School Updates

Dear Parents/Carers.

A bank holiday for the state funeral of Her Majesty The Queen has been announced for Monday 19th September 2022.

In line with usual bank holiday processes, Highams Park Academy will be closed on this date.

We look forward to welcoming students back, on Tuesday 20th September at 8.30am as usual.

Many Thanks,

Phil Grundy

 

Dear Parents/carers,

It has been wonderful to be able to welcome the students back to school this week.  A particular welcome to our new Year 7 and 12 students who have seemingly settled in very well to their new school.

Key points

Please ensure to rectify any missing pieces of school uniform this weekend.

Nails, ear studs, mobile phones please remind students of our expectations.

Get involved in the sports and performing arts activities that have already commenced.

Look out for your year groups preparation evening.

Please consider our neighbours if driving to the school.

Thank you to the vast majority of students who have adhered to the uniform policy and have returned to school dressed smartly in the correct uniform.  We have for many years endeavoured to keep the uniform as generic as possible so readily available at competitive prices at local stores rather than expensive branded items of clothing.  Please could I ask that any final missing pieces of uniform are rectified this weekend.

Some of the points we have had to pick students up on during this first week include: removal of false nails, ensuring ear piercings are only with a plain mental stud, phones to be turned off and not seen or heard during the day.  Please reinforce this message to your children this weekend to make for a smooth second week.

As I type this message, students are busily signing up to audition for this year’s school play.  Having not been able to do so in the last two years, it is exciting to relaunch this tradition with the old classic musical ‘Grease’.  Similarly, I am aware that Netball and football practices/trials are also underway.

It has been good to be able to welcome several parents to school in person this week as they have attended the preparation evenings for Years 12, 13 and 8 respectively.  We look forward to seeing other year groups during the next two weeks.

Could I at the start of this new term politely remind those parents who drop or collect their children by car to consider our neighbours.  The frustrations of blocked driveways and idling engines have been raised with the school, so thank you in anticipation of your considerate parking.

Finally, I must comment on the passing of Her Royal Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.  Today the school joined the nation in observing a minutes silence at midday and we shall consider further what we can learn and celebrate from her lifelong service during our assemblies next week.  Clearly, we all await further details from the Government as to how the Nation will observe her passing and what impact this will have upon schools.

Welcome back to the new year.

Yours sincerely

Phil Grundy

Dear parents,

Following the frustrating decision that we reached over the weekend to cancel many of the activities that had been planned for this final week of term, I wanted to provide a brief update on plans for the rest of the week.

Year 9 students on the residential trip to Wales, and the Year 7 & 8 students at Stubbers have now safely arrived and commenced their activities there.  A huge thanks goes to the staff supervising these visits – we anticipate considerable time will be spent on water based activities!

Today our Year 12 students were able to participate in the first of their UCAS preparation days, it was fantastic to see them starting to plot and plan their route into further education, apprenticeships and employment.  They will continue with these activities tomorrow.

The vast majority of year 10 students were able to commence the first day of their work experience.  Hopefully many of them were able to benefit from work environments with air conditioning!  Sadly those students who were due to complete their Duke of Edinburgh expedition have had to miss out on both the hike as well as the work experience.  Plans are underway to reschedule the expedition as soon as possible, so please watch this space for more details.

The vast majority of students were able to shelter from the growing heat at home, and with temperatures still forecasted to remain high on Tuesday 19^th July, we request that where students are able to stay at home safely away from the temperatures that they do so again.  Colleagues have been busy reviewing the arrangements for the rest of the week and there is the possibility that some of the trips that have been missed on Monday and Tuesday may well be moved to the Wednesday and Thursday to replace the onsite activities that had been scheduled.  Confirmation will be issued of this tomorrow, in order for students to be able to arrive at school properly prepared for their activities from Wednesday onwards.

The forecast from Wednesday onwards suggests that we will be able to continue with all of the planned activities for the rest of the week.  Including the school walk on Friday.  When, yes you have guessed it, it is now due to rain!

Thank you for your ongoing support and cooperation with our best attempts to balance the desire to provide new experiences for the students, whilst also balancing everyone’s health and safety concerns as a result of the high temperatures.

Many thanks – a further update will follow tomorrow!

Regards

Phil Grundy

Dear Parents,

I am writing to update you on the rapidly changing arrangements for the forthcoming activities week. As you will no doubt be aware the guidance and advice from various agencies, DfE, TfL, Met office, LA has been continually updated as the accuracy of the weather forecast has continually been refined.

Key Points

Arrangements for Activities have significantly changed due to the red weather warning issued by the Met Office and guidance from Public Health.

The Year 7 residential to Stubbers and the Year 9 residential to Wales will still go ahead as planned.

All other offsite activities on Monday 18th and Tuesday 19th July have been cancelled.

Year 12 students should attend school as normal to complete their UCAS preparation.

All other year groups are encouraged to remain at home to avoid use of public transport and time outside.

The school will be open to any student who cannot be appropriately supervised at home, or any student wishing to collect their lunch.

Please can parents complete the survey via the link provided indicating their intention for their child to be supervised at school or whether they are remaining at home. https://forms.office.com/r/9gbGpAEDCy

At present we anticipate activities week arrangements to recommence on Wednesday – Friday as planned.

Consequently, I can confirm that the following arrangements will be implemented in response to the red alert warning that has been issued for Monday and Tuesday of next week:

The Year 7 residential to Stubbers and Year 9 trip to Wales will both go ahead as planned. We have linked with staff at each centre and there are specific plans in place to manage the students’ exposure to the heat appropriately. All other off-site trips on Monday and Tuesday will sadly have to be cancelled and will not take place. Disappointingly, this includes the Year 10 Duke of Edinburgh expedition scheduled to the South Downs.

The school will only be open on Monday and Tuesday for a restricted number of students:

· Year 12 students, in order for them to complete their UCAS input and applications.

· Those students in Years 7 and 9 who are going on the residential trips will meet at the school prior to their arranged departure. (Year 9 leaving on Sunday)

Due to the advised restrictions on travel, the exceptionally high temperature and lack of air conditioned rooms at school all other students are invited to remain at home.

The school will remain open to any students who are not able to appropriately shelter from the temperatures at home. Similarly any student who wishes to collect free school meals will be welcome to attend school in order to collect these.

All those students who do attend school will be accommodated in collapsed classes using the coolest classrooms in the school. Students will be restricted in the time that they are

able to spend outside of the building and will have a reduced day, being dismissed from school at 1.25pm - the end of period 4.

At present we anticipate the planned activities for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday will proceed as planned but will continue to review arrangements in light of the developing situation and will update you accordingly.

To help our preparations over the rest of the weekend please could I ask parents to indicate their intention with regard to sending their children to school on Monday and Tuesday of this week by completing the following brief survey:

https://forms.office.com/r/9gbGpAEDCy

Yours sincerely,

Phil Grundy.

Dear Parents
 
As we enter our final few weeks of the year I wanted to remind you of some of the upcoming events before the end of term, particularly a reminder of two upcoming afternoons where the school will close early.

Key Messages

1. Current Year 6 students joining the school in September 2022 will be spending the day at Highams Park School on Wednesday, 6th July 2022.

2. School will close early, at the end of Period 4 at 13.25pm on Thursday, 7th July 2022 for all students.

3. School will also close early, at the end of Period 4 at 13.25pm on Friday, 15th July 2022 for all students.

Further information

• The Year 6 students visiting our school on Wednesday, 6th July 2022 is an excellent opportunity for them to begin to familiarise themselves with their new school and it will help them feel more confident about their move in September 2022.  Year 6 students can also sign up for one or more of our ‘Summer School’ days.  Information about this was shared with parents on the 29th June 2022, when new students and parents visited the school to meet their Form Tutors for next year and learn more about the transition ahead.
• This Thursday, 7th July 2022 is the last of our early close days designed to allow time for departments to plan collaboratively and to work on written reports.  Students will be able to leave at 13.25pm, those who are eligible for free school meals (FSM) will be able to receive their food at break time.
• As Activities Week involves some residential activities Friday, 15th July 2022 is the last opportunity we have a staff body to say farewell to staff moving on to new schools.  For this reason, the school will close early to students at the end of Period 4 at 13.25pm to allow the staff to come together for the afternoon.
• Students in Years 7 to 10 are receiving end of year reports between now and Friday, 15th July 2022.  Please ensure that students reflect carefully on the information in these reports as they contain an important summary of the academic achievements from this year – including the end of year exam results – and also an overview of pastoral indicators such as effort, behaviour, progress and the number of achievement points (rewards) and behaviour points (debts) accrued during this last academic year.
• With Activities Week approaching, there is so much to be excited about as the end of year approaches, but can I also bring to your attention the Summer Music Concert taking place on Thursday, 7th July 2022 in the Main Hall at 6:30pm.  This is free to Highams Park students and their siblings under 18, and tickets for adults are available at lunchtime from the Music department.
• The deadline for applications for the Principal’s post has now passed and the Trustee Board are completing the shortlisting process.  Interviews are scheduled to take place on the 12th and 13th July 2022 and I look forward to sharing the outcome with you.
• We look forward to welcoming our award-winning students and parents to their respective presentation events at their Awards Evenings next week.  Year 7 is on Monday 11th July 2022, Year 8 is Tuesday 12th July 2022, Year 9 is Wednesday 13th July 2022 and Year 10 is Thursday, 14th July 2022.  Well done to all those prize winners.

Your faithfully
 
Phil Grundy
Principal

Dear Parents and Carers

| wanted to write to inform you all that after what will be seven years of serving Highams Park School as Principal, | have recently informed the Trustees of my intention to step down from the post at the end of the Autumn Term in December 2022.

Moving on from Highams Park School will be a significant personal wrench for me, as it is a school and a community that | have come to love during my ten years here. | have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to work with you and your children and thank you for the support that you have demonstrated during that time. Below, Tracy Penfold, our Chair of Trustees has set out in more detail the steps that she will now oversee in order to find and select the very best candidate to lead the school into the next exciting era. | look forward to supporting them in the process and will of course facilitate a smooth hand over to the new Principal from January 2023.

Clearly, there are seven significant months prior to passing the post on to the selected successor and | shall enjoy working alongside each of you and your children during that time thus ensuring they continue to progress towards their goals and future success. It has been a huge privilege to have been able to lead the school during the last seven years, despite some of the significant challenges that we have collectively faced during the pandemic. As | leave Highams Park School, | have also decided to retire from the teaching profession — in my view there is not another school quite like Highams Park School and so | depart to pursue a career in a different sector. Highams Park School will always have a very special place in my heart as it has been a hugely significant part of my life for the last decade.

Yours faithfully

Mr Phil Grundy
Principal

 

Dear Parents and Carers

It is with deep regret that the Trust Board has accepted Mr Grundy’s resignation. The past two years have been the most difficult in the school's entire lifetime with the immense responsibility of keeping the students and staff safe under near impossible conditions. We therefore fully appreciate Mr Grundy's decision to leave the teaching profession at this time and we hope that you can join us in thanking him for the commitment he has shown to the school community and the school ethos to lead us through such a difficult time.

We wish Mr Grundy and his family every success for the future as he pursues a career outside the world of education, he will be missed by us all.

The Trust Board is working very hard to secure a new Principal for Highams Park School - one who understands the school ethos and is equipped to continue leading and working with all members of the school community to ensure the school continues to go from strength to strength. We will, of course, keep you updated on our progress with this appointment.

We look forward to an exciting future and building on the progress the school has made to date.

Yours faithfully

Mrs Tracy Penfold
Chair of Trustees

Dear Parents

As we commence the final half term of this academic year, I wanted to write and share some updates on different aspects of school life with you. I hope that all students, and parents are able to return to work and school having enjoyed some time together over the historic bank holiday that we have just celebrated.

Firstly, words of encouragement and support for our students in Years 11, 12 and 13 as they head into the final weeks of GCSE, BTEC and A Level examinations. For the first time in three years, students this summer have the opportunity to sit real examinations to test their knowledge in a formal exam setting. To date every student has demonstrated excellent focus and commitment during what can be a challenging process. Well done and keep going.

All other Year Groups will also be sitting internal end of year tests as well, providing them with the opportunity to hone the skills and organisation required to revise, prepare for and then deliver successfully within the confines of an examination. Clearly this is an important part of achieving the success for which we collectively strive.

Behind the scenes there has been considerable work taking place with the Department for Education as part of the School Rebuilding Programme. As you will be aware Highams Park School is a large site which contains numerous different teaching blocks constructed and redeveloped over time. I am delighted to be able to confirm that plans are now well advanced, and will be shortly submitted for approval to upgrade the oldest areas of our estate, bringing them up to the same standard as the newest areas of the school such as the 6th Form and P block. More information will follow in due course once the plans are formally approved, at present we anticipate that the first phase of building will commence upon the completion of the GCSE and A Level Examinations next summer, i.e. July 2023.

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy

Principal

Dear Parents

KEY MESSAGES

School will finish at 1.25pm  this Friday 1st April 2022, and commence again at 8.30am on Tuesday 19th April 2022.

Use the Firefly link to view more details of some of the school events in the last six weeks.

Well done to all Year 11 and 6th Form students on the completion of their Mock Examinations.

Wonderful to see the return of Music, Dance, Drama and Sporting Performances.

Consider whether you would be able to link with us to support the current crisis in Ukraine.

As we approach the final few days of term, I wanted to write to you to share some key points.  Our term will end this Friday, 1st April 2022 with students being released from school at the end of Period 4, and be able to leave school at 1.25pm.  Food will be available for all students, at break time but also at the start of the lunchtime as students then head home for the Easter holiday.
 
Can I encourage you to view some of the highlights of the last six weeks via your firefly account, https://highamspark.fireflycloud.net/news.  I must admit particular highlights for me in recent weeks have been to be able to see students and parents return to collective performances, where students have been able to showcase their teamwork and collaboration.
 
Well done to all those involved in the recent Dance Showcase, Drama Performance and Football Final.  As I write this I look forward to seeing some of our musicians perform at our Spring Concert on Thursday evening, 31st March 2022.  From the snippets that I have seen in our Year Group celebration assemblies at the start of this week we are in for a treat.  There are only a handful of tickets left on sale for this event, please see the attachment for details of how to purchase them if you would like to join us.
 
Can I also encourage our 6th Form and Year 11 students particularly as they both complete their final mock examinations.  The process of preparing for the upcoming final GCSE, BTEC and A Level exams has been particularly taxing this year as students and staff have had to do so in the knowledge that these exams have not taken place for the last two years.
 
Within our school there are many cultures represented, and it was genuinely a wonderful experience to witness students coming to school in the colours or traditional clothing of the countries and cultures that are particularly precious to them.  The first Highams Park Cultural Day was an absolute success, and will certainly be making an annual appearance going forward.
 
We have a wonderful mixture of cultures, faiths, beliefs and traditions represented within our school and so we shall inevitably all celebrate or mark Easter in different ways.  However, may I encourage everyone to reflect on the tragedy of events currently taking place in Ukraine and consider how each of us can help to advance unity and respect for the differences that exist in our communities rather than these being a source of conflict.  There is a link on the Firefly news page of an initiative, that we as a school are supporting to help in some small way if you would like to do so. I wish you all a peaceful Easter break and look forward to welcoming the students back to school on Tuesday 19th April 2022 for a prompt start at 8.30am.
 
Have a good break​, I look forward to seeing your children on return.
 
Yours faithfully
 
Phil Grundy

Principal

 

Dear Parents

As we start a new half term, I wanted to update you on a few matters.

Key Matters

1. Students have returned to school and will continue to be asked to wear face masks whenever inside the school building.  We will continue to review the necessity for this considering both the level of COVID infection as well as the promised announcement from the Government later on this week. It is pleasing to be able to report that our staff and student absence as a result of COVID is at its lowest for several months, so it would appear that we are heading in the right direction.
   
   

2. As you may have seen in the local press, one of the trees in Handsworth Avenue fell into the school property, causing significant damage to the 6^th Form entrance gate and perimeter fencing.  6^th Form students and any late arrivals should continue to enter the school via the 6^th Form entrance, but should use the larger vehicle gate to some 10 meters further along the pavement to gain access to the site.
   
   

3. Thursday 24^th February 2022 will be the second of the reduced days for students in all Year Groups.  The school will be closed to students from the end of period 4, and they will be dismissed from school at 1.25pm.  Those students in receipt of free school meals will be able to collect and consume their meals either at break time or on dismissal from school.  The third and final reduced day is planned for Thursday 7^th July 2022

 

I hope that you were all able to enjoy some time together as a family during half term and we look forward to our ongoing work with you during the second half of this term.

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy

Principal

 

 

Dear Parents,

As many of you will be aware the Government announced yesterday that the requirement for students to wear face masks whilst in their lessons was no longer in force. However, the local guidance that the school has been provided with from Waltham Forest Public Health continues to recommend that face masks continue to be worn in communal areas, including the classrooms.

During this term colleagues at school have worked tirelessly to try and keep face to face learning going, and to date we have been successful in doing so despite several staff needing to isolate due to testing positive. With 54 students and 8 members of staff unable to attend school today due to COVID infection we will at present continue to ask that masks be worn in communal areas and in classrooms. Doing so will help to drive the infection levels lower.

We will keep this matter under constant review and update you accordingly. Hopefully with some good news when we see case numbers drop. We have yesterday received our next delivery of lateral flow tests and form tutors will start distributing these to students in the next few days. Please do continue to test and register the results on the link provided https://testregister.co.uk/login, this remains our very best way of ensuring that none of us unwittingly introduce the virus to others in the school.

Finally a reminder that as a result of this evenings 6th Form Open Evening students will leave school today (Thursday 20th January) at 1.25pm and all students have a slightly later start on Friday morning (21st January), needing to be in their tutor rooms by 9.40am.

Many thanks for your ongoing cooperation.

Regards

Phil Grundy

Principal

 

Dear Parents 

With students nearing the end of their second week of the new term, I wanted to inform and remind you of some key information.

Key Messages

1. Please continue testing and reporting your test results on both the school site and the Government site.

2. Thursday 20th January 2022, the school will close early, students will leave school from 1.25pm. This is to facilitate the 6th Form Open Evening to take place on that evening.

3. Friday 21st January 2022, the school will open slightly later following the 6th Form Open evening. Students should be in their tutor rooms for 9:40am.

4. Thursday 27th January 2022 the school will again close early with students leaving school from 1.25pm

More detail: 

1. Early identification of the virus remains our most efficient way of keeping the virus at bay.  It is frustrating for all of us when we have to isolate, potentially on occasions when we are feeling well.

On the first day back to school of this new term 82% of the student population reported that they had completed a test prior to arriving at school, or indeed completed a test on arrival at school, ensuring that we were confident that none of those students were unwittingly bringing the virus into school.

Please could I ask you all to keep testing and registering those tests, thus ensuring we are able to keep the school open and students benefiting from face to face teaching.  I am proud that to date we have not had to send any year groups home for a further bout of online teaching and would like to keep it this way if at all possible.  

Please can we see if we can achieve even greater coverage of tests reported on the site.  Can we exceed 82%? https://testregister.co.uk/login

2. On Thursday 20^th January 2022, we are hosting our annual 6^th Form Open Evening.  This is an event where Year 11 students and their parents are able to discuss their post 16 options.  Finding out more about subjects that they are interested in, and talking to subject teachers about the nature of the course.  As a result of the COVID restrictions we have had to spread the event over a longer period of time to be able to accommodate but also separate students from Highams Park and other visiting external students.  The early finish and late start the following morning are an inconvenience, but will enable our Year 11 students to make informed choices for their post 16 studies.

Normally we would encourage other students and their families from lower down the school to also visit to gain a preview of the choices that they face.  But on this occasion, please can I direct all families not in Year 11 to view the information that is available on line, and we look forward to welcoming you in future, less COVID times.  For Year 11 we look forward to seeing you during the afternoon and evening of the 20^th, please see the separate correspondence from the 6^th Form team about the arrangements.

3. Please note the later start time on Friday 21^st January 2022, is a result of 6^th Form Open Evening event outlined above.  Thank you for your cooperation in arriving at your tutor groups at 9.40am.

 

4. The afternoon of Thursday 27^th January 2022 is one of the three afternoons throughout the year where students are sent home early to provide staff with opportunity to collaborate and moderate their assessments and reporting.  The last two years of TAG’s and CAG’s being used to award student outcomes for their GCSE’s, A Levels and BTEC’s have further emphasised the value of our approach to these matters.

Thank you for your ongoing support in each of these matters.

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy

Principal 

Dear Parents and Carers

Firstly, I would want to wish you all a very happy New Year. I hope that over the Christmas break you have all been able to have some sort of break from the normal routine, and hopefully most of you were able to see more of your families this year than last, although I am aware that there were several of you who experienced another challenging year of muted celebrations as a result, of the ongoing pandemic.

Key Messages

1. All Students should complete a lateral flow test and register it on both the school link and the Government NHS site before returning to school https://testregister.co.uk/login

2. School commences again for all students on Wednesday 5th January 2022

3. On arrival at school students will be provided with a further supply of lateral flow test kits and will be given the opportunity to complete a test before going to their lessons.

4. Highlights from last half term can be viewed via the following firefly link.

5. All students will now be asked to wear a mask whilst in lessons as well as when moving around the school as per the Government request.

6. Please see below for some sad news with regards to some retired colleagues who have sadly passed away over the Christmas period. Our condolences clearly go to all of those affected.

7. Please be aware of the updated systems for reporting the absence of your child sent out in separate correspondence by my colleague, Ms Halkes.

Further detail:

1. It was really pleasing during the second half of the Autumn term to see a steady increase in the number of students regularly testing and registering home test kits. In the final weeks before Christmas approaching 40% of the students were registering tests. I would urge all families to complete and register a test prior to returning to school on Wednesday. This really does represent our very best opportunity to reduce the spread of the virus and to keep the school operating as normally as possible.

