It is important that you support your son to attend school regularly and on time.   In the case of illness, or any other unavoidable circumstance, parents should telephone the school office as early as possible on the morning of their son’s absence (and certainly before 9am) or email Mrs Desai, Attendance and Admin Officer, at adesai@southborough.kingston.sch.uk or Ms Mead, Receptionist, at nmead@southborough.kingston.sch.uk . It is a legal requirement that any unexplained absence is kept on record and reported.  If you know of any absence in advance, ie medical appointments, please do let us know in plenty of time.

Punctuality: Parents are responsible for ensuring that their son leaves home in time to arrive at school punctually.  Students are late if they arrive after 8.50am but before 11.00am in the morning.  If students are late they should carry a note of explanation from the parent.  Students who arrive after 11.00am are recorded absent for the morning session.

Medical appointments:  The school expects parents to try to arrange these visits out of school hours.  Should it be necessary for a student to leave the school premises during the day, a written note must be shown to his tutor, providing the time of absence. This should be signed by your son’s Head of Year or a Senior Teacher and presented to the office when signing out.  Students will be expected to return to school after morning appointments. 

Holidays: The school expects parents to arrange family holidays and outings outside of term time. 

Parents who require some non-medical leave of absence for their son should complete a form (available from the school office and here) providing clear and justifiable reasons for the absence.  Family holidays will be unapproved as leave of absence will only be authorised by the Headteacher for very short periods in exceptional circumstances. 

Any absence not properly explained, or requested, will be recorded as unauthorised and will reflect badly on your son’s personal record as well as on the reputation of the school.  The school will contact the parents of any boy who does not arrive at school, about whom no prior notification of absence has been received.  Boys who take leave during term time are expected to complete work whilst they are away.

Fixed Penalty Notices

If students are repeatedly absent without a valid reason authorised by the school a Fixed Penalty Notice may be issued to the parents/carers.  A warning letter will be sent first and if attendance does not improve, a fine will be issued and court proceedings could be a possibility. A letter informing you more about the fix penalty notice can be found here.

REWARDS, CODE OF CONDUCT AND SANCTIONS

At Southborough High School we have high expectations of our boys and endeavor to encourage them by means of a reward structure.

In Key Stage 3 (Years 7, 8 & 9) the rewards are centered around the merit system.  Merits can be given by any member of staff.  In Key Stage 4 pupils are rewarded with Good News Postcards and KS4 Lottery.  The focus is to reward and praise students linked towards Southborough High School’s ‘ACE’ vision: Aspiration, Commitment & Excellence.  

Other Rewards:

• Form Captain/Vice Captain
• Student of the Term
• Rewards Trip
• Letter/email Home
• Merit & End of year trips
• Prize Giving Evening
• ‘ACE’ awards
• Effort Ladder Certificate  
• Bentalls Vouchers 

Code of Conduct:

We have a code of conduct which makes clear how we should behave in our community. It has the following aims: 

• To allow all pupils to learn in safety and security;
• To support teaching and learning in the classroom;
• To foster respect for others, for property and the environment;
• To encourage honesty, trust, fairness, tolerance and compassion;
• To encourage and develop self-discipline and self-respect.

If pupils follow our Code they will be helping to create a positive and supportive learning environment in which everyone can be successful and have their achievements recognised and rewarded.

If pupils break our Code they should be prepared to accept the consequences.

Lesson Conduct:

At all times we expect our students to follow the:

 Southborough 4Rs

1. Have the Right equipment

2. Have the Right attitude

3. Respect yourself and others

4. Respect your environment

Pupils have the right to learn and teachers have the right to teach. All pupils must respect the rights of others and follow these simple routines and rules:

• Arrive on time
• Enter/Leave classrooms calmly and quietly
• Take out equipment and be ready to learn
• Bags placed on the floor
• Follow instructions without question
• Allow teachers to teach without distraction
• Allow others to learn without distraction 

School Conduct:

All pupils and staff have the right to learn and work in a clean and tidy environment where everyone feels safe and secure.

All pupils should follow these rules and demonstrate courtesy and respect to others at all times:

• Keep to the left on stairs and in corridors
• Walk calmly.Coats are not to be worn in the building – place in lockers or in bags
• Chewing gum is not to be brought to school
• Food may only be eaten in the designated areas 

Sanctions:

There will be occasions when it is necessary to impose sanctions on pupils for misdemeanours.  Often a member of staff will require a pupil to report to them after school for 10-15 minutes to discuss unacceptable behaviour.  In more serious cases further sanctions can be issued such as detentions (45 minutes), extended detentions (1 hour 15 minutes), community service, Saturday Headteacher detentions (2 hours), internal exclusions and fixed term exclusions. 

In line with DFE guidelines, Southborough operates a ‘no notice’ detention system.

If the 4Rs are not adhered to, pupils will be placed in a detention on the same day.  If homework is not completed, pupils will be placed in a homework detention on the same day.

There are, of course, further sanctions that the school may take in the case of very serious incidents.