To encourage and develop relationships between home, parish, school and the wider community in order to prepare our pupils to become responsible, caring citizens.

Communications and Relationships

To develop an effective system of communications and relationships which is based on the Gospel values of mutual respect, tolerance, care and understanding towards all members of the school community. Individual Support and Development

To celebrate the unique nature of each person and to encourage their development as individuals. Curriculum

To introduce all pupils to a broad, balanced, relevant and differentiated curriculum and to equip pupils with the necessary knowledge, skills and Christian values required in a rapidly changing society. To provide a curriculum for our pupils which develops them academically, spiritually, morally, culturally and physically.

Our AimsIn accordance with our Mission Statement the School’s aims are:

Faith and Worship

To help us to grow spiritually as followers of Christ and as members of a Catholic community: to make prayer, worship and liturgy central to school life.

School and Community

To ensure that all pupils receive their entitlement to a first class education our school recognises that additional provision of support and guidance may be required to further enable some pupils who have particular needs. Our Special Educational Needs Policy is designed to precisely identify and match specific individual needs to appropriate help and support.

The school operates a staged approach to special educational needs in accordance with the Code of Practice document on the identification and assessment of Special Educational Needs as outlined by the Department of Education.

St Ambrose Barlow School fully endorses and adheres to the Government’s Inclusion Development Programme which focuses on supporting, training and empowering staff to identify pupils’ specific needs and support those pupils in the most effective ways in the classroom.

Whilst each pupil is at St Ambrose Barlow School, their progress is carefully monitored through our detailed assessment and reporting procedure and use of tests which can identify special abilities or difficulties.

At St Ambrose Barlow School we have a Learning Support Centre in addition to our Special Educational Needs Department, this is to support pupils on a short term basis who may have particular difficulties which prevent them from accessing the curriculum effectively at certain times throughout their school career. We also offer some alternative qualifications in key stage 4 to pupils who may have difficulties with traditional optional subjects.

If a pupil is identified as requiring additional support, an assessment is made in consultation with parents and all those concerned with that particular pupil’s education. An individual education plan is then devised where targets are set and a review date arranged to ensure that progress is being made. We regard the parental partnership as vital in ensuring that pupils are successful in achieving their targets.

In most circumstances our procedures and support occur in the classroom under the direction of the classroom teacher.

We feel that our experience of tactfully and sensitively responding to a wide range of different pupils’ additional educational requirements has contributed to the educational achievement at St Ambrose Barlow School.

Special Educational Needs Statement

St. Ambrose Barlow RC High School

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

JANUARY 15TH 2016 Issue 7

A National Teaching SchoolA National School of Creativity

ST AMBROSE BARLOW RC HIGH SCHOOL

open eveningdepartmental information

IMPORTANT DATES & FORTHCOMING EVENTS

Year 11 GCSE Drama Practical (this week) January 18th Year 11 Meningitis Immunisations January 20th Year 9 Parents’ Evening January 20th 6th Form Parents’ Evening January 20th English GCSE resit results January 20th Year 11 reports published January 22nd Year 11 GCSE Drama Written (this week) January 25th

HT Surgery January 25th PSHE Super Day January 11th Burns Supper January 29th 7 pm Year 11 Parents’ Evening February 4th Year 8 Reviews February 8th - 10th Ash Wednesday February 10th

YEAR 9 PARENTS’ EVENING We are pleased to announce that the evening sees the launch of our 6th form cafe partnership with Grindsmith Coffee who will be serving beverages throughout the evening.

Celebrating 60 Years of Outstanding Learning

60

I love coming to work here each day.

Often it doesn’t feel like work. We are a Catholic community of faith where it is a privilege to see our young people flourishing, to speak with them, to learn their ways and watch them grow in confidence. They are an inspiration. Every day, every lesson great adventures and stories unfold born out of curiosity, imagination and creativity. Our equally inspiring staff are dedicated to nurturing every young person in their care. They may get outstanding results, but their commitment brings so much more to the education of our students. We believe in doing things differently so that every child can realise their gifts and talents and celebrate who they are. Doing this means that we are bringing to life the Catholic mission and ethos of the school.

There is great spirit and energy in this school. You can see it in the range of extra-curricular activities, in the array of research projects undertaken by staff and in the creativity that flows through our learning. There is also support and care: no-one is left behind, no-one is left out. Visitors often comment on the quiet sense of purpose they find in the school; this comes from outstanding relationships, particularly those between teachers and pupils.

We thrive on connections: with parents and carers, with parishes, with businesses. We love to look out and have give our pupils a global perspective on learning. By doing this our students can see a higher purpose in their learning. It isn’t just about passing exams, getting a job or going to university. It is about pursuing passions, developing new skills and building character so that life after school can be rich and fulfilling lived in the service of others. Our pupils go out into the world with the capacity to contribute, to lead and to play their part in the community with joy and hope. The greatest measure of our success is seeing students who have the capacity to take charge of their future (at a time when the world is changing faster than ever), to be curious, make change and be comfortable in their own skin. As a parent myself I hope for the same for my own children.

If you like the sound of this, please come and see us. Everyone is welcome here. I look forward to meeting you and saying, ‘This is Ambrose...’

Ben Davis

Headteacher

Celebrating 60 Years of Outstanding Learning

1955 - 2015

Form time is the ideal point in the school day for all students to focus on developing their literacy skills. By doing this we are reminded that literacy does not belong only to the English department, but is the responsibility of all staff and students. to support this Mrs Chalk in the English department has devised a series of literacy challenges for students that will run each week in form time. This week we have focused on homophones: words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings such as: stationery and stationary and wear, where, we're and were. Students have also looked at the difference between affect and effect. Each week the challenges will result in students producing posters or similar products.

