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  • Apply now to be a parent governor!

    Published 28/03/24

    Dear parent(s)/carer(s),

    Woolwich Polytechnic School for Boys’ Local Academy Committee

    I am writing to inform you of a vacancy for the role of parent academy committee member (ACM) on our local academy committee.

    The role of the Local Academy Committee

    A Local Academy Committee replaces the previous accountable body – the Local Governing Board – and is designed to allow Academy Committee Members to focus on the key priorities for each school, specifically, Progress, Learning and Achievement, Safeguarding, Well-Being, Leadership and Pupil Related Matters, providing oversight and challenge for school leaders across these areas.  The committee is passionate about education and committed to continuous school improvement to ensure the best possible outcomes for our pupils.

    The role of a parent ACM

    As a parent ACM, you’ll work with the board to make sure it effectively carries out the duties referred to above. You’ll also play a vital role in bringing a parental perspective to the committee, but you’re not there to speak ‘on behalf’ of the parent body.

    To be a parent ACM you should have:

    • A strong commitment to the role and to improving outcomes for children
    • Good interpersonal skills, curiosity, and a willingness to learn and develop new skills
    • The specific skills required to make sure the committee delivers effective governance

    The committee is keen for candidates to have skills in the following:

    • Knowledge of/ can identify with the communities served by the school;
    • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion;
    • Analyzing Data/ KPIs.

    Expectations of governors

    • The term of office for an ACM is 4 years, and ACMs are expected to commit to completing their full term, unless there are extenuating circumstances why they need to step down earlier;
    • ACMs are required to attend 6 meetings per year, either online or in-person;
    • ACMs are also required to attend 3 Deep Dive Forums per year, and the annual conference. These are all in-person;
    • ACMs are required to undertake a monitoring visit to the school at least 3 times per year;
    • ACMs may be required to become Link ACMs for a specific area, including visiting the school and writing a report.  Full support will be given;
    • ACMs must maintain confidentiality at all times with regard to matters discussed at meetings;
    • The Trust expects that members will undertake appropriate induction training and regular additional training, for which we provide access to both the National Governors Association and The Key.

    How to apply

    If you’re interested in applying for the role, please complete the candidate form attached Parent ACM Application Form and return to the Governance Professional (governanceprofessional@polymat.co.uk) by Sunday 28th April 2024. If we receive more applications than there are vacancies, a secret ballot will be carried out. We will inform you closer to the time if we have to do this.

    If you have any queries about this process or would like to find out more about the role, please contact the Governance Professional on the email address shown above.

    Yours sincerely,

    Mr M Guest

    Director of Innovation & Systems

    PolyMAT

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  • Studybugs - The new way to report student absence!

    Published 21/06/23

    Dear parent/carers, 

    We are pleased to announce that Woolwich Polytechnic Boys is introducing a new, more efficient and secure system for reporting your child’s absence due to illness, called Studybugs.

    If you haven’t already, please get the free Studybugs app, or register on the Studybugs website, and use it to tell us whenever your child’s ill and unable to attend school.

    Get the app or register now:  https://studybugs.com/about/parents

    Top 3 reasons to use Studybugs
    1. It’s integrated with our systems, so we know right away if your child is unaccounted for.
    2. It’s quick and easy to register and use and automatically reminds you to keep us posted.
    3. You’ll be helping the NHS and other public health organisations improve children’s health. https://studybugs.com/about/schools

    Read More
  • FREE events & activities in Greenwich during May half term 2024

    Published 17/05/24

    Please find below a list of useful links for free events and activities available locally during the upcoming May half-term:

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  • Introducing Professor Higgins, our esteemed Dog Mentor

    Published 17/05/24

    Introducing Professor Higgins, our esteemed Dog Mentor at Woolwich Polytechnic School for Girls and Woolwich Polytechnic School for Boys

    Professor Higgins is our friendly school dog. He became part of the Poly family as our Dog Mentor in 2022 at the tender age of 6 months old.

    In order to gain this title, like any student, he had to sit an exam to ensure he had the right temperament for school life, which included testing his skills such as patience, positivity and teamwork.

    Higgins specialises in working with students to reduce anxiety, to encourage social skills as well as helping students who are at the early stages of grasping the English Language. He is also very good at helping students understand the body language of dogs. This is useful when working with students to overcome their fear of dogs as this allows them to feel confident when out in public, including our Royal Borough’s green spaces.

    Higgins has a variety of hobbies, beyond the school gates, ranging from swimming (in any body of water, particularly in muddy streams) and even modelling!

    Professor Higgins works on a voluntary basis. Like any member of staff, our Professor has his own timetable. This means he avoids the corridors at change of lessons as well as the playground at break and lunchtime.

