Dear Parent/Carer
Ready to Learn, Quiet Corridors
Most pupils at St Cenydd learn and behave well in their lessons every day. They arrive at their lessons on time, they are ready to learn, they are respectful, and they try hard in each lesson. They listen well, follow instructions first time every time, and are proud ambassadors of our school motto ‘aspire and achieve’. A few pupils, however, do not always meet school expectations and disrupt their own and others’ learning. On Monday 8 June 2026 we will be introducing new processes to further improve learning, wellbeing and achievement called ‘Ready to Learn, Quiet Corridors’.
As you are aware, our school rule is ‘Ready, Respect, Safe’. The first of these is being ready to learn. We are introducing five Ready to Learn expectations to be met in every lesson:
- Communicate respectfully, politely and with kindness
- Follow instructions – first time, every time
- Listen in silence – when staff or other pupils are speaking
- Behave in a safe and responsible manner
- No eating or drinking in lessons – plain water is allowed with the permission of the teacher
So that teachers can deliver engaging and creative lessons without concern for poor behaviour, the aims of Ready to Learn are:
- To eliminate disruptive behaviour so there is no lost learning time and there is a culture of aspiration, achievement, and success everywhere in our school
- To create a calm, positive and supportive learning environment to support the wellbeing of pupils and staff
- To provide clarity for pupils and staff about acceptable behaviour and the consequences of misbehaviour
- To encourage pupils to take responsibility for their own actions
These five expectations will support a safe and respectful ready to learn environment across the school and will replace our current B1-B5 system.
If a pupil does not comply with the Ready to Learn Classroom Rules in their normal lesson, their teacher will now use two steps. At first, if a pupil breaks one of the five Ready to Learn expectations, the pupil will receive a caution (RTL1). This is like a yellow card in a football match; there is no sanction attached to the caution. The caution is a firm reminder their behaviour is impacting negatively on their own and others learning. You will know if your child has been given a caution (RTL1) as it will be logged on Class charts. In most cases we would expect the pupil to heed the caution and to remedy their behaviour. If they do so, there will not be any further action.
However, if a pupil further breaks Ready to Learn expectations in that lesson, they will be removed from their lesson (RTL2) and sent to the Ready to Learn classroom where they must report immediately. They will be met by the Ready to Learn Support Officer who will escort them into the Ready to Learn classroom where they will remain for their next five lessons, a break and a lunchtime.
In the Ready to Learn classroom, pupils will be taught literacy, numeracy and social skills lessons by the Ready to Learn Manager, preparing them to return to their class once their time in Ready to Learn is complete. They will be expected to comply with the Ready to Learn Classroom Rules in these sessions, at break and at lunch. You will know if your child has been removed (RTL2) to the Ready to Learn classroom as this will be logged on Class charts.
So that all pupils can arrive on time to their lessons and remain there without interruption for the full hour lesson, we are introducing ‘Quiet Corridors’ alongside our new ‘Ready to Learn’ processes from Monday 8 June. ‘Quiet Corridors’ is in lesson time to ensure classes are not disturbed. To bring this about we will trial changes to lesson times to accommodate travel time for pupils between lessons. Many pupils also choose to eat in the school canteen at morning break so we are increasing the length of morning break and reducing the length of lunchtime to accommodate this as part of the trial. Please note we are not changing the start time or end time of the school day:
0830 Pupils should have arrived at school, ready for registration or assembly which starts at 0835
0850 Move to Lesson 1 which starts at 0855
0955 Move to Lesson 2 which starts at 1000
1100 Break begins
1115 Move to Lesson 3 which starts at 1120
1220 Move to Lesson 4 which starts at 1225
1325 Lunch begins
1350 Move to Lesson 5 which starts at 1355
1455 End of the school day
By adding short travel time breaks between lessons, we will expect pupils to use the toilet during these times. Just as with teaching staff, pupils will not leave a lesson to use the toilet. The exception will be for those who have a toilet pass. Updated photo ID toilet passes will be issued to those pupils by Mrs Evans in readiness for Monday 8 June.
We are also introducing a Pupil Reception area so pupils have a separate space from visitors. If a pupil is late to school or feels unwell, they will report to Pupil Reception as of Monday 8 June.
In readiness for these changes, staff will be training tomorrow, Friday 22 May, in our INSET day on ‘Ready to Learn, Quiet Corridors’ to ensure a consistent approach. In the week beginning 1 June Mr Harrison and I will lead a series of assemblies with Year 7, 8, 9 and 10 pupils, explaining the processes and expectations to all pupils. If you have any questions about ‘Ready to learn, Quiet Corridors’, please contact the Head of Year after half term.
Some pupils in Y10-13 have GCSE/A levels exams tomorrow. They must attend for their timetabled exams tomorrow as normal and will be dismissed at the end of their exam to go home.
We return from half term at 8.30am on Monday 1 June 2026. Please note we have two INSET days remaining after half term on Friday 26 June and Monday 20 July.
Thank you for your support of the school in ensuring learning, standards, and wellbeing are prioritised.
Miss Rebecca V. Collins
Headteacher
