All you need to know about St Thomas More

There is a lot of information on this page so to allow you to find exactly the section you wish to read we have provided an index for your convenience.

| Valuables |

Pastoral care

Your children are placed into forms when they join us and have a Form Tutor to look after them. Form Tutors are supported by Heads of Year who have a wider responsibility for the welfare and discipline of all the children in their year group. Heads of Year are your first point of contact if you need to talk to someone about your child.

Year Learning Managers
Year	Person responsible
Year 7	Mr Harris assisted by Miss Corbishley
Year 8	Mr R Harvey assisted by Miss Powell
Year 9	Mr G Hankin assisted by Mr R Vardy
Year 10	Mr G Millington assisted by Miss Wood
Year 11	Mrs J Stubbs assisted by Mr Berrisford
Sixth form	Mrs A Staton assisted by Mrs L Gater/Miss E Emery

If you wish to speak to a Senior member of staff then you should contact Mrs Gibson, Senior Assistant Head, if your child is in Years 7-9, Mr Miller, Senior Assistant Head, if your child is in year 10 or 11 or Mr A Wootton, Deputy Head if your child is in the Sixth Form. Mr Finnigan, Headmaster, and in cases of unavailability, all members of the Senior Leadership Team, are, of course, always happy to meet with you.

Attendance

Your child is expected to attend College regularly throughout the year. His/her progress will be hindered by poor attendance. The "odd day off" each week for not very good reasons is more damaging than a week off for genuine illness. It is not expected that children will have holidays in College time as it is known to affect their educational performance adversely. Such absences will be unauthorised.

You will be told about your child’s attendance in his/her College report. Your child is expected to be in College at 9.00 am ready to start assembly/registration at 9.05 am. We will ask for an explanation if late-coming is persistent.

You will be pleased to know that we expect your child to remain on the College premises for the whole of the lunch break unless they genuinely go home for lunch. They are not allowed to leave the premises without permission and only upon written request from a parent.

First Day contact: If your child has not registered by 9.15am and we have received no phone call then someone will phone home.

Extra curricular activities

A number of activities take place outside normal College hours. Your child is expected to inform you of these activities before coming to College. He/she will normally be expected to make his/her own arrangements for travelling home.

Absence from college

Permission to be absent cannot be given lightly and we hope that you will make appointments with doctors, dentists, opticians, etc outside College hours wherever possible. Your child should not be absent for any other reasons.

We would also ask that parents do not take their child out of college for holidays in term time. Requests for holidays in term time will not be granted and will be deemed unauthorised absence.

If your child has to be absent from College then you can help us by leaving a telephone message or send a note explaining the reason. Please sign and date any notes you send in. If we do not receive any explanation for your child’s absence, especially a lengthy one, then it will be investigated by the Education Welfare Officer (EWO), who will call to see you.

Parents of students with persistent absence will be asked to attend a meeting. In certain circumstances students with poor attendance may be taken off roll.

You will be informed by letter of any unexpected closures, which may occur during the term.

Student passes

If your child needs to visit the doctor or dentist during College time then we will provide him/her with an authorised pass.

Discipline and college rules

We expect all students to behave in a well-mannered and courteous way to others. Respect for others and their belongings will lead to self discipline and reduce the need for lots of College rules. Courtesy towards adults and fellow students is an essential element in a happy, contented, hard working College community. We do have to be strict over Health and Safety rules, particularly in areas like science laboratories and technology workshops.

We operate a Merit system to reward good behaviour and work. Details of this policy can be obtained from Ms Hart, Assistant Headteacher.

Home school contract

We have always had an understanding of what College expects of the students and their parents and equally what the parents and students can expect from the College. More recently the Government has asked us to formalise this and both parties need to sign the Home-College Contract. This will be supplied to you upon admission to the College.