2. The media is full of reports anticipating high employee absence across all areas of society as a result, of adults needing to isolate due to being infected by COVID. Staff at Highams Park School have been testing regularly and, with the exception, of those medically restricted from doing so, we pretty much have 100% participation in regular testing to help ensure early detection of the virus in our work force. To help further prevent the spread of the virus could I please ask all families to consider their child having the vaccination. Clearly, it is acknowledged that this is a personal and on occasions complex choice but will certainly help to prevent the spread of the virus and again contribute to being able to keep the school running smoothly. We will contact you as soon as we are aware of any disruption to learning but will do our utmost to ensure face to face teaching continues as normal in January.

3. Please ensure your child is at school punctually on Wednesday morning. For the time being we shall continue to postpone whole Year Group gatherings in assemblies but on the first morning shall have an extended Form Group time to facilitate the distribution of lateral flow test kits, so students can continue to test at home on a weekly basis. Additionally, any student who has not completed a test at home before coming to school. will have the opportunity to test to help ensure we do not unwittingly re-introduce the virus into the school environment.

4. With all of the focus upon COVID it is easy to forget the many other areas of school life that we were able to re-establish during our first term of the year. Well done to all students of Years 11 and 13 who were able to complete some important mock examinations. We hope that it will not be necessary to use these results to calculate final A Level, BTEC and GCSE exams. However, the attitude and involvement of the students in these interim assessments stand them in good stead for the planned final examinations in the summer. Please follow this link to Firefly where further detail can be seen about a wider range of activities that also took place: https://highamspark.fireflycloud.net/news/school-news-and-events

5. As you may well have seen, recent Government advice has been issued asking all students to extend their wearing of face masks whilst at school to include when they are now sat in a classroom. Prior to Christmas students did well at wearing face coverings whilst indoors in communal areas. Please ensure that your child returns to school with a supply of face masks, so that they are able, to now wear a mask throughout the day unless outside or eating and drinking.

6. Those of you with older children who have now departed from Highams Park School will no doubt remember two recently retired colleagues; Mr Ken Creswell, DT teacher and Mr Tony Perrett, Headteacher. It is with much sadness that I have, to inform you that both have passed away over the Christmas period. They will be fondly remembered by the Highams Park School community, and I am sure I can speak for everyone in sending their families our condolences at this difficult time.

7. Ms Halkes sent out an important update to parents and carers in the last week before the Christmas break. This detailed how absence needs to be reported to the school. Please have a careful read through this and ensure that you use the correct system. In times of increased absence from school due to COVID it is a real challenge to keep our attendance systems running, so your help is greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your ongoing support, we look forward to welcoming the students back on Wednesday morning.

Yours faithfully

Mr Phil Grundy

Principal

 

 

Dear Parents

As we approach our final week of the term I wanted to share with you some key information, both for the end of term and the start of the new year

 

KEY MESSAGES

• Please continue to test weekly. Last week saw the highest number of tests completed. Can we beat it again ahead of the final week of school, log your results here.

• School will finish at 1.25pm on Friday, 17th December 2021. Students will be able to collect free school meals at either break or before departing at the end of the day.

• The new term will restart on Wednesday, 5th January 2022. Please ensure your child has tested and registered their result ahead of the new term.

Further explanation:

Home testing

I am pleased to be able to inform you that last week, more students in every Year Group completed and registered their lateral flow tests. Five hundred and twenty-nine tests were registered, so three hundred more tests than two weeks ago. Thank you for your support in this process.

I do not think it is any coincidence that the number of COVID infections found within the school has also dropped significantly. I speculate but believe this is partly in response to the early identification of any cases via the tests, and the increased and sustained wearing of masks in internal communal areas.

Please could I request that as many students as possible complete a test this weekend to ensure everyone, and Year 11 and 13 in particular, who are in the middle of their mock examinations, are able to enjoy an uninterrupted final week at school. Can we see if we can beat the total of five hundred and twenty-nine tests.

Test Kits

Any student or family needing a home test kit can collect these from their Form Tutor during this final week. Please ensure you have enough to be able to test before returning to school on Wednesday, 5 th January 2022.

Testing on return

You may well be aware of the Government’s request for schools to provide the opportunity for all students to complete a lateral flow test on return from the Christmas holidays. We intend to do this in one of two ways:

1. Students to complete and register a test via the link above on Tuesday, 4th January 2022 or the morning of Wednesday 5th January 2022.

2. Any student unable to complete a test at home will be given an opportunity on arrival at the school on Wednesday, 5th January 2022 to complete a test.

In order to keep disruption to a minimum, I would encourage as many students as possible to complete the test at home. This will enable the school to commence normal lessons immediately on the Wednesday morning and avoid any further disruption to teaching time.

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy

Principal

Dear Parents

KEY MESSAGES

• Please test at least twice a week.
• Please ensure you register your tests.  https://testregister.co.uk/app

Further context

As you are aware, the cases for Covid -19 have been rising throughout society as a whole, and over the last few weeks we as a school have also seen a similar increase.  As a school, we are trying to reduce and restrict the spread of the virus hence our re-introduction of the expectation that all students and staff wear face masks, whilst moving around inside the building.

Following further discussion with the LCRC and subsequent to the request for Year 10 students especially to increase the regularity of their testing, can I implore all families to complete the home testing twice a week (Year 10 students to test every day for the next 5 days).  Secondly, that you then ensure that the results are registered via the link below:

 https://testregister.co.uk/app

 During the previous week (15^th – 22^nd November 2021)  it is disappointing but perhaps not surprising that we only had 229 students that had registered their test results, as shown in the breakdown below.  I firmly believe that the very way of ensuring that we reduce the spread of COVID is by regular testing, and therefore being able to quickly isolate, to prevent the spread of the disease.

Year Group	Number of students registering test results
7	48
8	47
9	37
10	44
11	28
12	12
13	13

Thank you for your cooperation on this matters, we will report the registered test numbers at the same point next week.  Can we please collectively see if we are able to see a significant increase in the number of registered tests.

 

Your faithfully

 Phil Grundy

Principal

 

Dear Parents  

I would like to take this opportunity to update you on various aspects of school life.  For all of you who are short of time the key points are as follows: 

KEY MESSAGES

If your child is not yet vaccinated, please consider ensuring they are as soon as possible.

Face masks are part of school life again.  Please ensure your child has one plus a spare every day.

Please continue home testing at least twice a week.  Year 10, every day please for the next five days.

 

For those appreciative of a little more context, please note the following.  This week we were able to host the delivery by the NHS of the vaccinations to those children between ages 12 – 15 on Tuesday, 16^th November 2021.  It was pleasing to see approximately two hundred students taking up the vaccine.  The NHS staff who have been touring all schools in the region commented upon their maturity during the process. 

Whilst no guarantee of immunity, please can I encourage all families to consider having their child vaccinated as we continue to see the rate of infection fluctuate within different year groups of the school.  At present the highest Year Group is Year 10 with six confirmed cases.  I would therefore ask students in Year 10 to increase their home testing for the next five days, and to complete the tests on a daily basis.  Please register your results via the app, which can be accessed here.  NHS via the link provided 

Alternatively, if you have not already done so, and your child is over the age of 12, you are able to book your child in to have a COVID vaccination at one of the community-based centres. Book an NHS COVID vaccination directly for your child aged 12 – 15 here. 

Upon request from Public Health we have re-introduced the wearing of face masks for students and staff whilst moving around inside the building.  Please can I ask you to ensure your child has a mask that they can wear, and ideally a pack of spare masks that can be used during the day if one becomes lost or broken.  If we are unable to keep the infection numbers from rising, I anticipate needing to enforce the wearing of masks whilst sat in lessons, as well. 

With regards to the above two requests, we are fully aware and respectful of those individuals who are unable to be vaccinated or for good reason are not able to wear a face mask but we are obviously keen to keep this to a minimum.  Students in this position are now becoming adept and having an exemption card to hand in their top pocket and are able to show this discreetly and quickly to staff when challenged. 

Dr Morris will shortly be writing to the Year Groups affected, but our next two Parents’ Evenings will move back to on line appointments.  We had previously hoped to host these in person, but upon advice from Public Health will revert to the on-line appointment system.  We are aware that this was the preference of many of you already. 

Today we have celebrated "odd sock day" to help raise awareness of our anti-bullying stance.  Perhaps this message might be a prompt to discuss the issue with your child and remind them of the importance of sharing any struggles that they may have with adults at school or at home, who can assist.

 

Finally, on return from half term, I took the opportunity to speak to Years 7 - 11 about several different aspects of life where each of us need to take responsibility for our own and each other's safety.  One of the topics that I touched upon was the ongoing and nationwide issue of knife crime.  Parents with children in older years will be familiar with the process of us linking with colleagues from the Metroplitan Police to host a knife arch within the school. From experience this provides Officers and school staff with further opportunity to discuss the issue of knife crime, and bring awareness and peace of mind to a matter that none of us should be complacent about.  Again, perhaps this note might act as a prompt for you to be able to discuss the issue with your child, again assuring them of the support available to them from all adults at the school.   

Yours faithfully 

Phil Grundy

Principal

 

Dear Parent or carer,

12-15 vaccination programme

A brilliant 2,000 12–15-year-olds in Waltham Forest have now had their COVID-19 vaccine. These children will be helping to protect the borough and keep us all safer.

At a time when there are high rates of coronavirus transmission in schools, it is more important than ever for 12–15-year-olds to get vaccinated. By getting their vaccination, they’ll be less likely to become poorly with COVID-19 and will help to reduce the risk of infection too.

Along with our in-school clinics, we’ve also got lots of options for you to take your child to a clinic after school or at the weekend to get their vaccine out of school. If your child hasn’t yet had their vaccine, you can book in at one of the below clinics which are open weekly (see map on second side of letter):

• Tuesdays

Walthamstow Library, E17 7JN 10am-6.30pm

• Thursdays

Jubilee Centre, E11 4LA 10am-5.30pm

St Edmunds, E4 8JL 1pm-5pm

• Saturdays

Walthamstow Library, E17 7JN 10am-5.30pm

St Edmunds, E4 8JL 9am-5pm

• Sundays

Jubilee Centre, E11 4LA 10am-5.30pm

You will need to pre-book your child’s slot by visiting https://bit.ly/12-15bookingWF or by calling 119.

These times and days may be subject to change, but the up-to-date sessions will be available on the NHS website when you book. If you have a child who is aged 16 and up, they can walk in at any of our clinics across Waltham Forest. These include the above locations, as well as other community clinics and pharmacies. To view these venues, please visit https://bit.ly/3F6JoyD.

More information on the 12-15 vaccine programme

You can find more information about the 12-15 vaccines and get your questions answered over on our website: https://bit.ly/3D5ZGqY.

A few of our frequently asked questions are:

• Are there side effects for children who have the vaccine? Children might have side effects like with other vaccines, however these should be mild. If they continue after a few days, please call 111 for advice. Families Directorate Joe McDonnell, Director of Public Health

• Can they have the COVID-19 vaccine at similar times as other vaccines? It is safe to get the COVID-19 vaccine and others close together.

• Do they have to have it? It's not mandatory, so they don't have to. It's a discussion that's needed between you and your child.

• Can you get COVID-19 from the vaccine? There is no COVID-19 in the vaccine, so you cannot catch it from having the vaccination.

• Is there alcohol in the vaccine? The vaccine is halal, kosher, vegan and contains no alcohol.

Once again, thank you for your ongoing support during this ever-challenging time. Please do reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Yours faithfully,

Joe McDonnell

Director of Public Health

Map of Waltham Forest 12-15 COVID-19 vaccination clinics:

 

 

Dear Parents

As you are aware, we will be hosting, here at the school, the delivery by the NHS of the vaccination to those children between the ages of 12 – 16 on Tuesday, 16^th November 2021. 

If you wish your child to be included in this program, please give your parental consent , via the following link as  I can now confirm that the NHS will close the registration process at midnight Thursday, 11^th November 2021, so please do not delay in registering your consent.

Alternatively, if you have not already done so, and your child is over the age of 12, you are able to book your child in to have a COVID vaccination at one of the community-based centres.  Book an NHS COVID vaccination directly for your child aged 12 – 16 here.

Please find attached a letter containing a link to the LA website providing you with more information about the vaccine.

Thank you for your cooperation on these matters.  We hope to ensure the well-being of everyone and avoid any return to remote learning.  Our collective desire is to keep our school open and operational to all students throughout the whole year.

Yours faithfully

 

Phil Grundy

Principal

Dear Parents

I am writing to inform you of some changes in our management of the COVID virus. Thank you for your ongoing cooperation in both testing regularly and reporting any positive cases to the school, please do continue with this process using the following link: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

To date it has been pleasing that this regular testing, alongside all of the other measures that we have all been taking, has managed to keep the level of infection relatively low within the school community.

There are two thresholds of infection that we as a school are asked to monitor:

a) 5 linked cases within a group of students.
b) 10% of any Year Group.

When either of these thresholds are met the school works in collaboration with the NHS to implement further control measures to help reduce the spread of the virus. Over the half term break and on return to school, we have been made aware of eleven students in Year 9 who have returned a positive test result, thankfully none are seriously unwell. They are now isolating and we have therefore met threshold a).
Please could I ask for your cooperation in discussing and implementing the following with your children:

1. If you have not already done, and your child is over the age of 12 strongly consider booking to have a COVID vaccination at one of the community-based centres as soon as possible. Book an NHS COVID
vaccination directly for your child aged 12 – 16 here.

2. If you would like your child to have the vaccination and are unable to book at one of the community clinics we will be offering the vaccination to those between the ages of 12 – 16 on the 16th November 2021 here at school. To be included in this program, it is essential that parental consent is provided asap via the following link. This link will be closed by the NHS at some point before the 16th November 2021, we believe this is likely to be by Friday 12th November 2021, so please do not delay in registering your consent.

3. Please all continue to complete the twice weekly tests, and report your results to both the school and the NHS via the link provided.

4. We would ask that students in Year 9 increase the frequency of testing, and the NHS have suggested that daily tests for the next five days would be a helpful step in reducing the infection rate. If your child would like more tests these can be obtained from their Form Tutor.

5. All students and staff who are able to do so to return to wearing a face mask when moving around within the school building. Masks can be removed when students are outside and if desired once seated in their classroom. We would ask everyone to return to the practice of mask wearing as quickly as possible, so ideally from arrival at school on Thursday 4th November 2021. We recognise that there are some students, indeed members of staff for whom it is not possible to follow this request, some may need to purchase some new masks for this purpose. Please can you ensure that purchases or exemption cards have been organised for full implementation from Monday 8th November 2021.

There are some other internal measures that we will also implement with regard to assemblies, order of accessing the canteen, ventilation of classrooms, reminders around use of hand sanitisers to
also assist with the objective of reducing the potential spread of COVID. We will monitor the impact
of these in school measures, as well as all other steps you are able to make at home, over the next
ten days and will inform you of subsequent steps.

Thank you for your cooperation on these matters, but doing so we hope to ensure the well-being of
everyone and avoid any return to remote learning. Our collective desire is to keep our school open
and operational to all students throughout the whole year.

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy
Principal

 

 

Dear Parent
 
As all of you are aware, we are already in the process of collecting consent forms from you for the upcoming flu vaccination that is due to take place on Friday, 4th November 2021.  Thank you for your ongoing cooperation with this process.
 
I am now also writing to you to outline the process by which you can access a COVID vaccination for your child.  As you may be aware from recent press coverage, schools are working with the NHS to make the vaccinations available for students between the ages of 12 – 15.  However, I would like to share with you a link provided by the NHS whereby you can book a COVID vaccination for your child without having to wait to have it completed at school.
 
Children aged 12 to 15 years can now book their COVID-19 vaccination appointment online instead of getting a vaccine at school.
 
Should you be unable to book at one of the NHS clinics, we are also offering the vaccination here at school.  If you would like to make use of the opportunity at school it is necessary for you to complete the separate digital consent form below.

Vaccination consent form
 
As a school we have worked in cooperation with Vaccination UK to plan this opportunity.
 
It is hoped that the COVID vaccination will take place on Tuesday, 16th November 2021, and an early completion of the consent form will assist in the smooth planning of the process.  The digital link above from vaccinations UK also provides some helpful literature to help inform your decision as to whether to provide consent for your child to have the vaccine or not.  I do not intend to summarise the information provided but it is perhaps helpful to share the following: 

• We as a school are aware that there is a spectrum of views with regard to the COVID vaccination, we will clearly respect the choice of each family as to whether or not to take up the vaccine.
• The COVID vaccine is entirely optional, no one will be forced to take the vaccine.
• Students will only be permitted to have the vaccination at school if parent approval for the vaccination has been provided via the link above.
• Students who are 16 or over will not be included in the vaccination program at school.  They are able to gain the vaccination directly from the NHS vaccination centre and we would encourage them to do so at their earliest opportunity.
• Students under the age of 12 (some of our Year 7 students) will not have the COVID vaccine made available to them either.  Like you, we await confirmation from Vaccinations UK as to how the COVID vaccination will be made available for students as they turn 12 in coming months.
• Whilst the vaccinations are taking place at school, they are entirely delivered and monitored by trained medical staff from Vaccination UK.  Teaching and Administrative staff from the school will be on hand to support the medical professionals with the supervision and support for the students.
• Our earlier survey suggests that we might have an uptake of between 40% - 50%, hopefully the attached information will help guide those of you who were uncertain at the time of our survey.
• The consent forms that you complete via the link go directly to Vaccination UK, the school are only informed two days prior Tuesday, 16th November 2021 of the volume of uptake.  Only at that point will we be able to plan the exact times for each student to have their vaccination.
• Just as with all other vaccinations, students will receive the vaccination as part of their normal school day.  Leaving their lessons for a short period of time before resuming their normal timetable once completed. 

Many thanks for your ongoing support and consideration of this matter.  As we approach the COVID vaccination being made available to our students can I please encourage you to continue the process of twice weekly rapid flow testing during Half Term.  At present this remains our school and community’s best approach to keeping the virus under control.
 
Yours faithfully
 
Phil Grundy
Principal

 

Dear Parents

Re: Flu Immunisations

I am writing to update you with regard to the upcoming “Flu Immunisation” that is due to take place at school on 4th November 2021. The vaccinations will be administered by NHS England and we as a school facilitate the process to try and ensure as much coverage and therefore protection against the flu for your children and our whole community. This is perhaps even more important this year amidst the COVID crises than ever before.

Normally this vaccination would have taken place whilst the students were in Year 6 but this year students from Years 7 – 11 are being offered the vaccination. As you will be aware the vaccination forms indicate both consent to vaccination and non-consent to vaccination, please compete the form indicating your preference by signing the appropriate box on the form. Vaccinations will only be given once you have completed the consent form.

It has been brought to my attention that there are several students who for a variety of reasons have declined to have the immunisation via the nasal spray that the NHS will be using on the 4th November 2021.

Following discussion with some of the parents who have declined the vaccination it has become clear that one of the reasons for doing so is the inclusion of “products derived from porcine gelatine” within the vaccine. Some families for religious reasons would prefer not to make use of these products. I have spoken the Waltham Forest School Immunisation Team who have helpfully outlined the following points:

They have linked extensively with the British Fatwa Council and can provide some thinking on the matter to any interested party. If you would like a copy of this to aid your consideration please do contact them at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and they will make it available to you.

• The vaccination team are keen to stress that declining the nasal spray vaccination will not preclude your child from this important protection. It will just mean that you and your child will be asked to attend a clinic to receive an injection instead. The injection does not contain any of the “porcine gelatine” products that may have been problematic to those declining the nasal spray.
• NHS England have asked that if you prefer to take the injection because of the porcine gelatine you simply indicate this in the box: “Reason for refusal:”

I hope that you don’t mind me bringing this matter to your attention, many of you have already identified this as an issue from the information distributed by NHS England. However, both they and us as a school also recognise that the matter may have been overlooked if signing the form quickly. If having read this letter you would like to amend your consent form please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and Mrs Clancy will ensure that the correct preferences are shared with NHS England.

As regards to the Flu Consent Forms, we also have some Flu Injection Consent Forms available for those parents who would prefer their child to have the injection as the injection does not contain porcine products, this is clearly indicated on the form.

Students are welcome to come and get an injection form from our Medical Welfare Officer, Mrs Clancy in the Medical Office located in P Block.

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy
Principal

Dear Parents

I wanted to write to you ahead of the prospective Year 7 Open Evening that will take place at Highams Park School on Thursday, 14^th October 2021.  Thank you to many of you who are permitting your child to return to school in the evening to help showcase the work of all the different subjects, or indeed act as a tour guide for the prospective parents who would like to look around our school.

As a consequence of the Open Evening the students will finish their lessons on Thursday, 14^th October 2021 at the end of Period 4 (1.25pm) to enable them to return home earlier to prepare for their return back to school, if they are acting as tour guides or visiting the school.  This time will also give the staff the opportunity to prepare the school for the evening.  Those students that are eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) will able to collect this from the canteen, either at morning break or after their departure from Period 4.

I am aware that all new Year 7 Parents were not able to visit the school in person last year due to the restrictions caused by the pandemic, so you are welcome to come and tour the school along with the current Year 6 Parents, if you wished to do so.

Whilst writing to you, can I also remind you of the following additional points:

• Friday, 15^th October 2021 is a staff training day, therefore the school will be shut to students.
• Tuesday, 4^th January 2022 is an additional Bank Holiday granted for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and as we have selected to take this additional Bank Holiday on this day, the school will be shut.
• If you have not yet logged into the Arbor Parent Portal to view information such as your child’s attendance, timetable, positive and negative behaviour incidents, reports or to update any key information such as email address, phone numbers etc. then please do so by downloading the App or by logging in online at https://highamspark.uk.arbor.sc/?/home-ui/index and clicking ‘First time logging in’ using the email address that the schools has for you on record as your username.  Please email Mr Hyde This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you have any problems.

