Looking after ‘our family’
At Queen Elizabeth’s we eat our meals in a ‘family dining’ arrangement – we sit at a table, eat from real crockery and share our meals and our conversation with each other, like families do. We pray together and give thanks for our food and friendship.
At home, if a member of our family was missing from dinner for days on end we would naturally worry about where they were and if they were OK. If a member of our family missed dinner every Wednesday we would worry about what was causing this to be the one day they couldn’t join us at the table. If a member of our family missed so many meals that we could no longer be sure they were OK, we would intervene.
It’s for this reason that staff call home every day when students are not at the academy and why we make regular home visits to check everything is OK when absence becomes a concern. It is for this reason that we seek help from other agencies when we don’t see students often enough, and it’s for this reason that we expect students to be at the academy every day they possibly can. At Queen Elizabeth’s we are a family and we look after each other – and we do notice if you are not there.
Improved attendance and punctuality
Attendance at the academy has increased in 3.7% in just two years – a very impressive improvement in a short space of time.
As a consequence of this relentless caring, attendance at Queen Elizabeth’s has significantly improved, increasing from 90.2% in 2016 to 93.9% currently – it continues to improve week on week. We are grateful to all parents and carers for their continued support as we strive to achieve excellent attendance for all.
Alongside the improvements in attendance, we have seen an impressive reduction in lateness this year; lateness to the academy has reduced to 0.6%. We know that a lack of punctuality affects learning and behaviour not only of the student who is late, but it has an impact on all other learners, as the teacher is required to recap on missed learning for those who arrive late.
Introduction of free breakfasts
To support students and parents in maintaining good punctuality, we are pleased to announce that as of January 2019, we will be providing a free breakfast for all students, in association with Magic Breakfast. We will replicate the family dining experience, by sharing a breakfast in our tutor groups each morning before we start our day of learning.
At Queen Elizabeth’s we know that excellent pastoral care is about going above and beyond to support our students on their journey of academic success – we will continue to do so as this is the QEA way. December marks the end of my first year at Queen Elizabeth’s Academy; I am delighted to have formed so many positive working relationships with parents and carers and I am so grateful for the support they give daily to the academy. I look forward to continuing to serve the QEA community.
Mrs Wilmott
Vice Principal