Newsletters

Dear Parent or Guardian

Last term was a busy term for Borden, with exams now in full swing and our main round of building work reaching its conclusion. When I last wrote to you I said that we would aim to have a ‘grand opening’ of the new building in July. Unfortunately, we were recently informed that they would not be re-turfing the field until September, putting back our big opening date until then. That’s not to say that we won’t be using the new building much sooner, but just that it would seem to take away from the event if it wasn’t completely finished. I will write to you before the end of the year to publicise a new date. That said, we are very, very pleased with the result, and I can’t wait for everyone to see what a big improvement it will make to the life of the school. If you are interested in seeing the time lapse footage of the building from start to near finish, then you can find this on our news section of the website or please click here. 

Meanwhile, the kitchen extension is underway, and we have been promised this will be completed by September as well - this was planned this way to try and minimise the disruption with the bulk of work completed over the summer holiday. You will be aware from the letter I have sent out, that this will mean only cold food in this final summer term and that we will also have a new catering company starting with us in September. Once this is completed, our £2 million wiring and door replacement will begin, as will our work on improving some other internal spaces. All of this will inevitably result in some disruption, and I am genuinely sorry for this. However, I am hoping that you will agree that the short-term pain is worth it to achieve long term gains for students at Borden, both now and in the future.

Borden has also been busy in other exciting ways, with over 100 students now signed up for the Duke Of Edinburgh Award, with some now pursuing the silver award. You will see a write-up for the recent expedition practice at Hope Hill included in this newsletter. It has also seen the revitalisation of our careers work at Borden with year 10 students out on work experience and a variety of other careers focused sessions taking place for the students remaining in school. I have been so impressed by the positive comments we have received about our students from a wide variety of workplaces - with some even being offered apprenticeships or summer work. It shows that the values we talk about really do matter; thank you to all of year 10 and well done! Meanwhile, our newly trained year 12 peer mentors and mental health first-aiders have been on hand to support younger students during the exam season, again showing Borden at its very best.

You will already know that in February the government published its view making it very clear that they expect schools to limit the use of mobile phones in schools. We have been considering this carefully and consulting with trustees, so I will also be writing to you before the end of term to explain how things will need to change for September. However, if we are to agree there is an issue with the impact caused by over-reliance on technology, it is also true that schools are only part of the solution (please see the online safety material further down in this newsletter). So please also take an interest in what your child is doing online outside of school and more importantly, help them to self-regulate their use of devices and encourage them to get involved in more active pastimes!

Finally, we are keen to expand our Alumni further and are currently considering ways to do this. The Old Bordenians do a tremendous job in raising money for the school and supporting endeavours such as our careers work last term. The recent Old Bordenians meal was well attended and included a few amusing references to the Borden Grammar School Ofsted inspection reports from 1917, 1928 and 1936 (please take a look here if interested).  However, it is really important that we continue to keep in touch with our students who have recently left us. So, if your child is in year 13, or they are leaving us in year 11, then please encourage them to join up now and keep in touch with us as they go on to bigger things!

Thank you as always for your continued support,

Ashley Tomlin
Headteacher

Year 10 Work Experience

May 2024 saw 103 of our Year 10 students out on Work Experience with a range of different employers and businesses ranging from local sole traders, to both national and international companies.

Feedback from employers and students has been fantastic, and the school has been abuzz with tales of their experiences and the connections they have made both for themselves and their own career journeys, but also us as a school. They have been wonderful ambassadors for Borden and have truly opened doors for our younger boys who will come after them.

Particular highlights for me have to be hearing from so many parents that they didn’t have to nag their son to get up and ready for school, an employer who said the report one of them wrote was better than a lot of their team could do, the mum who told me her son was shattered after doing 25 MOTs the day before and the boy who told me he couldn’t tell me about the meeting he had been in as it was ‘classified’.

A huge thank you to everyone involved in making this such a success and a plea that if you or your workplace are able to support either Year 10 or 12 with securing a Work Experience placement for 2025, then please do get in touch.