Detention system

There are times when students will need to be kept behind at College because of misbehaviour or failure to complete homework or classwork. For Years 7 to 11, the detention will take place after College. For issues which occur within departments, detentions are held on Tuesday Evenings 3.10-4.10 pm. For more serious issues, or for issues which occur outside of the classroom, there is a Senior Teacher Detention on Thursday Evenings 3.10-4.40 pm. If a child fails to turn up to detention on Tuesday they will be automatically placed in the Thursday Detention of the same week. When we need to keep your child in detention after College we will write to let you know at least 24 hours in advance. Sometimes children’s behaviour can be quite anti-social and we may need to exclude them from College for a short period of time. We will always consult you over this and seek your support for this action. When we do have to exclude children then parents do have the right to appeal to the Governors. We are grateful for the strong support we have from parents in these matters and look forward to strengthening this important partnership in the future.

College times

College times
Time	Activity
9.05 am	Assembly/Registration
9.15 am	Morning lessons begin
11.15 am	Morning break
12.30 pm 1.00 pm	Lunch A (Years 7, 8 & 6th Form)
1.00 pm-1.30 pm	Lunch B (Year 9 & 10)
1.30 pm-2.00 pm	Lunch C (Year 11)
2.00pm	Afternoon Registration
2.10pm	Afternoon Lessons continue
3.10pm	End of College day

Pastoral period

A pastoral period takes place on a rotating basis each week. This time allows each form to have an extended pastoral period with their form tutor.

College meals

College meals are provided in the College restaurant. The College has introduced a “Cashless” system for paying for meals in the restaurant. Every pupil has a swipe card that is used to pay for meals. Money can be allocated to the swipe cards by either using the cash machines in the College foyer or by parents sending money directly to College. Children on “free” meals are automatically allocated their “free” meal allowance and they use swipe cards in the same way as other pupils. If you prefer your child to bring sandwiches then they can do so, or they can buy them at College. Unless you have arranged with us for your child to go home for lunch then he/she will not be allowed to leave College at lunch-time.

If you are entitled to free meals for your child please claim it. It is your right and will benefit both your child and the College because our funding is increased by the Government for these children.

Telephone 01782 236818 for more information.

Child protection

The dignity and sanctity of every human lift is God given and this is embedded in our mission statement. We acknowledge that every child has the right to love, respect and protection from all of us in our community.

Our staff have regular Child Protection Training and local Safeguarding procedures are followed, including those regarding safe recruitment.

We work closely with local agents and use local authority referral procedures. The ‘Designated person for child protection’ is Mrs H Clarke (Assistant Head).

Contact with parents

Shortly after the start of each College year we will give you a calendar of events for the coming year. This contains details of all the parents' evenings and Parent Teacher Association functions, together with the dates when examinations will occur and when terms will begin and end. We will also send you a half termly newsletter – STM News.

You will be sent reports on attendance, academic progress and behaviour twice a year. We will arrange a Progress Day during the year when you will be able to meet Form Teachers to discuss your child’s progress.

The College has a very active Parent Teacher Association, which builds links between College and home. It supports the work of the College in many ways including arranging fund raising events, and social functions.

College fund

There is a College fund to which all parents are invited to contribute. This is used for the purchase of items which cannot be bought from the College’s funding from the Government. We invite you to contribute a one off payment of, currently, £20 when your child first enters the College. We are grateful to parents for this important financial support, which benefits all students. In addition to this the Governors wish to draw to parents attention that, under Voluntary Aided status, they may need to re-introduce the Governors levy for non-Catholic children. This will be needed to help the Governors meet the cost of repairs to the fabric of the building.

Special Educational Needs

St Thomas More Catholic College recognises that some of its students will have special educational needs and we are mindful of our duty to provide a broad and balanced curriculum relevant to the students’ individual needs. Some of our students will be more gifted than others and we also recognise that they too will have special educational needs.

Our college aims to provide opportunities for all its students with special educational needs to:

follow a broad and balanced curriculum
demonstrate their full potential recognising strengths as well as weaknesses
participate in college activities
meet intellectual, emotional and spiritual needs.

