Update following Boris Johnson’s announcement last night

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5^th January 2021

Dear Parents and Carers,

Re: Update following Boris Johnson’s announcement last night

I hope you and your families are well. I am writing to update you on the current situation in school and within the remote learning provision that begins this week.

Summer 2021 exams announcement

I am sure you are aware that during last night’s announcement from Boris Johnson, GCSE and A Level exams for summer 2021 will not go ahead as planned. I fully appreciate how unsettling this is to students in Years 11 and 13, and as soon as we know how our young people will be assessed and awarded the grades they deserve this coming summer, I will communicate this with you. As it stands, I only know as much as anyone else who has been following the news over the past 24 hours. We will work incredibly hard to ensure we follow all Government directives regarding the awarding of GCSE and A Level grades, as we always do. If you have a child in Year 11 or Year 13, please reassure them that they are in the same position as all other students in their year group across the country, and that we are here to support them. It is really important that they do not give up, as we still have lots of work to do, and the work they complete in the coming months will undoubtedly be used to shape the summer 2021 outcomes, and develop the foundations for success in post-16 study.

Remote learning provision

As per my previous communications, remote learning for Years 11 and 13 will commence tomorrow, 6^th January. Remote learning for all other year groups will begin on Monday 11^th January, following students’ normal timetable.

In Key Stage 3 we offer live lessons Maths, English, Science, History, Geography, Computing, Foreign Languages, Religious Education, PSHE and PE. In addition to these subjects we are also offering Enrichment Lessons in Food, Design Technology, Art, Drama and Music for Key Stage 3 students. In Key Stages 4 and 5 we offer live lessons in all subjects.

To see a short video of how to use the remote curriculum, please follow this link. For more information on our remote curriculum visit our remote curriculum hub and remote curriculum strategy areas.

If a student has an Education, Health and Care plan or is in receipt of free school meals, and is having issues with accessing the remote curriculum due to lack of electronic devices please contact james.grill@budehaven.cornwall.sch.uk for guidance, and we will be happy to assist.

Protocols for students attending online live lessons at Budehaven.

In order to allow us to run these sessions in-line with best practice we need to you to have read, understood and agree to the following conditions:

1. The ‘Google Meets’ platform is being used as a dedicated educational platform and should only be used as such. Once the lesson ends please log off prior to your teacher.
2. Conduct yourself as you would in a regular lesson, with respect, focus and dedication to your learning.
3. When you log on to a lesson, please mute your microphone. You may unmute it if you have a question to ask or respond to. Once done please mute it once more.
4. Please ensure that you log on at the start of each session in a timely fashion, as late login will cause distraction to other learners and the teacher.
5. Check for any messages from your teacher in the lesson stream, due to circumstances (such as illness etc.) the lesson start time may have been moved or cover work set. If you are ill, please report any school absence as you normally would using the school absence telephone line or the School Gateway App.
6. Should you not be able to attend a session you should email your teacher prior to it giving your reason. Lessons will be recorded and posted in the class stream. You should complete the work set as soon as possible. You will still be given engagement points for this.
7. Work will often be set in these sessions for completion prior to the next session. You need to ensure that you understand the work and can do it prior to logging off.
8. Please ensure that you are wearing suitable attire for the sessions, i.e. no pyjamas or style of dress that would not normally be accepted within school.
9. Where possible you, should work in a space that others can see, i.e. in your kitchen. Where you are unable to do so and are forced to be in a bedroom, please ensure that the door is left open. This is an important safeguarding action and needs to be adhered too at all times.
10. Please ensure that nothing offence or embarrassing is present in your video screen if you should choose to enable your camera.
11. You should assume that all lessons are recorded and that your comments and behaviour will be viewable by others. Should you wish to, you may turn off your video prior to entering the lesson and only post responses in the message box if you don’t wish your voice or face to be recorded.
12. At the end of each session you are required to log off before your teacher. Remember teachers are new to this too. Things may not be perfect to start with so please be patient and we will all get better as time we get use to this new way of working.

We can’t wait to see you all again, and look forward to seeing you all in live lessons.

Free School Meals provision

This week, we are providing lunch hampers for those pupils in receipt of free school meals who have requested them. I am in liaison with Cornwall Council regarding the provision for those in receipt of free school meals after this week, and I will communicate information regarding how this will be delivered as soon as I receive direction.

Provision in school for vulnerable children and children of critical/key workers

Any parents who have requested a place within our provision for vulnerable children and those of critical/key workers have been contacted with details of how to apply for a place. The Government’s criteria for eligibility for this provision has changed since the first and second lockdowns, and both parents (if applicable), must work within the Government’s pre-defined list of critical/key worker professions in order to qualify. Due to the virulence of the new strain of Covid-19, and the need to keep numbers of people in school at any one time to a minimum during the current strict lockdown, we must apply the Government’s strict criteria before allocating a place. I would ask all parents and carers who request a place to be patient whilst we deal with each individual case, as the release of the announcement yesterday at 8pm has meant that many of our previous plans have been changed at the last minute, and we are working with a reduced staff capacity.

Lateral Flow Testing

As per Government directives, we must carry out routine Lateral Flow Testing for staff once per week, for any staff members who come into school. We must also test pupils who come into school as part of the vulnerable children/children of key or critical workers group. On allocation of a place within these provisions, we will send out parental consent forms to parents of eligible students, which will need to be returned on the same day.

Ensuring the strict lockdown rules are followed at all times

It is a fact of life that as soon as young people are seen in the community to not be following the strict, Government-enforced lockdown rules, members of the public contact us as a school, asking us to ensure the rules are enforced. When our students are not in school, they need to, as we all do, follow the rules of the current lockdown, so we can all work together and hopefully return to normality as soon as possible. If we all work together we can make a huge difference, but as has been shown in various areas of the country and indeed across the world, it only takes a small number of people to not follow the rules to cause a serious, life-threatening effect. Thank you for your help in recent months, and also in advance over the next few weeks, for your support in reinforcing the importance of following the lockdown rules.

As we have done over the last nine months, we continue to navigate a landscape none of us have experienced before. As soon as decisions are made and information arrives, we will endeavour to communicate this with you as soon as practicable. If in the meantime you have any questions, please contact us via enquiries@budehaven.cornwall.sch.uk

Yours sincerely,

Mr Dominic Wilkes

Headteacher