Mrs Mahoney
Head of Careers and Personal Development

Liam (Year 10) with the Head of Business
at Audi Canterbury

Second-hand uniform

We have a large quantity of used, good quality uniform which is available to families of Borden Grammar students.  Maybe your son has had a growth spurt and needs new trousers, or they've ripped their blazer. Just send us an email and we may be able to help: uniform@bordengrammar.kent.sch.uk 

All enquiries are handled in the strictest confidence.  

Anti-Bullying Policy Summary for Parents

Borden Grammar School is committed to creating a safe and inclusive environment where all forms of bullying are prevented and addressed promptly.

1. Policy Objectives: We aim to prevent and tackle bullying in all its forms, involving the entire school community.

2. Links with Other School Policies: Our anti-bullying policy aligns with various school policies like behaviour, complaints, child protection, confidentiality, and e-safety.

3. Links to Legislation: We adhere to relevant legislation concerning bullying, ensuring appropriate measures are taken.

4. Responsibilities: It is everyone's responsibility to uphold and implement the anti-bullying policy, from the headteacher to parents and pupils.

5. Definition of Bullying: Bullying is defined as intentional and repeated harm towards others where there is a power imbalance.

6. Forms and Types of Bullying Covered: We address various types of bullying, including physical, emotional, sexualised, and cyberbullying, ensuring support for all affected individuals.

7. School Ethos: Our school community is dedicated to challenging bullying, monitoring and reviewing our policies regularly, and providing support to both victims and perpetrators.

8. Responding to Bullying Concerns: We have clear procedures for dealing with bullying incidents, providing support to victims, addressing the behaviour of those involved, and involving relevant authorities when necessary. Students will always be given education before a bullying incident is logged.

9. Preventing Bullying: We focus on creating a positive school environment, offering support and education, and involving pupils in anti-bullying efforts.

10. Involvement of Pupils: Pupils play a crucial role in preventing bullying, participating in policy development, expressing concerns, and receiving support when needed.

11. Involvement and Liaison with Parents and Carers: We encourage feedback from parents and carers about our policies, provide them with information and support, and encourage positive behaviour modelling.

12. Monitoring and Review: We continuously monitor and evaluate our anti-bullying efforts, incorporating any necessary changes to ensure the policy's effectiveness.

At Borden Grammar School , we are dedicated to fostering a culture of respect and kindness, where bullying has no place, and every individual feels safe and valued.

Free Online Safety Webinar for Parents

Eastern Region Counter Terrorism Policing are providing free online webinars for parents and carers of children in Year 5 (age 9) and above, to help them understand more about cybercrime, cyber security, and online safety.
Part 1 features an input from our own Online Safety Development Officer on general online safety risks and how parents/carers can keep their children safer online. The Eastern Region Cyber Choices Team will also introduce the Cyber Choices programme, with an overview of what cybercrime is, what the risks to young people are, how the Cyber Choices supports individuals and how to refer a young person into the programme.

• Wednesday 3rd July 2024 @ 1600

Part 2 will be delivered by the Eastern Region Cyber Protect Team, providing advice, tools and techniques to improve the cyber security of families at home.

• Wednesday 12th June 2024 @ 1300
• Wednesday 10th July 2024 @ 1600

Ofcom Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes Report 2024

Ofcom have published their latest report into the media use and attitudes among children and young people aged 3-17. This annual research provides an insight into current trends, children’s online experiences and their understanding of online safety.

This year, Ofcom introduced two new questions about online safety lessons in schools. They found that almost all children aged 8-17 (93%) recall having had at least one lesson at school about being online and the possible risks, but only three in ten (30%) say they recall having had regular online safety lessons in school. The report states that online safety education may be slightly less effective for children living with at least one impacting condition, which reflects similar findings from research and the changing conversations report by Internet Matters.

Some other key findings in the report include:

• YouTube is still the most popular platform among the children in our study, with more than 80% of children using the video sharing platform.
• Video gaming continues to be a key activity for children; gaming is often used as a tool to communicate with their peers, however 31% of children who game online, communicate with strangers as well.
• 51% of children under the age of 13 admit to using social media under-age, with a higher proportion of 5-7- year-olds with their own profiles on specific social media platforms, compared to last year.
• TikTok is the most-used single source for news among 12-15- year-old news  consumer, however teens felt less confident in their ability to judge whether what they see online is real or fake than last year.
• The right to freedom of speech, regardless of the impact on other people’s feelings, is a growing priority for older children.
• Nearly half of children have used artificial intelligence technology, and they are twice as likely as adults to have done so, mostly ‘for fun’.