    The safeguarding and wellbeing of our students and staff come first in our Poly family - this includes the wellbeing of Professor Higgins. For this reason, our school community follow these guidelines:
    • Keeping our voices soft and calm (to stop him worrying that we are upset)
    • Asking before stroking him (he might be on his way to a lesson and won’t want to be late!)
    • Picking up any food that we may drop on the floor in the dining hall or playground (some human food can make him ill)

    We believe Professor Higgins is the ‘paw-fect’ Dog Mentor 🐕 💙

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  • Mental Health Awareness Week 13th-19th May 2024

    Published 10/05/24

    At Woolwich Polytechnic School for Boys, we are preparing for Mental Health Awareness Week.

    The upcoming MHW 2024 takes place from May 13th to 19th and will focus on the theme "Movement: Moving more for our mental health."

    To show our support, we have created green ribbon badges that students and staff can buy from our prefects at 20p each. All proceeds will be donated to the Mental Health Foundation. There is a limited supply available, so make sure to bring your cash early if you're interested!

    Read More
  • Say hello to Leah, our school terrapin!

    Published 08/05/24

    Say hello to Leah, our school terrapin!

    Leah is a yellow-bellied slider, or Trachemys scripta scripta, a species of turtle that thrives both on land and in water. Originally from the southeastern United States, specifically from Florida to southeastern Virginia, this species is now considered invasive, which means that Leah cannot be rehomed.

    Donated to Woolwich Polytechnic School for Boys by a former student many years ago, Leah is estimated to be around 25 years old. In the wild, yellow-bellied sliders can live over 30 years, while in captivity, their lifespan can exceed 40 years.

    As omnivores, yellow-bellied sliders enjoy a diet of pond plants, vegetables, insects, and fish, although Leah’s favourite food is king prawns. As they grow older, 95% of their food intake comes from plants.

    Leah resides peacefully in the school pond, located in a courtyard at the heart of the science classrooms, where she is lovingly cared for by our dedicated science technicians.

    Leah will forever be a Woolwich Poly terrapin!

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  • PolyMAT - The first Trust in London to be awarded Investors in Diversity Silver Award!

    Published 08/05/24

    PolyMAT - The first Trust in London to be awarded Investors in Diversity Silver Award!

    We are delighted to announce that PolyMAT has achieved the Investors in Diversity Award from the National Centre for Diversity. We look forward to building on this success in the future.

    As the first Trust in London to be awarded Investors in Diversity Silver, this achievement recognises the value PolyMAT place on creating a truly inclusive culture where everyone feels celebrated and valued.

    The Investors in Diversity Award for Schools is a framework designed to help schools to review their current FREDIE (Fairness, Respect, Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement) practices, in line with the latest Ofsted legislation. Diversity and inclusion is extremely important to our growth and development, and we will continue to promote this throughout our business.

    PolyMAT’s final report demonstrated the value that students and staff placed in PolyMAT’s supportive environment: Staff members noted that leaders maintain open-door policies, ensuring accessibility for addressing any concerns or seeking guidance. They expressed feeling supported, knowing their voices would be heard, enabling them to provide feedback, suggestions, and seek assistance when necessary. Staff also described how positive leadership and management behaviours were encouraging them to emulate them.

     

    CEO of Polymat, Mr Tim Plumb comments,

    “I take pride in our commitment to diversity and inclusion, as demonstrated by our recent achievement of the Investors in Diversity Silver award. Our dedication to celebrating diversity and fostering inclusivity within the trust is unwavering and we have worked exceptionally hard over the past few years to advance and promote EDI which has included a number of significant and vital changes to our operations.

    Every member of staff within our trust has contributed to our journey by making our schools such warm, welcoming, and inclusive places to work and for our students to thrive and study. Our employees are our top priority and creating an inclusive work environment with a positive culture is essential to our people-focused strategy. A huge congratulations to everyone in our trust for all their hard work in helping us achieve this award. We are delighted to receive the Silver Award, and this will play a crucial role in shaping our long-term EDI plan, supporting us on this ongoing journey.”


    National Centre for Diversity

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  • Conclusion: Changing the timings of the school day

    Published 03/05/24

    Click to download the Conclusion: Changing the timings of the school day letter pdf

    3rd May 2024

    Dear Parents/Carers,

    I am writing to you to inform you of the results of our consulted changes to the school day, coming into effect from September 2nd 2024.

    Feedback on this proposal has been overwhelmingly positive, and I can therefore summarise concluded changes below for years 7 to 11 at Woolwich Polytechnic School for Boys:

    • A 10 minute later start time of 8.40am every day;
    • A 15 minute later finish time of 3.20pm every day except Wednesday;
    • A finish time of 2.40pm on Wednesdays which will include an afternoon registration;
    • We will no longer need to have different finishing times in Week A and Week B, meaning that the finishing times above are consistent each week;
    • The lengths of periods, break and lunch will not change;
    • Interventions that we run after school will also start and finish 10 minutes later, normally from 3.20-3.50pm Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

    For years 12 and 13, the same start time will apply but these students will not have afternoon registration, meaning that they will finish school at 3.05pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and at 2.30pm on Wednesdays at the latest.

