WELCOME
WE LOOK FORWARD
TO MEETING YOU
At Smestow academy we are committed to supporting every child to achieve their fullest potential. We aim to provide the best educational experience we can for our pupils by operating the simple mantra of ‘what we would want for our own families, is what we want for every child at Smestow’.
We aim for every child to be the best version of themselves and strive to improve every day by focusing on learning and improving. We have high expectations and support and teach pupils to reach them. We expect pupils to show manners and respect to each other and to their teachers, and we do not tolerate any pupil stealing the learning of others. If pupils do not meet expectations they are sanctioned and are expected to reflect on how they could do things differently next time.
My dedicated staff and I pledge to work together with all our parents to enable all of our pupils to become happy, confident and motivated learners. This will be built upon developing positive relationships and upholding the school’s values. We want pupils to be focussed on shaping their own futures with the ultimate aim of accessing the best university courses, most sought after apprenticeships or entering employment with high quality training.
Success Achieved Together
Our school community is proudly diverse and we do not tolerate bias, prejudice or discrimination of any kind – whether conscious or unconscious – and we instil in our pupils nothing less than the urge to go out into the world and make it a better place.
Uniform Expectations
Dress for Success
House System
When you start at Smestow Academy you will be placed into a ‘House’. This will be like your family at school and your Head of House will monitor all of your successes and any areas you might struggle with.
They will contact home to discuss ways in which we can work together to ensure that you achieve your best.
If you have any worries on a day to day basis, you’ll be able to talk to your Form Tutor who will work with your Head of House to help you resolve them.
Breaktime
At school you will have a 20-minute break in the morning. If you want to buy food, you can purchase and eat refreshments in the dining hall. You can also bring snacks with you to eat at breaktime if you want to. During this time, you can sit in the dining hall or café with your friends, or go outside onto the tennis courts to get some fresh air.
Lunchtime
All of Year 7 have lunch at the same time so you will be able to see your friends, even if you aren’t in the same lessons. You can buy a meal deal which includes a drink for £2.40, or you can bring a packed lunch from home if you prefer. You will need money on your account to purchase items from the dining hall. You can view the school’s menu HERE.
Members of Leadership will be on duty during break and lunch time, so if you have any questions, just ask!
Where to Go?
CLICK HERE for an overview of the school site so you can see where some of our departments are located.
Many new pupils worry that they will get lost at secondary school. However, it is very easy to find your way around, as each department is situated on a corridor.
Every room has a room number on and your Form Tutor will take you on a tour of the school before your timetable begins when you start school.
Our Prefects will be on hand to help too, so don’t be afraid to ask if you are lost!
Our school must be seen as part of a wider community which includes parents, carers, friends and neighbours, upon whose cooperation we depend.
We feel that home-school contact is important if pupils are to obtain the full benefit from their education. If you wish to contact the school on any matter, please phone your child’s Head of House at School, or email: smestow@matrixacademytrust.co.uk
If you wish to see the Headteacher about a most serious matter, please write to the school or email our postbox. Alternatively, you can telephone and make an appointment for a mutually convenient time. Relatively routine matters should always be referred to the Head of House in the first instance. Conversely, if serious problems present themselves at school, the Head of House or a senior member of staff will ask to see you. If this happens, the problem is serious and we ask for your full support in the interests of your child.
School letters are published electronically on our website, along with our School Newsletter to keep you informed about all school matters. We use a text messaging service to share updates with parents and carers. It is pivotal that you ensure the school has your most up to date contact details at all times to enable us to communicate and update you via our messaging service.
Parents and Carers are expected to attend all Progress Evenings which are held for each year group. Details will be sent out in advance and these meetings are seen as a vital part of the communication process between home and school. Other information evenings are also held for parents and carers throughout the year, and details are published separately for these events on our school website.
At your child’s Progress Evening you will have the opportunity to meet your child’s teachers and discuss their progress. However, research has shown that children of parents who attend benefit greatly and we would urge you to support your child in this way. If for any reason you are unable to attend your child’s Progress Evening, please inform your child’s Head of House.
Dates and times for Progress Evenings are published on the school’s website.