Whole School Literacy in form time

Prior to Christmas we launched our BBC School Report group led by Miss Haselden and Mr Lewis. The lucky budding journalists had a day of filming and reporting in Manchester city centre this week based at the RISE enterprise hub on Deansgate. They ventured out to interview members of the public about everything from the junior doctors’ strike to the recent flooding and found out a great deal about the realities of life as a jobbing reporter. The project received a further boost when professional journalist and explorer Georgina Kiedrowski offered to lend her services. She will be joining our team in school this Wednesday. BBC SCHOOL REPORT

Many of our talented staff are this year undertaking research projects as part of their professional development. As teachers it is vital that we remain learners so these projects keep us curious and engaged in our own development. Miss Wright is leading a research project on debate, freedom of speech, citizenship and British values. This work involves the student council and this week saw them collaborate with two other schools: Abraham Moss High and Failinge High. Students worked together at the Hopwood Theatre in Middleton to explore some of the big ideas in the project that they will investigate later in the year in more detail at subsequent gatherings.

speaking for ourselves

TOOTOOT: IMPROVING COMMUNICATION & TACKLING BULLYING I am pleased to announce that we have now launched a new online system for reporting incidents of bullying or any other concerns that our young people may have. It is called Tootoot and can be found via the link on our website (on the top bar of the home page) or accessed by following this link: http://www.tootoot.co.uk

The site is completed secure and allows students to report bullying, harassment, racism, mental health concerns, abuse or any other issue directly to the school at any time of day or night. The information is then picked up immediately by the appropriate member of staff and dealt with swiftly. Our students are already excellent at speaking to staff about these issues, especially when they have concerns or anxieties, so Tootoot does not replace face-to-face communication. It is simply an extra way of telling us when students have concerns.

Every student has been given a Username and Password. These can be changed if necessary- any issues with the administration of Tootoot are dealt with by the school. You might find it useful to view the following online films which tell you more about Tootoot. You can also download a free Tootoot app to your phone or to your child's phone.

https://tootoot.co.uk/how-it-works https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTOFOb9-CZM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FuB4q_biyI

As with any online platform we ask parents and guardians to monitor children's usage and to ensure that Tootoot is used responsibly to report genuine incidents and concerns.

The start of the new year may well be a good time for parents and guardians to review the way their children are using the internet. We have become aware of a number of apps that are being used to hide photos and texts from on phones, often behind a calculator. Sometimes these photos and texts are being used inappropriately to embarrass or bully others. All students, particularly younger ones, would benefit from being spoken to by parents and guardians about safe and responsible internet use, security settings on social media profiles and the risks of sharing photos and personal information online. We can help with this - just get in touch.

Ben Davis, Headteacher

OUR SCHOOL THIS WEEK STUDENTS FROM OUR STUDENT COUNCIL WORKING ON THE SPEAKING FOR OURSELVES COLLABORATIVE PROJECT WITH ABRAHAM MOSS AND FAILINGE SCHOOLS AT THE HOPWOOD THEATRE

OUR SCHOOL THIS WEEK THIS IS WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE. OUR NETBALL TEAMS WHO BEAT ST. PATRICK’S IN THREE MATCHES.

OUR SCHOOL THIS WEEK STUDENTS FROM YEAR 7 AT THE 100 WORD CHALLENGE BUZZING WITH IDEAS AND ENERGY ABOUT CREATIVE WRITING.

OUR SCHOOL THIS WEEK OUR FABULOUS BBC SCHOOL REPORTERS OUT AND ABOUT IN THE CITY GATHERING NEWS AND (BELOW) AT RISE ENJOYING THE FACILITIES.

YEAR 10/11 EXAMS 2016

Monday 22.02.16 to Friday 26.02.16

all other subject areas NOT MENTIONED HERE will run their year 10 exams in the classroom during normal lesson time.

YEAR 10/11 EXAMS 2016Monday 22.02.16 to Friday 26.02.16

STUDENT TIMETABLEDAY DATE 9.00AM START Duration 10.45 START

P3,4&part5E Duration 2.00PM START Duration

MON 22.02.16 YR11 Add ScienceYR11 Triple Bly6th Form Maths P1

1h 30m1h 30m1h 45m

10.45am YR11Maths P1 Non Calc

1h 45m YR11 RE 1h 30m

TUES 23.02.16 YR10 English 1h 45m 5L start:YR10 Maths P1 Non Calc

1h 45m

WED 24.02.16 YR11 English6th Form English

1h 30m1h 30m

5L start:YR10 Maths P2 CalcYR11 Triple Chy6th Form Maths P2

1h 45m1h 30m1h 45m

THUR 25.02.16 YR11Maths P2 Calc

1h 45m 5L start:YR10 Science

1h 30m

FRI 26.02.16 YR11 RE 1h 10m 10.45am YR11 Triple Phy

1h 30m

Dear all: It has been agreed by Ben, that all other subject areas will run their year 10 exams in the classroom during normal lesson time.

A schedule will be produced for this, which will show the timeline in which to complete them.

PLEASE NOTICE THAT THE DATES HAVE CHANGED FROM THOSE PUBLISHED IN THE CALENDAR: THEREFORE, W/C 04.04.16 AND 11.04.16 WILL BECOME NORMAL TEACHING WEEKS.

Do you want to feel really prepared for your English exams?

Improve your:TimingSPaG AnalysisReading(all of these skills can BOOST your grades in EVERY subject too!)

Mrs O’Connor – 2E1 – 8am - Mondays and Wednesdays