within 21 days election/appointment. The most important thing is to have a keen interest in the school and be prepared to play an active part in the Governing Body's work.

Training is available for all governors and the Governing Body has an expectation that those new to being a governor will attend induction training. Please email your interest by 31st January 2025. You may include a short personal statement to support your application, which should be no longer than 250 words. We reserve the right to close this application process early if the position is filled before deadline. Apply here www.coltonhills.co.uk/vacancies

If you suspect or believe a child is suffering or is likely to suffer Significant Harm, including any form of mistreatment or abuse, you should report your concerns on the following numbers:

Monday to Thursday 8:30am to 5pm,

Friday 8:30am to 4:30pm on 01902 555392

Outside of the above hours for emergencies on 01902 552999

If the child or young person is at immediate risk of serious harm dial 999