Dear Parents, Carers and Families,
Mobile Phones
The video below is a version of an assembly I’ve been delivering to different year groups this week, and will continue to do next week, about the changes to our mobile phone policy.
Key Points
Present situation
Students in Years 7 to 11 are required to have their phones away from bell to bell, meaning from when the school day starts until it ends.
What’s changing?
From Monday 1st June, we will be asking all Year 7 to 11 students to have their phones out of sight and in their bags from the moment they arrive on the school site until they have left school. This means that students staying at school at the end of the day should continue to have their phones away.
6th Form students will only be able to use their phones in the designated 6th Form areas and not in front of students in lower years.
All staff and any visitors will be required to never use their own phones in the eyeline of any students, with some exceptions for staff issued with a work phone.
Why are we making these changes?
Safeguarding risks – while mobile phones may be a part of modern life, we all increasingly recognise that the negatives for young people of having unmonitored access to the online world outweigh the benefits. I genuinely think that as a society, we’re at a point where we realise the present situation can’t continue for the good of the many.
Government mandate – while my personal position is that we should, as a society make these changes, we are of course required to do so due to the government’s own position on this.
Impact on learning – many of the apps on mobile phones are designed to be deliberately addictive and therefore become ‘thieves of time’. Students in school must focus on their learning so that they can focus in turn on their futures.
What if I need to contact my child during the day?
Please call the school reception on 0191 386 6628. Please don’t attempt to make direct contact with your child.
What if my child needs to contact me during the day?
We’ll ring you on your child’s behalf.
What will happen if a student does use their phone?
We will confiscate their phone. We will view any student who refuses to hand it over as being defiant.
How will confiscated phones be returned?
We’ll send parents a text message and ask them or other named contacts to come into school to collect the phone between 3.30-4.00pm from main reception. We’re specifying the time so we can manage who is coming onto the school site during the day.
What if I can’t make it to school to collect the phone during that time?
The most obvious way to address this issue would of course be for your child not to use their phone on the school site and risk confiscation.
Will there be any exceptions?
We know that some students use their mobile phones for medical reasons, the most common reason being that they have diabetes or to help with their hearing aids. We’ll ask students, and you as parents or carers, to complete a form acknowledging that they have their phone in school, and that it should only be used for these reasons.
Pastoral Changes
The school is changing an element of its staffing model that will impact who you, as parents and carers, communicate with as a point of focus for your child’s pastoral care.
Currently, students benefit from both a Year Leader, who is a teacher, and a Pastoral Manager, who is a non-teaching member of staff. We’re moving to a model where the Year Leader will be static, i.e. the Head of Year 7 will always be the Head of Year 7, while the Pastoral Manager will stay with a defined cohort of students, i.e. the Pastoral Manager for your child in Year 7 will be the same person when they are in Year 11. This will allow for continuity of care from the Pastoral Managers, while allowing each Year Leader to become a specialist in the issues facing students in one particular academic year.
These changes will take effect from Monday 1st June, the first day back after half term. This information is being shared with students this week and next via assembly. Below is a list of who the relevant Year Lead and Pastoral Manager will be from 1st June.
|
Year group from 1st June 2026 |
Year Lead |
Pastoral Manager |
|
Year 6 |
Mrs Wright |
Mr Chivers |
|
Year 7 |
Miss Love and then Mrs Evans* |
Mrs Burr |
|
Year 8 |
Miss Gray |
Miss Surtees |
|
Year 9 |
Mr Moran |
Miss Roddam |
|
Year 10 |
Mrs Fenwick |
Mrs Cresswell |
*Miss Love, the current Year Lead for Year 8, will be in post as Year Leader for the final half term of this year but is then moving back to her native Northern Ireland. From 1st September the Head of Year 8 will be Mrs Evans.
Many thanks as always to you all for your continued support of the school; I hope you all have a good weekend.
Michael Wright
Headteacher
Please find this week's key messages below.
'What I wish my parents or carers knew…': a guide for parents and carers on children's digital lives (Children's Commissioner)
The Children's Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, has published a guide to help parents and carers navigate the challenge of managing children's everyday online habits. It is written with direct input from children and young people, including teenagers consulted in schools and the Commissioner's Youth Ambassadors. The guide is designed to make difficult conversations easier and more regular.
The guide covers setting boundaries around phone use, talking about harmful content, and building ongoing communication that goes beyond a one-off conversation. The voice of young people runs through it, including this from one teenager: "Don't be afraid to be firm… If you are worried your child is seeing harmful content and you don't know what they're watching, and it's affecting their behaviour, just take it that you know best, they don't."
Here are some practical resources for parents and carers, particularly at transition points or where online harms are presenting.
The downloads can be found here: https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/resource/what-i-wish-my-parents-or-carers-knew-a-guide-for-parents-and-carers-on-managing-childrens-digital-lives
Mrs Osborne, Director of Safeguarding
Rewards Evening
Our whole school awards evening will take place on Thursday 18th June at the Gala Theatre in Durham, 6.00-8.00pm. When winners have been decided, information will be sent out to parents and carers. It will be an excellent night of celebration, recognising the hard work and positive attitudes of our wonderful students.
Mr Sands, Curriculum Leader for PE, Sport and Health
Year 11 Leavers’ Assembly
This will take place on Friday 22nd May, the last day of this half term. Students should be in school at the normal time and will attend tutor and P1 and P2. Students who have an exam will be sent to the sports hall. The exam will finish at approximately 10.15am and those students will then return to lesson. At 11.00am students will go to the main hall for a Leavers’ Assembly until 12.00pm. Students will then have lunch in Einsteins before being dismissed at 12.30pm.