• Please do continue to complete the twice weekly COVID tests and record the results via the following link https://testregister.co.uk/app
• Tuesday, 19^th October 2021 is the Year 8 Parents Evening which will be online.  Please confirm your appointments via the following link that has been circulated by Dr Morris  https://highamsparkschool.schoolcloud.co.uk/
• Finally, the Highams Park Planning Group have been awarded a grant by the GLA to reimagine Highams Park District Centre and they are currently running an online consultation to see what people think of some ideas that have been put forward and to make further suggestions and improvements to the area around the station.  The Survey is mainly directed to younger people, so please do encourage your child(ren) to share their views Highams Park School – District Centre Survey

Thank you for your ongoing support of the school, we look forward to potentially seeing some of you at our Open Evening on the Thursday, 14^th October 2021 from 5.30pm to 8.30pm.

Yours faithfully

 

Mr Phil Grundy

Principal

Early closure on Thursday, 14^th October 2021 – Period 4 (1.25pm)

As a consequence of the Open Evening the students will finish their lessons on Thursday, 14^th October 2021 at the end of Period 4 (1.25pm) to enable them to return home earlier to prepare for their return back to school, if they are acting as tour guides or visiting the school.  This time will also give the staff the opportunity to prepare the school for the evening.  Those students that are eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) will able to collect this from the canteen, either at morning break or after their departure at the end of Period 4.

 

21^st September 2021

Dear Parents

Firstly, to wish you all well, as you are all aware the COVID pandemic continues to impact upon all of our lives and I am very conscious in writing to as parents that many of you may well have experienced some significant challenges and interruption to your lives as a result of the virus. 

As you are aware you child in either Year 8 or Year 10 continues to be asked to arrive and depart via the exit in Beverley Road.  It is perhaps helpful to provide a little context behind the decision to maintain the arrangements brought in during COVID.  As you may be aware we have seven-Year Groups being taught at the school, with 1600 students in total.  To try and minimise the overall congestion and disruption to the whole community we ask different Year Groups to enter and exit via three different points.  Two of these are located on Handsworth Avenue for Years, 7,9, 11, 12 and 13 whilst Years 8 and 10 use the Beverley Road gate. 

Having reviewed the amended arrangements during COVID we have decided to continue to use the Beverley Road entrance for both arrival and departure for your child’s Year Group.  Inevitably this generates additional footfall and traffic along a dead-end road, and some disruption for a short period of time to the residents.  Please could I ask if you are dropping off or collecting students in a car, please to do so without driving into Beverley Road, thus keeping congestion to a minimum.    

Finally, please could you reiterate to your child that they act as ambassadors of Highams Park School, as they travel to and from school.  Being aware of their responsibilities to the community as they travel to and from school and those they share the pavement with, goes a long way. 

Many thanks for your support in this matter. 

Yours faithfully 

Phil Grundy

Principal

Dear Parents

As you will be aware the Government have recently announced that they will be making the COVID vaccination available for all young people aged 12 – 17.  At Highams Park School we are working with both the local authority and the NHS in order to provide the opportunity for all eligible and consenting students to be able to have this vaccination whilst at school.

I appreciate that the decision as to whether to have the vaccine or not is a personal one, and to be clear no student will be made to have the vaccine. However, as a school we wish to make the vaccine as readily available as possible, in order to try and restrict the spread of the virus.  Thus, enabling students and staff to maintain 100% attendance in school and not encounter any further interruption to their education.

At this point in time I would ask you to respond to the following short survey.  This is simply to help us judge the demand for the COVID vaccination at Highams Park school.  There will be a separate response form to gather your consent and to provide further information, as well as confirming the date of the vaccination.  As you can imagine, planning the delivery of 1600 vaccinations is a very different task to the delivery of 400 vaccinations, if we were for example to only have a 25% uptake.

 

The Government have currently provided the following resources to help inform students and parents of the process, and there are further updates to these that have been promised.

• Guidance for schools on COVID vaccination 

• Guide to vaccination for children and young people

 

Please could I ask you to now complete the following Survey by Wednesday 22^nd September 2021 so that we can then move forward with our planning.  Please be assured that all of the vaccinations will be delivered by NHS vaccination UK trained staff.  Please also be aware that the COVID vaccination is already available for all students over the age of 16.  Information about how to access these can be found here, it would help to reduce the disruption to the school day if all students over the age of 16 were able to book their vaccination via this community route.

 

Complete the survey here:-

Covid Vaccination Interest Survey

1. Name of student.  (Please fill in a separate form for each child if you have more than one child attending the school)
2. Year and Tutor Group of your child.
3. Yes, I would be interested in my child having the COVID vaccine at school.
4. No, I would not be interested in my child having the COVID vaccine at school.
5. My child has already had the vaccine, so will not require it at school.
6. My child is over the age of 16 and will book the vaccination at a community site rather than at school.
7. I am currently undecided and will confirm my intentions when the consent forms are issued.

 

Yours faithfully

 

Phil Grundy

Principal

 

Dear Parents

It was wonderful this morning to be able to stand on the gate and welcome students from all Year Groups back to school.  Indeed, I write this message having just returned from walking around the school and witnessing classrooms full with students all learning and making a start on their face to face learning with their teachers for this year.

It is perhaps helpful to share with you a few reminders at the start of this academic year.  Year Group specific information will be distributed with you at the upcoming Standards Evenings, details of which will be sent out to you next week.  However, these universal points will certainly help to keep the school running smoothly:

• Students should arrive and depart from school via the following entrances:

Year Group      Entrance/Exit

     13,12          6th Form Centre

     11,9,7         Main Front Gate 

               10,8            Beverley Road             

• If you are collecting your child from school, this tends to apply to our new Year 7 students.  Please can I ask you to be considerate to our neighbours if travelling by car and ensure that the engine is not left running and that you are not blocking driveway access.  If you can arrange to meet your child 200 – 300m away from the school in one of the surrounding streets this will help to keep congestion and pollution to a minimum.
• Whilst many of the restrictions that were necessary last year in order to keep the spread of the virus under control have now been lifted, there is an updated risk assessment in place from this September outlining some of the measures that are still in place.  This can be found on our website via the following link, but I will summarise some key points below:     

1. Please ensure your child continues to complete the home testing twice a week, and report the results via the previously provided link https://testregister.co.uk/app
2. Please remind your child to make use of the hand sanitiser that is available in every classroom.  Even better if they have their own personal bottle that they can use at their convenience when changing between different classrooms.
3. Face masks are not currently recommended by the Government whilst in school, but any child who wishes to wear one is welcome to do so particularly in crowded indoor communal areas.
4. As we try to keep windows and doors open in classrooms as far as is practical, it may well be colder than normal and students with the teacher’s permission will on occasion be able to wear their outdoor coats.  Please ensure these are black or navy blue as per the schools’ Uniform Policy.
5. Students should all bring in their own plastic re-useable drinks container to help avoid using communal taps.  Glass drinks bottles are not permitted.

On behalf of all of the staff of Highams Park School, welcome back and we look forward to a less disrupted year of hard work as per our motto suggests.  Success will come through our collective endeavours.

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy

Principal

September 2021 - Risk Assessment

Dear Parents

Ahead of the start of the Summer term I wanted to write to you to confirm some details for the first few days of term.  As I write this letter students from Years 7, 8, 11 and 12 have been coming into school to complete the first of their two lateral flow tests today, Thursday 2^nd September.  Can I please encourage as many students as possible from Years 9, 10 and 13 to attend tomorrow, Friday 3^rd September to have their first test done.

These tests will continue up until Tuesday 7^th September, by which time we hope that all students will have had the opportunity to complete two tests, thus ensuring that they are free from the COVID virus before returning to school.

Years 7 and 12 will return to school on Tuesday 7^th September, and should report in full school uniform for their registration period at 8.25am.    Years 9, 10 and 13 will also visit the school on Tuesday 7^th September but only to complete their second COVID test.  Please see my earlier correspondence with details of when each Tutor Group should arrive for testing.

On Wednesday 8^th September all Year Groups return to school fully, and should all report to their registration period at 8.25am.  As we return to the whole school arriving and departing at the same time, we would like to use all of the three school gates to manage the flow of students on site.  From Wednesday 8^th September, please can the following Year Groups arrive and depart by the following entrances on a daily basis:

• 6^th Form – via the 6^th Form gate.
• Years 7, 9 and 11 – via the Main front gate.
• Years 8 and 10 – via the Beverley Road gate.

On return to school all students will be provided with their own home test kits, and we would ask that students establish a pattern of testing twice a week.  Please submit your results, both positive and negative, via the following https://testregister.co.uk/app.  This site will also lead you onto the NHS site as well.

All of us maintaining regular testing really is the best way in which we can ensure that education at school can continue with the minimum of disruption.

Many thanks for your ongoing support, as we look forward to welcoming you back to school.  If there are any students in Years 8, 11, 7 or 12 who missed taking their test yesterday and would like to do so tomorrow, Friday 3^rd September they can arrive at school tomorrow at either 9.30am, 12.30pm or 2.30pm and we will fit them into the process.  Please ensure that you have completed the COVID Testing Consent Form available here before attending.

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy

Principal             

September 2021 - Covid Testing Letter

Positive cases - 12th July 2021

Dear Parent(s)

Following our return to school this morning, it is with regret that I write to inform you that over the weekend one of our students tested positive. As a result of this, we have had to send some of our Year 8 students home who were in close contact with this student. This result was received via a lateral flow test and the student is currently waiting on their PCR test result. This case shows that the benefits of students completing their lateral flow tests and I would like to stress the importance of making sure that students complete their lateral flow tests twice a week regularly and continue to register their results on our Test Register via the link below.

https://testregister.co.uk/app

I would also like to stress that if anyone in your household is showing systems such as a high temperature, cough or loss of taste or smell then your whole household must isolate for 10 days and the person who is showing symptoms must have a PCR test done at a Testing Centre. The school would also need to be informed that your child is isolating due to either themselves or someone in the household having symptoms, so that we can then inform their teachers and organise remote learning for them. Once you have received the PCR test results back whether they are negative or positive, these would then need to be forwarded onto the school at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., one of our members of staff will then respond to you.

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy
Principal

General Letter

Positive Cases 23rd June 2021

Dear Parents

As some of you are aware from the individual phone conversations that you have had, we have in this last week experienced the return of several positive COVID cases within the student population.  Frustratingly, but inevitably this has resulted in close contacts of those students needing to commence another period of isolation.  Please find attached the template letter that I am obliged to send out to you from Public Health England but in summary I would ask each of you to discuss with your children the need for continued vigilance with regards to reducing the spread of the virus.

It is clear to see from the data that we receive that there has been a reduction in the frequency with which the home test kits are being used.  Please can I ask you to renew your efforts to test twice weekly and to register the students’ results on the following site.  Our best chance of minimising disruption is to catch and isolate any cases of the virus at the earliest stage.

https://testregister.co.uk/

Additionally, the continued wearing of face masks and use of hand sanitiser will be a great help in reducing the spread of the disease.  Students have in the main shown considerable resilience in doing so despite the rising temperatures.

Whilst we continue to operate an amended school day, in order to keep Year Groups apart on arrival, during lunch time and on dismissal we from Monday 28^th June 2021, will move Year 7 back to departing from school at 3.15pm rather than the earlier time of 3.05pm that they have become accustomed to.  At this point Year 10 depart from school via the Beverly Road gate thus keeping the two Year Groups apart.

Many thanks for your ongoing support and proactivity in these matters.

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy

Principal

General letter to all parents (PDF)

Dear Parents

I wanted to write to each of you to provide an update on several aspects of school life. Can I thank the hundreds of you who responded to our recent survey on your experiences of Parents Evenings during the COVID pandemic, it was very helpful to have such a large response to guide our planning for future events.

Face Masks

This week has seen the publication of new guidance for schools, including specific mention of face masks. I include links to both documents within the text for your reference. However, I would like to summarise a key message from this documentation.

Some of the press coverage that this guidance has generated, has not in my view been helpful to schools who will still require students to wear face masks. They must remain part of the daily routine for all of us for a while longer. Please can you reiterate to your children that they will still be asked to wear a face mask whilst they are moving around the school. The only occasions they should remove their masks are:

• When sat in a lesson.
• When eating or drinking at a break or lunch time
• When outside at a break or lunch

Maintaining this approach will help us ensure we can keep all students and staff, but particularly our Year 11 and 13 students in school and free from the threat of isolation.

Testing

You should all now have been provided with another set of rapid tests for your use at home. Please can I urge you to continue using these, as well as reporting the result via the link provided. The efficiency of this system was underlined earlier this week, when as some 30+ Year 7 students and a member of staff had to isolate whist the student had a confirmatory PCR test. The return of this PCR test in less than 24 hours, which happily confirmed a negative result and enabled all the students to return to school the next day. Lets all please continue to make use of this system of early detection.

INSET Day

Can I please remind you all that the school will be shut for all students this coming Friday, 21 May 2021. This is an INSET day that we moved from the planned date earlier in the year, when the students had just returned from lockdown. It was not sensible to use it at that point, but rather to defer it to this point when staff are engaged in the process of marking and moderating the summer assessments for Year 11 and 13 students, that will be used to guide the Teacher assessed grades that will soon be submitted to the examination boards.

Year 11 & 13 Summer Assessments

As suggested above our Year 11 and 13 students have been brilliant throughout the series of Summer assessments that they have been completing. The results from these along with our prior knowledge of past performance for each student will be used to compile the grades for each student this year. Please see below details of the expectations for students in Years 11 and 13 in the coming weeks. Further details from respective Heads of Year will follow in due course.

Week beginning	Activity	Expectation
17th May 2021	Summer assessments	Full attendance for Years 11 and 13 as normal.
24th May 2021	Study timetable	Students in both Year 11 and 13 will only attend lessons for subjects that they still have assessments to complete or by specific teacher request. Year 13 Awards morning. (Tuesday 25th May 2021)
31st May 2021	Half term break
7th June 2021	Emergency week	All students (Years 11 and 13) need to be available to attend school should any individual request be made to provide further evidence for Teacher Assessed Grades.
14th June 2021	6th Form taster	Year 11 students wishing to join the 6th Form will attend taster lessons in person on Wednesday 16th June 2021.
21st June 2021	Subject boosters	A series of on line, live lessons will be available for students interested in studying their subject at A Level or degree. Exact timetable to be confirmed.
28th June 2021	Year 11 Awards	Year 11 Awards afternoon with Form Tutor & Year Group as a whole. (Day TBC)
5th, 12th, 19th July 2021	Years 11 and 13 will not be required to attend school.

All the staff at Highams Park School would want to acknowledge, the resilience the students in these two-Year Groups have shown throughout a challenging process. We look forward to seeing each of the students move on to their A Level and BTEC courses here at Highams Park or indeed our Year 13 students off to University, apprenticeship or employment. Your endeavours will reap the appropriate success.

Privacy Notices

Finally, Mr Hyde has asked me to inform you of a procedural matter with regard to a small change in the school’s Privacy Notice. The DfE require all schools to make an addition to the notice to include a record of our sharing of personal data (students’ personal learning record (PLR) with the DfE Learning Records Service (LRS) in order to generate Unique Learner Numbers (ULN). The process is not new, schools have generated ULNs for students for years – these unique codes are like National Insurance numbers, but used in education to identify students. However, the need for this to be on our privacy notice is new and parents and students need to be informed when these notices are updated. Consent is not required from learners in order to generate a ULN or share their PLR and so no action is needed by parents or students. The Privacy notices can be found in the Policies section of our website, for more information, please see our Data Protection Policy, or contact Mr Hyde our Data Protection Officer on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Yours faithfully and on behalf of the school.

Phil Grundy 

Principal

Dear parents,

I wanted to write to each of you to provide an update on several aspects of school life. Can I thank the hundreds of you who responded to our recent survey on your experiences of parent’s evenings during the COVID pandemic, it was very helpful to have such a large response to guide our planning for future events.

Face Masks

This week has seen the publication of new guidance for schools, including specific mention of face masks. I include links to both documents within the text for your reference. However, I would like to summarise a key message from this documentation.

Some of the press coverage that this guidance has generated has not in my view been helpful to schools who will still require students to wear face masks. They must remain part of the daily routine for all of us for a while longer. Please can you reiterate to your children that they will still be asked to wear a face mask whilst they are moving around the school. The only occasions they should remove their masks are:

• When sat in a lesson.
• When eating or drinking at a break or lunch time
• When outside at a break or lunch

Maintaining this approach will help us ensure we can keep all students and staff, but particularly our Year 11 and 13 students in school and free from the threat of isolation.

Testing

 You should all now have been provided with another set of rapid tests for your use at home. Please can I urge you to continue using these, as well as reporting the result via the link provided. The efficiency of this system was underlined earlier this week, when some 30+ Year 7 students and a member of staff had to isolate whist the student had a confirmatory PCR test. The return of this PCR test in less than 24 hours, which happily confirmed a negative result and enabled all to return to school the next day. Let’s all please continue to make use of this system of early detection.

INSET Day

Can I please remind you all that the school will be shut for all students this coming Friday, 21^st May. This is an INSET day that we moved from the planned date earlier in the year, when the students had just returned from lock down. It was not sensible to use it at that point, but rather to defer it to this point when staff are engaged in the process of marking and moderating the summer assessments for Year 11 and 13 students, that will be used to guide the Teacher assessed grades that will soon be submitted to the examination boards.

Year 11 & 13 summer assessments

As suggested above our Year 11 and 13 students have been brilliant throughout the series of summer assessments that they have been completing. The results from these along with our prior knowledge of past performance for each student will be used to compile the grades for each student this year. Details as to how the final weeks of schooling for each of these year groups will be shared with parents of these specific year groups via a separate letter. However, all the staff at Highams Park would want to acknowledge the resilience the students in these two-year groups have shown throughout a challenging process. We look forward to seeing each of the students move on to their A Level and BTEC courses here at Highams Park or indeed our Year 13 students off to University, apprenticeship or employment. Your endeavours will reap the appropriate success.

Privacy Notices

 Finally, Mr Hyde has asked me to inform you of a procedural matter with regard to a small change in the schools Privacy notice. The DfE require all schools to make an addition to the notice to include record of our sharing of personal data (students’ personal learning record (PLR) with the DfE Learning Records Service (LRS) in order to generate Unique Learner Numbers (ULN). The process is not new, schools have generated ULNs for students for years – these unique codes are like National Insurance numbers, but used in education to identify students. However, the need for this to be on our privacy notice is new and parents and students need to be informed when these notices are updated. Consent is not required from learners in order to generate a ULN or share their PLR and so no action is needed by parents or students. The Privacy notices can be found in the Policies section of our website, for more information, please see our Data Protection Policy, or contact Mr Hyde our Data Protection Officer on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Yours faithfully and on behalf of the school.

Phil Grundy

Principal 

Dear Parents

As I write this message the Friday afternoon before a bank holiday it is frustrating to outline the following situation. Despite being promised a new set of testing kits for every student and member of staff for the last two weeks these kits have still not been delivered to the school. We have been in daily contact with the Department for Education with regards to this, who have escalated our situation, but have not been able to resolve it.

It is apparent from the statistics available that the level of the virus continues to reduce here in the UK, but it is important that none of us become complacent to the dangers that still exist and that could escalate if we do not all remain vigilant. The statistics that are also available to us as a school also show that there is a gradual drop in the commitment to administering the twice weekly home testing for all students. Clearly it is impossible for you to complete a test if you don’t have a test kit, hence my frustration at the delayed delivery.

As soon as the kits arrive in school we will distribute them to students, however I think it unlikely that this will occur today. Please could I therefore encourage you to place an order for a test kit to be delivered to your home address. I have just done this myself by following the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/order-coronavirus-rapid-lateral-flow-tests

There is the possibility that these kits might arrive before the end of the bank holiday weekend, this would mean that students can return to school confident that they are still free from the virus. Thank you for your ongoing support with the home testing, it is so important that we do not become dismissive of the steps we can all take to keep the virus under control. Each family's cooperation with the testing will help to ensure that we continue to be able to keep every child in school. For our Year 11 and 13 students especially, every lesson is so valuable as we continue to gather evidence that will be used to decide their final GCSE and A Level grades.

Have an enjoyable bank holiday, and if at all possible please complete and register your next test result towards the end of the long weekend.

https://testregister.co.uk/login


Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy

Principal

Dear Parents

COVID-19 Home Testing Update

It was good to welcome back the students after the Easter break. I hope you managed to have a restful Easter break too.

Following our return to school after the Easter Holidays, students will still need to ensure that they are completing their Home Test Kits for Covid-19. I understand that some students will be running low or have taken their last test this week, but I can confirm that we have received an update from the Department of Education stating that a delivery will be arriving at the end of this week or at the beginning of next week. Once we have received this delivery, we will aim to distribute the testing kits to all students, as quickly as possible.

Previously, all students test kits have come in 2 boxes with 3 tests inside each box. In the explanation below, you will see that depending on the delivery we will either receive 2 boxes per child with 6 tests or 1 box with 7 tests inside. Please be reassured that all students will receive the correct amount of tests to ensure that they continue completing their tests at home.

If your child has taken their last test this week and you did not want to wait for their test kits to be delivered to the school so that your child can bring them home, you are able to order a Home Testing Kit to your home address. Attached to this email is the link you would need to starting process your order. This test kit will provide you with 7 individual tests and will look the same as the ones that have been previously handed out in school. If you have more than one child that attends our school and would like to order them all a home-testing kit via this link, you will only be able to order one pack per household each day. If you are not able to order the home-testing kits via the online link, please call 119 and they will be able to order the kits over the phone for you.

https://www.gov.uk/order-coronavirus-rapid-lateral-flow-tests

Please remember that your child needs to continue to take their tests at home, twice a week with three to four days between each test.  

 Please continue to inform the school of any positive results via our email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 
   

Email from the Department of Education for your information:

Coronavirus (COVID-19) test kit delivery schedule for all provider types
An updated test kit delivery schedule has been published on the schools and colleges document sharing platforms. The delivery schedule covers deliveries planned between Monday 19 and Friday 23 April and will provide you with a delivery date and expected quantity of coronavirus (COVID-19) test kits. An updated delivery schedule will be published on the schools and colleges document sharing platform each week.

