Headteacher's update 69
Published on 16/07/21
Good afternoon,
I hope that you and your families are well and enjoying the warm summer weather.
Thank You!
A huge thank you to all our students and their families for working with us so positively over the course of this very difficult year. This has been another year like no other, and at times we have had to respond very quickly to changing situations. In the last two weeks of term in particular we have had to call many parents/carers to share the difficult news that their child will need to isolate having come into contact with a positive case in school. The support we have received from families has been excellent – thank you! We hope that the revised COVID guidance for schools will mean that this disruption will not be an issue next year.
Return to School in September 2021 and COVID testing
We have had to make some slight changes to our arrangements for the start of the new school year in light of revised government guidance which specifies that schools should test all students for whom consent is provided prior to their return to the classroom. These changes will not impact on the day your child is due to return to learning at school.
Students in Year 7 and Year 11:
- Will be invited to come to school on Friday 3rd September to take a COVID test.
- They will return to the classroom on Monday 6th September, arriving at the normal time – by 08.40.
- We will send you a separate message to let you know the time of your COVID test and where to go.
Students in Years 8, 9 and 10:
- Will be invited to come to school on Monday 6th September to take a COVID test.
- They will return to the classroom on Tuesday 7th September, arriving at the normal time – by 08.40.
- We will send you a separate message to let you know the time of your COVID test and where to go.
School Day 2021/22
To confirm, our school day will remain the same from September as it currently is.
- We will ask all students to arrive at school by 08.40 ready to start form time at 08.45.
- The school day will end at 14.30 for students in Years 7 to 10, with students in Years 7 and 8 allowed to leave classrooms a few minutes earlier to avoid crowding at the gates.
- Students in Year 11 will have an additional timetabled lesson – Period 6 – which will begin at 14.45 and end at 15.45.
Sports Day & Boss Your Future
Thank you to all students who took part so enthusiastically in Monday’s Sports Day for Year 7, 8 and 9 students, and the ‘Boss Your Future’ careers day for Year 10 students.
Our Sports Day was different to usual, with students competing within their year group bubbles, and had to be modified to take account of the wet weather. Nonetheless our students approached it with great positivity, many of them wearing their hall colours!
Our Year 10 students all looked they were arriving for interviews when they arrived at school on Monday in formal work-wear, ready to meet the variety of employers and post-16 providers who were invited in to lead sessions. Our visitors were extremely complimentary about our Year 10 students. Well done!
PSHE Consultation Letter
Mr Skinner, our Subject Leader for PSHE has been very busy updating our PSHE curriculum in light of new national guidance, in particular relating to how schools should teach Sex and Relationships Education. Mr Skinner has composed a letter to all parents/carers outlining our new curriculum and seeking your feedback. The letter and more information can be found here: https://www.westfield-chorustrust.org/_site/data/files/documents/296E36813F9A018D81F68E71E34BD439.pdf
Summer Update
Throughout the pandemic we have become accustomed to receiving changes in guidance during holiday periods. We therefore plan to issue an update to parents close to the return to school in September to advise of any further changes you will need to be aware of.
On the behalf of all of our team at Westfield, we wish all our students and their families a happy, safe and restful summer, and we look forward to seeing you again in September.
Joe Birkbeck
Head of Westfield School