28^th April to 2^nd May 2025

Week A

Y12 & 13 Parents' Evening

Parents' evening for Y12 & 13 is on tonight from 4pm.

KS3 Exams

Boys in years 7-9 have exams on Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday next week. Their normal timetable will operate when they are not in exams and boys attend school as normal.

Faster Service Times - Facial Recognition Consent

As you are aware, next week we will implement our new cashless catering system, designed to make lunchtime faster, safer, and more efficient for all students.

As part of this system, we are using facial recognition technology as the primary method for students to access their accounts and receive meals more quickly. This secure and convenient solution significantly reduces queuing times, minimises physical contact, and helps keep lunch service running smoothly.

In order for the new system to work, we require your consent to facial recognition being used. Without consent, your child will still be able to access meals, but may experience longer wait times as alternative verification methods will be required.

We strongly encourage you to provide consent so they can benefit from the full efficiency of this system.

You can give consent by logging into the My Child At School (MCAS) app, going to parental consent, then filling and submitting the form - this is very quick and simple. 

If you have any questions or concerns about how facial recognition works, or how your child’s data will be protected, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.  If you have issues accessing the MCAS app, please call or email the school office and we can process your consent for you and help you access the system.  

Thank you for your support.

Attendance Drop-in Sessions

There are two attendance drop-in sessions in school tomorrow and next Friday (2^nd May). These sessions provide you with the opportunity to talk about your son/ward's attendance and punctuality in an informal manner with a member of the Access 2 Education team. The timings for the sessions are: 9.00am until 10.30am and 1.30pm until 3pm. Refreshments will be provided.  You don't need to inform us if you are coming or not, just go to the main office during the times above, and you will be escorted to the drop-in session in the library.  Every parent/carer is welcome. 

Attendance Celebrations

As you will probably know, since the beginning of January, our form groups have been taking part in a FIFA Esports competition linked to their attendance.  Mr Corf's 7R1 have the highest average attendance of all the form groups and are seeded at the top; this means that they could have first choice of team for the FIFA Esports competition starting tomorrow. Each form will compete in this competition and have selected a team to use.   Congratulations to 7R1 and good luck to all the teams in the competition. 

Year 11 and 6^th Form Students

As part of the careers strategy, we want to track your destination over 3 years from when you leave us. This helps us learn about what you are doing and enables us to evaluate how successful your careers guidance was. 

This also allows us to keep in touch with you and signpost careers support if you need it.

We will contact all school leavers on the first working day after 1^st July each year via text/email. All we will need is a response, on a Google form, stating what you are currently doing. Please give contact details via this link:

https://forms.gle/iHbXPnSeXGx1XVMa6

If you have any questions, please contact the Careers Office.

Safeguarding

Screentime

Screentime is classed as any time spent in front of a screen, so it includes everything from watching TV to completing homework on a laptop. Whilst there is no recommended screentime (except for under two, which is zero), it is important that we find a balance. 

Screentime can obviously be beneficial, both for educational and entertainment purposes. However, it is important to be aware of the risks, such as: 

• Eye strain. 

• Disrupted sleep. 

• Less time for other activities and being outdoors. 

• Affects our attention span. 

Social Media Concerns

Most social media apps have a minimum age rating of 13+. 

Whilst there are benefits, this article discusses some of the potential risks of using social media. 

Risks of Social Media

 • Inappropriate content – social media may expose children to content that is not appropriate for their age, including sexually explicit content or content that promotes harmful behaviours such as self-harm. 

• Cyberbullying – this can take many forms, including sending nasty or hurtful messages, leaving unkind comments, sharing photographs of somebody else without their permission or impersonating somebody with a fake account. 

• Excessive Screentime/Addiction – too much time online can affect mental health and disrupt sleep patterns. 

• Contact from strangers – there is a risk of stranger contact, which can lead to an increased risk of grooming. 

• Challenges - children may not have developed the skills and ability to critically analyse what they see online. Whilst some challenges are fun and provide no risk, there will be challenges online that are risky/dangerous. 

• Sharing too much information – children may share personal information, e.g. their phone number, school name or inappropriate photos of themselves. 