If you are receiving a delivery of home test kits, please be aware that, dependent on local supply levels, you may receive boxes containing 7 test kits instead of 3 test kits. If you receive boxes of 7 test kits, then 1 pack of 7 should be given to each staff member or student. If you receive boxes of 3 test kits, then 2 packs of 3 should be given to each staff member or student.

Thank you for your continued support and understanding.

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy
Principal

ParentCarer - Updates on Covid Guidelines for Schools 160421.pdf

Updates on Covid Guidelines for Schools 160421.pdf

Dear Parents

As I write this note the students will be completing their final lessons of this curtailed term.  It has been fantastic to have had them back in school for the last few weeks, and I have been impressed with the sensible and mature approach with which they have returned to face to face teaching after such a long absence.

Praise should go particularly to students in Years 11 and 13 who have in the last three weeks completed a set of Mock Examinations, that will help them prepare for the Summer Assessments that lay ahead.  The focus and commitment to the Mocks has demonstrated just how keen these particular Year Groups have been to get back to their studies at school.  Today, Mr Hyde will be sending to students and parents of Years 11 and 13, further details of their Summer Assessments.

Thank you for your ongoing committment to conduct the home testing, it has already proved helpful to the school as we were able to identify two positive cases at an early stage and has therefore limited the number of staff and students who have needed to isolate.

If everything has worked perfectly, your child should have brought home, two test kits for them to use over the Easter break, therefore ensuring that they are able to return to school on Monday, 19^th April 2021, confident that they are free from the virus.  If your family require any more home test kits, please use the link below to place your order for home delivery from GOV.UK.

https://www.gov.uk/order-coronavirus-rapid-lateral-flow-tests

As society gradually emerges from different restrictions, could I please ask that a specific attempt is made to rectify any outstanding issues with uniform ready for the start of the new term.  I will be asking colleagues to ramp up the checks on correcting school uniform and equipment, at the start of the Summer term to ensure that students are properly dressed and ready to learn.

As you make your final preparations for the Easter weekend, please ensure that you top up on your supply of face masks and hand sanitiser, as well as any eggs!  It is imperative that we all continue to take extra care with the “Hands – Space – Face” guidance in order to keep the spread of the virus to a minimum.  The guidance at present will expect the wearing of masks to continue into the Summer term.

Finally, can I wish you all a pleasant Easter break, I hope that with the easing of restrictions each of you are able to find some time and an opportunity to see friends and family, with whom it has not been possible to see from before Christmas. 

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy

Principal

Letter to Parents Home Test Kits 17th March 2021

Tuesday 16^th March 2021 – Years 10 and 12 – Test 3

Please can you ask your child to gain the permission from their class teacher to leave their lesson at the times indicated below and report to the Main Hall for their lateral flow test.  Staff are obviously aware of these arrangements, and it will cause a little disruption to lesson as students have to come and go, but this is preferential to the alternatives.

If you have not consented for your child to have the LFT they do not need to leave their lesson.  This is the third and final test and unless your child has had three lateral flow tests in school, they will not be eligible for a home test kit.

 

Year 10 Schedule:

	Year 10
8.30 am	B1
9.15 am	B2
10.00 am	F1
10.45 am	F2
11.30 pm	G1
12.15 pm	G2
1.00 pm	P1
1.45 pm	P2

 

Year 12 Schedule:

	Year 12
8.50am	B1
9.35am	B2
10.20am	F1
11.05am	F2
11.50am	B3
12.35pm	G2
1.20pm	P1
2.05pm	P2
2.30pm	G1

Highams Park Risk Assessment

Letter to the parents of Year 8 and 9 - Testing Schedule for Monday 15th of March 2021

Letter to the Parents in Year 7 - Testing update 12th March 2021

Mass Testing Timetable - 8 March 2021

Letter to the Parent of Students in Years 11 and 13 - Mass Testing Update 3rd March 2021

Letter to the Parent of Students in Year 7 - Mass Testing Update 3rd March 2021

 Letter to Parents - 02/03/2021

Dear Parents

As another week of lockdown draws to a close, I wanted to write to you to update you a few matters.  As you will appreciate, many aspects of life continue to change and alter as the Government review the steps necessary to try and bring the virus under control. Schools and education are no different, so I am to a degree fearful of sending out such a summary as there is a danger that the situation will change as soon as the message has been sent!

• 6^th Form Open Evening. On Thursday 21^st January 2021, we launched our virtual 6^th Form Open Evening.  Although this is targeted at Year 11 students as they start to plan their next steps in education, can I recommend it as an interesting resource for students of all Year Groups to view.  It may help to remind everyone of what all their hard work and current online study are heading towards.
• Parents Evenings. Last week we hosted the latest online Parents Evenings with our Year 13 students. Sadly, we experienced a temporary failure in the software we use to provide the meetings.  Whilst we have been assured by the provider that this will not happen again, it is perhaps worth flagging up ahead of the Year 11 Parents Evening on Friday, 4^th February 2021, the backup option that we quickly made use of with the Year 13 students was via Microsoft Office Teams.  We hope it all runs smoothly – but be at the ready to switch!
• The planned early closure that was scheduled for Thursday, 28^th January 2021 will no longer take place. Lessons will continue to include Period 5 on that day.  With the current removal of face to face teaching it has been necessary for us to amend some of the timings of our reporting and assessments, we will reinstate the earlier conclusion to a day’s study, later in the year to best facilitate the staff coordination of the reporting.  We will update you of this, in due course.
• GCSE, A Level and BTEC examinations. As you may well be aware the Government have launched the consultation on their suggestions as to how grades might be awarded.  Please can I encourage you to engage in the process.  Parents, students and teachers are all encouraged to express their views on the potential plans.  I will be responding on behalf of the school and appreciate that considering the sixty-eight questions, is a lengthy process but also believe it essential that the views of the students, parents and teaching professionals must be heard as part of the Government’s planning.
• Rapid testing. There has been much discussion in the press about this, but Gavin Williamson has this week restated the Government’s expectation that schools continue to test the staff and students who are still attending school on a weekly basis to help identify anyone who is asymptomatic.  I would like to thank the growing team of volunteers from the parent body who have helped the school to deliver this program.  Your support has been outstanding and very much appreciated.  The vast majority of you are quite rightly keeping your children at home, but it would help us greatly if ahead of their return to school, we collect all of the required consent forms for the rapid testing.  Other colleagues will be in contact with those of you from whom we have not yet received a consent form to get this organised well ahead of time.  If there are other parents who would like to join the team of volunteers who have been helping to conduct the tests please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and she will provide you with the appropriate links.

Finally, can I wish you all well, as each of us continue to navigate our way through the pandemic.  I am very conscious that within our school community there are many who have been sadly bereaved as a result of COVID, all those families are very much within our thoughts and prayers.  Let’s all remain vigilant and careful, whilst also trying to remain upbeat and focused on better times that are surely ahead.

Yours faithfully

 

Phil Grundy

Principal

Dear parent and student,

Re: BTEC examinations

Thank you for the ongoing correspondence that many of you have had with the school with regard to the ever changing expectations surrounding the BTEC examinations that are taking place.

It is perhaps helpful to share an overview of how students have responded to date.  All of the students sitting their Health and Social Care Examination on Monday attended and completed the exam.  60% of the Sports Studies students attended to complete their preparation for their exam scheduled for next week.

As you are aware the guidance given by the DFE has changed considerably in recent days.  From an initial position of; “the exams will all still continue”, to then a position of “the exams can continue but they don’t have to, its up to your school to decide”.  I have already shared with you the communication that I have forwarded to our MP Iain Duncan Smith and will not repeat the detail of that here but requested the following:

1. National decision to be made, not a school by school position.
2. Details about how the exam would be used to determine the final grade to be used.
3. A guarantee that irrespective of the whether a student sits the exam or not, that they would not be disadvantaged by sitting the examination.

Sadly I do not think that either of the first two requests will be met in time to help inform any decision that either we as a school or you individually may make about participating in the exams.  With regard to the third request the exam board Pearson have issued a statement that I provide a link to here, confirming that;

                “you will not be disadvantaged whichever decision is made by your school or college regarding exams”

Additionally the Department for Education responded to requests that we and schools across the country were making and released the following statement, which does help to provide a little more certainty.

                “-      Students have worked hard for these exams and assessment, so it is fair that schools and colleges are given the option to run them, if they judge that to be the right decision.

• Schools and colleges have already implemented extensive protective measures to make them as safe as possible
• No student will be disadvantaged if they can’t take their exam or assessment or decide they don’t want to
• We will consult on how to ensure students get a fair grade, working closely with the regulator Ofqual and stakeholders like the Association of Colleges.”

So whilst they have not confirmed for us how they will ensure that students will not be disadvantaged whether they sit the exam or not both the DFE and the exam board have responded to our request to provide such an assurance.

I appreciate that this will be different for each school across the country but we at Highams Park school will continue to run the exams.  We believe that we are able to provide a safe environment for the students to sit the exams in, and despite the disruption to learning that students have experienced over the last 11 months we believe that the process of sitting this exam is educationally helpful to each of the students.  So we would encourage each student to attend school and complete the examination for which they have been preparing.

I would also want to assure you that we are fully appreciative that each students circumstances are very different.  Some students may be unwell themselves, others may have family members who are displaying COVID symptoms while others may have family members who are clinically vulnerable.  Thank you to those of you who have shared your personal circumstances with us already.  Despite the schools decision to still run the exams, if there is a student who decides that they do not wish to sit the exam our guarantee of yesterday still stands.  We will support your decision and will work tirelessly with Ofqual, the exam board to ensure that you are not disadvantaged in anyway from being awarded the grade that best reflects your abilities.

In conclusion it is perhaps helpful to rehearse a few hypothetical scenarios with you:

• “I have worked really hard for these exams.  It has been difficult and far from ideal, but I have been working towards them since the start of this course.” = Sit the exam.
• “If I sit the exam and get a lower grade than I might have achieved in ideal circumstances, the fact that I have sat the exam might prevent my teachers being able to award a higher grade that they thought I was capable of getting.” = This is the wrong assumption or hope to hold.  We do not know how the exam will be used or what element of teacher assessment will be permitted but it will be helpful to have your exam mark achieved in these difficult circumstances available. Sit the exam.
• “I or a member of my family have COVID symptoms and are awaiting test results.” = Do not sit the exam.  Self-isolate.
• “I am really anxious about exposing myself to the virus, and by attending school I increase the risk of me contracting COVID.  This is not a risk I am prepared to take.  It may also put elderly or vulnerable members of your household at risk.” = Do not sit the exam.  We will respect and support your decision.

We believe that within our BTEC cohort there will be students that fit into each of these four categories, indeed there will be other categories as well.  To enforce one outcome upon all students is not in our view the right thing to do and we will continue to run the exam for all who wish to take it.  We will also fully support every student, irrespective of whether they take the exam or not to be awarded the grade that best reflects their ability.

I hope that this is helpful to you in making your decision.

Yours sincerely

Phil Grundy

Dear Parents

COVID-19

I am sure that the vast majority of you have just watched the Prime Minister's announcement, with regards to the return of the country into a lock down.  In the short term, this does not change any plans for this week immediately.  Lessons will be delivered online as per the timetable and via Microsoft Office Teams, so please encourage your child to log on at the scheduled time to join their teacher and their class, for their online lesson.

The plans that were being drawn together to commence mass testing ahead of the return to face to face teaching, will be put on hold whilst we consider further guidance from the Government regarding this.  Can I thank the 50+ parents who volunteered their services to contribute to this program.  It may well be that a similar program is still initiated, but along different timescales.

The only students who should attend school tomorrow are those children of key workers for whom it is still essential that they go to work, or for children in vulnerable circumstances.

I will not at this late hour comment on all manner of longer-term arrangements, that will now need to be considered.  These will be addressed at the proper time and with your cooperation.  I know I speak for all the staff of Highams Park School, we are desperately sorry for the students, the delay of their return to school and a further period of isolation and lock down is so frustrating and potentially upsetting for them.  We will together progress through this latest challenge; we wish your families well. 

Please do all you can to stay safe and help keep each other well, until the vaccine can help bring an end to this pandemic.

Yours with much disappointment

Phil Grundy

Principal

Dear parents, 

Since I wrote to you last, and as anticipated there has been considerable press coverage outlining the change in arrangements for the start of the new term by the Government.  I thought it would be helpful however to recap exactly how these will impact upon the students of Highams Park School.  I would also like to share with you some of the emerging plans with regard to the mass testing that has now been made mandatory* for schools to make available.

• For the week Tuesday 5th Jan - Friday 8th January.  All learning will be provided online via Microsoft Office Teams for all year groups 7 - 13.
• During this first week 5th - 8th January, only students of key workers or vulnerable students may attend school where they will be supervised in completing their online learning.  Parents intending to use this service must register to do so via filling in the attached survey link. https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/7KXTRCG
• On Monday 4th January the school are expecting to receive an initial quota of rapid test kits and associated PPE that will help facilitate the now mandatory lateral flow tests.  Before these tests can be used a team of operatives need to be trained and in situ in the school. Once this has been achieved we will notify parents as to which groups of students should attend the school to complete each of the two required tests.
• Thank you to all those who volunteered to be part of the testing team.  I must admit I was humbled by the fact that within 24 hours of making the request there were over 30 of you who had indicated your interest in helping to provide these tests to students and staff.  If you would like to join this team please indicate your interest by registering via the following link:  https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/78XNNR6
• From Monday 11th January Years 11 and 13 will return to school for face to face teaching.  All other year groups 7, 8, 9, 10, 12 will continue their online lessons via Microsoft Office Teams for this second week of term.
• From Monday 18th January we hope that all year groups will be able to return to face to face teaching.
• Students in Year 11 and 12 should continue to prepare for their mock examinations as it is intended that as soon as they are able to return to school in person these important tests will take place. 

*It is mandatory for schools to provide the testing, but remains optional for students to participate.  However I would encourage every student to do so, and therefor collectively help to prevent the spread of the virus.

The exception to this request are those students who have tested positive for the virus in the last 90 days.  I continue to seek further clarification from the NHS test and trace team, but my current interpretation of the guidance is that unless an individual develops new COVID symptoms, those who have tested positive in the last 90 days, and who have completed their 10 days isolation should not take a new test as it is highly likely that they will again return a positive result due to traces of the virus that remain in their system despite them having recovered from it and no longer being contagious.

Having said all of the above, I would ask for everyone to keep an eye out for further e mail updates as the Government have already confirmed that plans for the full return of school will be kept under review in response to updated data on the spread of the virus locally.

Additionally, I will be writing to you again in coming days to outline details as to when the tests will be available for different groups of students.  Please note the target that has been set would require all students to complete 2 tests within a 7 day window.  And then subsequently that any potential "contacts" will be tested on a daily basis rather than having to isolate.

Many thanks for your ongoing understanding during these current times.

Yours sincerely

Phil Grundy

Dear Parents and Carers, 

Before 2020 was out I wanted to write to you updating you on the emerging plans at Highams Park School for 2021.  This last year has been incredibly challenging for everyone and I am very conscious that some of you have experienced bereavement and loss as a result of this pandamic.  All of us have encountered huge disruption to our lives and your children, our students, have battled to overcome the interruption to their educational.  

Personally, I write this letter to you as I recover from having the virus myself over the Christmas break.  Many of you will have experienced first-hand the way in which the virus can impact a family and my wish for you all in 2021 is that we are quickly able to secure the effective and swift distribution of the vaccine as I believe that this will mark the real turning point in bringing the virus under control.

As you are all aware the question over when schools should return in 2021 and how mass testing might be used to keep schools operating safely both feature in the daily headlines.  I fear that, having sent this e mail, by the time you read it the plans will be out of date and the national picture and instructions will have changed.  However, there are some things that I hope we can all work together on and hopefully move into 2021 with a little more certainty.

As it stands, the directions that we have from the government are that only certain year groups should physically return to school at the start of term. This will work as follows:

• On Tuesday 5th January, only Year 11 and 13 students will return to school for face-to-face teaching.
• From Tuesday 5th January, all other year groups, so Years 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, will have their lessons delivered via Microsoft Teams.  Please ensure that your child logs in at their timetabled period to continue with their learning.

Children of critical workers and students considered vulnerable may also return to face-to-face education from Tuesday 5th January, but parents must indicate their intention to make use of this provision by completing the following survey response. https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/7KXTRCG

• Free School Meals will be available for eligible students to collect from school during their allocated lunch time.  Again, if students are intending to collect their FSM, parents should indicate that this is the case by filling in the survey above.
• From Monday 11th January all year groups are due to return to face-to-face education.
• The Year 11 mock examinations commencing on Tuesday 5th continue as planned at present, and students in Year 12 should continue to prepare for their forthcoming in-class assessments.  

Please continue to monitor your emails and the school website as there is much speculation about whether central Government will impose changes upon us in an attempt to bring the spread of the virus under control.

Mass Testing

As you may be aware, over the Christmas break schools have been asked to implement a system of mass testing .  It is intended that this covers every student and each member of staff.  The tests used will be the new lateral flow tests which provide a result within 30 minutes rather than having to be sent away to a laboratory.  It is the intention that this system of testing will also be used for any student or colleague who is identified as a close contact of someone who is identified as being positive.  NHS Test and Trace are in the process of compiling information and training material about how these tests work and how they will be administered.  I will in due course make these available to you once it has been possible to gain further clarification from the DfE. 

However, at present I am not able to confirm with you whether or when we as a school will be able to commence the process of mass testing.  In principle I believe this to be a very helpful step to identifying just how widespread the virus is, particularly the much-discussed new strain that appears to be spreading in London and the South East.  However, the situation at present is as follows:

• The test kits and associated PPE are yet to be distributed.
• The training resources for those administering the tests are yet to be circulated.
• There has been no firm confirmation of the level of funding available for schools to administer the tests.
• Details of any additional "feet on the floor" provided to schools to administer the tests seem to indicate that there will not be any help forthcoming.  The Army will not be attending Highams Park School in person, their support is remote and online.

As you are aware, Highams Park was one of the first schools to cooperate with NHS test and trace to run a mass testing site in the week before Christmas.  That process utilised our Sports Hall and was administered by seven NHS staff, supported by my senior colleagues.  This team were able to complete some 400+ tests on a day when the school was closed to all year groups.  You will understand the complexities of trying to plan for the whole school to be tested twice within seven days, staff being tested on an ongoing weekly basis, and any close contacts of positive cases tested daily for the following seven days!  Although there are very obvious benefits of this advertised testing regime being put in place, and the staff at Highams Park will do all we can to deliver it, I am not at present able to share with you any details of precisely when and how or even if this will be implemented.

I appreciate that the following is a huge request, but it would be wonderful to be able to raise a team of volunteers from the parent and school community to be able to help administer the tests.  Any volunteers would join our skeleton school staff made up from our Admin and Senior staff who we have managed to release from some of their normal day to day tasks.  To state the blindingly obvious a team of 20 testers will be able to progress through many more tests in a day than a team of 5 testers.  I appreciate any volunteer will need more information and as soon as that is available, I will share this with any team of volunteers that emerges.  Whilst continuing to carefully reflect carefully on the safety measures required to deliver the process correctly.

If you would be willing and available to contribute to the mass testing programme at Highams Park School, please follow the link below to submit your details and we will be in touch as soon as possible to develop plans accordingly.

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/78XNNR6

School Coronavirus Testing - Parent Volunteer Form Take this survey powered by surveymonkey.com. Create your own surveys for free. www.surveymonkey.co.uk

Yours sincerely

Phil Grundy

Dear Parents,

I normally look forward to writing to you at the end of the Christmas term, as it is a chance to wish you a peaceful break whilst highlighting some of the extracurricular successes from different areas of the school.  This evening as promised I will focus upon the pressing matter of the arrangement for the final days of the term.

Can I thank all those who were able to attend the school today to complete a COVID test.  Despite the numerical limitations of the NHS team that were sent in to carry out the process, they were able to complete nearly 400 tests.  Please now ensure that you now register your test and complete the on line form required in order for you to get your results at “gov.uk/register-your-test” within 24 hours of competing the test.  Hopefully this process that you have all participated in will help to keep each of our families safer over the Christmas break.  Sadly, I anticipate many of you, although asymptomatic, will return a positive result.  Please ensure that all students that do return a positive test notify the school via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. so that we are able to inform other potential contacts as well.

Yesterday I wrote to you outlining the advice that all schools had been given by the Director of Public Heath  to “recommend that all schools in Waltham Forest move to remote learning and remain open only to support the children of critical workers and vulnerable children”.  It remains the view of the local authority that schools should maintain this position, however they, like us as a stand-alone academy, have to respond to a letter received today from the Rt Hon Nick Gibb MP, Minister of State for School Standards.

In his letter Mr Gibb asks school leaders to allow “all pupils to attend school for face to face education from Wednesday 16^th December through to the last scheduled day of teaching”.  I have today written to the Regional Schools Commissioner, Sue Baldwin, outlining my frustration at the school being placed in the untenable position of having to decide whether to follow the instructions of Mr Gibb or the guidance of Public Health.

As explained in my earlier correspondence the school will be open on Wednesday 16^th and Thursday 17^th December for face to face teaching for years 10, 11, 12 and 13.  We have prioritised our examination year groups as they are the students either part-way through or nearing the end of their GCSE and A Level studies.  I am already aware of a significant number of my colleagues who are unable to attend work as they are having to isolate due to COVID.  This is the reason why I am not able to fully comply with Mr Gibb’s request to provide face to face education for all students.

In providing this education, in conjunction with the on line learning for years 7 – 9, we are complying with Mr Gibb’s request to re-open the school, thus avoiding the need for him to utilise the powers granted to him in the Coronavirus Act and protecting the hard won autonomy of Highams Park Academy Trust going forwards.