Year 7 Settling-In Evening - To be confirmed ASAP
Year 7 Progress Evening - To be confirmed ASAP
All pupils are required to complete homework set by their subject teachers and it is asked that parents and carers ensure that an area at home is identified as suitable for completing homework.
Years 7 & 8: At least 20 mins per subject
Year 9: At least 30 mins per subject
Years 10 & 11: At least 45 mins per subject
A homework timetable is given to each pupil at the start of the school year, as well as a pupil planner where pupils record their homework. Parents and carers are asked to sign their child’s planner each week. Pupil planners are monitored on a regular basis by Form Tutors, Heads of House and Leadership.
Find out if you are eligible for Free School Meals
Please contact your child’s house office, who will contact the Local Authority to find out if you are eligible.
The School Day
Extra-Curricular
Using Your Planner
On your first day you will be issued with a planner.
You will use this to:
- Record a copy of your personal timetable.
- Make of note of homework that is set and when it is due.
- Show your parents/carers what work is being set and pass messages to your Form Tutor.
- Record any detentions that might be set.
Frequently Asked Questions
Pupils must arrive in school each day by 8.25am via the gate on Windmill Crescent. Registration starts at 8.30am.
The school gates close at 8.30am so if you are late, you will enter via ‘late gate’. If you are late, you will receive a lunch-time detention.
Once you are on the school site, you can go the café or dining hall before making your way to registration.
You could arrange to meet a friend but if you don’t know anyone else, don’t worry. There will be lots of staff about who are really keen to meet you. They will welcome you to reassure you and guide you, especially in the first few days as you get to know new faces.
It’s best practice to catch the bus that will get you into school with plenty of time to spare. Don’t risk being late by catching a bus that just gets you in before 8.30am.
If you do miss your bus, don't worry - get the next bus. If you arrive to school after the gates have closed, go straight to late gate or to reception where a member of staff will be able to help you.
It is important to check how much money you have on your account every day, but if you forget, you can go to your House Office, where your Head of House will be able to help you. Remember we are a cashless school so reminding your parents and carers to check your account is vital so that you can make any purchases on site.
Making a checklist of things you'll need each day when you start will help you to be organised. It's useful to check your bag each day before you leave too but some times we forget things. If you leave your packed lunch at home, you should go to your House Office where someone will be able to help you.
If you don't bring your kit, you will be given kit from the PE department to wear. This isn’t optional. Your PE kit should be one of the things on your checklist for the evening before PE lessons.
It's normal to feel worried about making big changes like starting a new school, or meeting new friends - don't worry! Everyone in year 7 is in the same situation. If you do feel nervous, you should talk to your Form Tutor who you will see every day during registration. They will be able to give you some strategies to cope with the nerves that we get when we start something new.
You can also talk to the Prefects who are year 11 pupils. They wear special ties so you can identify who they are. Their ties are plain black with a Smestow Academy badge in the centre. A Prefect will always be willing to listen and help you.
You should make sure that you pay attention when your teacher is setting your homework so that you get all of the details you need recorded in your planner.
Sometimes, even though we try, we don't always understand our homework when we get home. If this happens, you should go and see your teacher as soon as you can but definitely before the work is due to be handed in.
You can also go to homework club which runs each evening. At homework club you will find help and encouragement too. We'll let you know which room homework club will be in when you start in September.
Avoid leaving homework until the last minute. That's often when problems occur.
The best way to avoid this is to pack your bag each evening before school so that you are ready for the day ahead and you don't have any distractions before you leave the house.
If you do forget to bring your homework, you need to go and speak to your teacher before the lesson. Don't wait until it's time to hand it in.
Teachers may set a detention if homework is not handed in on time.
You will have a timetable that you will write into your planner which will include 5 lessons each day. Every day you will need your stationery (see equipment here) and you will need the books and homework for the lessons of the day. Your bag should be packed and checked against your planner each evening.
Don’t bring every book you have every day because that is a lot of books to carry. It’s a good idea to keep a box at home where you store your books so that they don’t get lost when you take them out of your bag.
You will have PE each week. You must remember to wash your kit ready for the next week so that it is clean and fresh. When you are deciding on which school bag to buy ready for September make sure you consider being able to fit your PE kit, your books and even your lunch in at the same time.
