St Monica's Promotional Video

Welcome

Firstly, allow me to welcome you to the transition section of our school website. This page is dedicated to the parents and carers of any pupils who will be joining us in Year 7 in September; however, the information that you find here is also useful for the parent and carers of any pupils looking to join our wonderful school community at any time during their educational journey.

I know that your child will be excited about the next stage of their journey but will also be wondering about what is going to happen. This section of our website aims to answer some of these questions; however, if you have any more questions, please do not hesitate to contact us via telephone (0161 773 6436) or email (reception@stmonicas.stoccat.org.uk).

Whilst I am looking forward to meeting you and your child and welcoming them to St. Monica’s, it is important that they enjoy the remainder of their time in Year 6 by working hard and being the amazing young person that we know they are.

I look forward to welcoming you and your child in the coming weeks and months.

Mrs. E. Keenan
Headteacher

Transition to High School

Transition from primary school to secondary school is one of the most important events in a child’s education and we endeavour to ensure that children feel completely supported throughout this process. We aim to ensure that all our students start Year 7 in September without any concerns and quickly become settled and engaged members of the St Monica’s community.

Getting to know your child

We endeavour to find out as much as possible about pupils before they arrive in Year 7. To do this, we complete visits and calls to primary schools, speaking with key members of staff including Year 6 teachers, SENDCOs and school Safeguarding Teams. This helps us to find out about pupils’ strengths and interests and also helps us to identify any areas of support. This information is used in several ways, including identifying pupils and families who may benefit from an extended or bespoke transition programme. Where this is the case, we work in partnership with primary schools and families to facilitate this for pupils.

We aim to enhance this by meeting with every pupil and their parents / carers, ahead of the transition days in June. Not only will this allow us to explain our school expectations and allay any worries ahead of September, it will also provide you with an opportunity to ask any questions that might not be covered in the material sent to you, ahead of the transition events.

Transition Events – Week Commencing 23rd June 2025

The week commencing 23rd June 2025 is our Transition Week. There are two important events during this week: Transition Information Evening and Transition Days.

On Monday 23rd June 2025, there will be a Transition Information Evening for all Year 6 parents / carers and their children. Pupils, parents and carers will have an individual meeting with a key member of staff who will speak with them about transition and the school’s expectations, policies and procedures. This is also be an ideal opportunity for pupils, parents and carers to pose any questions that they may have.

Wednesday 25th June 2025 and Thursday 26th June 2025 will be our Y6 Transition Days when pupils who have been allocated a place at St. Monica’s will be welcomed into school to experience two full days of transition activities. This will include:

  • Assembly
  • Form Tutor Time
  • Timetabled Lessons
  • Mass

These days give pupils an opportunity to experience a day in the life of a pupil at St. Monica’s, meet new friends and, most importantly, start to meet some of the teachers who they will be spending the next five years with.

As mentioned earlier, we will offer a series of extra days for pupils who require this. These are usually pupils who are highlighted by primary schools as needing extra support with the process of moving to high school. These days take place before the main transition days and are designed to help pupils feel more confident and have a better understanding of the layout of the school and the support they can access. The parents and carers of any pupils highlighted for accessing these days will be contacted separately.

Key Contacts

We are incredibly proud of the strength of our pastoral care at St. Monica’s – and the teams and individuals who ensure that pupils are supported. Some of the people who will help to support pupils as they transition to St. Monica’s are as follows:

  • D. Kenny: Deputy Headteacher
  • A. Balmer: Assistant Headteacher and SENDCO
  • C. Fotheringham: SEND Manager
  • S. White: Head of Year 7
  • A . Obishakin: Pastoral Manager for Year 7
  • H. Smith: Operational Safeguarding Officer
  • C. Burke: Attendance Officer

Working with parents

At St. Monica’s, we pride ourselves on working with our parents and families. We understand that, sometimes, school expectations and procedures are challenging for pupils and their families and, where necessary, we will make slight adjustments; however, we expect that parents and carers support the school, its expectations and its policies.

Attendance

The school’s current Attendance Policy can be found here: St Monica’s – Attendance Policy

There is also another page on our website, which is dedicated to Attendance and Punctuality. This can be found here: St Monica’s Attendance & Punctuality

As you will be aware from your child’s primary school, attendance at school is incredibly important. Attendance is the single-most important factor which contributes to a child’s progress. In other words, pupils who attend school more often get better GCSE outcomes and, therefore, have better life chances. At St. Monica’s we expect all pupils to be in school on time every day. We expect pupils to have 100% attendance.

Pupil attendance is monitored on a weekly basis, and we communicate regularly with parents and carers on a regular basis. Pupils are placed into one of five categories based on their attendance, bespoke interventions are then put in place to support pupils and their parents and carers. The categories are as follows:

Category 1 Category 2 Category 3 Category 4 Category 5
100% 99% to 97% 96% to 94% 93% to 91% 90% or below
Excellent Attendance Good Attendance Attendance is beginning to cause concerns Attendance is concerning Attendance is causing significant concerns

 

 

The type of interventions that we put in place to support pupils and their families include:

  • Attendance concern letter(s)
  • Attendance concern phone call(s)
  • Attendance concern meeting(s) with the child
  • Attendance concern meeting(s) with the parent / carer meeting(s)
  • Absence prevention plans
  • Emotional Based School Attendance questionnaire
  • Notice to Improve notifications
  • Penalty Notices

We understand that, on occasions, children are unable to attend school for several reasons. If this is the case, parents and carers must contact the school by 08.30am by phoning 0161 773 6436 and selecting option 1 or emailing attendance@stmonicas.stoccat.org.uk

The parents and carers of pupils who are absent from school will be contacted by 10.30am every day. If a pupil is absent from school for three consecutive days, a home visit will be conducted by a member of school staff.