As you are aware I am limited in the details that I am able to provide you about individual cases of the virus in school, but I am duty bound to inform you when a positive case for one of our school community is reported.  I think it helpful to share the following facts with you from recent days:

• 400 members of our school community took COVID tests today and are awaiting their results.
• 6 new cases of the virus were confirmed within the school community over last weekend and on Monday.
• A further 4 new cases of the virus were confirmed within the school community today.
• 59 students reported today that they were going into self-isolation as a result of either showing symptoms themselves, or being in contact with a confirmed case.
• This brings the total number of students isolating to 203 at present.

It was as a result of monitoring the overall statistics for the whole of Waltham Forest that the Director of Public Health and the local authority made their recommendation.  Despite reiterating our particular school circumstances, as well as demonstrating our commitment to helping drive the infection rates down by hosting the mass testing unit today, I am yet to receive any other instruction from the Regional Schools Commissioner or Mr Gibb other than to open as fully as possible until the end of term.

I do apologise for the rapidly changing situation that I have had to communicate to you in recent days.  I hope that the factual outline of events above is helpful in providing a context for the reason for this shift in position.  My staff and I look forward to welcoming students in Years 10, 11, 12 and 13 in person tomorrow and the class teachers of Years 7,8,9 look forward to seeing their students on-line as well.

Can I thank each of you for your patience and understanding throughout this term.  I wish you and your families every success in navigating the restrictions of Tier 3 lockdown that comes into effect across London in the early hours of tomorrow morning and trust and pray that you will be able to enjoy your Christmas break together with your immediate families in the not too distant future.

Regards

Phil Grundy

Dear Parents,

I will later on this evening write to you with further explanation but I wanted you to be aware of the following significant changes to how Highams Park School will run for the final two days of this term.

Students from Years 10, 11, 12, 13 will be able to attend face to face lessons in school and will follow their established timetable.

Students from Years 7, 8, 9 will remain at home and will have their lessons delivered via remote learning.

This decision has been taken in response to the letter from Mr Gibb that I am sure you have seen in the press. Children of critical workers or vulnerable children in Years 7 – 9 will be provided with a supervised space to complete their work in school.

Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. A more detailed response in due course but I wanted to communicate this significant change in arrangements as soon as possible.

Regards

Phil Grundy

Dear Parents

Further to my recent email, please find the letter, as attached from Cllr Grace Williams.

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy

Principal

Letter to Parents from CllrGraceWilliams.pdf

Dear Parents

COVID-19

It is with regret that I am writing to you today to outline some amendments that it will be necessary to make for the last week of term.  Due to the number of teaching staff that are required to isolate due to being "in contact" with students who have tested positive, it will be necessary to limit the number of Year Groups that can attend school each day.

The school community has worked tirelessly since returning in September to remain open to all Year Groups, so it is with a heavy heart that I have felt it necessary to make this decision.  We will prioritise the continued face to face teaching sessions for those students nearest to their examinations, and arrangements for Years 11, 12 and 13 remain unchanged.

However, the following Year Groups should not attend school on the day indicated.  Classes for each Year Group will run as per the timetable but via Microsoft Teams.  I would like to view this as an opportunity to test our online learning provision when all students are learning from home.  During this term we have used a blended approach to providing online learning for absent students.  The challenge of teaching some students in person, while others are absent have been considerable.  I will seek your feedback on this, as well as the fully online experience, next week.

It is our plan that Teams lessons will be recorded, so if your child is unable to log on to the live lesson as per the timetable, they will be able to access the material at a later date.

Monday 14^th December 2020:  Year 9 students do not attend school but should complete their learning from home.

Tuesday 15^th December 2020:  Year 7 students do not attend school but should complete their learning from home.

Wednesday 16^th December 2020: Year 8 students do not attend school but should complete their learning from home.

Thursday 17^th December 2020:  Year 10 students do not attend school but should complete their learning from home.

Those in receipt of free school meals will be able to collect their meal for the day that they are studying from home but must contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to register their intention to do so. Details will be provided, on when and how to collect the meals.

To be clear all other Year Groups other than those indicated above, should attend school as normal each day.

As outlined earlier this week the arrangements for the dismissal of students on Thursday, 17^th December 2020 are as follows, with a minor amendment to take account of Year 10 studying from home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday 17th December organisation of the school day

Departure Time                                      Year Group                                            Lessons run til                                                                Depart from Gate

12.05pm                                                  6th Form                                               Lessons 1 - 3                                                                    6th Form

12.35pm                                                  Year 7                                                    Lessons 1 - 3                                                                    Main Gate

1.40pm                                                    Year 8                                                    Lessons 1 - 4                                                                    Main Gate

1.50pm                                                    Year 9                                                    Lessons 1 - 4  (collect lunch before departing)                Beverley Road Gate

2.10pm                                                    Year 11                                                  Lessons 1 - 4                                                                      Beverley Road Gate

                                                                Year 10 (learning from home                  Lessons 1 - 4  (will be available via

                                                                all day)                                                    Microsoft Office Teams)

COVID Tests for Secondary Schools

Many of you will have seen the announcement yesterday, about potential tests for the virus taking place in schools.  More details are due to be issued today but to date, we are not aware of any plans for these to be conducted at Highams Park School.  I will keep you informed of any change to this rapidly shifting situation.

I apologise for the inconvenience and uncertainty that this may well cause, but the growing number of absent staff and restricted availability of cover staff have made it necessary to take these steps.  Thank you for your understanding and support in this matter.

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy

Principal

 

Dear Parents

 

COVID-19 – Confirmed case of Covid

 

It is with regret that for a second day in a row, I am writing to you to inform you of a further confirmed case of COVID within our school community.  You will be aware from the messages that I sent yesterday of some general points additional to the generic letter, that I think it worthwhile stressing.  Today could I re-emphasise some of these points, as doing so will hopefully enable the school to operate safely and with minimal disruption right up to the end of term on Thursday 17^th December 2020.  However, I would stress that this is only going to be possible with the full cooperation of every family in our community.

 

• At the first sign of a COVID related symptom, please ensure that the person who is unwell and all other household members isolate, and that the person who is unwell goes to apply for a test.  The household MUST remain isolated until the test result is confirmed.
• In some of the recent cases that I have reported to you, there have been students who have felt it necessary to isolate because of their proximity to the confirmed case as a result of social contact outside of school, either in the evenings or at the weekend.  Please can I ask that you impress upon your child the need to observe social distancing whenever possible, both at school and during their own social time.

 

End of Term and Christmas holiday information:

 

• If your child develops COVID symptoms or tests positive for COVID within 48 hours of leaving school at the end of term, Thursday 17^th December 2020,  please ensure that you continue to inform the school via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. so that we can continue to inform students, who they may have been in contact with and the need to isolate.  Symptoms developing beyond 48 hours after leaving school, and the associated test results do not need to be reported to the school.  The NHS track and trace process will then take over and will instruct families, as to when they are able to return to school in the new year.
• Departure times from school on the last day of term, Thursday 17^th December 2020 will be as follows:

 

Departure Time	Year group	Departure gate
12.05pm	6th Form	6th Form gate
12.35pm	Year 7	Main Gate
1.40 pm	Year 8	Main Gate
1.50 pm	Year 9	Beverly Road Gate
2.10 pm	Year 10	Main Gate
	Year 11	Beverly Road Gate

 

Yours sincerely

 

Phil Grundy

Principal

Dear Parents

COVID-19

It is with regret that I have to inform you of a confirmed case of COVID for one of our students here at Highams Park School.  As you are well aware by this stage, I am duty bound to send you the attached templated letter which reminds you of the key steps that can be taken to help prevent the spread of the virus.

However, in summary I would also like to emphasise the following key points in response to some of the discussions that I have had with parents:

• Each time there is a positive case confirmed for any student or teacher at the school, the sending of this letter will be triggered.  This letter does not mean that the case is from a student in your child’s Year Group.  i.e. This particular case may be for a Year 8 student, but the whole of the school would receive this notification.
• I would estimate that up to two thirds of the students and staff that we have had to send home as potential “contacts” of those with positive test results, could have been avoided had the advice from the Government been followed!  Repeatedly, students have been sent to school whilst another family member awaits a result from a COVID test.  Please, if someone in your household is unwell or going for a COVID test, please ensure that the whole family remain isolated until the result of that test is known.
• The impact of one student being in school with a confirmed COVID test result is considerable.  We trace back for the 48 hours prior to the test and have to instruct the students and staff that they have been in contact with, to isolate.  Please help protect the Highams Park School community by isolating while any household member gains a test result.
• We are finding that test results are coming back very quickly now, sometimes within 24 hours.  One person isolating for at worst, 14 days, is far better than 50+ students and staff isolating for 50 x 14 days = 700 days!
• Please can I remind you, that we close for the Christmas holiday on Thursday 17^th December 2020.  This will be a slightly reduced day for all students whilst we ensure that all Year Groups are able to collect their food and still remain segregated via our staggered finish.  I will write to you again with details of these arrangements, at the end of this week.
• The new term will commence in January with a teacher training day on the 4^th January 2021.  Students will be expected to return to school on the Tuesday 5^th January 2021.  Please do keep an eye on the website and parent mail on that Monday.  I am not intending to alter the planned return of the whole school to their lessons on that Tuesday, but will update the website and you by email, should COVID necessitate any amendment.

Finally, can I suggest suitable stocking fillers for all students should include the following: facemasks and hand sanitiser!  Who could wish for anything more!

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy

General letter to all parents when positive case in school December

Dear parents

Covid-19

As you are aware, each time that a positive case of COVID is identified within our school population I am duty bound to circulate the attached letter from NHS UK with a reminder about how we can work together to help prevent the spread of the virus.  As the case came to light over the weekend the school made contact with those students and staff who had been in contact with the positive case during the previous 48 hours and were able to inform them to commence their isolation immediately and thus prevent an unnecessary journey to school this morning.

As well as requesting that everyone reminds themselves of the guidance provided by the NHS in the attached letter  I would also like to take this opportunity to emphasise the following points:

• If anyone in your household is awaiting results of a COVID test all members of the household should isolate until the results of the test are known.  Recently there have been several instances of a family member being sent for a test by an employer, and because the person being sent for a test still felt in good health and was without symptoms other members of the family continued to attend school.  I would ask that when there is any possibility that a household has COVID, whether that be because someone is going for a test or because someone has the symptoms the household should isolate in order to prevent the spread of the virus.  Certainly from the schools perspective adhering to this  guidance will greatly reduce the interruption to students learning.
• As far as possible we would ask parents to refrain from attending the school. If this is essential to drop something off we will attempt to deal with the matter via the intercom link in reception.  Please do not be offended by the attempts of the receptionist to restrict access into the entrance of the school.  I am sure that everyone understands the necessity of these steps, if necessary please avoid times with students are arriving or leaving the site.
• Please take a few minutes to review the attached flow chart that we have prepared.  It attempts to simplify the decisions and actions that need to be taken when there is potential or confirmed COVID case in any family.

By working together we can help to restrict the spread of the virus and help to keep our school open, everyone free from infection and lessons running as normal.

Yours sincerely

Phil Grundy

Principal

General letter to all school students parents guardians and staff 30.11.20

Keep Highams Park School Open

Advice to All Parents - Single case

Dear Parents,

We have been made aware of a member of our school community who have tested positive for COVID 19. We know that you may find this concerning but we are continuing to monitor the situation and are working closely with Public Health England. This letter is to inform you of the current situation and provide advice on how to support your child. Please be reassured that for most people, coronavirus (COVID-19) will be a mild illness. On this occasion there are not any children who have been in close contact with the individual who has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) and therefor none have received a letter informing them that their child must stay at home for 14 days. The school remains open and your child should continue to attend as normal if they remain well.

What to do if your child develops symptoms of COVID 19

If your child develops symptoms of COVID-19, they must not come to school and should remain at home for at least 10 days from the date when their symptoms appeared. Anyone with symptoms will be eligible for testing and this can be arranged via https://www.nhs.uk/ask-for-a-coronavirus-test or by calling 119.

All other household members who remain well, must stay at home and not leave the house for 14 days. This includes anyone in your ‘Support Bubble’.

Further information is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance/stay-at-home-guidance-for-households-with-possible-coronavirus-covid-19-infection

The 14-day period starts from the day when the first person in the house became ill.

Household members should not go to work, school or public areas and exercise should be taken within the home.

If you require help with buying groceries, other shopping or picking up medication, or walking a dog, you should ask friends or family. Alternatively, you can order your shopping online and medication by phone or online.

Household members staying at home for 14 days will greatly reduce the overall amount of infection the household could pass on to others in the community

If you are able, move any vulnerable individuals (such as the elderly and those with underlying health conditions) out of your home, to stay with friends or family for the duration of the home isolation period.

Symptoms

The most common symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are recent onset of:

• a new continuous cough
• a high temperature
• a loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia)

For most people, coronavirus (COVID-19) will be a mild illness.

If your child does develop symptoms, you can seek advice from the nhs.uk website at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/check-if-you-have-coronavirus-symptoms/. If you are concerned about your child’s symptoms, or they are worsening you can seek advice from NHS 111 at https://111.nhs.uk/ or by phoning 111.

How to stop COVID-19 spreading

There are things you can do to help reduce the risk of you and anyone you live with getting ill with COVID-19

Do

• wash your hands with soap and water often – do this for at least 20 seconds
• use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available
• wash your hands as soon as you get home
• cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze
• put used tissues in the bin immediately and wash your hands afterwards

Further Information

Further information is available at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

Yours sincerely

Phil Grundy

Dear Parents

COVID-19 

You are now becoming familiar with the attached message from Public Health UK.  I am obliged to send this home whenever a positive case of COVID 19 is confirmed within one of our school population.  Can I please ask that you continue to refresh your mind of the key information within the letter, as to how to help prevent the spread of the virus.

Additionally, I would also like to provide the following points of clarification:

• Thanks to the preventative action taken by families when one of their household start to display symptoms and the increasing strictness with which everyone is following the guidance, we have to date managed to avoid needing to send whole Year Groups home from school.  The vast majority of cases at Highams Park School have come to light, whilst a student has been in isolation and away from school as a result of another family member’s ill health.  Thank you for your ongoing vigilance in this matter.
• As you are aware every case that occurs we report to Public Health and the London Coronavirus Response Cell.  They have asked me to pass on the following information to you with regards to a scenario that we have experienced here at Highams Park School:

“Once a person has tested positive for coronavirus they are not advised to test again for 90-days unless they develop new symptoms of coronavirus within this time frame. This is because coronavirus can sometimes still be picked up by the PCR test for up-to six weeks after the initial infection, and when the person is no longer infectious. If students complete their isolation period but remain unwell, they do not need to re-test but should remain at home until they have been without fever for 48 hours and feel well enough to return to activities of daily living.”

• Please use this email as an opportunity to remind your children of the necessity for them to wear their face masks upon leaving school.  We will remind them of the necessity for them whilst at school but is it frustrating for members of the public to see groups of students making their way home from school, in close proximity to one another and without their face masks on.
• Finally, a note of explanation for the students.  When students are sent home from school because they have been identified as a “close contact” of someone who has tested positive, this should not trigger alarm for other students who have been “in contact” with those being sent home. 

Student question: “One of my friends has been sent home, and I was in the same class as them yesterday.  Do I need to go home as well?” 

School Answer: “No, you are considered to be a secondary contact and there is no need for you to isolate unless you develop symptoms yourself.  Your friend has only been sent home as a precaution.  They have not had symptoms or a positive test themselves, so to the best of our knowledge have not got anything to pass on to you.”

Many thanks for your ongoing support.  I hope these points of clarification are helpful.

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy

Principal

Dear Parents

COVID-19

As you are now fully aware, every time there is a confirmed case of COVID 19 in the school I am duty bound to inform you.  Please be assured that the school also links with the Department for Education and Public Health UK and provides these bodies with detailed information about each case.

On this occasion there has been more than one case confirmed during the weekend, this has resulted in some additional checks completed with clinical team from Public Health England.

Contact has already been made during the weekend with specific students and staff members who now need to enter a period of isolation.  Please do take time to read the previous letter of advice that Public Health UK have asked me to send out.

I will again take this opportunity to stress a key point made within the letter:

• If anyone in your household is ill with COVID related symptoms.  EVERYONE in that house must isolate and remain in the house whilst a test is being taken by the family member who is unwell.

Doing so will greatly reduce the overall amount of infection the household could pass on to others in our school and wider community.

Thank you for your ongoing support in this matter.

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy

Principal

Dear Parents

COVID-19 Letter from the Principal regarding confirmed cases in the school 

We have been advised that there has been confirmed cases of COVID-19 within the school. 

We are continuing to monitor the situation and are following government guidance. This letter is to inform you of the current situation and provide advice on how to support your child. Please be reassured that for most people, Coronavirus (COVID-19) will be a mild illness.

The school remains open and providing your child remains well they can continue to attend school as normal. We will keep this under review. 

What to do if your child develops symptoms of COVID 19:

If your child develops symptoms of COVID-19, they should remain at home for at least 10 days from the date when their symptoms appeared.

All other household members who remain well must stay at home and not leave the house for 14 days. 

The 14-day period starts from the day when the first person in the house became ill.

Household members should not go to work, school or public areas and exercise should be taken within the home. 

Household members staying at home for 14 days will greatly reduce the overall amount of infection the household could pass on to others in the community.

If you are able, move any vulnerable individuals (such as the elderly and those with underlying health conditions) out of your home, to stay with friends or family for the duration of the home isolation period.

Symptoms

The most common symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are recent onset of:

• new continuous cough and/or
• high temperature
• a loss of, or change in, normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia)

For most people, coronavirus (COVID-19) will be a mild illness.

If your child or anyone in the household does develop symptoms, you can seek advice from NHS 111 at:

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/symptoms/ or by phoning 111.

How to stop COVID-19 spreading

There are things you can do to help reduce the risk of you and anyone you live with getting ill with COVID-19.

Hands

• Wash your hands regularly and for at least 20 seconds.

Face

• Cover your face in enclosed spaces, especially where social distancing may be difficult and where you will come into contact with people you do not normally meet.
• It is now compulsory to wear cloth face coverings on public transport, shops and several other indoor settings. 

Space

• Stay 2 metres apart where possible, or 1 metre with extra precautions in place.
• Keep your distance from people who are outside your household or support bubble.
• Limit social gatherings (including abiding by the ‘rule of 6’) and avoid crowded places.

Further Information

Further information is available at: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus/education-and-childcare

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy

Principal

If you have been asked to, or wish to, send the school the result of a Covid 19 test please use this email address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Once your email is received you will be contacted as soon as possible

Thank you

Cally Halkes
Vice Principal

Dear Parents

COVID-19 – Letter from the Principal re Face Masks

The Government have recently updated their guidance to schools, about how face coverings should be used in schools to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.  As you are aware from the start of this academic year, we encouraged students and staff to wear a mask.  Indeed, having seen how sensibly students responded to this, we quickly made the wearing of a mask compulsory for everyone when they were moving around the school.  This has taken some getting used to, but in the main everyone has made a determined effort to adhere to this request as the wearing of a mask has become an accepted necessity and part of our lives.  However, it is now imperative that we go a stage further and further embed the use of face masks around school.

The latest Government guidance for schools, states that:

      "Face coverings should be worn by adults and children aged 11 and above when moving around the premises, outside of classrooms or activity rooms, such as in corridors and communal

       areas where social distancing cannot easily be maintained."

Interpreting this guidance into simple, manageable rules that are understood and adhered to by all, has not been as easy as one might initially think.  There are many aspects of school life that fall into a grey area and become a matter of interpretation.  What is clear is that the issue will only be successfully addressed via a spirit of collective responsibility.  Whilst staff will do all that they can to remind students of the rules, it will be essential for each individual to make a determined effort to follow the rules, recognising that they exist for their own and their friend’s benefit.  If the rules are only adhered to when a member of staff is present to enforce them, COVID-19 will continue to spread and more students and staff will have to be sent home to isolate and students' learning will continue to be interrupted.

The following rules should now be adhered to by our school community:

• When moving around the school at any point in the day, inside or outside of the building.  For example, when changing lessons or arriving and departing to and from school.  Masks should be worn.
• When students are seated in a classroom.  Masks can be removed, but students may choose to still wear a face mask if they wish to do so.
• Year 12 and 13 Silent Study Centres are classified as classrooms and the same rules as above will be maintained.  Masks can be removed, but students may choose to still wear a face mask if they wish to do so.
• 6th Form Group Study and Canteen area, this is classified as a communal area.  Masks should be wornother than when the student is seated and eating or drinking.  The face mask should be reapplied as soon as they have finished having their refreshments and when moving around the Group Study area.
• School Canteen for Years 7 - 10, this is classified as a communal area.  Masks should be wornother than when the student is seated and eating or drinking.  The mask should be reapplied as soon as they have finished taking refreshment and when moving around the canteen.
• Inside the Year 11 Youth Centre, this is classified as a communal area.  Masks should be wornother than when the student is seated and eating or drinking.  The mask should be reapplied as soon as they have finished having their refreshments and when moving around the Youth Centre.
• Year 7 Studio at break and lunch, this is classified as a communal area.  Masks should be wornother than when the student is seated and eating or drinking.  The mask should be reapplied as soon as they have finished having their refreshments and when moving around the studio and whilst waiting outside the studio in the mornings.
• During break and lunch whilst on the playground.  As the students are outside masks can be removed but the students should now prioritise remaining physically apart from one another.  They can obviously also continue to wear a mask if they wish to do so.

Simply put, everyone should look for opportunities to wear a mask, only removing it when eating and drinking, when sat in a classroom or when at break or lunch whilst outside on the playground and physically separated from others.

There obviously remains grey areas, defining when someone has finished eating or drinking, measuring a meter or timing a minute are all judgements that each individual may interpret slightly differently.  Please take this opportunity to discuss this further guidance with your child, colleagues at school will be doing so during tutor time and lessons.  Collectively we will therefore stress that the desired outcome is to help keep each other safe, to stop the spread of the virus, to enable students to keep learning and to keep our school open.  Respect for others, personal responsibility and resilience during difficult times have never been more essential.

