Dear Parents,

5 R's and Uniform
THANK YOU parents for your magnificent support. I am pleased to report nearly 100% of pupils are wearing school shoes and the standard of the uniform has risen as a result.

There will be NO LET UP in the coming weeks and into the autumn. Everyday senior staff are on duty checking that the appearance of each youngster conforms to our regulations. Action will be taken against any pupil who does not follow the dress code.

Please check the uniform of your son or daughter whenever possible before school to ensure it is satisfactory. In particular, trainers are not permitted.

Ties
It has been decided to discontinue school ties from 1st September. After extensive discussion with pupils and some parents, the staff have agreed that the Toynbee polo shirt will be worn all year round and ties will not be worn. Now that the standard of pupil appearance has risen generally, it is appropriate to remove the ties because it was causing so much frustration that pupils did not do them up properly.

Student Planners
Reduction in price due to new printers. New price £4.00.

Activities Week
There will be an activities week every two years following consultation with all concerned in delivering and organisation of these events. There will not be an activities week this year. However, Modern Languages visits to France and Germany are planned as normal.

OFSTED Inspection and next Parental Survey
The new framework for school inspection places a strong emphasis on validating the school's own self-evaluation. We are once again asking 600 parents for their views on how they think we are doing as a school. Last time you told us you wanted to improve communications, levels of homework and handling complaints.

The next set of questionnaires will be sent out at the end of this month to randomly selected parents. We very much value your comments and have tried very hard to implement new procedures and tighten up on the issues you raised last time. Our aim is to provide the highest possible quality of education for your child.

An inspection is expected in September.

Open Evening 30th June
School closes early at 12.45pm. Please do not send Toynbee pupils to the event, which is for prospective parents, and the evening tends to become extremely busy. Permission letters will be sent home on behalf of pupils specifically requested to help run the events.

Summer Concert
The Summer Concert will be taking place on Thursday 23rd June at 7.30pm in the theatre. The tickets, which are available from the door or from pupils, are:

Adult with Pimms £5.00
Adult with lemonade £4.00
Children/OAP £2.50

School Uniform Grant
(a) To qualify for the school uniform grant (and free school meals) the parents must be receiving:

• Income Support
• Income Based Job Seekers Allowance
• Support under part V1 of the Asylum Act 1999
• Child Tax Credit and have an annual income (as assessed by the Inland Revenue) which does not exceed £13,910 and not be in receipt of Working Tax Credit
• Guarantee element of State Pension Credit

(b) Children must be in Year 7, Year 9 or Year 10 from September 2005.

(c) Applications will be accepted between 6 June 2005 and 24 July 2006 .

(d) Evidence of receipt of benefit as shown in note 1 will be required before the claim can be paid.Please ask for a form from the School Office .

D Jones
Headteacher