• Algorithms – algorithms influence what we see on social media platforms to keep us engaged on the platform. This can lead to ‘echo chambers’ where users are only seeing content that relates to their opinion, rather than seeing a balanced viewpoint. It can also lead to a user being exposed to large amounts of content about one topic/theme, which may not be helpful if it is negative. 

How can I help make it a safer environment? 

• Check the age rating of each app and restrict access until they reach that age. 

• Set up age-appropriate parental controls. For example, set content restrictions and screentime limits. 

• Chat to your child about what they are doing online, including who they are following and interacting with online. 

• Restrict devices in their bedrooms. 

• Show your child how to use any reporting and blocking tools.

For further information:

https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/social-media-smarts.html

Vodafone: The Rise of the Aggro-rithm 

Vodafone released a short video last year, titled ‘The Rise of the Aggro-rithm’. It highlights the harmful algorithms targeting young boys. It’s certainly worth a watch as well as learning about the terrifying statistics accompanying it: 

https://www.vodafone.co.uk/newscentre/press-release/ai-aggro-rithms/

3 things to consider before giving your child a smartphone 

Wayne Denner has published a blog discussing the three things that parents wished they had considered before giving their child a phone. 

You can read the article here: 

https://www.waynedenner.com/3-things-parents-wish-they-had-considered-before-giving-their-teen-a-smartphone/

Library

In honour of Earth Day on Tuesday 22^nd April, our next Book of the Week is Saving Celeste by Timothee de Fombelle, translated by Sarah Ardizzone. Step into a future where tower blocks rise hundreds of floors up into the sky, where nobody goes outdoors except in their car, and society is run by a giant multinational corporation, ‘!ndustry’. Meanwhile, Earth’s natural habitats have shrunk to tiny fenced-off areas, the air is full of smog and the rivers and seas heavily polluted – yet no one seems to care. When a teenage boy’s new friend, Celeste, falls ill with a mysterious disease that seems to be directly linked to the ailing planet, he is determined to find out what is wrong, and find a way to save her. But that will mean going against the all-powerful industry, who will do anything to keep her illness hidden and maintain their stranglehold on the world.

For book events, reading recommendations and more, follow us on Instagram @library_mosslands

Tranmere Rovers

A group of students from our Skills Academy will be attending Tranmere's match on Saturday as a reward for their hard work over the past year as part of our Skills Academy literacy programme.

Trips

The deadline for deposit payments for the 2026 ski trip has been extended for a couple of weeks to allow parents more time to pay. This is bound to be a popular trip, so deposits should be paid as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Payments for all other trips are also due now. Miss Stewart is also collecting photos of passports for the Iceland trip. These can be sent by email to admin@mosslands.wirral.sch.uk marked for her attention.

Budding Actor

Blake Silcock (9F1) took part in a short film shot in Birkenhead in October 2024. The film, Wonderwall, is set in 1995 and has been selected to have its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, beating around 2000 entries to make the top 12. 

It's Blake's first foray into acting and he absolutely loved the experience. Well done Blake!

Click here to read more

Charity Cake Sale

There will be a cake sale on Tuesday 29^th April during morning break and from 1pm at lunch to raise money for Stick n Step, a charity supporting children with cerebral palsy.

Art Department

You can follow us on Instagram @art_mosslands to see some fabulous examples of the work produced by our students.

Reporting an Absence 

Parents must telephone the school attendance line (0151 638 8131, option 1) on the first day of absence before 8.45am and on each subsequent day of absence. Alternatively, you can email attendance@mosslands.wirral.sch.uk. Please do not use the admin@mosslands email or the contact school option on the My Child at School app as these do not go directly to attendance, and you may still get a truancy call. It is our duty to keep your child safe, so if you do not inform us, you will receive a truancy call. You will receive 6 further calls until you respond.  The number which will display as an incoming call is a Sheffield number, 0114 303 4042.

Medication in School

If you have any questions or concerns regarding medication in school, please contact the SEND Department. Students should not bring medication into school and any medication should be registered at reception. If your child is diagnosed as being asthmatic, following on from medical guidelines, please ensure they have an inhaler on then at all times and that we hold a spare within school. Many thanks.