You can wear a coat to school but you are not allowed to wear coats inside the school building. You will be asked to remove it as soon as you enter a building. Make sure that all of your possessions are labelled with your name in case you leave it somewhere. If it is labelled, we can ensure it gets returned to you.
When a member of staff raises their hand straight up in the air, this indicates that you need to be silent.
You should raise your hand immediately, stop doing whatever you are doing and be silent.
Leadership will raise their hand at the end of every lunch sitting for an orderly dismissal.
As silly as it sounds, start practising now! You could ask for some help at home or you could watch a ‘how to’ video on Youtube. We will tell you as soon as we can which House you are in so don’t buy a Smestow Academy tie until your House and Form group has been confirmed.
Each lesson lasts from 60 minutes. We don’t have bells here so your teacher will tell you when a lesson is drawing to a close and its time to move to your next lesson. You will be expected to walk into your classrooms sensibly and quietly, take out your equipment (including your planner) and wait to be invited to be seated. All of your teachers will have allocated you a seat when you first begin so you will know where you are to be seated.
Each lesson will be different. You will usually have a different book for each lesson where you will capture all of your learning. Teachers will give you feedback in your books too so it’s essential that you keep them safe and take them to each lesson.
Lessons are chunked into sections by the teacher so that your learning is being built upon over the hour. Some of the ways that we help you to learn and recall knowledge are: quizzing, using knowledge organisers, experiments and practicals, reading, discussing ideas and topics and recording or reporting through writing.
All our pupils are taught the behaviours needed to learn effectively in a calm and purposeful environment through our three learning modes:
· Respectful listening
· Independent silent study
· Polite partnership
We will check your progress through regular assessments and give you feedback on how to improve or develop your ideas.
We use Red, Amber, Green and Purple colour coding, so that you can see how you have achieved against your targets. If you are Red, you have underachieved against your baseline but if you are Amber you are on target. You will be given targets and actions to take to make progress for each assessment that you complete. Your baseline is the minimum level you should be aiming for.
Any lost property is handed in to reception. It’s always worth retracing your steps so that you visit the rooms that you have been in before you realised that your item was not with you. Make sure that you label everything with your name.
If you don’t feel very well, you should go to your House Office who will be able to help you.
You can buy refreshments at break and lunch time from our dining hall and you can eat food that you have purchased or brought with your from home in the dining hall too. Leadership will supervise you during break and lunch. We do not go ‘out to play’ at lunch time as we only have 30 minutes to dine, but we do have games available for you to play with your friends if you want to. Some of our pupils bring books to read after they have finished eating too. At the end of each break and lunch session, you will be dismissed straight back to lessons.
Smestow Academy is a “telling school” and a “listening school” and we encourage you to tell us if something or someone is bothering you. You can tell your Form Tutor who you will see every morning or you can report issues to your Head of House too. Don’t keep things bottled up; share them and we can help to sort problems out.
Yes. We encourage pupils to bring their bikes to school to help them to keep healthy. We have a bike shelter where you can lock up your bike. You must provide your own lock. We expect you to wear a helmet when you are riding your bike and that you use cycle paths when riding to and from school if they are available. You must only push your bike when you are on school site.
We are a ‘Drink to Think’ school and we encourage you to drink water in lessons, but this can only be water. We have water filters around school where you can fill up your bottles. We do not provide plastic cups and you cannot leave lessons to fill up your bottles so remember to refill your bottle at break and lunch. Energy drinks and glass bottles are not allowed on school site. They will be confiscated. No eating is permitted in lessons unless you have a medical condition.
Don’t panic. You can ask any pupil in year 8-13 or a member of staff and they will be able to help you. All sixth form students wear a black lanyard and staff wear a blue lanyard so you will be able to see who they are.
When you first start with us, we know that you will be finding your way around and getting used to where your classrooms are so we do make allowances for some delayed arrivals in the first week, but we will expect pupils to be punctual to all lessons and ready to learn when they arrive when you have found your way around.
The school website shows you a list of equipment, uniform and kit that you will need. It is expected that in every classroom based lesson you get your planner and equipment out on the desk ready to learn at the start of each lesson.
