The Flagpole

Please can you discuss with your child the new mobile phone expectations in school as outlined below:

Mobile phones must be put away as soon as a pupil arrives on site.

• Year 7 – Year 9 must put their mobile phones in their locker and are not allowed to have them on their person.
  
  
• Year 10 – Year 11 are allowed phones on their person, but they must be on silent, out of sight, and only used with permission from a member of staff.
  
  
• Sixth Form are allowed to use their phones in the Sixth Form Centre, however, as soon as they move into the rest of the site, their phones must be on silent, out of sight, and only used with permission from a member of staff.
  
  
• No earphones are allowed unless required for educational purposes and with permission from staff. Sixth Form pupils may use earphones in the Sixth Form Centre.
  
  
• Pupils are allowed to access their phones freely at the end of the school day. In Prep, phones will be put away at 4.20pm.
  
  
• Phones are allowed on trips and visits, but their use will be determined by the member of staff leading the activity.

Thank you for your continued support.

Beth Sharpe
Deputy Head - Pastoral

We know that for parents it is a challenge to know what children should be accessing online, how much time they should be spending on devices, and in particular how to go about keeping them safe and supporting their wellbeing. 

Princethorpe College has a partnership with Schools Mobile, who have developed a system to add ready-made, age-appropriate settings and filtering to your child's device. This can be added to each of your child's devices in just 90 seconds, making it easy for parents to be confident that their child is safe from harmful content and to manage their screen time easily. Our Wi-Fi connection in school is filtered and monitored, but Schools Mobile can provide this for your child's devices at all times, whether on home Wi-Fi, public Wi-Fi or on mobile data.

Schools Mobile can be added to any device, including, iPhone/iPad, Android phones and tablets, Windows and Mac.

Parents currently using SchoolsMobile will find the free trial period (since January 2024) will come to an end at the end of this month, and to continue using SchoolsMobile, you will need to subscribe for just £3 a month, per child, directly through the Schools Mobile App. This is a fantastic price for a service that allows parents to be confident that their children are safe and protected from both inappropriate content and cyber threats when online, as well as having control of the apps available and the time spent on devices.

For parents of pupils new to Princethorpe, you can sign up to SchoolsMobile and receive a three month free-trial of the service.

We will also be running an online introduction to Schools Mobile on Thursday 17 October, from 6.00pm, to provide a comprehensive guide to the tools and features available. You can join the session via this link: Schools Mobile Online Introduction.

For more information on Schools Mobile, please visit: Schools Mobile Information - Princethorpe College.

To get started using Schools Mobile, you can create your account and get started here.

Can I please remind parents to read and fully appraise themselves of the information in the Princethorpe College Parent and Pupil Information Booklet

We will continue to enforce our uniform expectations throughout the school year. Should we have any concerns regarding a pupil's uniform we will contact you directly to resolve any arising matters.

Thank you. 

Beth Sharpe
Deputy Head - Pastoral

Princethorpe College is a nut aware school.

People who suffer from nut allergies can develop a severe, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction, so this is really important to make sure everyone in our community is kept safe.

If someone has a nut allergy, it is not just eating nuts that can cause a severe reaction. Nuts touching the skin or smelling a product containing nuts can trigger an allergic reaction which can cause breathing and swallowing difficulties.

We request that families do not put any nut products in their child’s packed lunch, or give them a snack containing nuts.

Can we also ask that pupils do not bring any nut products to school or on any school-related activities.

Thank you for your support. 

Beth Sharpe
Deputy Head - Pastoral