Welcome
A very warm welcome to Lliswerry High School. Our motto is ‘Efforts to High Things’, ‘Ardua ad Alta’. At our school, we have high expectations of all our learners and we are committed to supporting each one of them as individuals to achieve their personal best.
Important Links
LATEST NEWS
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School Photos
Good afternoon,
School photos for years 7, 9 & 12 are now available to view and order online at: www.clickfoto.co.uk
Your child will have been handed a unique and individual access code on Photo Day. Families may order with FREE delivery to school before the deadline as shown online.
At any time orders may be placed for delivery direct to home by post.
If you or the parents have any questions or need help please contact admin@lliswerryhigh.org
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Parent Governor Nomination
Dear Parents,
The Headteacher of Lliswerry High School has been asked to arrange an election for 3 Parent Governors.
The Role of Governors has become increasingly important. They must ensure that the requirements of the national curriculum are met, establish standards of behaviour, select staff, deal with budget matters and prepare and present the Annual Report to Parents. Governing Bodies are required to meet at least once a term after school. The frequency and time of meetings is decided by the Governing Body. This is a vital role, but also one that requires a time commitment for meetings, training etc.
Governors are elected for a four-year term of office, but Parents may continue to serve even if their child leaves the school during that time. Training is continually available for all Governors, at no cost to the individual. All Governors, new and experienced, are expected to take advantage of any courses arranged as it is vital to keep up to date with new ideas and legislation.
A nomination form is attached to enable you to put your name forward for election.
Each nominee is invited to make a brief statement in support of their nomination which will be circulated to Parents in the event of an election. Please ensure any statement is clearly written to avoid problems when being reproduced.
All nominees must be a Parent, or Legal Guardian, of a Pupil registered at the School. Grandparents of Pupils are not allowed to take part in the election unless they are the Legal Guardians of the Child. No person may serve on more than two Governing Bodies in any category.
A person is not permitted to stand as Parent Governor if the following apply:
(a) an elected member of the local education authority;
(b) employed by the local education authority in connection with its functions as a local education authority; or
(c) paid to work at the school for more than 500 hours in any twelve-month period commencing on 1 August and finishing on 31 July.The nomination form should be returned to Lliswerry High School by Friday 29th September 2023. If nominations exceed the number of vacancies a secret ballot will be held. Details of the election will be sent to you if appropriate.
The name of the elected governor will be displayed at the school.
Yours sincerely,
Mr M Sadler
Chair of Governors -
Headteacher Update
Dear Parent/Carer,
I am writing to inform you that after just over six years as Headteacher of Lliswerry High School I will be standing down from my position at the end of this term. The Local Authority and school staff are already aware of my intentions and I will be informing learners in assembly next week. Therefore, it is appropriate that I should also inform you at this point. The recruitment process for my successor is about to get underway and the intention is that the successful candidate will take up their role at the beginning of January 2024. This will also be the end of my current role as Executive Headteacher of both Lliswerry and Llanwern High Schools.
I know that whoever is appointed will be very fortunate, as throughout the achievements and the challenges of the past six and a bit years I have had the honour of working with fantastic staff, supportive Governors and wonderful learners. I am also grateful to parents and carers who have given so much support throughout this time.
During the recruitment process and remainder of this term we will ensure that we do not allow the Headteacher recruitment process to be a distraction and we will continue to strive for improvement in all areas. I will update you on the outcome of the recruitment process in due course.
Best wishes,
N Davies
Headteacher
Lliswerry High School -
Vaccinations for Young People – Public Health Wales
Vaccination is one of the most important things we can do to protect children and young people against ill health. The Welsh Government and Public Health Wales have developed the following guide to vaccinations for young people. The guide explains when and how vaccinations are offered to young people in school years 7 to 11 (ages 11 to 16) and why they are so important.
Parents and carers are asked to read the guide. In addition, when each vaccination is due you will receive information from the school about the vaccination being offered along with a consent form. Please also read this information and return the consent form as soon as possible, so that your child receives the best protection they can have against these serious diseases.
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Stranger Danger
As we start the new school year, we’d like to remind our learners about safety to and from school.
Whilst not every stranger is a threat of course, please speak with your child once again about the potential dangers a stranger could pose and about their safety to and from school.
Advise them not to walk on their own wherever possible and especially if it is dark. If your child feels threatened in any way whilst making their way to or from school (or outside of those times of course), they should call 999 and inform the police immediately.
