New Student Admissions - Southam College

Please complete the below form in preparation for your Year 6 child to start at Southam College in September.

Please ONLY complete after accepting an offer from Warwickshire County Council Admissions.

All information provided will be treated in confidence and in accordance with the GDPR. It will only be used to manage and process your application. It may be shared with other departments in the school for the purpose of your application, however, it will not be used or shared for any other purpose.

Admission Information Pack

Please ensure you read all of the below information prior to completing the admissions form.

Attendance Agreement

We are committed to all our students having the best possible education and positive experiences during their time with us – making positive connections with their tutor, peers, subjects, through memorable experiences in school, trips, and extra-curricular opportunities. To achieve this, we expect that all students achieve at least 96% attendance every academic year.

There are a variety of reasons for students missing school. Some reasons are unavoidable, but we would ask that you support us in ensuring that your child’s attendance meets both the school and government expectations.

The Headteacher can only authorise requests for a leave of absence in exceptional circumstances. Leave is unlikely to be granted for the purposes of a family holiday. While we appreciate the financial pressures many families are subject to, we are not legally allowed to authorise a leave of absence for financial reasons (e.g., a more affordable family holiday). If the Headteacher grants a leave of absence, it will be for the Headteacher to determine the length of time a child can be away from school. Leave of absences which are unauthorised should not be taken. If they are, parents are committing an offence and, in some cases, may be subject to a Fixed Penalty Notice or prosecution.

Ideally medical appointments should be made outside of school times. However, if this is not possible, we request that appointments are made after 10am and your child comes to school before and/or after the appointment or appointments are made for after 2pm. This ensures that students get their AM and/or PM registration mark and the impact on their attendance is minimised.

If your child is unable to attend school, please report the absence on the first day of absence, via ClassCharts, you will also be able to email, text or call. Please leave a message if you are unable to speak to someone directly and continue to report each day of absence in the same way.

Any problems with regular attendance, especially concerns about possible bullying or difficulties with accessing learning, are best managed by all of us working closely together and we would ask you to contact your child’s tutor or Head of Year at the earliest opportunity to share any concerns.

We will closely monitor your child’s attendance and alert you if we feel there is an issue. Where there may be an issue and we fail to see an improvement, it may be necessary to make a referral to an appropriate external agency or Local Authority to ensure students receive the support required to bring about improvement. An attendance figure of 90% or below is classed as persistent absence, and is deemed unsatisfactory attendance, which automatically triggers a series of actions as per School Attendance Policy.

Attend to Connect

Annual Consent to Visits, Medical Details and Treatment Form

Please read prior to completing the Admissions form

Annual Consent to Visits, Medical Details and Treatment Form

You are providing consent for your child.

to take part in school trips and other activities that take place off school premises; and
to be given first aid or urgent medical treatment during any school trip or activity.

Please note the following important information

The trips and activities covered by this consent include.

Simple visits which take place during term time on normal school days
Off-site sporting fixtures outside the school day
Specific consent and updated student medical information will be sought for all visits / trips involving travel further afield, residential, overseas or adventurous activities.
The school will still send you information about each trip or activity before it takes place

Written parental consent therefore will not be requested from you for a number of off-site activities offered by the school – for example, year-group visits to local amenities – as such activities are part of the school’s curriculum and usually take place during the normal school day.

Please complete the medical information section (if applicable) and sign and date on the admission form if you agree to the above.

It is your responsibility to keep the school updated of any changes to your child’s medical information.

Biometric Information In School

Biometric information and how it is used

We currently use Biometric information for our Cashless Catering system we operate in school. Legislation introduced in September 2013 under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (sections 26 to 28), means we are required to notify each parent of a student and obtain the consent of at least one parent before being able to continue to use their biometric information for our automated system. We use biometrics for the following reasons:

An alternative system would involve using cards, which can be lost or stolen. Students have to pay for replacement cards.
It eradicates the possibility of bullying which other systems can’t guarantee as each student’s ID is unique and therefore can’t be transferred between students or borrowed by others
It is very quick and assists in reducing queues in the dining room when paying for items

If you give consent to the processing of your child’s biometric information at this time, please complete the relevant section on the admission form. Please note that when your child leaves the school, or if for some other reason they cease to use the biometric system, their biometric data will be securely deleted.

Biometric information and how it is used
Biometric information is information about a person’s physical or behavioural characteristics that can be used to identify them, for example, information from their fingerprint. The school would like to use information from your child’s fingerprint and use this information for the purpose of providing your child with access to our Cashless Catering system ONLY.

The information is used as part of an automated biometric recognition system. The system takes measurements of your child’s fingerprint and converts them into a template to be stored on the system. An image of your child’s fingerprint is not stored. The template is used to permit your child’s access to our catering services. You should note that the law places specific requirements on schools when using personal information, such as biometric information, about pupils for the purposes of an automated biometric recognition system.

