Dear Parents/Carers

We are excited to invite you to the upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Brakenhale School Parent Forum. This is a wonderful opportunity for you to get involved, meet other parents and teachers, and learn more about how we can work together to enhance our students’ educational experience.

Details of the Meeting:

Date: Wednesday 15th January 2025
Time: 18:00 - 18:45
Location: Rectory Lane, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 7BA 

During the AGM, we will discuss important topics, including:

• Election of new Parent Forum officers
• Adopting a new constitution
• Updates on school initiatives
• Upcoming events and volunteer opportunities

Your participation is crucial to the success of our Parent Forum and the betterment of our school community. We encourage you to bring your ideas and suggestions as we work together to support our students and teachers.

If you have any questions or topics you would like to add to the agenda, please feel free to reach out to us at jbarlow@brakenhale.co.uk.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Kind regards

Mr J Barlow
Mountain Rescue Lead and Attendance Champion

Hi All,

We are less than 4 weeks away from our inaugural Christmas Fair on Friday 6 December 3-6pm. We look forward to seeing you all there. We’re determined to make it the best fair for our community. All funds raised will be used directly for the pupils in school. 

The Parent Forum would like to ask if you have any donations of gifts such as chocolate, biscuits, perfume, aftershave, gadgets, beauty products or wine etc that you could donate as prizes as this would be hugely appreciated.

Please have a little rummage around at home to see whether you have anything you can donate or can buy to contribute. Alcohol will have to go to the main reception via parents not students.  Please drop donations to reception or send it with pupils to bring to the attendance office in GO6.

Thanks again. 

Jerome 

On behalf of the Parent Forum

Dear Parents / Carers

Consultation on the proposed admission arrangements for entry in September 2026/27.

In accordance with the School Admissions Code 2021, the Greenshaw Learning Trust (GLT) are consulting on the admission arrangements (for all schools within the Trust) for entry in September 2026/27.  The consultation will be held between Thursday 7th November and Thursday 19th December 2024.

Please click here to view the proposed admission arrangements for our schools.

The main changes for Brakenhale School are detailed below:

• Minor technical amendments for clarification purposes only

Responses must be received by Thursday 19th December 2024 and should be sent by email or posted to the address detailed below.

mfrancis@greenshawlearningtrust.co.uk

Marlene Francis
Head of Admissions
Greenshaw Learning Trust
ORU Sutton
7 Throwley Way
Sutton
SM1 4AF

Kind regards
School Office

Welcome to the new school year. I hope you and your family had a pleasant and relaxing summer holiday.

My name is Mr Jerome Barlow and I have just joined Brakenhale School as the School Attendance Champion. I am very excited to be part of the community here and look forward to meeting you all in due course.

Many of you will be aware from media reports and our July letter that the Government is prioritising attendance. In line with the priority to improve attendance the Department for Education (DfE) introduced a new National Framework for Penalty Notices on 19 August 2024. Please click on this link to familiarise yourself with this important detail:

Working Together to Improve School Attendance 2024.

Please also see the attached Bracknell Forest Council flyer detailing the new changes.

Brakenhale School fully supports the new measures given the importance of regular school attendance for every pupil's development. As recognised by Ofsted our school has specialist teachers delivering an ambitious curriculum for the benefit of pupils.

Please take time to remind yourselves of the following attendance requirements.

Attendance Expectations: ALL students are expected to attend school on time every day unless they are ill, have a valid reason for absence or have a headteacher approved adapted timetable.

At Brakenhale School we report your child’s attendance with every progress report and work to a target of 96% attendance. We will be supporting pupils’ attendance at Brakenhale School proactively through, but not limited to, the following discretionary rewards, incentives and support:

● Weekly 100% attendance points that can be exchanged for prizes from stationery to footballs.

● Weekly tutor celebrations.

● Culture card points for attending school on time. Interventions will seek to support those struggling with punctuality.

● Strategic in-house Mental Health support through Place2Be counsellors, and other external therapies.

