PRINCIPAL'S LETTER - Wednesday 8th November
Dear Parent/Carer,
As well as our regular updates on the website, I will be writing to you more frequently regarding the situation that we currently find ourselves in. Although I cannot give you any definite timeline in relation to a full school reopening, there is an immense amount of work going on behind the scenes, involving the Department for Education, Newcastle City Council, and the Gosforth Group. I have been told that we will be able to make modifications to the site to start getting students back into school in the very near future, but I do not have a date as of today. Therefore, the school will remain closed for the rest of this week.
As I have said in my previous letter, we are acutely aware that all that you want is for your children to be back in full time education. We realise the impact that this is having on the children, but also on the staff as well, who are desperately trying to continue with the delivery of their curriculum in very challenging circumstances. We are all equally desperate for this to be resolved as soon as possible and I want to personally apologise for all the upset that this is causing. In all my time as a school leader, this has certainly been the most difficult situation I have been faced with.
We have established a more easily accessible school closure - information and updates page on our website. You can access this directly from the website homepage using the first "pip" button. The page will contain the regular updates from the Gosforth Group on the school closure and information relating to remote learning with instructions, guides and links to help students access the remote learning programme. You will also be able to access these Principal's letters from that page. This will keep all of the key information in one place and make it easier to access. Please do continue to check this page on our website regularly for updates. We will also continue to keep you updated using text messaging and social media with any further information as soon as we are able to provide it.
The main purpose of my letters, however, will focus on remote education and our provision for student wellbeing and safeguarding.
Remote Education
Our remote education package is now fully in place and this is a balanced provision of live lessons, narrated resources and assignments. All remote learning work will be set via students’ Frog accounts, including the links to their live lessons. It is important for students to regularly check their Frog accounts as lesson details may be added and edited throughout the day. Students are also encouraged to check their emails regularly and contact teachers via email if they require any help.
A timetable of live lessons for Years 7-10 will be published and shared weekly. Whole year group lessons will be used for Key Stage 3 and there will be smaller groups for examination classes, who will receive more live lessons that will, by and large, follow their timetabled lessons. All live lessons will be recorded and shared with students to ensure no student misses out on subject content. All students will have additional independent assignments to maintain a balanced approach to learning. Some of these assignments will be used to assess progress, identify misconceptions, and provide an opportunity for formative feedback to students. There are instructions for students relating to accessing remote learning on the Remote Learning Strategy & FAQs page.
Some parents have been in touch to say how overwhelmed their children have been with the amount of work set by staff. I acknowledge that working from home can be very unsettling without face to face contact and interaction with teachers. Please reassure your child that all they can do is try their best to complete the work their teachers have set for them. They should work for about 40 to 45 minutes on each lesson then move on to the next lesson, or have a break or lunch, like they would normally do when working at home, regardless of where they have got up to in the "lesson".
When combining the set work with live lessons please count each one as a whole session. Your child should not be doing more than six sessions in a day. As live lessons are open to a whole year group my best advice would be to try and plan the day so that they have a mixture of live lessons, narrated PowerPoints and quiet work - much like they would have in school. If your child is finding it challenging, please contact your child's year team and they will inform their teachers that they have been finding it difficult so that staff can reflect that in their expectations of them going forwards. Finally please reassure your child that, upon their return to school, children will be given praise for the work they have completed, not planner comments for incomplete or missing work.
Safeguarding and Wellbeing
The safeguarding of our students is a school priority and throughout this time we have made every effort to ensure that the welfare of our students has been catered for. Currently, pastoral staff are performing home visits to some key students and some families are also receiving welfare calls. Families that have not been able to be reached are being contacted by our Education Welfare Officer this week.
In addition, students on the Special Educational Needs register are being given 1:1 Microsoft Teams based meetings at the end of the school day. Furthermore, students that work with Pete Hardaker or Rosie Hutchinson are receiving their usual 1:1 support via Teams.
Through the range of contacts and approaches we are using, we are checking our key student’s welfare, making sure that these students can access their work. We are also signposting parents to external agencies that can provide further support for them, if required.
These different contact mechanisms are only available to a limited number of students and we have carefully and purposefully prioritised the students to receive contact from school based on those that are given enhanced support by pastoral staff in school, or those that are on the SEND register. However, if any student does have a concern and feels that they do need support, they can contact the school via the HARP (Help, Advice and Reporting Page) on the school VLE. Once a HARP alert has been received by the school, pastoral staff will respond to the student by the end of the day. We are hoping that the majority of questions that students have will be answered through their morning assemblies and by their teachers during their live lessons. Alternatively, parents can email the year team if they feel that their child would benefit from a welfare call.
Recovery Programme
Obviously, there has been a lot of learning time that has been lost but I want you to know that we are putting together a thorough plan as to how we can recoup this time. This will involve using our Period 7 programme extensively, but we are potentially looking at extending this further to make sure that all of our students are fully prepared. We will outline these plans later in the term.
So, the only thing left to say is that I hope that we will see our students back in school shortly. Thank you for sticking by the school during this incredibly difficult time.
Warm regards,
STEVE CAMPBELL
PRINCIPAL