For example:

the school cannot use the information for any purpose other than for those for which it was originally obtained and made known to the parent(s) (i.e. as stated above)
the school must ensure that the information is stored securely
the school must tell you what it intends to do with the information
unless the law allows it, the school cannot disclose personal information to another person/body – you should note that the only person/body that the school wishes to share the information with is Impact Cashless Catering Systems, the supplier of our biometric system.

Providing your consent/objecting
As stated above, in order to be able to use your child’s biometric information, the consent of at least one parent is required. However, consent given by one parent will be overridden if the other parent objects in writing to the use of their child’s biometric information. Similarly, if your child objects to this, the school cannot collect or use his/her biometric information for inclusion on the automated recognition system.

You can also object to the proposed processing of your child’s biometric information at a later stage or withdraw any consent you have previously given. This means that, if you give consent but later change your mind, you can withdraw this consent. Please note that any consent, withdrawal of consent or objection from a parent must be in writing.

Even if you have consented, your child can object or refuse at any time to their biometric information being taken/used. Their objection does not need to be in writing. We would appreciate it if you could discuss this with your child and explain to them that they can object to this if they wish.

The school is also happy to answer any questions you or your child may have. If you do not wish your child’s biometric information to be processed by the school, or your child objects to such processing, the law says that we must provide reasonable alternative arrangements for children who are not going to use the automated system.

Consent Form for the Recording and use of Images

During the course of the school year, we may sometimes wish to take photographs or video recordings of children within school or on school trips, either for our own records, for use as part of our learning curriculum or for inclusion in our promotional material such as the school prospectus and our website.

The school may also invite an external photographer to the school each year to take official school photographs and may invite the media in to take photographs of pupils engaged in school activities or events for publication.

To comply with the General Data Protection Regulation, we need to ask your consent before the school record any images of your child. In view of this, please read the statements below, complete the slip and return this form to school.

This table sets out the various reasons for taking, and making use of, images of your child and we should be grateful if you would indicate on the admission form whether or not you give consent for use in these circumstances. By indicating ‘YES’, you are confirming that you consent to your child’s personal data being shared for those purposes and/or with the named third parties:

For official school photographs which are available for purchase by parents, and held by the school for identification purposes with names attached

For use on internal school displays
For use as part of projects of work by students
For use on the school’s website
For use on the school’s Facebook page
For use on the school’s Twitter page

We also need your consent before your child’s name would be attached to any images accessible externally to the school (for example social media, other websites, or the print media).

Please note, you have the right to withdraw or change your consent at any time by giving the school written notice and completing a new consent form. You can notify us of your consent withdrawal in writing by contacting Southamcollege@stowevalley.com

Improving Links

Improving Links with school

To keep your child safe and ensure their well-being, we are constantly looking for ways to improve our links with you, keep everyone up-to-date and well informed as sending written information home is sometimes unreliable. The following systems are currently used by the School.

School Comms
ClassCharts
Parent Pay
School Cloud
Sparx
Educake

You will

Receive letters more reliably and promptly
Keep up to date with your child’s Home learning and see feedback from Teachers
See school reports and book Parent Evenings
Pay for trips, revision guides and school lunches
Reduce our carbon footprint

Southam College requires your consent for us to use your data in this way in line with GDPR regulations. The information will not be shared with any third party other than for the purposes of communication between you and the School and this permission can be withdrawn at any time. At the time when your child leaves the School this information will be managed in accordance with the Trust’s Retention and Destruction policy.

Improving Links with school

Your details will not be used for any other purpose than school business. You will not receive any spam or marketing material. You can withdraw permission at any time.

Package

School Comms

Receive letters, text messages and attendance queries reliably and promptly

ClassCharts

Keep up to date with your child’s Home learning, report absences, see announcements from Teachers, your child’s timetable, HAPS and any detentions.

Parent Pay

Pay for trips, revision guides and school lunches

School Cloud

Book Parents Evening (video calls)

Sparx

Use for Maths home learning

Educake

Use for various subjects home learning (i.e Science, English, History)

Language Choice

Dear Parent/Carer,

As you may be aware from visits to the school during your selection process for the most appropriate secondary school, we teach three Modern Foreign Languages (French, German, and Spanish) at Southam College. In Year 7, students will study two languages.

For 2024-2025, all students in the year group will study French for three hours a fortnight and be allocated either Spanish or German for a further three hours. The second language will be allocated at random to meet the staffing and timetable structure of the school.

Should you have any exceptional circumstances you'd like us to consider prior to assigning either Spanish or German as the second language, we kindly ask you email holden.s@stowevalley.com with a subject of “Year 7 Second Language”, with details of your child’s name and exceptional circumstances. We believe it's important to accommodate any unique needs or background connections your child may have. For instance, if your child already speaks the chosen language or if you have roots in a German- or Spanish-speaking country, we want to ensure they engage with the language that best suits them. All exceptional circumstances must be submitted by Monday 24^th June 2024.

