Click here to view our attendance booklet. 

Regular and punctual attendance of students is both a legal requirement and crucial to a student's success.  There is a clear link between a high rate of attendance and high achievement. If students are not in lessons they cannot learn! 

• 90% attendance over five years at secondary school equates to half a school year being missed.
• 80% attendance over five years at secondary school is the same as one whole school year being missed.

The greater the attendance, the greater the achievement

Good attendance is considered to be 96%+ attendance with no unauthorised absence. 

• 93% attendance gives your child a 73% chance of achieving 5 A*-C grades in their GCSEs.
• Below 90% attendance, gives your child only a 27% chance of achieving 5 A*-C grades in their GCSEs.

If a student is ill

If your child is too unwell to attend please report the absence through the Fullhurst App or contact the college on 0116 282 4326 and select option 2.  Please do this by 10am on the first day of absence.  A note explaining the absence should be brought in on return to college. 

Medical appointments 

Please attempt to make any appointment to see the dentist, optician and doctor outside of college hours.  If this is unavoidable, please ensure that your child attends college before / after the appointment.  Medical evidence should be provided for all appointments.

Family holidays in term time

Families are requested to book their holidays to coincide with the college holidays. Holidays in term time will only be authorised for exceptional reasons.  Whilst we appreciate the differences in the price of holidays during the school holiday period compared to term time, it is important to note that government guidance clearly states that financial reasons are not ‘exceptional reasons’.  

For unauthorised absence from August 2024, Penalty Notices will increase to £160 per parent per child (discounted to £80 if paid within 21 days).  If there is occasion to issue a second Penalty Notice for unauthorised leave of absence within a rolling 3 year period, it will be issued at the higher rate of £160 per parent per child, with no opportunity to pay at the lower level.  A Penalty Notice cannot be issued if there is a third occasion of unauthorised leave of absence in the rolling 3 year period and it is highly likely that the local authority will take direct prosecution action in the Magistrates’ Court which can result in you receiving a criminal conviction.  Please also be aware that any cases of extended periods of unauthorised absence, linked to holidays or trips away, are highly likely to result in prosecution action by the local authority.

 If your child has unauthorised leave of absence prior to the end of the summer term in 2024, you will either be issued with a Penalty Notice of £120 per parent per child (discounted to £60 if paid within 21 days), or, your case will be referred by the Local Authority directly to the Magistrates’ Court.

Punctuality

As effective timekeeping is a crucial life skill and a sign of respect, it is important students learn to manage their own time well and make the most of their lesson time. To support students with developing this skill we have the following expectations in place.

• All gates open at 8:30am on both Fosse and Imperial campus.  
• All students will be expected to be in their form rooms and sat in their seats at 8:40am (when the pips* sound)   
• If students are not in their seat by this time they will be marked as late and receive a 30min after school detention. The number of minutes will be recorded by their form tutor and will be used to inform parents.  
• Any student arriving to school after 8:40am will be issued a 30 min after school detention.  
• Students have been informed that if they feel there are exceptional circumstances that have caused them to be late, then this can only be discussed with their Behaviour Support Leader, Standards Leader or other senior member of staff. This will take place at detention registration.   
• All students will be expected to be in their lessons on time.  This means that when the pips* sound all students should be in their seats and ready to learn by this time.   
• Any student not yet in their seat by the sound of the pips* will receive a 30 min after school detention. The number of minutes will be recorded by their teacher.  
• Any student that is late to more than 1 lesson in a day will receive a 1 Hour after school detention.   
• Any persistent issues or missed detentions will result in a range of responses these will include but are not limited to: Removal from social times, removal from rewards events, re-engagement, parental meetings, placed on report / formal Pastoral Support Plan.  
• * PIPs – The pips are a countdown sound which is used to signal the end of the transition time between break/lunch/lesson/change over. We give students 5 minutes to transfer from one lesson to the other and 8 minutes to transfer from break/lunch to lessons.  

As you are aware we, like lots of schools in the country, operate a same day detention system, we will not notify parents if the detention is 30 minutes or less. If a detention is more than 30 minutes, a confirmation message will be sent via the Fullhurst App. If a child is not able to sit a detention due to a medical appointment, then proof of this can be submitted via the app and the detention will be rebooked. 