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy

Principal

Dear Parents,

COVID-19 – update from the Principal

As we approach the end of our fifth week of school, I would like to give you a brief update on different aspects of school life.  Sadly today, Friday, 9^th October 2020, we have for the first time received confirmation that one of our 6^th Form students has tested positive for the virus.  There is a strict protocol that the school has to follow to report this and I have today in discussion with the Department for Education, taken the following steps to safeguard our school population.

It has been necessary to send home fifteen Year 13 students and three members of staff, each of these families will be provided with more specific information regarding the length of time that need to isolate for.  Please find attached a copy of the letter that Public Heath England require schools to send out when there is a confirmed case.  I would like to add that the student with the case had not shown any symptoms at all, and still doesn’t and remains in good health.  We obviously wish them and all those needing to isolate our very best.

In other news, I would like to thank our Year 7 Parents who acted as the guinea pigs for our first Parents Evening of the year.  This was conducted virtually with Parents able to speak to the Form Tutor of their child from home via a digital link.  We have learnt a few lessons from this experience but intend to proceed with other Parents Evenings in the same manner.  Year 8 Parents will be next in line shortly after half term.  Could I please ask you all to make sure you are familiar with logging onto Firefly in preparation for this.

With the current COVID restrictions it has been impossible for us to run our usual prospective student Open Evening.  This is normally an evening when many of our existing students return to school and help host all of the families who are considering applying to Highams Park School.  Later on today our “Virtual Open Evening” will go live on our website for everyone to view.  I would like to thank the students and staff who either appear in the footage, or who have worked hard to film, edit and design the presentations.  It is credit to the team that they have been able to produce this information in such a professional and interesting way.  Can I recommend that you spend a few minutes looking through the different items of information.

Finally, it would make sense to reiterate some of the key points that all students must continue with in order to keep our community safe.  Students have in the main been brilliant at adjusting to life wearing a face mask.  Please remind them of the “bells gone, mask on” mantra.  Even when students are outside at the end of a break or lunch time within their Year Group Bubble, it is important that they put the mask on as they travel, via the one-way systems and continue to use the hand sanitiser on entry and exit to each lesson.  The confirmed case today and the necessity to send some students and staff home should act as a reminder to us all of how important these simple steps are for all of our safety.

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy

Principal

Dear Parents

It is with regret that I am writing to you to inform you about a confirmed case of COVID 19 for one of our students here at Highams Park School.  Please find attached a letter that the Department for Education is asking all schools with a confirmed case to circulate to every family at the school.  It contains links to helpful documents which guide each of us on how to help reduce the spread of the virus.

Additional to these points, I would like to stress the following points and share some other school news with you:

• If anyone in your household is displaying symptoms of COVID-19, it is essential that the whole household isolate and the person who is unwell goes for a COVID test  immediately.
• All members of the household, even if they are currently in good health must remain isolated until the results of the test are known.  It is not only the member of the household who is displaying the symptoms who has to isolate.
• This is an essential step in order to protect everyone else in school.
• From the confirmed case today, 45 Year 10 students and 4 members of staff are now required to isolate.

Your faithfully

Phil Grundy

Principal

Dear Parents

COVID-19 AND KNIFE CRIME

I would like to update you on two now sadly familiar themes; that being the ongoing COVID Pandemic and the issue of Knife Crime.

Knife Crime

Those of you with children in Year 8 or above, will be familiar with the approach that we have taken in previous years with regard to raising awareness of the issue of knife crime.  The usual pattern of delivering an assembly on the topic and then random use of search arches, to further embed our zero-tolerance approach to the carrying of weapons has not been possible this year.

With the restrictions on assemblies and the increased demand on the Metropolitan Police, we have this year taken a different approach.  During lessons today, my senior management team have visited each classroom and spoken to each class briefly about the issue and then conducted a search of each student’s possessions.

As has been the case on each occasion that we have carried out such activities, I am pleased to be able to confirm with you that the search did not unearth anything untoward being brought into school.

I wanted you to all be aware of today's activity, so you are able to speak with your child about the issue of knife crime and reinforce the message that colleagues have delivered.  Please do reiterate that any student who has any concerns about knife crime, should immediately speak to a member of staff, who will support them and ensure that the matter is dealt with swiftly and confidentially.

COVID update

Sadly, I also have to inform you of a confirmed case of COVID from one of our students.  The family have informed us of the positive result over the weekend, so it has been possible to contact all of the families in Year 8 who need to place their children into isolation because they may have been in “contact” with the student who tested positive.  Thank you for your continued cooperation with this process.  As frustrating as it is, we hope that these measures will help to stop the spread of the virus.  This case has also impacted upon our teaching staff with six colleagues needing to also self-isolate.

Please find attached the letter that I am required to send to all parents of the school following a positive case being identified within the school setting.  Finally, I would like to assure you that we continue to link with the Department for Education and Public Health England in reporting this case and deciding what action is appropriate.

Finally, please can I stress that if your child or anyone in your household is displaying symptoms of COVID.  DO NOT send them into school, but instead everyone in the household should isolate and the person with the symptoms must apply for a COVID test.  Failure to do this is really does hamper our attempts to keep the school open.  Your cooperation in this matter is greatly appreciated.

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy

Principal

Dear Parents

COVID-19 – Half Term update from the Principal

I am writing to you at the end of one of the most challenging half terms that I believe any of us have faced.  Staff, students and parents were all anxious about how school would work with all the amendments to school organisation in response to the COVID virus.

As I reflect on this first half term, I would like to praise the responsible attitude and resilience that the students have shown.  They have adapted quickly to new and sometimes tedious expectations with regards to masks, hand sanitiser, one-way systems, on line work, variation of arrival and departure times.

However, I would also ask for your assistance in order to ensure that on return from the half term break we all remain as committed to all of these measures as they have done to date.  There is a danger that people become tired of the restrictions, but it is essential for the continued smooth running of the school, indeed the whole of society that we continue to cooperate together in order to keep the school open and students’ learning.

All of you will be aware of the disruption that has been caused to both Year 10 and 13 students, as significant numbers of students had to be sent home as a result of two positive cases of COVID, being identified in each Year Group.  This also impacted upon several teachers also having to self-isolate for 14 days and their lessons being delivered remotely or with cover teachers.  Sadly, all of this could have been prevented had the Government guidelines been followed.

I appreciate that the volume of communication about COVID feels overwhelming at times, but I would wish to stress the following:

• If anyone in your household has symptoms of COVID, the whole household must immediately self-isolate.
• The person with the symptoms must apply immediately for a COVID test.
• Everyone in the household must remain in isolation for 14 days and only come out of isolation, if the test is returned negative.

I am grateful to all of the families who have followed this guidance, as although frustrating for them while they wait for a test result, their actions will protect all of the other students and staff at school who can continue with their attendance to school.

There are a few other matters that I would also like to bring to your attention:

• Our recent non-school uniform day to raise awareness of breast cancer and help fund treatment and research helped raise over £1500. Well done everyone.
• All students have been shown the following video link which explains how they can log on to “Teams Meetings” in order to view lessons taking place at school if they are having to isolate at home. We hope that people don’t need to use it, but it is worth spending a few minutes watching the content and ensuring that your child is familiar with how to make use of this resource.
• Thank you to our Year 7 parents who trialled our first virtual Parents Evening, and were able to log on to virtual meetings with their child’s Form Tutor. Thus, helping to keep communication between parents and teachers up and running despite the COVID restrictions.
• The Year 8 Parents Evening on Tuesday 3^rd November 2020 will also be a virtual event, I know separate details have been sent out to parents in that Year Group. Thank you for your engagement in this new process, as we all learn new ways of communicating.
• On the evening of Tuesday 3^rd November 2020, Years 8 and 9 will be dismissed from school slightly earlier than usual. They will still attend registration after Period 5, but will be dismissed by their Tutors once the register has been taken, so will be leaving school at approximately 3.25pm through their normal gates. The only exceptions to this are 9F1 and 9F2 who will have their assembly in the Main Hall and will be dismissed at Year 9’s normal time of 3.35pm. The early dismissal is to allow for members of staff to be able to prepare for online appointments for Year 8 Parents’ Evening.
• As the weather becomes colder, students have started wearing their coats to school. They are allowed to wear coats but they must be black or navy blue. Hoodies and tracksuit tops are not allowed under any circumstances. Coats must be removed in lessons. Thank you for your support and understanding on this school rule.

Finally, I would like to wish you all a pleasant half term, I hope that you will be able to spend a little more time together as a family than normal.  If nothing else, please see it as an opportunity for your child to go shopping on your behalf to stock up on:  face masks, hand sanitiser, refillable water bottles, water proof jackets or umbrellas and anti-bacterial wipes!  Each student being suitably equipped will help ensure that they can be safe, outside, dry and hydrated throughout the next half term.

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy

Principal

Dear Parents/Carers

Live Lessons via Microsoft Teams 

In order to provide remote learning to students who are absent from school, one way in which learning will be provided to students will be live lessons via Microsoft Teams.

Jon Barker, Head of Digital Learning at the school, has put together a video for students explaining how to access a lesson on Microsoft Teams, the video also contains information on how to:

• Turn on/off the microphone
• Turn on/off the camera
• Blur the background
   

If you would like to watch the video please click on the following link https://highamspark.fireflycloud.net/using-microsoft-teams

The link also contains written instructions on key information students need to be aware of, and the Student Code of Conduct for when participating in a video lesson.

Best wishes

Nigel Armsby

Vice Principal - Teaching and Learning 

Dear Parents

COVID-19 – update from the Principal

As we approach the end of our fifth week of school, I would like to give you a brief update on different aspects of school life.  Sadly today, Friday, 9^th October 2020, we have for the first time received confirmation that one of our 6^th Form students has tested positive for the virus.  There is a strict protocol that the school has to follow to report this and I have today in discussion with the Department for Education, taken the following steps to safeguard our school population.

It has been necessary to send home fifteen Year 13 students and three members of staff, each of these families will be provided with more specific information regarding the length of time that need to isolate for.  Please find attached a copy of the letter that Public Heath England require schools to send out when there is a confirmed case.  I would like to add that the student with the case had not shown any symptoms at all, and still doesn’t and remains in good health.  We obviously wish them and all those needing to isolate our very best.

In other news, I would like to thank our Year 7 Parents who acted as the guinea pigs for our first Parents Evening of the year.  This was conducted virtually with Parents able to speak to the Form Tutor of their child from home via a digital link.  We have learnt a few lessons from this experience but intend to proceed with other Parents Evenings in the same manner.  Year 8 Parents will be next in line shortly after half term.  Could I please ask you all to make sure you are familiar with logging onto Firefly in preparation for this.

With the current COVID restrictions it has been impossible for us to run our usual prospective student Open Evening.  This is normally an evening when many of our existing students return to school and help host all of the families who are considering applying to Highams Park School.  Later on today our “Virtual Open Evening” will go live on our website for everyone to view.  I would like to thank the students and staff who either appear in the footage, or who have worked hard to film, edit and design the presentations.  It is credit to the team that they have been able to produce this information in such a professional and interesting way.  Can I recommend that you spend a few minutes looking through the different items of information.

Finally, it would make sense to reiterate some of the key points that all students must continue with in order to keep our community safe.  Students have in the main been brilliant at adjusting to life wearing a face mask.  Please remind them of the “bells gone, mask on” mantra.  Even when students are outside at the end of a break or lunch time within their Year Group Bubble, it is important that they put the mask on as they travel, via the one-way systems and continue to use the hand sanitiser on entry and exit to each lesson.  The confirmed case today and the necessity to send some students and staff home should act as a reminder to us all of how important these simple steps are for all of our safety.

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy

Principal

Dear Parents

COVID-19 – Update from the Principal

A further brief update on school matters as we reach the end of another week.  The students have demonstrated their resilience and have very quickly settled into the new routines and are becoming ever more familiar with how to navigate one-way systems, stay in their allocated areas at break and lunch and remember which gate they need to arrive at and depart from.  One of the positive things that has emerged from the COVID virus is I believe, a greater appreciation of how essential cooperation and team work are, in order to overcome the challenges that we all face.

There are some key reminders that I would like to stress, as adhering to these points will enable everyone to stay focused on the teaching and learning, and therefore ensure maximum progress will be made by all of the students.

• 1If anyone in your household has symptoms of the virus the whole household must self-isolate.  The person who is displaying symptoms must go for a test, but it is essential that everyone else isolates for 14 days or until the test is confirmed as negative.  The significance of this being followed correctly has again been demonstrated this week as we had one of our students confirmed, as suffering from the virus.  Thankfully because of their vigilance, and because they followed the guidance above, the student had correctly isolated when another member of the family became unwell.  The student felt well, so was a little frustrated at having to stay away from school whilst waiting for the result of a family members test, which eventually returned as positive.  Only having been away from school for several days already, did the student then develop symptoms, and subsequently a positive test result.  Their vigilance has enabled the rest of their class and potentially Year Group to continue their studies.
• Students have in the main adapted to the compulsory wearing face masks when moving around the school.  The success of the face masks is dependent upon students taking responsibility for their own mask, and not to wait to be reminded about it.  When departing from lessons, it is obviously easy for staff to remind and enforce the wearing of a mask but I would ask you to impress upon your children, that they also need to ensure their mask is on, at the end of break or lunch time, as they then move to their lessons.  Whilst outside at break and lunch, they have the benefit of the fresh air and the space on the playground to be apart from each other, but once they start moving to their next lesson, even if still outside, they need to put their mask on as other Year Groups are also moving to their lessons at this same point.  “Bell gone.  Mask on.” May well become our mantra!
• It would also be helpful to remind your children that their responsibility to help supress the spread of the virus must be continued, whilst on the way home.  Obviously whilst in school, the rules around groups of six have to be suspended.  However, as soon as they depart from the school members of the public will quite rightly expect the students to adhere to these wider measures.  This is particularly applicable to our 6^th Form students who are permitted to leave the site during their lunch hour.  In the main, our staggered departure times and use of different exit points, has greatly reduced the congestion in the surrounding community.
• We have this week had the start of autumn weather and the inevitable rain.  If it is raining at lunch or break time we will still expect the students to stay outside.  Please ensure that they are equipped with umbrellas or suitable coats to withstand the poor weather.  There is obviously some shelter available and in extreme weather we will bring the students inside, but you will understand the benefits of keeping students outside with the current risks of infection.
• A reminder about a long-established rule that has not changed.  All coats worn to school must be black or navy blue.
• Finally, the importance of good hand hygiene, students having their own sanitiser, equipment, mask and spare mask in case one breaks, refillable water bottle and snack for break time, are all hopefully now part of the new daily routine.

Many thanks for your continued support, have a good weekend.

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy

Principal

Dear Parents

Covid-19 – Update from the Principal

I thought it would be helpful to send a very brief update at the end of the week, keeping you informed of the progress that we are making with all of the Covid safety measures, at the school.

This is the end of the first full week for all Year Groups, it has been wonderful to have a fully operational school again for the first time in six months.  The only Year Group to lose any of their curriculum time are our Year 7 students who will continue to leave school ten minutes early.  This ensures that they are clear of the school, before the next Year Group departs.

Please do continue to remind your child of how important it is that they arrive at their allocated time and gate.  It has worked very effectively so far this year, because we have had complete cooperation from all students.

This Friday has been the first day, when it has been compulsory for students to wear a face mask while they are travelling within the building, between lessons.  Again, I have been very impressed with the responsible approach of all students, with very few needing reminders to comply.  Please could I ask that students get into the habit of bringing a spare mask as well as their hand sanitiser, as inevitably during the day some masks will be lost or broken, with their frequent use.

With the staggered start and departure times, I am aware that some students are having to wait for a few minutes on either Handsworth Avenue or Beverley Road before being admitted to school.  Can you please pass on my thanks to the students, who have waited patiently and been good ambassadors for our school to the local residents and members of the public.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly can I remind all of you of the importance of following the Government’s guidance on the precautions that we must all take, if we or others we live with, have symptoms of the virus.  This week, one of our students tested positive for the virus, but because their family had correctly isolated when the first person in their household displayed the symptoms of the virus, it meant that the infected student, had not been in school for several days before they themselves became unwell.  This meant that the rest of their class, Year Group and potentially the school, has been able to continue their education without interruption.

On all occasions, when a student tests positive, this must be reported to the school, and we will then in turn link with Public Health England with whom, we can then agree whether it is necessary to impose any quarantine restrictions on classes or Year Groups.  Each family’s vigilance really is essential in order to keep our school, your children, in school and learning.

Thank you for your ongoing support in achieving this.

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy

Principal

GUIDE FOR ALL VISITORS

Dear Guest,

As I am sure you are aware the COVID virus is impacting every area of society, schools included.  There is on our website a full risk assessment that outlines all of the steps that we have taken at Highams Park School to mitigate against the spread of the virus, please do feel free to access and read the full document.

However, to aid your efficient understanding of procedures please familiarise yourself with the following summary of the key points that you will need to be aware of:

• If you have any symptoms of COVID, please do not enter any further into the school building. Immediately leave and follow the Government guidance on obtaining a test.
• If you start to feel unwell with potential symptoms of the virus, while you are visiting Highams Park School, please ask a member of staff to contact our School Welfare Officer on ext. 137 for you, as soon as possible and stay where you are. Do not enter another office or classroom. She will visit you and outline where you should proceed to.
• Face masks should be worn whilst you travel around the school, and if you are unable to maintain 1m distancing from those you are meeting with. As an external guest to the school you are expected to provide your own mask for this purpose.
• Please sign in at reception on arrival as normal. This register will be used with the contact details we already hold for you, to cooperate with the Government’s Track and Trace Scheme, should it be requested.
• On arrival and before proceeding around the rest of the school, the receptionist will take your temperature, before granting you access to the main school building.
• Hand sanitiser is located in reception, for your use and in each teaching room around the school. Please use it on entry and exit, if you are not able to use your own personal supply.
• There is a one-way system in operation in all areas of the school. Please follow this as you move around the school, this will help to reduce the potential face to face meetings that you may have whilst visiting Highams Park School.
• If you are delivering a lesson in a classroom, please familiarise yourself with the “staff zone” at the front of each room. This is a space for staff only, and provides them with a space to work from during the lesson. Please make use of it.  You are not restricted to only staying within it for the whole lesson and you are able to circulate around the class for brief moments, as required, but please be mindful of maintaining your distance from students as much as possible.
• When seated in a classroom and facing in the same direction, students may remove their face masks. They may also wish to keep them on if they prefer to do so.
• Whilst teaching or meeting with a student, staff may continue to wear a face mask if they wish to do so. But once in the meeting or classroom, if you are content that a suitable distance can be maintained from others, colleagues may remove their face mask.
• Each staff office has a “COVID” working capacity displayed on the door. Please respect these loadings and liaise with colleagues, should you need to find alternative venues to work from. As far as possible, meetings with external visitors to the school will be conducted by phone or from the meeting rooms located at each reception area.
• Should you need to use the toilet whilst on site, you are welcome to use any of the staff toilets. Please be mindful of the handwashing advice provided by the Government and utilise the soap and handtowels provided.

September 2020

Dear Parents

COVID-19 – Some important adjustments that we wish to make to our procedures after the first week back to school

Can I firstly state what a privilege it has been to be able to welcome your children back to school this week.  They have, without exception been cooperative and responsible in their approach to the inevitable challenges of coming to school during a pandemic.  Their maturity in following one-way systems, arriving at staggered start times, adjusting to different lunch and break times, adhering to restrictions on which parts of the playground they can go on to at different times of the day and bringing their own hand sanitiser and wipes has been excellent. 

The students have returned to school desperate to learn and thirsty for knowledge, and having reviewed the school at work during this first week there are some adjustments that we wish to make to our procedures. This will help to ensure that the school will continue to run smoothly, with teachers teaching and students learning without interruption from the virus.

To date we have made the wearing of face masks optional, several students and staff have chosen to wear masks at different times of the day.  From Monday, 14^th September 2020 we will change this arrangement and would ask that a face mask should be worn by all members of the school community as follows:

A face mask should be worn by all members of staff and students when:

• Moving around the school between lessons.  Everyone will be expected to put a face mask on before leaving each classroom.
• During break and lunch times, when inside the building, including when waiting to purchase food in the canteen.
• During break and lunch times, when outside, if you are unable to maintain a 1m distance from those around you.

For clarity it will NOT be compulsory for students or staff to wear a face mask:

• During lessons.
• When eating and drinking.
• Whilst outside during break and lunch so long as a 1m distance can be maintained between others.

To date, we have not had any confirmed cases of the virus at the school, but in light of the changing national picture and new rules to help prevent the spread of the virus we have thought it prudent to implement this additional measure.  Taking this step will help to reduce the number of students and teachers who might need to isolate should there be a confirmed case within our school community, thus ensuring continuity of teaching and learning for everyone else.

I acknowledge that writing to you on the Friday afternoon before implementing a new rule on Monday may pose a challenge for some.  However, I would anticipate that almost all will be able to comply with these changes upon their return after the weekend.  Staff will take time on Monday, 14th September 2020 to explain the new rules to students and to provide further clarification to ensure everything works smoothly.  For this reason, the rule will be compulsory from Friday, 18th September 2020, however I anticipate in reality full compliance will be operational much earlier in the week.

It has been a pleasure to see how maturely students have responded to all that has been asked of them during this first week, however there are some points that I would ask you to reiterate to your child to help ensure the continued smooth running of the school:

• Students should not come into contact with one another and wherever possible, aim to maintain a metre between themselves and others.
• Always follow the one-way system.  This has been very effective to date.
• Please have a waterproof coat or umbrella packed as part of their school equipment.  To date it has been dry during the thirty minute break and lunch times.  However, when it does rain, students and the staff supervising them, will all remain outside, except for extreme weather conditions, so an umbrella may come in handy at some point!
• Please ensure students bring their own re-useable drinks bottle.  It is not permitted to drink directly from any of the taps or drinking fountains and single-use cups are no longer provided.
• If anyone at home has symptoms of the virus, please keep your child at home and immediately apply for a test for the symptomatic member of the family.