Mon, Tue, Thu and Fri Wed Period
08.25 – 09.00 08.25 – 09.10 Form
09.00 – 10.00 09.00 – 10.05 Period 1
10.00 – 11.00 10.05 – 11.00 Period 2
11.00 – 11.15 11.00 – 11.15 Break
11.15 – 12.15 11.15 – 12.15 Period 3
12.15 – 13.00 12.15 – 13.00 Y10 and Y11 Lunch
12.15 – 13.15 12.15 – 13.15 Period 4 (Y7, 8 and 9)
13.00 – 14.00 13.00 – 14.00 Period 4 (Y10 and Y11)
13.15 – 14.00 13.15 – 14.00 Y7, 8 and 9 Lunch
14.00 – 15.00 14.00 – 15.00 Period 5
15.00 15.00 End of school day

Punctuality to school

Pupils are expected to be in school by 08.25am every day and in their form class by 08.30am.

If pupils arrive to school after 08.30am, they receive an ‘L’ mark and are issued with a thirty-minute after school detention for the following day.

If pupils arrive to school after 09.00am (the time that the register closes), they receive a ‘U’ mark and are issued with a thirty-minute after school detention for the following day. A ‘U’ mark affects a pupil’s overall attendance as the pupil is marked as missing the entire morning session. Ten or more ‘U’ marks can result in parents / carers being issued with a penalty notice.

Punctuality to lesson

Pupils have six minutes to move from one lesson to another. If pupils arrive to a lesson after six minutes, they will be marked as late and will also receive a thirty-minute detention for the following day.

Timings of the school day

Negative P Issued for Consequence
P1 The first instance of failure to meet expectations.

 

 First verbal warning.
P2 The second instance of failing to meet expectations.

 

 Second verbal warning.
P3 The third instance of failing to meet expectations.

 

 30-minute after school detention, the following day.
P4 The fourth instance of failing to meet expectations. 45-minute after school detention, the following day.

Removal to a buddy classroom.
P5 The fifth instance of failing to meet expectations. 45-minute after school detention, the following day.

Reflect (Internal Exclusion).

Uniform

Pupils are expected to have and wear the following uniform every day:

  • Bottle green blazer with school badge on pocket.
  • School tie, worn to the correct length with the thick gold band in the middle.
  • White shirt, tucked in with top button fastened.
  • Green V-neck jumper (optional)
  • Charcoal grey trousers (no jean style, skinny cut or fashion cuts allowed) or box-pleated drop waist skirt.
  • Black or white ankle socks.
  • Plain black, polishable shoes. Trainers, boots, sandals or high heels are not allowed.

The following items are not permitted, must not be worn and will be confiscated:

  • Coats or outdoor wear (hats, scarves, etc.) inside the school building.
  • Jewellery, except a wristwatch
  • Jumpers, hoodies or jackets, etc.
  • Trainers of any description
  • Nail polish
  • Make-up
  • Fake tan
  • False nails
  • False eyelashes

If pupils fail to address a uniform issue or persistently fall short of uniform expectations, they will be issued with a sanction.

More information about school uniform can be found on this section of the school website:

School Uniform Section

Behaviour Expectations

The school’s current Behaviour Policy can be found here:

Behaviour Policy

The school’s Behaviour Framework is underpinned by its Core Values and Principles (The 5Ps). At St. Monica’s, we expect pupils to live out our five Core Values of Prayer, Service, Forgiveness, Justice and Peace by demonstrating our Core Principles (The 5Ps): Punctual, Prepared, Proud, Polite, Participants.

The school seeks to recognise and reward pupils who make the right choices and meet the school’s expectations every day. This is done through ‘Positive Ps’. Pupils receive Positive Ps for several reasons, including being Punctual, Prepared, Proud, Polite and Participants.

Where pupils fall short of these expectations and do not demonstrate our Core Values or Core Principles, this is challenged and corrected through ‘Negative Ps’, which carry different consequences with them. Our Behaviour Policy is an inclusive policy. The reasonable adjustments that are sometimes needed for individual pupils are applied to all pupils, with all pupils being given two warnings and opportunities to correct their behaviour before a sanction is applied. In short, the Negative Ps are applied as follows and carry the following sanctions:

Negative P Issued for Consequence
P1 The first instance of failure to meet expectations.

 

 First verbal warning.
P2 The second instance of failing to meet expectations.

 

 Second verbal warning.
P3 The third instance of failing to meet expectations.

 

 30-minute after school detention, the following day.
P4 The fourth instance of failing to meet expectations. 45-minute after school detention, the following day.

Removal to a buddy classroom.
P5 The fifth instance of failing to meet expectations. 45-minute after school detention, the following day.

Reflect (Internal Exclusion).

 

As outlined in the school’s Behaviour Policy, some behaviours warrant an immediate P3, P4 or P5 and result in the same consequences outlined above.

Toilets

Pupils are not permitted to use the toilet during lesson times, unless they have a Toilet Pass. Toilet passes are distributed to pupils for whom there is medical evidence and are reviewed regularly. Pupils can access and use the toilet eight times during a school day:

  • Before school
  • Lesson changeovers (Form to Period 1, Period 1 to Period 2, Period 3 to Period 4 and Period 4 to Period 5)
  • Break
  • Lunch
  • After school