We believe it is vitally important to recognise where students do well, encouraging further positive engagement and reinforcement. We are very proud of the excellent attendance, punctuality, attitudes to learning and achievement of our students.

All staff at Fullhurst Community College consistently acknowledge and celebrate positive behaviour, raising self-esteem, confidence and a sense of belonging amongst students. We reward students on a daily, weekly, termly and yearly basis and share their success with parents and carers so that they too can recognise and comment these achievements.

o Achievement points are awarded to students for good attendance, punctuality and reflecting the school values.

o Positive behaviour is recognized in every lesson through direct praise and is directly linked to our behaviour for learning expectations (FAST).

o Positive behaviour is communicated to parents and carers through phone calls, app messages, postcards, faculty certificates and badges.

o Rewards trips and events are run during the course of the academic year. Our students get to participate in a regular set of rewards events. These take place weekly and at the end of each term. Some examples of these are: crazy golf, birds of prey experiences, sports focused rewards, tours of sports stadiums, game console sessions, racing simulations, book clubs, cupcakes and cookies, inflatable assault courses, escape rooms and more.

Please watch the videos below for more information:

Our Lesson Expectations

Students will experience a high quality, broad and bespoke curriculum, designed specifically 
for students at Fullhurst. In lessons students will be exposed to new curriculum content in 
their subjects in a range of ways, and teachers will regularly re-visit material to ensure student 
learning is secure. Students will be asked to recall information from memory, also having access 
to Knowledge Organisers which support them in signposting exactly what material they should 
be focusing on. Teachers will use questioning, mini-whiteboards and other methods to regularly 
check students’ understanding and adjust lessons accordingly. Teachers will model ‘what a good 
one looks like’ for students, to support them in approaching new tasks and applying new skills 
independently. We expect that students will actively engage with their learning, and try their best 
by getting started on tasters straight away, following instructions immediately and asking for help 
or guidance if needed.
FAST is a set of expectations that support students in their classroom learning by explicitly 
teaching them how they should be behaving in classrooms, as well as why this is beneficial to 
their learning. The expectations are as follows:

F Face Forwards - students are expected to face forwards, towards the teacher, during teacher explanations and instructions in order that they can see everything clearly, and so that teachers can check student engagement. This means that they shouldn’t be turning around to others behind them, which can cause them to lose focus.

A Asking and Answering questions - students are expected to answer questions to the best of their ability in class, so that we can see if they have understood what has been taught, and if necessary adjust explanations to make sure that everyone has understood. Students are also encouraged to ask relevant questions at appropriate points in the lesson, to further their understanding and to ask for clarification on anything.

S Sitting up and being Silent – students are expected to sit up during lessons, not putting their head on the desk or getting up to walk around the classroom. Students are expected to be silent whilst there is an explanation, or whilst others in the class are answering questions. This is so they can concentrate on what is being said, and so they don’t miss any key information, which can hinder learning. Students will also have periods of time when they are expected to complete written work in silence. This is so that they can concentrate and focus, apply their learning, and so we can see what they are able to do independently.

T Trying their best – students are expected to try their best across their school day. This includes trying their best by heading directly to lessons on time, having their equipment so that they can be ready to learn, following instructions they are given and giving all tasks they are set their best attempt. This helps us to see what students can do, and also to identify where they might need more support.

Positive Behaviour

Fullhurst Community College aims to produce confident, responsible, well-educated students who can fulfil positive roles in society. We believe that learning takes place in an orderly, purposeful environment and so our expectations, systems and behavioural procedures are designed to produce such an environment. Our behaviour policy in full can be found here.

o Students are expected to act in a kind, courteous and responsible manner at all times, respecting other people, their property and contributing to a happy learning environment

o Students’ language should never be offensive and students should show respect for others at all times

o Through their exceptional conduct, students will present themselves as good representatives of the school at all times, both inside and outside of school hours, reflecting our school values

In lessons, if student behaviour falls short of our expectations then our teachers use a very clear consequence system to ensure student behaviour maximises the learning potential of all students. This is structured in the following way:

Equipment

All students are expected to be prepared for learning with a suitable bag to carry their books and basic equipment. We judge the necessary equipment to be:

o 2 black or blue pens

o Pencils

o Ruler

o Scientific calculator

o PE Kit

Students will also be given a planner which they are expected to bring with them every day 

Uniform 

It is our policy that all students wear the college uniform when attending college, representing the college, or when participating in a college organised event outside normal college hours. Wearing uniform fosters a sense of community and belonging, promotes a sense of pride in the college and makes students feel equal to their peers in terms of appearance.