Taking all of these steps will continue to protect our school and enable all of the students to continue their learning, and all of the teachers to keep teaching!

Many thanks for your ongoing support during these challenging times.

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy

Principal

4^th September 2020

Dear Parents

COVID-19 – Further details outlining safety precautions put in place for the students’ return

Ahead of the new term, I wanted to write to you again with some further details about the steps that have been put in place to ensure that the school is as COVID safe as possible, and ready for the students’ return.

Earlier this week the Trustees scrutinised and approved the school’s risk assessment and the additional control measures that have been implemented and that will become part of the school’s new routines from September 2020.  It has been a pleasure this morning to welcome back all of our staff, they are unanimous and unified in their desire to welcome your children back to school and look forward to helping them settle into a more normal routine.

As promised in my last correspondence, I wanted to draw your attention to the updated risk assessment that is now available for you to view on the website but also to summarise some of the key messages that we will be sharing with the students on their return.  It will greatly help the smooth running of the school, if you are able to discuss the following with them ahead of the new term.

• Each student should see it as part of their new school uniform to have their own small hand sanitiser and refillable drinks bottle with them at all times.
• Students in Years 7 – 11 will now have two separate breaks of 30 minutes during the day.  One will be allocated as a “lunch”, the other just as a “break”.
• The difference is significant because for Years 7-10 it will only be during their “lunch” time that they will have access to the canteen to collect or purchase their meals.  During “break” students in 7 – 10 will not be permitted into the canteen but will have an allocated area at the top of the playground, which includes some benches where they can eat their snacks that they have brought in from home. 
• Students in Year 11 will have access to the Youth Centre during both “break” and “lunch” but will be expected to stay in that area of the school.
• Students will have access to allocated toilet blocks at different points during the day:

Break time – P block. (Girls upstairs, Boys downstairs)

Lunch time – M block.

6^th Form – 6^th Form block.

Year 11 – Youth Centre.

On the rare occasions that students need to use the toilet during a lesson, they will receive a pass from their class teacher to use the nearest block and return to their learning, as swiftly as possible.

• 6^th Form students have their break and lunch combined into a 1 hour session, thus giving them time to leave the site to purchase lunch should they wish to do so.  The group study and servery will be open to them at this time as well.

My previous correspondence summarises many of the details of the updated risk assessment and rather than repeat points here I include a link to that letter.  I do however think it worth giving further information about the following key points:

• Face coverings.  At present we maintain our belief that the best approach to this issue is to support any colleague or student who wishes to wear a face mask.  We are not making it compulsory to either wear one, or to remove them on the school site.  We appreciate that individual families will have widely differing views about the advantages and the risks associated with either wearing or choosing not to wear a face mask.
• I wish to stress that whilst not stipulating a specific design of face mask, I would encourage colleagues and students alike to consider the environmental impact of wearing a disposable mask and would encourage the use of re-useable, washable masks.
• Similarly, I would want students to be clear that scarfs, snoods, balaclavas, or masks with inappropriate designs on, are all unsuitable for use in school and must not be used as a face covering.
• Around the school at key points and in every classroom, there are marked “staff zones”, these are indicated by a solid line of hazard tape. These areas mark where adults can stand, confident that they will be distanced from all of the students but also able to supervise or teach for a length of time.  Students should respect the need to sensibly distance themselves from all adults in the school, whilst still cooperating and responding to their instruction or direction.
• Each Year Group has their own separate time or gate to arrive and depart by.  Please impress upon your child how important it is that they arrive and depart within their allotted times.  Additionally, upon departure from school with their Year Group, that they make their way home swiftly.  Vacating the streets, shops, bus stops and train station as soon as possible in order to avoid congestion and crowding.
• We will spend time in lessons and during registration periods addressing with students the challenges of maintaining good mental health during this pandemic.  Indeed, staff today have participated in some bereavement training, as we are aware that tragically some of our school community have suffered such a loss as a result of COVID.  Should you have any particular concerns about how your son or daughter are managing the return to school at this time, please do contact the relevant member of our pastoral team and they will discuss how we can best support you and your child.
• In response to the pandemic we have increased our cleaning rota and have a team who now continually work around the school during the day.  They focus upon the toilets, handrails, door handles, push plates and hard surfaces.  Student keyboards and mice are cleaned each day but it is not possible to clean each station between each period.  Antibacterial wipes will be available for students to wipe down the workstation they are allocated prior to use, but I would suggest that if students had their own small pack of wipes for their personal use, this would greatly assist the swift and smoot start to lessons where they are using a keyboard.
• Students will continue to exchange exercise books with their teachers, and be expected to fix in various handouts and worksheets.  Students having their own glue sticks and scissors, will again greatly assist in ensuring this vital information can still be quickly and efficiently fixed into their books and avoid teachers having to distribute and clean such equipment.
• Staff will try to limit the exchange of paper and exercise books between themselves and the students, but this will still be necessary in order to provide students with feedback on their work.  Where this can be done digitally and in a timely fashion this will be done, however staff and students should take the sensible precaution of sanitising their hands and not touching their face on the occasions when exercise books are exchanged.
• When participating in PE, students will continue to get changed into and out of their PE kit for their activity.  There are additional hand sanitiser stations in the changing rooms, and their capacity capped, and reorganised so that students have suitable space facing away from others to change.  Thus, still being able to benefit from all the positive outcomes from physical activity.

I appreciate that this and previous correspondence has been packed full of new rules, regulations, systems and structures. Indeed, the updated risk assessment is available for you to view on the website.  This outlines in greater depth the safety steps that I have tried to summarise for you, that we have put into place ready for September.

We will utilise the briefing sessions that we have arranged with each Year Group to reiterate these points to the students on return.  However, I would maintain that the school’s core behaviours of “Respect, Responsibility and Resilience”, if displayed by all students will ensure that we are all ready to return to education in a safe manner.

My colleagues and I are genuinely looking forward to the return of the students.  Their future success and aspirations are what we must now invest our time and effort into, whilst being mindful of all the necessary safety measures that have been put in place.

Thank you for your ongoing support and patience! There will be further communication of how various school events such as Parents Evenings, Consultation Groups, Open Evenings, Extra-Curricular Clubs will take place with the restrictions that are placed upon us at present, in due course.  Have a good weekend, and I look forward to welcoming your child back to school at some point next week.

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy

Principal

Dear Parents

COVID-19 – Further information on changes to school life to improve the safety for all students

Ahead of the students’ return to school which commences for different Year Groups from Monday, 7^th September 2020, (see previous correspondence & website for details).  I wanted to provide an update to aspects of school life that have changed in order to further improve the safety for your child. 

A copy of the existing risk assessment which outlined the different steps that were put in place for the return of Years 10 and 12 prior to the summer holiday, is currently available on our website.  We continue to update this and will next week present the updated version to the school Trustees for scrutiny and approval.  Prior to the publication of the updated risk assessment, I thought it would be prudent to draw your attention to some aspects of the plan that will require the cooperation and attention of you and your child.  Please could I ask you to discuss and reiterate these points with your child, as it will be essential that all members of the school community cooperate with these steps to keep the risks associated with school re-opening to a minimum.

• “Bubbles” – this is a term that has been introduced during the COVID lockdown and seems to have a variety of definitions across different areas of society, even from school to school.  Several measures have been put in place to try and keep different “Year Group bubbles” apart whilst at school, e.g. staggered arrival and departure times, separate times for each Year Group to access the canteen.  However, despite these steps and others (such as one- way systems, and allocated areas in which each Year Group have their break time) responsibility for maintaining a safe distance from other Year Groups will require the full cooperation of each student to have maximum impact.  We will reiterate this with students in their return to school briefings but would ask you to impress this upon your child, in your individual discussions as a family.
• Start and finish times. Linking to the point on bubbles above, you will be aware via earlier correspondence of the steps that we have taken to stagger the start, departure, break and lunch times for each Year Group.  Please can I ask you to impress upon your child how important it is that they adhere to these times. Arriving at the correct entrance / exit at the allocated times will help to keep each Year Group separated.
• Distancing from adults in the school.  Cooperation between adults and students in the school has always been essential but perhaps never more than now.  As far as possible, I would ask students to maintain a safe distance from each of the adults that they work with.  To assist with this, a “teacher zone” has been marked out at the front of each classroom, and at some strategic points around the school.  Students should not enter these taped off areas.  Staff will obviously need to move outside of these areas during lessons and as they move around the school, hence the need for the cooperation of all students in maintaining safe distancing.
• Equipment for school. All students should also now consider their own hand sanitizer and refillable drinks bottle as part of their everyday school equipment.  Hand sanitizer stations are available within every classroom, but it will greatly assist swift admittance to each class, if students are not dependent upon using these shared dispensers. Teachers will not be permitted to give out spare equipment, such as pens, nor will students be able to borrow uniform, such as ties. It is therefore essential that every student is fully equipped every day.
• Travelling to and from school. I would ask you to review your child’s journey to school. With public transport continuing to limit the number of passengers that are admitted to some buses, I would encourage as many students as possible to walk or cycle to school.  Transport for London have asked schools to circulate the attached guidance for your consideration.  If you are considering driving your child to school, I would ask you to arrange a drop off and collection point 200 – 400m away from the school entrance to avoid congestion and delay.

Following their staggered departure from school we request that students make their way home immediately.  There is little point in students maintaining good social distancing whilst in school, only then to congregate with different year groups at local shops or parks.

• Face coverings. The issue of face coverings has been in the news during recent days, and I suspect that the guidance provided to schools and parents with regard to face masks in schools will potentially change several times before we reopen!  However, our position at present is that students and staff will be permitted to wear a face covering if they feel it necessary to do so.  There is no stipulated design of mask, but I would ask that any words or images displayed on the masks are appropriate for school.  Additionally, it is important that if your child wears a face mask on public transport on their way to school, this must be removed and stored away before they enter the school gate.  If they wish to then wear a face mask at school, this must be a new clean mask separate to that worn on public transport.  It is essential that they sanitise their hands between removing the first and applying the second mask.  You will understand that this system is entirely dependent upon students adhering to the guidance without supervision.
• Coronavirus symptoms. I believe we are all are all familiar with the Government guidelines on the reducing the spread of the virus by ensuring that if anyone has any of the symptoms that they immediately self-isolate, stay at home and apply for a test.  For ease of reference, I have included the links to the Government guidance on each, within the text above.
• Hand hygiene. Similarly, I hope we are aware of how to wash our hands, and the fact that this needs to be done regularly and thoroughly, but this remains the single most effective way of preventing the spread of the disease.  Each Form Tutor will impress upon each student the importance of this practice, but I would ask you to invest a few minutes ensuring your child is aware of how they are expected to wash their hands by watching the attached video produced by the Government.
• Movement around school. Although at times it may be frustrating for students, as it will not necessarily be the quickest route to their destination, I would ask you to impress upon your child the need for them to adhere to the one-way systems around the school.  This will greatly reduce the number of students that they come into contact with and therefore help safeguard the whole school.
• Using the canteen. If your child is collecting or purchasing food at the canteen, they can either continue to use the biometric reader or give their Surname and Year Group, so the canteen staff can access the account.  The biometric reader will be wiped after each student, to ensure it is sanitised between each use.  Our tests show that the biometric reader is a much quicker method and will enable us to progress students through the canteen swiftly. We understand that some students may prefer to avoid any contact with the communal reader; they just need to be ready to provide their Surname and Year Group clearly upon collection of their food.
• Parental visits to school. Finally, I would ask all parents to refrain from entering the school building.  We will endeavour to conduct all parent contact via phone or an online meeting.  Parental attendance at school should be by appointment only at this current time.

Can I thank you for your ongoing support and cooperation during this challenging time.  Once these changes have been included into the updated risk assessment and approved by the school’s Trustees, I will publish the full document for your reference on the school website as before.  I hope this interim summary helps to address some of the questions and concerns that you may have.  If you do have any further specific questions do please send these to my PA, Mrs Gina Deen at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we shall do our utmost to address these generically in the final days of planning and in further correspondence, before welcoming all students back.

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy

Principal

Dear Parents

COVID-19 – Arrangements for the school opening for all Year Groups from September 2020

As we approach the start of the new academic year we are very much looking forward to being able to welcome students back to school.  As suggested in earlier correspondence there will be several aspects of school life that have been amended in response to the COVID virus and safety measures that we are putting in place to help reduce the risk of the virus spreading.

In order that we can communicate these changes with students, the start to the new year will be staggered with each Year Group returning at a different point during the first week.  I am sorry for any disruption that this may cause. However, I am sure that you will appreciate that it is necessary to ensure that every student is fully briefed on what will be expected of them to ensure that the whole school community can operate safely.

Please see outlined below the times and dates that each Year Group will return.  Please read through all of the information below carefully.  There is a lot of information in this letter and arrangements are different for each year group.  Please note, in particular, that for Years 8, 9 and 10 they will attend in their House Groups on the afternoon before the day on which their teaching timetable commences.  Students should return to these briefings and their timetabled lessons in full school uniform and should also consider bringing their own hand sanitiser and reusable drinks container as part of their necessary school equipment.

Year 7:  Return to school on Monday, 7^th September 2020.  Arrive at school between 8.15am – 8.25am.  Enter the school by the Main gate on Handsworth Avenue.  Depart at 3.05pm via the Main gate.

Year 12:  Return to school on Monday, 7^th September 2020.  Arrive at school between 8.25am – 8.35am.  Enter the school by the 6^th Form gate on Handsworth Avenue.  Depart at 3.15pm via the 6^th Form gate.

Priority has been given to our two newest Year Groups in the school who are settling into secondary school or 6^th Form for the first time.  Their lessons will continue from Monday, 7^th September 2020 onwards.

Year 10:  Return to school for their briefing session during the afternoon on Monday, 7^th September 2020 at the following times.  It is essential that they attend as their Tutor Group.  Entry to the school will be via the vehicle gate on Handsworth Avenue.

10P1 and P2 - 2.00pm

10G1 and G2 - 3.00pm

10F1 and F2 - 4.00pm

10B1 and B2 - 5.00pm

 

All Year 10 students will be dismissed on Monday afternoon from the Beverley Road Gate.

Year 10 will return the following morning, Tuesday 8^th September 2020 and their teaching will start from that point onwards.  They should arrive between 8.25am – 8.35am via the Main gate on Handsworth Avenue.  Depart at 3.15pm via the Main gate.

Priority has been given to Year 10 in returning to school to commence their GCSE courses.  It is necessary for these students to receive an extended briefing session, as they have not attended school throughout the enforced school closure.

Year 11 and Year 13:  Both will return to school on Tuesday, 8^th September 2020.  Each of these Year Groups were able to attend school for the last four weeks before the summer break and are, in the main, familiar with COVID measures that have been put into place.

Year 11:  Arrive at school between 8.25am – 8.35am on Tuesday, 8^th September 2020.  Enter the school via the Beverley Road gate.  Depart 3.20pm again via the Beverley Road gate, unless they are attending a period 6 lesson.

 

Year 13:  Arrive at school between 8.25am – 8.35am on Tuesday, 8^th September 2020.  Enter the school via the 6^th Form gate on Handsworth Avenue.  Depart 3.20pm again via the 6^th Form gate, unless they are attending a period 6 lesson.

Both Years 11 and 13, who are closest to sitting their GCSE or A Level examinations, will benefit from a slightly extended Period 5 (by 5 minutes) each day whilst giving other Year Groups the opportunity to be clear from the site, before their dismissal.

Lessons for Years 11 and 13 will commence on Tuesday, 8^th September 2020 and continue from that point onwards.

 

Year 8:  Return to school for their briefing session during the afternoon on Tuesday, 8^th September 2020 at the following times.  It is essential that they attend in their Tutor Group.  Entry to the school will be via the vehicle gate on Handsworth Avenue.

8P1 and P2 - 2.00pm

8G1 and G2 - 3.00pm

8F1 and F2 - 4.00pm

8B1 and B2 - 5.00pm

 

All Year 8 students will be dismissed on Tuesday afternoon from the Beverley Road Gate.

Year 8 will return the following morning, Wednesday, 9^th September 2020 to commence their lessons.  They should arrive between 8.40am – 8.50am via the Main gate on Handsworth Avenue.  Depart at 3.35pm via the Main gate.

Year 8 will commence each day by going straight to their Period 1 lesson.  Their day will end at 3.35pm each day after their tutor time, thus helping to stagger each Year Group’s arrival and departure.  Lessons for Year 8 commence on Wednesday, 9^th September 2020 and will continue from that point onwards.

 

Year 9:  Return to school for their briefing session during the afternoon on Wednesday, 9^th September 2020 at the following times.  It is essential that they attend in their Tutor Group.  Entry to the school will be via the vehicle gate on Handsworth Avenue.

9P1 and P2 - 2.00pm

9G1 and G2 - 3.00pm

9F1 and F2 - 4.00pm

9B1 and B2 - 5.00pm

All Year 9 students will be dismissed on Wednesday afternoon from the Beverley Road gate.

Year 9 will return the following morning, Thursday, 10^th September 2020 to commence their lessons.  They should arrive between 8.40am – 8.50am via the Beverley Road gate.  Depart at 3.35pm again via the Beverley Road gate.

Year 9 will commence each day by going straight to their Period 1 lesson.  Their day will end at 3.35pm each day after their tutor time, thus helping to stagger each Year Group’s arrival and departure.  Lessons for Year 9 commence on Thursday, 10^th September 2020 and continue from that point onwards.

Can I take this opportunity to thank you for your cooperation during this first week back to school.  Whilst frustrating that we cannot welcome all students back on the same day, it is essential that time is taken with each Year Group to ensure that everyone is fully briefed on how all the different systems and procedures work.  Doing so will ensure everyone is able to play their part and cooperate together to ensure the school runs smoothly and safely for the rest of the term.

More details and explanations on all areas of school life will be circulated prior to the start of school.  As you can see from the details above, it is essential that each student attends at their allocated time and location to ensure that everything runs smoothly. 

Thank you for your anticipated support and cooperation.

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy

Principal

Dear Parents

COVID-19 - 17th July Update

As we reach the end of a challenging academic year, I would like to thank you for the support and patience that you have demonstrated during the last four months.  I appreciate that in writing one letter to parents and students from Year 6 to Year 13, I am addressing families who have had a complete range of experiences during the COVID shut down.  Tragically, within the Highams Park community we are aware that some of you have suffered bereavements as a result of the virus and I am certain that I speak for everyone when I say that we extend our condolences to you. You and your family remain firmly in my prayers.

The return of our Year 10 and 12 students, as well as a visit from our new Year 7 students has presented the opportunity to speak with the students, and to stress to them the importance of respecting every individual’s experiences during this pandemic.  I have to say how proud I am of the response from every student.  Not only have we had high levels of attendance to the sessions that we have been able to run, some classes having over 90% attendance, but the attitude and cooperation of the students has been outstanding.  Their full compliance with the measures that we have put in place to minimise the risks associated with returning to school, have helped inform the plans that are now well under way, for the full return of the school in September.

As you will be aware, the Government has recently released their guidance for the re-opening of schools and we have been using this to inform our plans for Highams Park School.  During the summer months, we will update our existing risk assessment to reflect the further measures that we will put in place to drive the level of risk associated with attending school, as low as possible.  The risk assessment is available for you to view via the links on the Coronavirus Updates section of our website www.highamsparkschool.co.uk  and this will continue to be updated during the summer.  The Government has explained that they will provide a further update to the guidance in mid-August and we shall obviously review all of our measures in light of this, once it is published.

I would love to be able to provide exact details of how every aspect of school life will be managed in September but at present, this is just not possible.  My Senior Team and I will continue to map out the precise nature of arrangements during the summer break, and I will continue to update you all via email and publishing details on our website, as the finer details are confirmed.

I would however, like to set out some points for you, so that you can start to picture what will be required in September 2020.

Staggered return for each Year Group from the 7^th September 2020.  As you can imagine, having been absent from school for some five months, it will be necessary for returning students to be fully briefed and guided through the new structures and systems that will be in place.  In order for us to do this, it will be necessary to stagger the return of each Year Group throughout the week.  Monday, 7^th September 2020, will see only Years 7 and 12 return to school, details of when other Year Groups will return to school will be released during the summer.  All Year Groups will be back in lessons before the end of the first week.

School Uniform.  All students will be expected to wear full school uniform on their return, details of this can be found on our website.

Daily arrival time at school.  In order to help students in each Year Group maintain distance between each other, the starting times for each Year Group will be staggered so that each group of students can make their way to their first classroom, before the next Year Group arrives.  Priority will be given to the new Year 7 students who are also adapting to a whole new school!  Additionally, we will make use of the different entrances to the school, stipulating which Year Group should enter via either the main school gate, the 6^th Form entrance or the Beverley Road gate.  Confirmation of all of these arrangements will be sent to you during the summer.

Registration and Tutor time: Perhaps the most significant change for students in Years 8 and 9 will be the movement of their tutor time from the start of the day to the end of the day.  This will help with staggering the schools arrival and departure with students in these two Year Groups, arriving when all other Year Groups are settled into their classrooms and leaving, once other Year Groups have left the site.  This temporary arrangement will not result in any loss of teaching or tutoring time for Years 8 or 9.

Lunch times: The normal structure of the school day will be amended for staff and students.  Rather than the whole school sharing a 20-minute break and a 50-minute lunch, the day will be restructured so that there are two 30-minute breaks for each Year Group spread out during the day.  Each Year Group will have exclusive use of the school canteen during one of their breaks, again helping each Year Group to remain separated from one another.  To aid the smooth running of this system, please could I ask all students to ensure they bring their own reusable water bottle, every day.  I would also suggest that they bring a simple snack or piece of fruit that they can have during their second break, as they will not have access to the canteen for more than once in each day.  Again, precise times and arrangements for each Year Group will be circulated separately to you all during the summer.