We are also excited to be launching Mountain Rescue. Beyond physical ‘rescue’ operations, Mountain Rescue will play a vital role in nurturing all pupils' mental health and overall well-being. It will also be a time tabled, therapeutic learning environment for students with social, emotional, and mental health needs, providing holistic support to help them build resilience, relationships, and thrive in all lessons.

Punctuality: As previously communicated in July we have made some changes in respect of the new statutory guidance from the DfE which states that schools can only keep AM registers open for 30 minutes. This means that all students must arrive at school by 8.30am. We will therefore now close our registers at 9.00am. Children arriving after 8.30 am but before 9.00am will receive a late mark (L code) and an after-school detention. Any arrivals after 9.00am will receive an unauthorised late mark (U code) and an after-school detention.

After school detentions are issued to pupils if there is no legitimate reason for the lateness. We ask that parents notify us of the reason why your child might be late to avoid unnecessary detentions.

You may have noticed that the school has new gates at the entrance to the carpark. These are to further support the safety of all our pupils on site. The gate is set to open and close automatically to these current timings:

Monday to Friday - Latch open until 8:35am, closed for the day then latch open at 3:00pm.

There is an intercom for members of the public that need to access the site during the school day, it will ring to the main reception and to allow access you simply press the # on the phone.

Reporting Absences: If your child is unable to attend school, please ensure that you inform the school office using the StudyBugs App by 8:30am on the day of the absence, providing a reason for their absence.

As indicated in our July letter, it is mandatory for all schools to share live attendance data with both the Department for Education and their local authority.

The StudyBugs app (iOS and Android) is used widely across local schools. The app will enable you to send us the reason for absence (we request this for every day of absence) and to provide medical evidence, when it is required, to enable us to deem an absence as authorised. The school is not responsible for sourcing or paying for medical evidence. Accepted medical evidence is listed below.

● Medical appointment cards - stamped and dated by the surgery

● A text message from your surgery with your child’s name and the date and time of the appointment

● A screenshot of the electronic check in screen at your surgery with your child’s name and the date and time of the appointment

● A print out from your GP surgery

● In appropriate cases, a Prescription clearly showing the date that medication was prescribed and your child’s name

● A letter from your GP

● A&E discharge letter

● Referral or medical condition confirmation letter

Medical Appointments: Whenever possible, please schedule medical appointments outside of school hours. If this is not feasible, please provide the school with a note from the healthcare provider.

Holidays during Term Time: We strongly discourage taking holidays during term time as it can significantly impact your child’s learning. Requests for leave during term time should be made in writing to the headteacher and will only be granted in exceptional circumstances and at the sole discretion of the School. To avoid any confusion when booking holidays, please refer to our term dates available on the school website.

Changes to Penalty Notices for Non School Attendance:

Persistent absenteeism may result in meetings with school to discuss ways to improve attendance.

In accordance with Bracknell Forest Council’s guidelines, penalty notices may be issued for unauthorised absences.

We appreciate your cooperation and support in ensuring that your child attends school regularly and punctually. Together, we can provide the best possible education for your child.

If you have any questions or need further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me directly.

Kind regards

Mr J Barlow

Mountain Rescue Lead and Attendance Champion

Dear Parents/Carers

REMINDER: Uniform for return to school

I trust that you and your family have had a restful summer and that your children are ready to go for the new academic year. We are very much looking forward to welcoming our students back to school for what will be an exciting and purposeful year ahead. 

As we approach the start of the new school year, I would like to provide you with a gentle reminder of our updated uniform expectations. Please support your child in having a smooth start to the academic year by ensuring that all uniform items are in place and all expectations are followed. 

A copy of our full September 2024 uniform and appearance expectations has been attached for your convenience. 