    The new school day timings will therefore be as follows:

    Monday/ Tuesday/ Thursday/ Friday

     

    Start

    Finish

    AM registration

    8:40am

    9:05am

    P1

    9:05am

    9:55am

    P2

    9:55am

    10:45am

    Break

    10:45am

    11:05am

    P3

    11:05am

    11:55am

    P4

    11:55am

    12:45pm

    Lunch

    12:45pm

    1:25pm

    P5

    1:25pm

    2:15pm

    P6

    2:15pm

    3:05pm

    PM registration

    Year 7-11 only

    3:05pm

    3:20pm

     

    Wednesday

     

    Start

    Finish

    Personal Development

    8:40am

    9:20am

    P1

    9:20am

    10:10am

    P2

    10:10am

    11:00am

    Break

    11:00am

    11:20am

    P3

    11.20am

    12:10pm

    P4

    12:10pm

    1:00pm

    Lunch

    1:00pm

    1:40pm

    P5

    1:40pm

    2:30pm

    PM registration

    Year 7-11 only

    2:30pm

    2:40pm

    Woolwich Polytechnic School for Girls, our sister school right next door, will start at 8.15am and finish by 3.00pm, creating a 25-minute gap between both schools’ start times and a 30-minute gap between finishing times from September 2024 onwards.

    I want to thank you for your engagement in our consultation process and hope that you agree that these new times will greatly benefit the smooth access and exit from our two schools.

     

    Yours faithfully,

    Mr. T. Lawrence

    Headteacher

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  • Ofsted Report 2024

    Published 02/05/24

    We are delighted that the report from the March 2024 Ofsted inspection has been finalised, enabling us to post this today. 

    We are pleased that Ofsted has recognised significant strengths in our curriculum offer, including personal development, enrichment, career guidance and teaching. 

    We also take pride that they have celebrated the accomplishments we have made in improving behaviour in classrooms.

    We have yet more work to do, but this report provides us with a very stable launchpad to future improvement and even greater success.

    I would like to thank our staff, students and you, as parents and carers, for your support and contributions that have helped us secure this achievement.

    Mr T Lawrence

    Headteacher

    Click to download Woolwich Polytechnic School for Boys Ofsted Report 2024

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  • Important information for current Parents/Carers - Hayfever season

    Published 26/04/24

    As it is hayfever season students are now likely to display symptoms of hayfever which include swollen red eyes, a runny nose, sneezing etc.

    Please can all students who are known to suffer from hayfever be given antihistamine (cetirizine hydrochloride) each morning before they arrive at school. 

    If you have not already done so, please ensure that you use the MCAS (My Child At School) app to provide parental consent for over-the-counter medications such as antihistamines, paracetamol, ibuprofen and strepsils.

    Click here to view the NHS page for Hayfever

    Click here to view our Medical & First Aid webpage which is updated regularly

     

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  • London Youth Homeless Prevention Service

    Published 25/04/24

    Last week at Woolwich Polytechnic School for Boys we welcomed staff from the charity Depaul to speak to our Year 10 and 12 students.

    The Depaul charity work with local communities across the country to prevent and relieve the impact of homelessness on people’s lives. They prioritise young people, who are among the most vulnerable in society, and especially those who have previously had traumatic experiences.

    The Depaul Group was founded in 1989 in response to the growing number of homeless London youth sleeping rough on the streets. Today, Depaul International charities work around the world, going where the need is greatest.

    Click to download LONDON YOUTH HOMELESS PREVENTION SERVICES Providing tailored support to 11-25 year olds to help prevent homelessness in London

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  • Message for current Parents/Carers - Wednesday 24th April 2024

    Published 24/04/24

    Dear parents/carers,

    This morning, Wednesday 24 April, we conducted searches of all students on entry to the school.

    The school police sergeant and his team helped us conduct these searches, working alongside our staff.

    This police-school collaboration is increasingly common amongst Greenwich secondary schools and is devised to maintain a safe community both within the site and also beyond in the local area.

    Sergeant Geoff Warren said, “We have worked together with other Greenwich schools on operations similar to this. Today’s event was devised to keep children safe in school. I was so impressed with the staff professionalism and the patient cooperation and good manners of the students.”

    I have been delighted with the students’ cooperation and the staff’s and police’s sensitive efficiency to ensure that this has also not impacted upon the learning of the school day.

    I thank you for your understanding, and we will continue to search randomly and more systematically in the future as well.

    Mr Lawrence

    Headteacher

    Read More

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