We believe that studying a language is an incredibly rewarding experience and develops skills in young people that will support them in later life. We look forward to meeting students in September and starting their journey with them. If you have any queries prior to this, please do not hesitate to get in touch via the college Student Office.

Yours sincerely

Mrs L Johnson

Responsible Use of the College ICT Network and Communication Technology

As part of students’ curriculum enhancement and the development of ICT skills, Southam College provides students with access to the ICT Network which includes access to the Internet. The internet is widely used as a channel for communication, the ICT code of conduct aims to protect from the misuse of the network and the internet no matter what the use is.

Although there are concerns about students having access to undesirable materials on the internet, we have taken positive steps to deal with this risk in that our Internet provider operates a filtering system that restricts access to inappropriate web sites.

The college also operates a digital monitoring system – Smoothwall Monitor. This not only provides ‘screen shots’ of any inappropriate use of the network/internet but is also designed to capture instances of online bullying, internet ‘grooming’ and safeguarding concerns. This is monitored currently by the college ICT support team and Warwickshire LA safeguarding team.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure that suitable restrictions are placed on the ability of students to access inappropriate materials, the college cannot be held responsible for the nature or content of materials accessed through the internet. In addition, the college will not be liable under any circumstances for any damages arising from your child’s use of the internet facilities.

Please see the below ICT code of conduct that we operate at Southam College.

Please refer to www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents for helpful advice regarding keeping your child safe on the internet. We will also add information regarding internet safety on our website as and when matters arise.

If you are in agreement with your child having access to the college ICT Network/Internet, please complete the relevant section on the admissions form.

Should you wish to discuss any aspect of the above please do not hesitate to contact the college to arrange a meeting with a member of staff from the ICT Department.

Acceptable use of the SVMAT/School’s ICT systems and internet: agreement for pupils and parents/carers

ICT and the related technologies such as the internet and email are an important part of learning in our SVMAT/School.
We expect all Students to be responsible for their behaviour when using ICT and the Internet. It is essential that Students are aware of e-Safety and know how to stay safe when using any ICT.
Students are expected to discuss this policy with their parent or guardian and then to sign and follow the e-Safety Rules. Any concerns or explanation can be discussed with their class teacher or the e-Safety coordinator.
No student will have access to the internet unless they have returned a signed form, without exception. Any student who is subsequently disciplined for misuse of their network account, Internet, or email privilege with have their access withdrawn in accordance with the school’s e-safety policy. Parents will be informed of the nature of the offence, and Internet/email access may in some cases only be returned once the school and parents have agreed and a further consent form has been returned.

I will only use the SVMAT/School’s ICT systems including the internet, email, digital video etc for school purposes, and only when under the supervision of a member of staff.
I will not attempt to download or install software on SVMAT/School technologies.
I will only access the SVMAT/School network using my own username and password and will not access any other user’s files – If someone else finds out my password I will change it immediately.
I will follow the SVMAT/School’s ICT security system and not reveal my passwords to anyone, I will change my password regularly.
I will not bring in any viruses or malicious programs using USB sticks or other removable media. I will ensure any files I bring to school are virus scanned before connecting them to the SVMAT/School network(s).
I will only use my SVMAT/School email address for email communication between other students and staff.
I will access any not non-SVMAT/School email accounts though the school network, such as Hotmail and Yahoo Mail.
I will make sure that all ICT communications with Students, teachers or others is responsible.
I will be responsible for my behaviour when using the Internet. This includes resources I access and the language I use.
I will not deliberately browse, download, or upload material that could be considered offensive or illegal. If I accidentally come across any such material, I will report it immediately to my teacher or another member of staff.
I will not send to Students, teachers or others material that could be considered offensive or illegal.
I will not upload content to the SVMAT/School VLE (Where available) that may be offensive, or hurtful to any member of the SVMAT/School community.
I will not complete and send on-line forms without the permission from my teacher.
I will not give out any personal information such as name, phone number or address. I will not use the SVMAT/School ICT systems to arrange to meet someone unless this is part of a school project approved by my teacher.
I will not attempt to bypass the SVMAT/School internet filtering system.
Images of pupils and/ or staff will only be taken, stored, and used for SVMAT/School purposes in line with SVMAT/School policy and not be distributed outside the SVMAT/School network.
I will respect the privacy and ownership of others’ work on-line at all times.
I will respect SVMAT/School technologies and understand I may be liable for any damage I cause to SVMAT/School equipment.
I understand that all my use of the Internet and other related technologies is monitored and logged and can be made available to my teachers.
I understand that these rules are designed to keep me safe and that if they are not followed, SVMAT/School sanctions will be applied, and my parent/guardian may be contacted.

Useful Information

By clicking on this link, you acknowledge that you have read all of the above information - complete the Southam College Admission's Form