Students should be in their normal uniform until 11.00am, when those students who have brought in a signing shirt will be able to wear them. Please note that JCQ regulations require students to sit all their GCSE exams in the school uniform and this is not a negotiable area.
Year 11 GCSE Exam Plan
This information has been shared with students directly but please see below for details.
GCSE Exam Plan
Year 11 students are in school until May half term. They will be in an exam, in a lesson (doing work/revision for that subject) or revising in Einstein’s.
If students have an afternoon exam, they can revise in Einstein’s P3 and P4, have an early lunch at 12.45pm, and then go to Quick Tips.
Quick Tips
Morning exam – QTs 8.30am until 8.45am. Exam starts at 9.00am.
Afternoon exam – Lunch at 12.45pm. QTs 1.00pm until 1.15pm. Exam starts at 1.30pm.
A Quick Tips session is a 15-minute period directly before each exam that allows for the following:
- Registration to take place so we know everyone is in school, safe and in attendance for their exams
- Student wellbeing to be checked
- Students to get into the correct mindset
- Motivation and confidence to be built before the exam
- Equipment to be checked
- Key subject-specific messages to be delivered
- A reminder of exam technique
After Half Term – Study Leave
Students are only in school if they have an exam, or they are going to a gradebuster session arranged by departments (see list of opportunities below).
Registration takes place during Quick Tips sessions, so it is essential students attend.
Students to leave school after they have sat their exam. If staying between exams they can go to Einstein’s. If students wish to come into school rather than study at home, please let the Year 11 pastoral team know.
Gradebuster Sessions
Revision sessions the day before an exam. Even though students are on study leave, they are welcome to come into school/stay in school after a morning exam, to work with a teacher during these sessions and prepare for their next exam.
Monday 18th May: English Literature paper 2, 5-6pm with ASM. ONLINE
Wednesday 20th May: English Language Paper 1, 5-6pm with ASM. ONLINE
Monday 1st June: Physics, periods 2-3 with ITI, SBA, JEC. IN SCHOOL (Science Dept)
Monday 1st June: French, periods 3-4 with GOL. IN SCHOOL (B9)
Tuesday 2nd June: Geography Paper 2, Lunchtime & P5 with TGO & BKN. IN SCHOOL (D3/D7)
Tuesday 2nd June: Maths Paper 2, Periods 3 & 4 with MRO, EWE, JEV, JGR & PRI (+ JDI, JWA and PDI joining period 4) IN SCHOOL (B18, D14, B26, B24, B25)
Tuesday 2nd June: Health and Social Care, P5 with LBO. IN SCHOOL (SPHC)
Thursday 4th June: English Language Paper 2, 5-6pm with ASM. ONLINE
Friday 5th June: Biology, periods 3-4 with SWR, JEC, KBA, JCO. IN SCHOOL (Science Dept)
Tuesday 9th June: Maths Paper 3, Periods 3 & 4 with MRO, EWE, JEV, JGR & PRI (+ JDI, JWA and PDI joining period 4) IN SCHOOL (B18, D14, B26, B24, B25)
Wednesday 10th June: Geography Paper 3, Lunchtime & P5 with KSC & DHO. IN SCHOOL (D1/D2)
Thursday 11th June: Chemistry, periods 3-4 with JSU, SSM, SAT. IN SCHOOL (Science Dept)
Friday 12th June: Physics, periods 3-4 with ITI, SBA, JEC. IN SCHOOL (Science Dept)
Miss Lutynski, Assistant Headteacher
Exam Stress
As we move into exam season, stress for students becomes more prevalent. If you’re worried about how your child is coping with the stress and worries of upcoming exams and revision, please see the links below which you may find helpful.
Exam Time & Exam Stress | Parents Guide To Support | YoungMinds
Help your child beat exam stress - NHS
Mentally Healthy Schools’ Anna Freud also shares some practical advice and resources for young people with their mental health and wellbeing through independent self-care. The link below may help students create their own self-care plan my-self-care-plan-secondary.pdf and support them emotionally and socially.
Mrs Osborne, Director of Safeguarding
Year 6 Parents
If you have a child starting with us in Year 7 in September, a reminder to visit this section of our website: Transition | Framwellgate School Durham
Upcoming Assessment Dates
KS3 Assessment Week will take place during lesson time, in the week beginning Monday 1st June.
Summer 2026 Exams – Contingency Day
All students taking GCSE, AS, or A‑Level examinations in summer 2026 must be available up to and including Wednesday 24th June 2026.
This date is known as the contingency day. It is set nationally by the exam boards and the Department for Education as a safeguard.
The contingency day is only used if there is a major disruption that prevents an examination from taking place as scheduled. This could include events such as:
- severe weather
- widespread transport disruption
- a national emergency
If such a disruption occurs, affected examinations may be rescheduled to this contingency date.
Students should therefore avoid making travel or other commitments that would prevent them from being available on this date.
Mrs Mersh-Roberts, Deputy Headteacher
What is my child learning?
A reminder that you can find curriculum details about what your child is studying here on our website: Curriculum Overview | Framwellgate School Durham
How to help support your child at home?
Students can use the link below to access resources that will help them study independently at home, such as:
- Knowledge organisers
- Revision checklists
- Past exam papers
- ‘How to Revise’ instructional videos
Students have been shown how to access this SharePoint site and a 'how to' sheet has been sent to you via ClassCharts. As parents and carers, you won’t be able to access this, but the link will work for all students. Students learning how to use this excellent resource early in their time here will be very beneficial to them later as they approach their GCSE studies. All GCSE students should be making regular use of it as a matter of course.