To All Year 10 Parents

On Sunday 10 May 2020 the Prime Minister announced that schools would begin to reopen from Monday 1 June 2020 and the government guidance published on Monday 11 May 2020 indicated that secondary schools should prepare to offer pupils in Year 10 some face to face contact with their teachers before the end of the summer term.

As you are aware since Monday 20 April we have given our pupils the opportunity to attend up to 19 live lessons in Microsoft Teams a fortnight.  These are being planned and delivered by their subject teachers and we have been very impressed by our pupils’ high levels of engagement in these sessions and in response to other tasks set in Show My Homework.

As a school, we have been thinking about the best way to bring our pupils back into school and ensure everyone’s safety without compromising the arrangements we have put in place to support remote learning.  However, as we expand our provision and accommodate more pupils and teachers in school we will have to reduce the number of live lessons in MS Teams.

However, on Sunday 24 May 2020 the Prime Minister announced that from Monday 15 June 2020, secondary schools would be able to ‘offer face-to-face support for a quarter of the year 10 cohort at any one time.’  Further guidance published on Tuesday 26 May 2020 confirmed this ‘face to face support’ should ‘supplement the remote education of year 10’.  The guidance also clarified the government’s expectation is that remote education will continue to be the predominant form of education delivery for pupils in Year 10.

In response, over half term we amended our initial plans to expand our provision and shared these with staff at our in-service training day on Monday 1 June 2020 and we are now preparing to welcome our pupils in Year 10 back into school.  To further supplement our pupils’ remote education we are currently putting together ‘learning bundles’ for them to collect.  These will include new exercise books and relevant resources.  We are also finalising their Year 10 Next Step Reports to share with them on their return.  In the interim period, pupils will be expected to engage in some assessment for learning activities across the curriculum to help inform our planning.

STEP1:

We invite each pupil in Year 10 to a face to face review meeting in the week beginning Monday 15 June 2020 and we would be grateful if you could respond to the short survey below by midday on Wednesday 10 June to:

• confirm your son/daughter will or will not be returning to school from Monday 22 June;
• book either a face to face review meeting for your son/daughter with a senior member of staff or telephone conversation in the week beginning Monday 15 June and collect his/her ‘learning bundle’;
• book a separate slot to collect his/her ‘learning bundle’.

STEP 2:

From Monday 22 June 2020, each day one quarter of pupils in the year group will have the opportunity to attend face to face lessons in school one day a week.  They will follow an adapted timetable each day from 8:50 to 14:45. This will include:

• face to face lessons in the core subjects (English, Maths and Science) taught by a subject specialist;
• a supervised lesson on MS Teams in one of their option subjects;
• a PSHE lesson focused on wellbeing.

The composition of each group is based on our pupil populations ‘P and Q’ and we have endeavoured to ensure that over their 4 days in school before the end of term, pupils will have some contact with their normal class teachers in the core subjects.  Pupils will be taught in small groups and these groups or ‘bubbles’ will remain the same throughout the day and pupils will be expected to stay in these groups including during their social time.  They will be expected to follow the hand hygiene, one way and social distancing protocols we will be putting in place.  Furthermore, pupils will be expected to bring in a water bottle and packed lunch.  Parents of pupils eligible for Free School Meals will continue to receive supermarket vouchers for the full week.

Because of our provision for children of key workers, we will also have pupils from other year groups in school at the same time as Year 10.  These groups will not mix but Year 10 pupils who have been attending school daily as part of that group will join their Year 10 peers for one day per week.

PLANS:

Once we receive the responses to our parent survey above, we will be able to confirm our plans and advise you in more detail of the precise arrangements for your son/daughter’s return to school.  I apologise for the delay in advising you of our plans, but as you will appreciate it has been an extremely complex process.  I have set out a summary of our plans below:

OBJECTIVES:

• To offer some face to face support for pupils in Year 10 to supplement their remote education;
• To maintain and further develop our provision for remote education as ‘the predominant form of education delivery’ to pupils in Year 10 and other year groups.

AIMS:

• To teach key concepts and skills to supplement remote and online learning;
• To provide direction, support and challenge;
• To review pupils’ engagement in remote and online learning and their progress since 20 March 2020;
• To identify any gaps in pupils’ knowledge and understanding or misconceptions and assess individual needs;
• To negotiate and plan personalised programmes of study for independent study and remote learning and wellbeing.

Week beginning Monday 1 June    

• In-service training for teachers and support staff, planning and preparation;
• Live lessons for pupils in Year 10 continue in MS Teams;
• Assessment for learning activities commence;
• Letter to parents with link to survey.

Week beginning Monday 8 June

• Live lessons for pupils in Year 10 continue in MS Teams;
• Assessment for learning activities continue;
• Deadline for parents to respond to survey: Midday Wednesday 10 June 2020

Week beginning Monday 15 June    

• Live lessons for pupils in Year 10 continue in MS Teams;
• Assessment for learning activities conclude;
• Face to face Year 10 pupil review meetings take place in school or over the telephone;
• Year 10 Next Step Reports and ‘learning bundles’ available for collection.

Week beginning Monday 22 June

• Lessons scheduled in school one day a week for pupils in Year 10 (maximum 45 Year 10 pupils in on any day) from Monday 22 June to Friday 17 July (4 weeks);
• Reduced number of live lessons for pupils in Year 10 continue in MS Teams.

Chiquita Henson, Headteacher