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Headmaster’s Weekly Update for Parents
16/06/2020

Dear Parent,

Welcome to this week’s Update.


The return of Years 10 and Lower Sixth

The most significant news this week is confirmation that pupils from year 10 and students from the lower sixth have been invited to return to school from next Monday. Only a quarter of each year group will be allowed to attend on each day but at least the empty corridors and classrooms will see some welcome return of young people! We have missed them, their energy, curiosity and spark, and staff are itching to get going with some real teaching.

Parents can feel assured that all of our plans have been risk assessed, approved by the governing body, satisfy government guidance and take account of recommendations from the local authority, including the most recent advice that Lancashire schools can plan to reopen from 22nd June.

We have every reason to expect that next week will be a positive experience for all concerned as we begin to fashion a new normal. This may of course become our new way of working, including for some of the next academic year. You will know from watching the news that schools are keen for greater clarity from the government about how their intention of all pupils returning in September can be satisfied given current restrictions on social distancing. I know that the current period of stasis will be as infuriating for you as it is for me. In the meantime we continue to plan for a number of likely scenarios for 2020-21, including full opening and a hybrid model where some pupils attend on some days, whilst others continue to work from home.


Online School

Thank you for continuing to let me know how online work is progressing (head@st-christophers.org). For most pupils I know that this has been a satisfactory way of learning and for some the amount of work completed has been greater than at school! For others the whole process continues to present challenges which staff are trying hard to address.

It is worth me reminding you of some of the agreed protocols around the setting and checking of work. All work should be set through School Synergy, allowing you to view tasks and monitor the completion of work. In many cases the Synergy information will then direct pupils to another source, notably Teams which is fast becoming the preferred means of relaying new materials, increasingly in the form of live or recorded lessons.

The government continues to update its advice for parents in a series of helpful articles and I recommend https://www.gov.uk/guidance/help-secondary-school-children-continue-their-education-during-coronavirus-covid-19 to you. Not only does this include some pretty common sense advice, it also provides links to some useful educational sites which can be used to supplement work set by school or help to fill any gaps in learning which may have become evident in recent weeks. You may also find the coverage of young people’s mental health and well-being to be of some help.


Until next week …

RD Jones

Headmaster