Specific Uniform items

• Students are permitted to have the Brakenhale ‘clip-on’ tie only. Instances where the clip has been removed, these ties are unsuitable for use and are not permitted to be worn. 
• Skirts are to be worn ‘to the knee.’ Students are not permitted to roll skirts or have them altered to sit shorter. 
• Trousers are to be worn at the waist and should not sit anywhere beneath the waist. 
• Students are permitted to wear shorts (tailored, to the knee only) until the October half term break. 

Piercings

• Students are only permitted to have one small stud piercing in each ear lobe. (the school’s judgement on what is considered ‘small’ is final.)
• These can be either gold or silver only. Diamonds, pearls or coloured studs are not permitted. 
• No other piercings on the ear such as tragus or top of the ear is permitted. 
• No facial piercings are permitted including nose, gum, tongue or eyebrow. Students are not permitted to wear a plastic retainer in their place, nor are they permitted to cover these with tape. 

Nails / Make-up

• Nails 
  • For nails, no false nails or nail varnish. 
• Natural appearing make-up that is not noticeable is permitted only. 
• No false lashes / eyelash extensions 

Jewellery

• No jewellery will be permitted whilst at school. 
• This includes bracelets, rings and anklets. Students may wear one watch, but this should not be a smartwatch. 

Belts/Belt Buckles

• Belts and belt buckles should be plain in appearance only. 
• The belt should be black leather and should not contain any studs or any other accessories. The buckle should also be plain in appearance and not contain any logos or unique designs that clash with the appearance of the uniform. 

Coats

• Students are welcome and encouraged to wear coats in addition to their school uniform on days where the weather is wet and/or cold. 
• These coats should be in dark colours only, ie. black, navy or dark grey.
• White or other bright colours are not in keeping with the uniform and are thus not permitted. Please note that light jackets, hoodies or sweatshirts are not acceptable. 
• Coats must only be worn outside during the school day and must be removed immediately upon entering any school building at any point in the day. 

School shoes and socks/tights

• Please note that only black, polishable school shoes are permitted to be worn in school. 
• They should look leather in appearance and be professional. Other shoes that resemble trainers, canvas or boots such as Dr Martens are not permitted and students will not be permitted to wear them. 
• Should you be unsure whether a pair of shoes are suitable or not, we could recommend seeking clarification via Pastoral@brakenhale.co.uk before you purchase. 
• Any requests for exceptions must come with a doctor's note. Students who do not have correct school shoes will be provided with a pair of shoes from our on-site uniform store. 

Plain socks are permitted to be worn to school only. These can be in black, white or grey but must be plain in nature and not ‘frilly’ in appearance. Only plain, black tights are permitted to be worn.

Uniform Store

We have a uniform store on site where students are supported to meet our uniform expectations as they can borrow specific items they need, should they not have a full school uniform. This store contains a stock of shoes, socks, tights, ties, blazers, skirts, trousers and shirts. With the exception of socks and tights, students will be required to hand in a valuable item such as a mobile phone in exchange for the uniform item to ensure that stock is returned by students at the end of the day. Borrowed items will come with one detention, unless there is an exceptional circumstance that has been communicated by a parent/carer in advance. Students are expected to borrow any missing items, where stock is available. With regards to PE T-shirts, a dark, plain T-shirt can be worn as an alternative until this temporary issue is resolved. 

Failure to meet uniform expectations

• In the rare case that a student is unable to meet our uniform expectations outlined above, they will remain out of general circulation in RFL - Ready for Learning (formerly “Reflection Room”) until the issue is resolved. 
• Should you require financial assistance in order to provide adequate uniform items, please do not hesitate to get in contact. 

We have been made aware of some supply issues with regards to specific items of uniform that have been delayed for some parents. Students in these cases will not be sanctioned for these missing uniform items and we will work with parents to supply these items temporarily, where we can. Please communicate this in advance to Pastoral@brakenhale.co.uk if this is the case for you and your family. 

Should you have any further questions, queries or concerns regarding uniform, please do not hesitate to contact Pastoral@brakenhale.co.uk and your communication will be passed on to the relevant member of staff to respond.

Kind regards

Mr P McKane, Assistant Headteacher