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Detention System Launch

  • March 23, 2023

Dear Parents and Carers,

This letter is to make you aware that after the Easter Holiday, we will be making a significant change to our behaviour management system, which reflects our high expectations of all students here at Fred Longworth High School. The changes are being communicated to students in assemblies. These new rules will apply to all students in Years 7, 8, 9 and 10.

We’re very proud that the vast majority of students here at Freddie’s always demonstrate exemplary behaviour by default. The changes we are making are designed to further support all students to be the best version of themselves, to maximise their time in school and to ensure a calm and orderly learning environment for all.

Following the Easter break, any student who is late to school or who is late to a lesson will automatically receive a 30-minute detention after school. Students who are late to school and/or lessons on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays will be given a same day poor punctuality detention. Students late on Tuesdays and Thursdays will be placed on detention the next day. Students who do not turn up for their detention will be collected for the next available detention and their detention time will increase to 60 minutes. This system is fully in line with the latest government guidelines for managing behaviour in schools. These guidelines can be found here. In any case where a student still refuses to meet our expectations, they will either be placed on an Off-Site Direction at another local school or suspended from school.

We do understand that, on occasion, students can experience genuine and unexpected delays in the mornings on the way to school and in getting to lessons during the day. If there is a genuine reason why your child will be late to school in the morning, parents will need to contact school and a late detention will not be issued. Staff have also been instructed to give passes to students if a student has had to be kept behind in a lesson for a genuine reason.

Our aim in implementing this detention system is to improve punctuality; however, it is also to eliminate the impact of anti-social behaviour that can sometimes take place during lesson changeover times, and to end the disruption to learning that inevitably occurs when students do not arrive on time to class.

It is important that I remind parents of how we have to manage the school toilets during the day. It is often misuse of the toilets that is a reason for lateness to lessons. Some students will use going to the toilet as an excuse to avoid a certain class or to engage in anti-social behaviour. When these students do eventually arrive to class, this then disrupts the learning for the majority. Our toilets are open and easily accessible to students at break and at lunch and so as a general rule, use of the toilet will not be accepted as an excuse for poor punctuality; however, we do recognise that at times there will be exceptions. As a general rule, students are also not allowed to leave a lesson to use the toilet. We make an exception for those with a toilet pass and in other cases, we encourage staff to use their judgment as to when the need to leave is genuine.

Please be reassured, if your child arrives to their lesson on time and behaves appropriately around our school site, they will not receive a detention. This system simply ensures that your child is educated in a calm and positive environment with minimum disruption, and in which they will thrive.

At the start of the school day please make sure that your child arrives to school on time. To be clear, a student arriving to school after the bell rings at 8:35 will be marked late for school and will receive a detention. If you foresee genuine issues, please communicate with your child’s Head of Year.

Yours sincerely,

Mr P Davies
Headteacher

How Yondr Works

Frequently Asked Questions

We want our students to be engaged in their learning. A child at high school should not really have a reason to contact a parent during the day; however, if there is a genuine reason e.g. they have forgotten their packed lunch, a phone call can be made home from the school office. If a parent needs to contact their child in an emergency, they should contact the school office. If you need to contact your child during the school day, contact the main office on 01942 883796.

In case of a school emergency, we direct our students to safety first, following our school emergency procedures.

 

Students are in possession of their phone - in their Yondr pouch - for the entire school day. We will advise students to store the pouch safely in their school bag or blazer pockets.

If a student damages their Pouch or is caught on their phone, we will confiscate the phone and issue a sanction which is likely to be a suspension.

Note: Damage consists of any signs that the physical integrity of the pouch has been compromised, whether intentional or unintentional, as determined by the school or Yondr staff.

Damaged pouches will be charged to parents at a cost of £20.

They will be searched and wanded with a handheld scanner by a member of SLT. If they are found to have their phone on their person they will be expected to place it in their pouch. Refusal will be met with suspension.

If a student forgets their Pouch, their phone will be confiscated.

As per our previous mobile phone policy;

  • Confiscated phones will be taken to reception where the phone will be secured in the school safe.
  • Parents will be alerted to the phone confiscation via the school office.

Parents will have the option to collect the phone at the end of the day. If parents do not collect the phone, the phone will remain in school until the end of the week or until the student has their pouch.

In Yondr’s experience, this almost never happens. All students funnel past the unlocking stations at the exits, they want their phones back and don’t forget to unlock their pouches. If they do arrive home with a phone in a pouch, they can either come back to school to unlock it, or have a phone free evening!

The unlocking process is quick and takes under a second per student. 

As a privilege, Year 11 will be able to unlock their phones as they go off site at lunchtime; however, they will be expected to put their phones back into their pouches when they return to school for period 5.

Yes. There is an adapted version of the pouch which uses a Velcro fastener instead of a magnetic lock. This means the student still follows the policy, but the adapted pouch gives them easy access to their phone when required. If the student abuses this, they will face a sanction. We are already aware of these students.

Your Office 365 account username is your school network account username followed by @flhs.wigan.sch.uk 
The password is the same password that you use in school to access computers.