Year 6 Parents & Students

A Welcome from our Headteacher:-

May 2023

Dear Parents/Carers,

I am delighted to welcome you and your son or daughter to Brookfield Community School, and I look forward to meeting you in the near future.

We have visits planned for Year 6s during the Summer Term (dates listed below). Alongside those Miss McCulley (Deputy Headteacher) will be in regular contact with you during the Summer Term with updates and information for parents and carers.

Brookfield is an aspirational, vibrant learning community and we are very proud of our students’ achievements, both in the classroom and beyond.  To enable all children to make the most of the opportunities that we offer, it is very important that they arrive at Brookfield happy, confident and ready to learn; the transition process therefore needs to be seamless.

A strong partnership has been built with our link primary schools and feedback over recent years has continually praised the arrangements and supported the view that the children feel happy and secure, quickly settle into their new environment and enjoy their lessons.  We could not ask for more.  Developing a positive working relationship with parents and carers in the weeks ahead is our next priority so that together we can prepare your child for secondary school.

As parents and carers, you will want your child to continue to make good progress in a secure and supportive environment.  Brookfield is a large school so it has been especially important that we have put into place the structures and systems that ensure that each child has a sense of belonging, experiences high quality teaching and learning, and is offered a curriculum that addresses his or her needs.  The House System provides small ‘family’ groupings, while our emphasis on quality learning and teachers’ focus on the progress of each student have raised standards throughout the school. It is our responsibility to equip students for the next phase of their learning and employment. We are proud to say that last summer, as in previous years, all our Year 11 students left Brookfield having gained a college place, apprenticeship or secured employment.  Comments from the college staff recognised the ‘well roundedness’ of our students; their confidence, resilience and wide range of abilities.

Information about our School House Structure

The vertical tutor groups (explained below) play a central role in our pastoral care and student development at Brookfield.

The school is organised into seven Houses each containing 250 students (50 from each year group). Each House has eleven tutor groups which are arranged vertically, with 4 or 5 students from each year represented in each vertical tutor group.  This means:

• A smaller tutor group size
   
• Tutors are able to give better quality support, advice and guidance to their tutees as they progress through the school (4-5 in any one year as opposed to 27-28)
   
• During our Year 6 Parents and Carers Evening in July, you will be meeting the parents and carers of the other Year 6 children from your son’s/daughter’s tutor group (as well as your child’s tutor). A smaller group helps to improve communication and encourage a good working relationship between home and school
   
• Parents and carers feel involved and able to support their child through the secondary phase of their education

Vertical Tutor Groups are arranged centrally, so we do not request friendship pairings from the primary schools.  We hope to place siblings within the same House, but not the same tutor group, and also to make sure that we spread students with particular strengths and abilities evenly across the Houses.  We will aim to place two boys or two girls from the same primary school into a tutor group, but this will not be based on friendship pairings. 

Smart Phones and e-safety

We do find that many of our Year 7s arrive at school with newly-bought mobile phones. Our school policy is that, whilst we understand that students have phones with them at school, we do not want to see them out during lessons or at break times (including earphones/earpods) and expect them to be turned off and kept in their bags.

There is an e-safety section on our school website, with useful information for parents and carers https://www.brookfield.hants.sch.uk/729/useful-sites-for-parents-about-e-safety and we especially encourage parents to have a look at the sites about smartphones, which has useful information about best practices and keeping children safe.

Parents and carers new to the secondary system are sometimes unsure as to how to communicate with the school and this can lead to anxieties.  Please be assured that we will keep you fully informed throughout the transition process via emails and information on our website in the Admissions area.  If however you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact Miss McCulley – Senior Deputy Headteacher (p.mcculley@brookfield.hants.sch.uk) .

We are looking forward to welcoming your child to Brookfield Community School.

Yours sincerely

Mr S Parkes

Headteacher