The Schoolbeat.cymru website has advice on advising your child about ‘stranger danger’ (and many other topics also) https://schoolbeat.cymru/en/parents/know-what-could-affect-your-child/personal-safety/what-you-need-to-know/stranger-danger/
Mrs J Bartley
Acting Senior Assistant Headteacher -
School Update
Dear Parent/Carer,
I hope you had an enjoyable summer and I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome you back to a new autumn school term. I’d also like to update you on a few things as we start back:
RAAC
You may be aware from the media that concerns have been raised about the safety of ‘reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete’ (RAAC), that has been used in the construction industry in the past. Based on current information, Newport City Council does not believe this issue affects its estate and that includes Lliswerry High School of course. Work has been undertaken in many schools across the city in recent years and RAAC has not been detected. However, the local authority will be fully cooperating with the Welsh Government’s decision to survey all schools and colleges. The local authority want to reassure parents, staff and service users that there are no immediate concerns, but if the further surveys do raise any potential issues, action will be taken as a priority.
Uniform
We are aware that there is a need to review our school uniform policy and the Governing Body will commence this process this term. This review will also consider our uniform expectations in warmer weather. We will consult with learners, parents and carers regarding any potential changes and should there be any changes they will be implemented with plenty of notice and as sensitively as possible in respect of cost. We will update you in due course regarding our school uniform review as we move forward. In the meantime, please remember that our pre-loved uniform shop will be available for you to access should you wish to do so. To access our pre-loved uniform shop, please make contact with our Family Engagement Officer (Mrs Natalie Davies) via email at DaviesN857@Newportschools.wales, who will be able to support you further.
Parent/Carer Communication and Conduct
Firstly, I would like to emphasise that most of our parents/carers are fantastic in their support for the school and in the reasonable and polite way that they raise any concerns they may have. However, last year saw an increase in the incidents of verbal and physical aggression/abuse towards school staff by a small number of parents/carers. This has already happened once again this week on two separate occasions. This is incredibly saddening and something I’m sure you would agree is absolutely unacceptable. It is now standard protocol for us to report any incidents of aggression (verbal or physical) towards staff to the police. Further school action could also be taken such as restrictions on contacting school staff or ultimately being banned from school site altogether. Ultimately, these things are a last resort and we will do all we can to avoid having to take these actions. An ‘acceptable conduct’ policy for parent/carer interaction with school staff will be reviewed by our Governing Body next week and shared on our website following this. We value our communication with parents and carers and want to keep a two-way dialogue in place. However, as in places such as the NHS or in any other workplace, I’m sure you would agree that our staff should not be expected to tolerate abuse or to feel threatened or intimidated. Thank you for your understanding and support with this.
Attendance and Punctuality
Improving our whole school attendance and punctuality is a priority for us this year and we would like to thank you in advance for your support with this. Whilst we understand that sometimes learners will not be well enough to attend school, the attendance image below tells its own story in terms of the impact of absence upon learner progress.
High levels of attendance to school also gets learners into good ‘habits’ for when they enter the world of work. School starts at 8.30am and learners should be in their tutor rooms for that time. If you have any concerns or would like some support in relation to your child’s attendance or punctuality, please don’t hesitate to contact their Head of Year.
Parent/Carer – Senior Leader Meetings
Last term we started our meetings between parents/carers and senior school leaders. These meetings were very constructive and helped greatly in developing a two-way understanding of the positives and any areas of concern for parents. It was also a great opportunity for ideas to be shared on future improvements in school. We are committed to continuing these meetings this year once again. Talking of positives……
Positives
I would like to finish by emphasising that it has already been a very positive start to the new term. Year 7 learners are settling in well and whilst having only been in school for two and a half days have already amassed a fantastic 4,275 positive behaviour points! Across the school our other year groups have contributed to a total of over 11,000 positive behaviour points in the overall total achieved by our learners so far. This is incredible considering Years 8 – 11 only returned to school yesterday. Please do discuss this with your child as (if they are like my own children) they may not tell you about the ‘positives’ they’ve been awarded this week so far! Please remember that you can also check your child’s ClassCharts entries, where their behaviour points are recorded. If you would like further information or support in doing this, please don’t hesitate to contact us via email at admin@lliswerryhigh.org
Best wishes,
N Davies
Executive Headteacher