Your timetable will have a staff code and your Form Tutor will tell the names of your teachers. You will then write these into your planner. All of your teachers will introduce themselves to you but if you forget, all you need to do is ask them to remind you of their name. Remember, they will be learning everyone’s names too.
Parental Information
Important Procedures
If a pupil has a special educational need or disability and have received additional support at their Primary school for this need, they will be supported by the SEND Coordinator (SENDCo) and the Learning Support team. The support offered to pupils will be decided in communication with parents, and staff will be provided with a pupil profile which details the best way to support pupils in lessons.
The pupil profile is the child’s voice in the classroom and will be written with the support of parents and the SENDCo. Pupils will be assigned a key worker that will be involved in the process of reviewing the provision for the pupil and they will decide, with the agreement of the SENDCo, whether the pupil needs additional support from specialist staff to develop skills in the classroom by providing additional scaffolding so that pupils can access the topic in lessons. Some pupils will need special provision in addition to lessons to develop literacy and numeracy skills which could mean the pupil attends intense intervention, perhaps during registration.
Pupils could also be invited to a range of programmes that would develop their confidence and social skills to develop their self-esteem. These interventions are by invitation only to ensure the groups are small allowing for us maximise the impact for pupils.
Where special educational needs of a registered disability are identified, every effort is made to make special provision for pupils within the resources available. Please note that Smestow Academy is a multi-level site, with wheelchair access available across the site and lifts situated at two points around the building.
At Smestow Academy we recognise the importance of supporting the mental health and wellbeing of our pupils. Our whole school approach includes an extensive RSHE programme, assemblies, form time activities, pupil voice, a school counsellor and pastoral support as well as working with external agencies. These include CAMHS (Child and Adolescent, Mental Health Service) and the School Nursing Team.
Smestow Academy is a “telling school” and a “listening school” and we encourage all pupils to talk about their experiences, thoughts and feelings. Bullying has no place in our school and it will not be tolerated. There are well-developed procedures for staff and pupils to follow if incidents do occur. The topic of bullying is explored in assemblies and during tutor time so that pupils are reminded they should tell someone if they do not feel happy about a matter. Our pupils know that there is no need to “suffer in silence”. Our Anti Bullying Ambassadors are also available and they are trained to support pupils too. If you believe that your child is being bullied please contact their Head of House immediately.
Pupils take responsibility for their own personal property and should never bring expensive items into school. The school cannot accept responsibility for valuables. Mobile phones, electronic tablets, computer games, electronic mobile devices such as kindles and other expensive items MUST NOT be brought into school.
As pupils must carry books around the school and between the school and home, it would be appreciated if parents/ carers would ensure that a suitable school bag is provided. Books represent a very significant element of the school’s expenditure and it is essential that they are properly looked after.
Pupils are expected to pay for a new book where one is lost or defaced. Each pupil is issued with a planner at the start of the academic year and we expect them to remain in an excellent condition. If a planner is lost, a new planner can be purchased via the House Office. The cost to replace a planner is £5.00.
Parents are asked not to park near the school gates or on the school site as this makes it dangerous for pupils crossing the roads and accessing the bus bay.
Windmill Crescent gets very busy at the end of the day as there is also a primary school on the same road, so we want to ensure everybody’s safety.
Any pupil riding a bike to school MUST wear a helmet. If a pupil does not bring and wear a helmet they will not be allowed to bring their bike to school.
In order to safeguard pupils, staff and visitors, all external gates will be locked during the school day.
Late gate will be locked at 9am and re-opened for pupils exiting school at 3.00pm. Pupils leaving during the school day, or after 3pm will need to use the main school reception.
The school has qualified first aiders to deal with on site emergencies. Where there is a more serious accident and it is necessary for a pupil to be transported to hospital, parents/carers are contacted as soon as possible.
Where both parents are absent from home, the mother, father or carer is contacted at their place of employment. If a child is unwell, parents/carers will be expected to collect their child.
It is vital that the school has up-to-date information to enable us to contact you in cases of accident or illness. An essential information and medical form is issued to parents, on which you should indicate clearly the telephone numbers by which quick contact can be made, and any other emergency contact details. You must provide the school with at least two emergency contact numbers.