IWF Annual Report 2023

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) have published their latest report for 2023, providing an insight into the breadth of child sexual abuse material they have assessed and removed from the internet last year.
Some of the key data and trends they have identified in the report includes: • 275,652 reports from the public confirmed to show child sexual abuse in 2023; over 2 million images and videos assessed and ‘hashed’ in total.

• 92% of content removed contained "self-generated" child sexual abuse material.
• Over 141,000 'self-generated' images featured an 11–13-year-old girl; this represents 51% of all actioned reports.
• Over 104,000 ‘self-generated’ images featured a 7–10-year-old; this is a 65% increase on 2022.
• Over 2,000 'self-generated' images included a 3–6-year-old child; 91% were girls.

More than a game 

To help parents and carers support neurodivergent children as they game, Internet Matters have created a selection of resources to help young people spot risks and take action online:

• for neurodivergent teens
• for parents of neurodivergent gamers
• a video series for neurodivergent gamers on YouTube

Year 13 student fundraising 

Well done to Mason from 13SW who took part in his first inflatable 5K Fun Run for The Costa Foundation. In total, Mason and the team at Costa DT [Sittingbourne] managed to raise a staggering £430, equivalent to 22 sets of learning resources for primary school children in Vietnam. Mason said "This amount of money could change many children's lives! It means the world to me to be able to make a difference in the world and I couldn't have done it without all of my sponsors. The Fun Run was one of the best things I have ever done. I would highly recommend this to anyone that would like to do fundraisers in the future. I was very fortunate with the weather as there was no rain at all, although the forecast said otherwise!". Mason even went above and beyond for this fundraiser and ended up doing another 2.5km to see how far he could push himself.

Attendance reminders for Parents 

Reporting absences
If a student is unable to attend school, parents should report this on Edulink (Absence Reporting) before 8:00am. Calls should only be made to the school for absences if Edulink is unavailable.

If the school has not been notified for the reason of absence by 9.10am the absence will be unauthorised and will affect your child's attendance figures.

First day contact
For all students missing from school we will make first day contact to establish the reason for absence, this is to safeguard student welfare. We apologise if you receive more than one call or an additional call where you have attempted to contact us.

If your child is off school due to illness, medical evidence will be required for your ?child's absence.

Continuous absence 
If after 3 days of absence, your child has not been seen and contact has not been made with the school, we will make all reasonable enquiries to establish contact with parents/carers and the child, including making enquiries to known friends and wider family. In the event of an absence of three or more days without contact from the family, a home visit will be made to ascertain the safety and well- being of the child and in addition to the reason for absence from school.

Ten days absence 
We have a legal duty to report the absence of any student who is absent without an explanation for 10 consecutive days. If the child is not seen and contact has not been established with the named parent/carer then the local authority is notified that the child is at risk of being missing from education (CME). The Education Welfare Officer will visit the last known address and alert key services to locate the child.

Frequent/Persistent Absence Procedures 
We want to avoid absence wherever possible. If there are any issues preventing attendance please communicate with us. When absence first becomes a concern we will write to you to outline our concerns. The letters are designated by the Local Authority, so the tone can sometimes be harsh, however we are required to follow Local Authority guidance in this. If there are no improvements to attendance, we will invite you in for a meeting with the school to put an action plan in place. In the event of no change to attendance after this step, we have a duty to involve the Bexley Education Welfare Service.

Attendance Facts
There are 190 days in a school year, which leaves 175 days to spend time with the family, shopping, dentist appointments and other things. At Borden Grammar School, our attendance target is to achieve higher than 95%. Frequent absence can add up to a lot of missed learning time and can seriously disadvantage your child in adult life. How does your child compare?

Good attendance at school is essential for a child’s education and establishes a positive working ethos early in life. It has been proven by DfE studies that students who are absent from school do not reach their full potential when measured against their target grades and those that have a higher attendance percentage. Parents should bear this in mind when allowing their child to stay at home.