Further details of the College policy on Special Educational Needs is available, along with all other policies, from the main college office.

Homework

We consider homework to be a very important part of College life. Homework timetables are drawn up at the start of the academic year and will be sent to you for information. The length of time spent on homework increases as your child moves up through the College. Year 10 and 11 students should be prepared to spend at least two hours each evening, and to increase this time as their public examinations approach. If you feel that there are problems over the amount or regularity of homework then please contact us at the College. You will be provided with a copy of our homework policy.

Careers’ education

Mrs Stubbs, supported by form teachers, is responsible for Careers information and advice. We work closely with the Longton branch of the Connexions Advisory Service. This service caters for the needs of all our students, whether they are interested in seeking a job or wishing to go to University.

A connexions adviser is available to Year 9-11, with the extra support of a specialist adviser for the Sixth Form. All students have an opportunity to participate in Work Experience at the end of Year 10, and again in the Sixth Form. As part of their careers guidance Years 8-10 are involved with the Real Game and Be Real activities. The employment record of our 16+ leavers is excellent; 100% of leavers obtaining employment, training, or Higher Education places.

Charging policy

Educational activities which are part of the college curriculum and provided during normal college hours are free to all our pupils. Field trips which require a residential stay away from home are provided free of charge but parents are required to pay for the board and lodging cost of the trip. Families who are in receipt of Income support will be exempted from this charge.

Voluntary contributions will be requested to cover the cost of activities which are not part of the normal curriculum. There is no obligation for parents to make such contributions and your child will be treated in the same way as any other child if you cannot make such a contribution. However, the College reserves the right not to run the activity if insufficient contributions are made to cover the cost of the activity.

Curriculum complaints

If you wish to register a complaint about an aspect of the College curriculum you should contact the Headmaster to inform him of your concerns. If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of your discussions then you may take your complaint to the Governing Body. If you wish to do this you should write to the Clerk to the Governors c/o the College outlining the details of your complaint and requesting a meeting with a representative of the Governors. If you are not satisfied with the outcome of this meeting then you do have the right to complain to the Secretary of State and the Clerk to the Governors will provide you with the address.

Out of college activities

These are numerous, particularly in connection with our sports and athletics teams. Music is a very important part of our cultural life in College, with regular public performances involving both choral and instrumental groups. The study of Geography, History and Biology all involve field study work. Regular visits abroad are arranged by the Modern Languages Department. There is an annual Sixth Form trip to New York. Our aim is always to keep the cost to a minimum so that as many students as possible can participate.

Sport

The following activities are available:

Badminton, athletics, football, rugby, hockey, netball, basketball, rounders, gymnastics, swimming, tennis, volleyball and cricket. In a number of these our students reach County, West Midland and even National standards.

Special college buses

Special College buses provided by Bennetts and D&G serve the College from Abbey Hulton, Berryhill, Bucknall, Hanley, Meir, Meir Heath and Blythe Bridge. These buses deposit and collect the students within the College grounds. A regular service bus is available from Stoke, Trent Vale, Hanford and Trentham. Full details are available from the College.

In general the LEA pays for journeys to College of over three miles for students and students who live in the College’s catchment area. You should apply to the LEA before your child starts at St Thomas More to ensure that the bus pass is available at the start of term.

College uniform

The College has full uniform to the end of year 11. All students receive a uniform list before coming into the College. Our uniform is chosen for minimum expense and is basically black blazer, grey or black trousers or grey skirt, grey pullover, with white blouse or white or grey shirt, with grey socks and black shoes. The tie and blazer badge are made for the College and sold to you at cost price.

Valuables

Whilst every effort is made to safeguard property of students, we cannot accept responsibility for the loss of any item. It is strongly advised that all personal property or clothing is marked with the student's name. As we do not take out a College insurance policy to cover every individual student's belongings, we encourage you to seek your own cover.