ANY CHANGES TO THIS INFORMATION MUST BE MADE ON AN ESSENTIAL INFORMATION AMENDMENT FORM AND GIVEN TO THE HEAD OF HOUSE AS A MATTER OF URGENCY.
Whilst accidents and serious illnesses that occur in school will be dealt with by school staff, incidents that happen out of school hours or at the weekend should be dealt with by parents.
If your child has a medical condition, please ensure that the school is aware in the first instance by entering it on the essential information form before your child begins at Smestow Academy.
If your child has a condition that requires a Care Plan such as epilepsy, diabetes or asthma for example, or a potentially life threatening severe allergy that requires them to carry an EpiPen, it is vital that you provide Smestow Academy with the care plan and medication prior to them starting in September. This is to ensure the school is fully equipped to support your child when they are in school.
Smestow Academy is a cashless school. We use a web payment provider for the payment of all trips, visits, peripatetic lessons, dinner money for our cashless catering system and any other services the school offers.
Parents and Carers will be provided with login details to get into their child’s parentpay/wisepay accounts. Parents and Carers are requested not to send large sums of money into school with pupils.
SMESTOW ACADEMY IS A NO MOBILE PHONE SITE FOR YEARS 7-11.
If your child’s mobile phone is seen in school, the phone will be confiscated immediately, and placed behind reception. It can be collected at 3pm on the first two occasions of confiscation. Should the phone be confiscated for a third time (and any other subsequent events), you will be contacted so that a time can be arranged for you to collect the phone from reception.
If there is a concern that there is inappropriate content on your child’s phone, you will be invited to meet with a member of Leadership. This meeting will enable us to ensure that the phone is checked, in your company, for any inappropriate content and if it is found, for it to be deleted.
Parents are expected to attend all Progress Evenings which are held virtually for each year group. Details will be sent out in advance and these meetings are seen as a vital part of the communication process between home and school. Other information evenings are also held for parents and details are published separately for these events on our school website.
If a child is absent, parents/carers should contact the school before 8.30am on each day of absence. However, only the school can authorise non-attendance. All pupils should be waiting outside their form rooms by 8.25am each morning for registration. If pupils arrive onto school site after 8.30am they will be issued with a lunchtime detention on the same day.
Any requests for absence from school must be made eight weeks in advance using an absence request form available from reception. Parents/carers are asked not to take holidays during term time and, if taken, the school will not authorise the absence. You will also make yourself liable for a Fixed Penalty Notice, where each parent/carer will have to pay £60 for each child removed from school.
This will need to be paid within 21 days and if it is not paid within this time, the charge will rise to £120 per parent for each child and must be paid within 28 days in order to avoid prosecution by the Local Authority.
You will be given 24 hours notice of the school’s intention to keep your child after school. Please check your child’s planner regularly to see if a detention has been issued. It is the pupil’s responsibility to show their planner to parents/carers if a detention has been issued.
Pupils should expect to stay behind after 3pm for various reasons. In addition to detentions, which are only ever used as a sanction, Year 11 pupils are expected to attend study seminars.
These are never used as a punishment but are intended to help pupils make progress. A study seminar is allocated if pupils have gaps in their learning, either due to absence or because they did not completely understand something beforehand.
Pupils must not bring any illegal substances, knives or any other weapon onto the school site. Drugs, tobacco, cigarettes, e-cigarettes, vapour pens, matches and lighters are not permitted. Any such items found will be confiscated and will be destroyed. The matter will be treated as a serious breach of school rules and parents will be contacted. The Headteacher will recommend permanent exclusion to the Governance Advisory Board for any pupil who brings drugs, knives or weapons onto the school site and the Police will be informed. Please refer to our Behaviour Policy on the school website.
Popular Pages
Contact Info
Smestow Academy
Windmill Crescent
Castlecroft, Wolverhampton
West Midlands
WV3 8HU
T: 01902539500
postbox@smestowacademy.co.uk
Monday - Thursday: 8:00 am - 4:00 pm
Friday: 8:00 am - 3:30 pm
