Parent Bulletin: 05.01.2021
5th January 2021
Dear Parents and Carers
You will all be aware of the Government announcements yesterday. A link to the new restrictions is available on this link. Please ensure that your children and family comply with all measures designed to bring this outbreak under control and thus help us to get back into school as quickly as we can.
Staff have been working hard to put arrangements in place for home learning, starting from tomorrow morning. If your child has any difficulties with their device or with access to any learning platform, please contact CAM-Support@cambournevc.org
Remote Learning - The timetable for all year groups is on this link.
We will again be teaching a modified timetable based on what we have learned from our previous experiences. The day will start for all pupils with a year-group assembly or activity at 8.40am to set the tone for the day. Pupils will be led through a PE activity between 9 and 9.30, and will then engage in their lessons which will all be set via ShowMyHomeWork. All work will be set by 9.00 and we expect it to be completed and submitted on the same day.
Work will be set in a variety of ways and is likely to include some live lessons (also recorded for later viewing) and some lessons recorded with teacher voice-over. Staff will make every effort to be available to answer pupil questions during lesson slots, but please remember that we are almost all working from home and have varying individual circumstances.
Pastoral contact - Pupils will receive a fortnightly call from their tutor. In most circumstances, the parent or carer will be called first and then the call passed on to the pupil. In some cases, the pupil will be contacted directly and the parent/carer and child emailed first to inform them of the time. Please return promptly any forms asking for updated contact details.
Attendance – We will be monitoring pupil attendance each day by checking the log-on time to SMHW and looking at the Work Not Yet Submitted logs from staff. If a pupil doesn’t log on, this will be classed as an absence and their Pastoral Support Assistant will contact the parent the following day.
Reporting absence – Please inform the College as normal if your child is not well enough to undertake lessons by emailing the College thecollege@cambournevc.org
Reporting Covid symptoms - Please continue to report any Covid symptoms in your households or where pupils have been identified from track and trace using this form.
School for vulnerable pupils and those of Critical Workers - If you applied for a space for Key worker school then please assume you have a place. Unfortunately our catering service will not be on site immediately this week and therefore all pupils attending school must bring drinks/ snacks/ lunch.
Pupils should be on site in full uniform with books/ pencil case/ iPad and 2 masks at 9am each day.
Pupils will finish school at normal time (3pm). If they have completed all work the school may contact you to see if your child can leave early. Contact will only be made via Reception and not by the pupil.
Under current conditions, we strongly encourage all pupils and staff to wear a 3-ply mask at all times in the classrooms and around school.
Year 11 - I have written to all Year 11 students, to commiserate with them on the disruption to their final year in school and to their exams, and to reassure them that we will do all we can to support them, whatever system of assessment is now adopted. Last summer, our Centre Assessment Grades process was conducted robustly and fairly and we were pleased with the outcomes our students achieved. We will work just as hard to ensure your children attain the results they deserve. In the meantime, please encourage them to continue logging on to all their lessons and completing the work set.
We are expecting BTEC exams to continue in school for the next fortnight; pupils involved are being contacted separately.
Testing for Covid-19
We have received the materials provided by the Government for giving lateral flow tests to pupils and staff to screen for the presence of coronavirus. We are preparing to test all pupils and staff in Critical Worker School and those who are attending the site for exams. We need the consent of parents and carers to do this and will be contacting you if your child is involved, to seek this. The tests are not compulsory and you do not have to consent in order for your child to attend school or Critical Worker School, but Cambourne is recording high levels of coronavirus cases and we are asking parents to give this consent in order to protect our school and the whole community.
I’m sorry for the length of this bulletin.
Please do contact us if you have queries or concerns, and take very good care of yourselves,
Claire Coates
Principal
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