FAQs

Pupils arriving late (after Registration) must sign in with the Attendance Officer and those who need to leave school during the day should sign out with her. Full attendance and punctuality are essential to pupils’ learning.

Pupils may spend time in their form rooms on very poor weather days (not for eating) providing they behave responsibly. Otherwise at lunchtime, they should go outside, to the Dining Room to eat lunch, to the Library or to one of the organised activities. Our catering team provides a wide range of hot and cold dishes on a daily basis. All food and drink must be consumed either in the Dining Room or in the designated areas outside; eating in corridors or teaching spaces is not allowed.

There is general supervision around the school at lunch time. However, the school cannot supervise every classroom; therefore, pupils abusing the privilege will have to go outside regardless of the weather.

It is not advisable for pupils to cycle on the A27. We ask parents to reinforce our efforts in stressing the very real dangers of this busy main road. Cycle permits and helmets are required for all pupils cycling to school.

Application for a permit may be obtained from the school website. A permit will only be issued to those pupils holding Bikeability (Level 2). Once a cycle permit is issued, it is the pupil’s and parent’s responsibility to ensure that the bicycle is maintained in a roadworthy condition and a good quality bicycle lock is used. Whilst every effort is made to provide security for bicycles, the school cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage to bicycles brought onto the premises. Parents are advised to take out appropriate insurance cover as the school’s insurance does not cover loss or damage to bicycles.

Cyclists must dismount at the school gate and walk with their cycles to the shelters (pupils are expected to wear their helmets until their bicycle has been secured in the bicycle shelter and replace it when they return to their bicycle for their journey home). Pupil safety is of paramount importance. Where a pupil is found to be cycling without a helmet an immediate sanction will be applied. For subsequent non-compliance parents will be contacted to provide a helmet or collect the cycle thus avoiding the need for a pupil to cycle home unsafely. Further sanctions will also be applied. The school reserves the right to withdraw a pupil’s cycle permit at any time.

The CCTV system installed in school is primarily there as a deterrent and whilst it can be helpful, especially when identifying pupils (mainly because we can recognise them) it is of limited use and cannot be relied upon to provide evidence of wrong doing by unknown intruders.

Such a comprehensive system would be prohibitively expensive and, as such, is not affordable to the school. Our best means of security is for those on site to be vigilant and report matters of concern straight away. (Any property [including bicycles] brought into school is at the owner’s own risk.)

Pupils should be sensible about the amount of money they carry and should avoid bringing large sums into school. Payments for out-of-school activities, music lessons, etc should be processed via our online payment system Tucasi.

For parents unable to access this, please ensure cash/cheque payments are in an envelope with the pupil’sname, tutor group and amount; the name of the activity should also be indicated on the envelope, eg BATTLEFIELDS 2016. Envelopes should be placed in the secure post box outside the Medical Room.

During PE lessons all money and valuables must be handed to the staff in charge. At no time should money or valuables be left unattended in changing rooms, cloakrooms or tutor rooms.

We do not allow pupils to bring into school any articles of great value, such as expensive watches, electronic devices or coats, as the school cannot accept responsibility for damage or loss. All articles – including clothing – should be marked with the pupil’s name.

There is a facility for pupils to borrow money at the end of the school day in an emergency on the understanding it is returned the next day, unless parents have requested in writing that we do not lend money to their son/daughter. Pupils wishing to borrow money at the end of the day should go to Main Reception. The amount borrowed is written into the pupil’s planner as a reminder, so there is no excuse for it not being returned the following day.

If a pupil has not been able to top up their account and does not have any money or food, they should speak to the Catering Manager. Pupils starting Year 7 who have not been able to upload money to their online cashless catering account before the beginning of term should bring money on the first day of school and we will ensure that they do not go hungry.

Staff who volunteer to oversee lost property will not be expected to investigate the loss of anything which is unnamed; the school will dispose of such unclaimed items after two weeks. Pupils should report lost property to their Form Tutor in the first instance and enquire at the Medical Room. Named items are returned immediately via the Medical Room. A list of the week’s unclaimed lost property is published in the weekly Pupil Bulletin and the electronic Bulletin for parents. Please contact the Year 7 Manager/Key Stage Manager about any named lost property which pupils have not tried to trace. The school can not accept responsibility for lost/stolen items, although we are always diligent in trying to recover such items.

Personal property is the responsibility of the individual.

All property (including bicycles, cars, etc) is brought onto the site at the owner’s own risk. The school can not compensate for loss of property or damage to property.

Cams Hill School does not allow mobile phones and other mobile devices to be used during the school day because research proves they can disrupt learning and progress and lead to increased incidents of bullying.

If they are brought into school, they should be switched off and kept out of sight. Items are brought in at the pupil’s risk and Cams Hill School cannot take responsibility for the loss or damage to these devices. Any phone or mobile device brought into school will be deemed to be the property of the pupil in possession of it. If a pupil uses their phone or mobile device during the day, it will be confiscated and put in the school safe. It will be securely locked away for three days. A phone call home will be made to advise parents/carers that this has taken place.