For more information about our uniform policy click here.

Fullhurst Community College uniform is:

o Trousers: plain matt black, tailored, regular fit (no denim/jeans style/leggings/ no self patternisation).

o Skirt: plain matt black, approximate knee length pleated or A-line (no lycra). Longer skirts can be worn for religious reasons.

o Shirt: plain matt white with collar. Shirts must be tucked in at all times. Top buttons must be done up.

o College tie* worn at neat length.

o Blazer: black with school logo must be worn inside the building at all times. During Tutor Time and Assembly, students are required to wear their blazer for the duration. In all lessons, students are required to arrive and leave wearing their blazer, as well as wearing it during lesson transition time. Students may wish to remove their blazer and place on the back of their chairs during lessons. 

o Plain black (solid) footwear (no casuals, fabric canvas, pumps, high heels, boots, coloured laces or coloured stitching).

o Religious headwear: plain black/white (no sequins, lace or patterns).

o Jewellery, if worn, should be discreet and must be removed for PE, and some

technology classes for safety reasons.

*College ties and blazer badges are available from reception.

PE kit

o Black T-shirt (a free branded T-shirt is given to every year 7 pupil at the

start of the year and can be purchased at any time via the app).

o Black shorts or tracksuit bottoms. Sports Performance shorts or leggings.

o Suitable footwear (trainers with non-marking soles indoors).

o  A gum shield and shin pads (communication will be made when students require these deoending on curriculum).

To promote belonging, wellbeing and personal expression we do not have hard rules on make up, hair style/self colouring or piercings, all we ask is that these are reasonable and appropriate for an educational setting. If we feel this is not the case we will address this with parents on an individual basis. 

At Fullhurst Community College, we believe homework helps students to both consolidate and re-call learning that they have completed in school and to gain new knowledge and skills. 

Homework will help our students build positive habits throughout KS3 (year 7, 8 & 9) and will focus on small / shorter tasks that develop positive routines. improve self-regulation and organisation and build the key skill of independence needed to help them meet the higher demands at KS4 (year 10 & 11)  

At Fullhurst Community College, the setting of reading homework is backed by research which supports our key rationale:  

• The more students read, the more quickly their reading skills improve;  

• Time spent reading has a greater impact on student achievement than any other activity;  

• Time spent reading positively impacts student progress in all subjects, including     Maths and Science;  

• When this reading takes place outside of school, the impact on student progress is even bigger.  

Reading Homework is set approximately every fortnight (please see the Fullhurst App for full details) for years 7, 8 and 9 in the form of a reading booklet. These contain 6 short texts to read linked to the curriculum, with a summary activity. Students will receive a hard copy and a digital copy will be available on student Sharepoint.  

Mathswatch homework is set for years 7, 8 and 9 weekly by the class teacher. Mathswatch is on online platform that provides students with the opportunity to consolidate and secure their learning.  

Homework in other subjects at KS3. Tasks will focus on short activities, such as gap filling, labelling and matching and completing charts and tables. During year 9 homework levels will increase as students build towards KS4.   

Homework at KS4 will vary and will include revision, reading, research and practical exercises.  

Homework will be communicated to parents via the Fullhurst App. This will provide details of what is to be done, hand in arrangements and due date. There may however be times when homework is has to be set outside of the App but the same expectations for completion will be clearly communicated to students.  

How Parents and carers can help 

Parents can help and encourage their children to get into the habit of completing homework and submitting on time and working and learning independently. For example, at KS3 parents can support by talking about the texts in the reading booklet, at KS4 support might come in the form of helping their children to create a good environment to complete their work.