The school acknowledges that some parents and pupils may feel safer with access to a mobile phone. There is a school mobile phone which may be made available for a pupil to borrow if their phone has been confiscated. Use of this temporary phone will need to be organised via the Headteacher’s PA and is only available in exceptional circumstances.

There may be occasions when the use of mobile devices is permitted on school trips. If this is the case, the trip letter will include details of when and where this is allowed, as well as the parameters of their use. Otherwise, the school rules still apply for all trips and visits.

For most pupils, their  Tutor will be the one who deals with everyday queries and problems over the next five years. The mutual understanding that comes from this continuity of care results in a better learning environment for all.

Pupils have a Head of Year with whom Tutors discuss any issues which may arise. Senior staff liaise with primary schools and are responsible for the induction and transition of Year 6 – Year 7 pupils.  For parents, the Tutor is the main contact but the pastoral year teams support  Tutors and may initiate or receive enquires if the Tutor is not available. Appointments may also be made with the Senior Leader responsible for your child’s year or, ultimately, with the Headteacher if appropriate.

Pupils will be able to hire a locker free of charge. Pupils will be required to provide their own padlock and key for their locker. If the key to the padlock is lost, the school will be able to remove the padlock so that the pupil can access the locker. It would then be the pupil’s responsibility to provide a new padlock. Please note the padlock needs to be big enough to keep the latch locked; we recommend a padlock with a bar 5mm thick – the maximum width of the bar is 7mm.

The lockers are large enough to hold bags, A4 folders and PE kit. Although items stored in the lockers are relatively secure, we do not guarantee full security and pupils are encouraged not to leave items overnight. Expensive and attractive coats and bags should not be brought to school.

We are keen to keep in touch with you! Letters are sent home via email using an automated system and we can also contact you easily by text or telephone call. In the unlikely event of an emergency where we have to close the school, you will be notified by text and email.

It is absolutely vital that we have your up-to-date contact details

We ask you to give us as many contact phone numbers as possible for use in an emergency: we like to have your home phone, your mobile number and your work number plus the number for an additional trusted person (eg a grandparent or other relative) whom we can contact if we are unable to reach you for any reason. We also need your correct home address and email address. Don’t forget to let us know straight away if you change any of your details for any reason, perhaps because of a house move, a job change, a new phone contract, a change of email service provider, a change of mind…

If you need to update your contact details, please email the changes to office@camshill.com giving the names and tutor groups of each of your children.

If you need to get in touch, you can contact us via the office@camshill.com email address, which will then be forwarded to the relevant member of staff.

You can use this system to get in touch with teachers, tutors and pastoral teams.

If you do not have access to email, your child can collect a paper copy of any letter sent home. Copies of all letters are placed in register folders so the tutor can draw attention to the fact that they have been sent and the pupil can then go to collect a copy. Main Reception are able to print off copies of letters if you want to come in and collect them.

If you realise that you are not receiving school emails, this may be because your Internet service provider considers emails from us to be spam and filters these out. This is because we send out emails in bulk.

As a first step, check other folders in your email account such as ‘Junk Mail’, ‘Bulk Mail’, ‘Filtered Mail’ and ‘Spam’. You should double-check these folders regularly.

You should also add our school email address and Groupcall email address to your contacts to ensure your Internet Service Provider recognises the email address. These email addresses are office@camshill.com and 8505416@groupcallalert.com.

You should receive our Weekly Bulletin every Friday afternoon by email. If you do not receive this, please contact the school by email to office@camshil.com.

Our kitchens, run by our Catering Manager, and a dedicated team, produce a range of delicious food daily; all of our food is freshly prepared on site. Hot dinners and ‘Meal Deals’, including vegetarian options, can be purchased from the Dining Hall, where pupils can also buy a range of snacks such as panini, pizza, sandwiches, cake and biscuits, or select from the salad bar. Quick snack options are also available to purchase from the Kiosk. The Dining Hall is also open from 8am for breakfast, including croissants, pancakes, bacon sandwiches etc.

Cams Hill School operates a cashless catering system. Each child has an account that can be topped up online or via a machine in school and can pay for items in the Dining Hall and the Kiosk without cash. This means shorter queues and quicker service, as well as giving parents/carers the facility to check their child’s account and track their purchases of food.

Details of how to pay online can be found here.

This system uses biometrics and a ‘digital fingerprint signature’. This is not the same as a visual image of a fingerprint – while pupils’ fingerprints are scanned, they are then converted into a mathematical algorithm and the image of the fingerprint is deleted. This means that the scanner at the till points can recognise your child’s fingerprint but that there is no way this information can be used for any other type of identification purposes. The information that is stored by the system is only in the form of numbers and it cannot be converted back into an image of a fingerprint. In this way, your child’s fingerprint is kept totally secure and cannot be used by other agencies. The information will be deleted when your child leaves Cams Hill School.