Staggered departure times:  I have been able to share with our new Year 7 students who attended Highams Park School in small groups this week, that they will leave school 10 minutes earlier than everyone else.  This is the only sacrifice that we are making to our curriculum within the school.  As already, mentioned Years 8 and 9 will depart 15 minutes later than all other Year Groups, as they will conclude their day with tutor time.  Period 5 will be extended by 5 minutes for our two - Year Groups sitting GCSE and A Levels this year, Years 11 & 13.  As with the arrival to school, each Year Group will also have a specified exit by which they must depart.  The final arrangements will be sent to you all and published on our website in due course.

As we have seen with the children of key workers and our current Years 10 and 12 students, they have been quick to adapt to the additional responsibilities that the new COVID arrangements have placed upon them.  The success of a safe re-opening of the school depends upon everyone taking seriously their individual responsibilities and appreciating the impact that their actions have upon the whole school system.  Further reminders will be issued about each of the following but I would like to stress how essential the following matters are:

• Adhere to the one-way systems in school.
• Ensure you have your own stationary and books.  Sharing of resources will be kept to a minimum.
• Have your own small container of hand sanitiser with you, at all times.  There are stations placed frequently around the school but each person having their own hand sanitiser will alleviate the demand for these areas.
• Have your drink and snack with you to help keep you hydrated and nourished during the day.  Please note, students will not be permitted to bring energy drinks into school.
• Use the social distancing markers that are placed around the school to help remain physically separate from others.
• If you are at all unwell, do not come to school but immediately book a test via the Governments track and trace system
• Respect the marked “no go zone” that will be in place within each classroom and at various points around the school.  These will be used to provide adults working in the school with a suitable space to work within, confident that they are separated from others.

GCSE and A Level Examination results:  Separate communication has already been sent to students and parents in each of these Year Groups.  Please be assured that although we are trying to reduce the necessity for students to attend school on these days, staff will be on hand to assist with confirming the results and supporting all students with progressing to their next stage of education.  It may take longer than normal but we will be available for you.  Please refer to the detailed plans for these days available on our website.

Despite the challenges that this year has brought, it has remained an absolute privilege to serve the Highams Park community.  Can I thank those of you who have sent in your messages of support; your understanding and appreciation of the challenges that we have faced have been very gratefully received.  Your empathy whilst juggling your own family matters and COVID restrictions, that have affected every area of employment, has been wonderful.

I hope that you are all able to have some sort of rest over the summer holiday, perhaps not as planned but I would encourage all students to ensure they recharge their batteries in some way.  For me it will be running, cycling, swimming and reading for a few weeks before returning to confirm all of the plans for September.  Do please keep an eye out for the emails that will make their way to you during the break, all of which will also be posted on our school website.

I look forward to welcoming all students back to school in September, stay safe, and remain vigilant. Never have our core behaviours of respect, responsibility and resilience been more relevant!

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy

Principal

Dear Year 12 parents and students, 

Dear Year 10 parents and students, 

19th June 2020

Dear Parents

COVID-19 - Monday 22nd June 2020

I am aware that during the course of the enforced school closure that communication between school and home has been increasingly challenging.  Without the opportunity to meet with the students on a daily basis, we can all very quickly start to feel detached from the school community, as we knew it.

You will all have recently received my Vice Principal, Mr Armsby information outlining how in the remaining four weeks of term our teachers are going to start to introduce some more “Teams” teaching to help further support the work that has been set on Firefly.  Some colleagues have been familiar with and have had access to be able to use this for several weeks, while for others it is brand new and very much a learning curve for them.  During this week, it has been helpful to be able to provide some training for our staff on the opportunities that Microsoft Teams provides during the continued school closure.  Please do take time to read the fuller information that Mr Armsby has circulated.

Parents of students in Years 10 and 12, as well as our Key Worker parents, will also have recently received information from my Deputy Principal, Mr Capewell, and from our Head of 6th Form, Mrs Stephens, about the expectations of students, as well as the support in place for them, for when they arrive in school from Monday 22nd June.  If you have not done so already, please could your read his message in conjunction with my letter that outlines all of the details of who is due in and when.  This is available on the school website under the ‘Coronavirus Updates’ section.

Whilst I am frustrated that we are not able to open the school for students in Years 7, 8, 9 and that we have not been able to say goodbye to our GCSE and A Level students in Years 11 and 13, I am delighted to be able to welcome back students in Years 10 and 12.  I look forward to seeing some of you from Monday.

I hope that it is clear from the video that I circulated previously, that we have taken very seriously the safety of the students and the members of staff, in the preparations that we have made for returning to some form of face-to-face contact between staff and students.  As promised, I have included a copy of the risk assessment that has been supported by our Trustees and Union representatives.  This week, I have been able to brief all of our staff on the procedures that have been put in place to ensure that measures are consistently applied upon the students’ return.  The risk assessment can be found along with all of the other correspondence relating to the school closure in the Coronavirus section of the website.  The staff at Highams Park school will continue to review the practice within the school and I will continue to refine and update steps necessary to reduce the risk of infection for staff and students.

I appreciate that each one of you will want to consider carefully whether you wish to send your child back to school during these last four weeks and we will obviously respect the decisions that you reach.  But I firmly believe that the measures in place, along with the commitment and enthusiasm of the teachers in the school, mean that the limited face to face contact that is possible, will be a productive and supportive step for all involved, as we start to emerge from the lockdown.

One point that I will reiterate to the students upon their return, is the need for every member of the school community to respect the decisions and experiences that students and members of staff have had during this outbreak.  I am sure it will not surprise you to learn that there are some members of staff and students who have suffered bereavement as a result of COVID 19.  Our sympathies and prayers are obviously with each of those families, but it is important that our support for them is also demonstrated in our actions.  It is every student’s responsibility to cooperate with the one-way systems, the handwashing and sanitising opportunities, the seating plans and registration systems.  Our respect for these safety measures and responsibility towards each other, needs to be demonstrated with each of our actions.

I know that Mr Capewell and Mrs Stephens have sent communication out to students who are returning to school from Monday about the following, but it is perhaps helpful to share with all parents as some of these measures may well still be applicable in September.  There are numerous hand sanitiser stations around the school for students to be able to use as they enter and exit different departments and rooms, but if they are able to carry their own small container with them it will help to provide them with additional reassurance.  Each room that students are taught in will have been cleaned following its previous use and has been carefully set out so that, whilst they are in a room with other students, each of them can be assured that they will be able to remain 2 metres away from each other within the class at all times.

Students will not be at school for long enough to have a break or a lunch time, so it will be important that they arrive with their own water bottle, which we would ask that they take away with them again at the end of their day.  The transition between their lessons will provide the students with some opportunity to chat with friends that they may not have seen for several months, but the markings that we have put down on the playground will help ensure that this too is done at a safe distance.  If you have not had opportunity to watch the video that was circulated to parents last week, could I suggest that the video, in conjunction with the risk assessment, are worth viewing as each provide a fuller picture of the steps that we have taken to make a return to school as safe as possible.

I would like to stress how important that students only arrive at school for their allocated provision.  In Year 10, it is according to their House, and Year 12, their Tutor Group. Reminders of which students come in on which day is all included in my previous letter that can be viewed on the website.  It is imperative, that students adhere to these days and times, as the loading of each class has been carefully calculated to ensure that students can fit safely into each lesson.

Finally, it is also important that students travel to and from school in a safe manner, and as far as possible avoid using public transport whilst doing so.  When dismissed from school, students will only be able to leave via the Beverly Road gate as part of the many one-way systems implemented around the school and we would urge students to maintain the rules of social distancing whilst on route home.

I wish you a good weekend and look forward to being able to welcome students in Years 10 and 12 back to school from Monday 22nd June 2020.  For Years 11 and 13, we will see you on your results days, more details of which will, be sent to you in due course.  Finally, for all those students in Years 7, 8 and 9, I would urge you to maintain your involvement in the work that your teachers are setting and look out for the “Teams” lessons that your teachers will start to use.

Keep fit, stay active, keep learning and we all look forward to being able to welcome you back to school in the not-too-distant future.

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy

Principal

View Time Table Here

Dear parents, students

Dear Parents

COVID-19 Parent Update

I trust that this message finds you well and I am certain that we are all looking forward to the further release from lockdown measures that are slowly being implemented.  As you will be aware in recent months Highams Park has only been open to the children of Key Workers and all other students have had to continue their learning via the online resources that have been provided via Firefly.

Can I thank you for your commitment and patience in continuing to support your child’s learning in this manner during what has I know been a challenging time for every section of our community.  I hope that you have found the online resources helpful and in coming weeks more and more staff will be making increased use of Microsoft Teams to further enhance the distance learning that can take place during the final five weeks of term.  We will communicate more details about this in separate correspondence.

As we now move towards being able to welcome back students from Years 10 and 12, I thought that it would be helpful and more beneficial for you to be able to see how our school has changed so I have constructed a video, so that you can start to picture how things will work.  Please follow the link below:

http://highamspark.fireflycloud.net/parent-information/coronavirus-info/year-10s-and-12s-return-to-school

I am aware that these details are at present most helpful to the students and families of Year 10 and 12 students, but thought that all of you would appreciate seeing how our school will be organised for this group of students.  Years 10 and 12 will return on a rota from Monday, 22^nd June 2020.  This will provide the opportunity for every student in these Year Groups to have some face to face contact with each of their teachers prior to the summer break.  Regrettably, all other Year Groups will continue with their online learning until at least the end of this academic year.

Year 10 – Return from Monday, 22^nd June 2020

From Monday 22^nd June 2020, students in Year 10 will attend school according to the rota below for two lessons each morning, continuing until the end of term.

 

The structure for the day will be as follows:

 

During these sessions, each student along with approximately quarter of their class will have an opportunity to meet with their teacher.  This will be a chance for students to be able to check with their teacher about any questions they have about the on line work that they have been doing, what they need to do going forward, including details as to how they might join future virtual meetings with their teacher via Microsoft Teams.  More information on our use of Microsoft Teams will follow in the coming days for all Year Groups.

The following subjects will be taught on each day and as each house group rotates round, they will all eventually have at least one meeting with their teacher before the summer break.

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Session 1.  9.30 – 10.30	English	Maths	Science	Science	English
Session 2. 10.40 – 11.40	Option J	Option K	Option X	Option Y	Maths

 

From the survey responses, it suggests that 50% of families in Year 10 are planning to send their children back to school prior to the summer. However, the timetable that we have constructed has been designed to be able to cater for all families deciding to send their child back for their allotted lessons on the timetable.  It is hoped that, as students, parents and teachers see that with good cooperation and respect for our new way of working it is possible to adhere to the social distancing requirements, we can together start to focus upon each student’s learning and progress.

As far as possible, students will be taught by their own class teacher, however there may be some occasions when this is not possible.  There are, for example, some colleagues who are still having to remain in isolation for their own benefit or for the benefit of family members, indeed there may well be “normal” sickness that impacts upon both students and teachers during these final four weeks.  However, please be assured that our teachers are desperate to see the students and to be able to help them with their studies.  Your children are what makes our school tick, and the job of teaching fun.  If one of your child’s teachers is not available, they may well be asked to only attend school for one of the sessions or will be covered by another teacher who is not their own.  We will do our very best to keep these to a minimum and rather take full advantage of the limited face to face contact that is possible.

More details about the Year 10 provision will be sent to families in that Year Group in the coming days, but do please dig out your school trousers, skirts and shirts.  Blazers and ties will not be required, and if your shoes still fit please wear them, if not dark shoes of some description.  Please avoid wearing jewellery that is normally banned and bring your own drink with you.  It will be essential that students arrive equipped with their own writing equipment and books, as sharing of any material comes with the associated risks.

Year 12 return form Monday 22^nd June

Students in Year 12 will also return from Monday 22^nd June 2020.  They will be grouped in Tutor Groups in the following manner:

 

The structure for the day will be as follows:

Welcome session in Main Hall and Dance Studio	12.10 – 12.30
Session 3 – Year 12 only	12.40 – 1.40
Moving time – go back to the Playground	1.40 – 1.50
Session 4 – Year 12 only	1.50 – 2.50
Dismissal of year 12s from school	2.50 onwards

. 

These three groups will attend school according to the rota below:

 

Each day the subjects from the following option blocks will be delivered, so, as with Year 10, once the 4-week rotation has been completed each student will have had opportunity to meet with their subject teachers on several occasions.

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Session 3 12.40 – 1.40	Block A Subjects	Block C Subjects	Block E Subjects	Block B Subjects	Block D Subjects
Session 4 1.50 – 2.50	Block B Subjects	Block D Subjects	Block A Subjects	Block C Subjects	Block E Subjects

The ‘Blocks’ are what subject options the students have chosen. Below is our 6^th form option blocks, however students can understand what block they are in by the code on their timetable (this is accessible on Firefly). An example is Student X’s English Language code being: 12D/EH1, so when they return to school and block D is on this allocated day, they will have English (see below on the option blocks). After a quick check on their Firefly timetable, this should become clearer for students.  

For those subjects that are highlighted in our 6^th form option blocks below, they cover 2 option blocks, so on students return they will have this subject and see their teacher in both blocks.

Option Block A	Option Block B	Option Block C	Option Block D	Option Block E
Art	Chemistry	Biology	Business Studies	Economics
Biology	English Language	ENG LANG  GCSE Re-sit	English Language	French
Business Studies	Maths	English Literature	English Literature	Further Maths
Computer Science	Music	Drama & Theatre Studies	Film Studies	History
Dance	Philosophy	Further Maths	Geography	Media Studies
Government & Politics	Psychology	History	Physics	Psychology
Media Studies		Maths		Sociology
Sociology		*Core Maths
		MATHS  GCSE Re-sit
	Sport BTEC National	IT Technical Single Award		Sport BTEC National
Business Studies  BTEC National		IT Technical Double Award with Cisco Networking	Business Studies  BTEC National	IT Technical Double Award with Cisco Networking
		Health and Social  Care BTEC National	Health and Social  Care BTEC National

From the survey responses, it suggests that 50% of families in Year 12 were planning to send their children back to school, but as with the Year 10 provision the timetable we have constructed has been designed to be able to cater for all families deciding to send their child back for their allotted lessons on the timetable. 

6^th Form students should attend school dressed in smart casual clothing, avoiding the need to wear their normal business dress that would need dry cleaning.  It will be essential that they bring their own writing equipment with them and their own drink.  All of the other caveats mentioned with respect to Year 10 teachers also apply to Year 12 ,but staff are looking forward to seeing their classes again in person.

Unlike Year 10, Year 12 students will not necessarily have a subject in each of the five Option blocks. So, although Blocks A and B are both taught on the first Monday to students in group 1, an individual student in group 1 may have 2, 1 or indeed no lessons on that day.  Further details about the day will be sent out to Year 12 parents specifically.

Neither the Year 10 nor  Year 12 students will have access to the canteen at present and there will be no food provided for them, as they are only in school for the morning or afternoon session.  Although the Government have suggested that classes could contain up to 15 students, none of our classes will approach that number.  We have prioritised all students being able to be seated with a clear 2m exclusion zone around them, which restricts class size to between 8 – 10 students depending upon the size of the room.

As you would expect and can see from the earlier video there have been no end of amendments made to school to reduce the level of risk associated with a return to school.  I will next week make the risk assessment available to parents via Firefly, in order to inform your decision, as to whether to send your son or daughter back to school.  However, I cannot stress enough, as we will all have witnessed from any trip to the supermarket, the systems and measures in place require the respect and cooperation of each individual if they are to be successful. 

I am certain that our students in Years 10 and 12 will be able to take that responsibility on board and we all look forward to seeing them again from Monday, 22^nd June 2020.  Their response will help to inform our plans for the full return of the school in the future.

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy

Principal

Friday, 22nd May 2020

Dear Parent(s)

COVID-19 –PARENT SURVEY

As promised in my letter of the 20^th May 2020, please find embedded below a link that will take you to a survey to collect your thoughts with regards to the re-opening of Highams Park School, but also some wider thinking about how your child has been interacting with the on line work that has been provided to date.  Please note, that SurveyMonkey have informed me that they are carrying out some maintenance work tomorrow from 4pm to 12am, which may prevent you from completing the survey during this time.

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/WVPQV8Q

As is acknowledged in the survey, I appreciate that for you to be able to make a fully informed decision about whether you would send your child back to school or not you require further details, about how a school day would be organised, in order to feel satisfied that you have made the right decision.

As I type this letter, I await the publication of two promised documents from the Government.  Firstly, the guidelines for the re-opening of secondary schools and medical research pertaining to the spread of the virus in school settings.  Once received, I anticipate both will help to inform the plans for school re-opening.

Whilst I appreciate the frustration caused to you and your family with the ongoing closure of schools, I must stress that the school Trustees and I must give priority to the health and safety of the students and the staff.  The current instruction for everyone to adhere to 2-metre social distancing is hugely problematic within a school site.  For example, classroom capacity is hugely reduced, many of our corridors are not 2m wide, and quite simply the area of the school is not sufficient to contain the 1800 people working on the site in a normal day.

Finally, before asking you to complete the survey I would like to re-iterate that the date of the 1^st June 2020, which has been rumored to be when schools will be re-opening, is NOT the case.  Our planning for a limited and phased re-opening of the school for a limited number of students is ongoing and will take into consideration the awaited guidance.  Your responses to the attached survey, will help to inform both this planning and also my further communication with you, to try and answer the many and complex questions that I appreciate, we all share.

I hope that over the bank holiday weekend you are all able to have some sort of break.  If you could complete the survey by midday on Tuesday, 26^th May 2020, we will use your responses at this point, to enable us to inform you of our ongoing planning.

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy

Principal

Dear Parent(s)

COVID-19 Bank Holiday Monday, 25th May 2020

We hope that you continue to remain safe and well during this COVID lockdown. We are writing to you as a Parent, who may have on occasion, made use of the supervision that the school is providing for children of Key Workers during the school closure. This Monday, 25th May 2020 is the Spring bank holiday, so the school will not be open on this day.  Therefore, there will not be any supervision for your child at the school on Monday but the school will continue be open for the remainder of next week as usual, for the children of Key Workers on Tuesday, 26th May to Friday, 29th May 2020 inclusive.

Can we thank you for your ongoing efforts as a Key Worker at this time, and wish you good health going forward, so you can maintain your contribution to keeping our society running.

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy

Principal

Dear Parents

COVID-19 

I wanted to write to you all, to provide an update on how we at Highams Park School are starting to forge plans for a phased re-opening of the school at some point in the future. Any wider re-opening will initially only be for some students and will not replace online learning, but rather compliment it.

It is extremely frustrating when commencing this letter, to know that I will fall short of my desire to set out clear plans for each Year Group with specific dates for return.  To provide such confirmation at this present time is sadly, just not possible.

As you are no doubt aware, the Government has requested that schools start to make plans “to offer some face-to-face support to supplement the remote education of Year 10 and Year 12 students who are due to take key exams next year.”  Within this document the Government stresses that: “This will not be a return to full timetables or pupils back in school full-time, rather some support to supplement pupils’ remote education.”

It is of huge frustration to all of the staff at Highams Park School, that it is currently not possible to open the school, and that students are being deprived of the education and interaction upon which they thrive.  It is apparent to all who listen to the press and news headlines that there are several conflicting views with regards, to what the correct approach is to take to the wider opening of schools.  Politicians, Medical Experts, Union leaders, Parents’ Groups, Teachers and Head Teachers have all been vocal in expressing the conflicting views that schools should open as quickly as possible, while others champion keeping them firmly shut!

We are all aware from the press of the huge diversity of opinion that exists with regards to the re-opening of schools in general, but having recently met with the school trustees, I can confirm the following with regards to Highams Park School.

• The School is currently only open to students whose parents are Key Workers, who are unable to find other suitable childcare.  Please note that this provision is not ‘school as normal’ for these students, students are supervised as they complete the online work that is set on Firefly.
• Highams Park School will only open to more students, when I school trustees and I are confident that it is as safe as possible, for the students and staff to do so.
• Whilst we have emerging plans as to how the requested “face-to-face contact” with Year 10 and Year 12 students may be achieved, these plans are being developed and checked as discussion commences, with both teaching unions and parents.
• The press speculation that secondary schools will be open from the 1^st June 2020 is not true, Highams Park School will remain closed.  The 1^st June 2020 is the date by which the Government will confirm, whether their criteria has been met for any further relaxation of enforced school closures.
• To date the Government have not yet published the promised guidance that should be used to plan for the re-opening of secondary schools.  Whilst we have some emerging plans, and we have already commenced preparations for students’ return, e.g. social distancing markings being placed on the floor in areas of high footfall and setting up classrooms, to adhere to the currently required 2 metre social distancing.  It will be necessary to compare our preparations to those required within the awaited document.
• When a wider opening of the school is believed possible, it is envisaged that it will commence with Year 12 students in order to scrutinise arrangements with our oldest and most mature students, to ensure that all planned social distancing measures operate smoothly, before considering extending the provision to include Year 10 students.
• The way in which the school might be re-opened remains under discussion and when it commences, it will be a strictly limited resumption and sadly, will not reflect a normal school timetable.

In setting out the points above, I am very much aware that before you are able to consider whether you would send your child back to school  for the ‘face-to-face contact’ with their teachers and some of their classmates, you would wish to have much more information about how the provision will be organised, to base your decision upon. 

Whilst the plan is to prioritise inviting Years 10 and 12 students into school initially, we would like to have the views of all parents captured within the survey, so we will send this to you all.  The survey will be circulated via Firefly and will help us to gather your views that in turn will help us plan towards the return that we all wish to achieve, whilst keeping the safety of your children paramount. 

It will not surprise you to learn, that any provision is entirely dependent upon the availability of school staff to be able to teach and safely supervise your children.  We are currently linking with our workforce to establish their health and availability.

As suggested at the start of the letter, I am sorry that I cannot at this time be more specific with details, but please be assured that colleagues are working tirelessly behind the scenes, to review the evidence and guidance, and then put in place the measures required, to ensure that the desired return to school will be able to be achieved safely for everyone's benefit.

I will write to you all again as soon as any more definite plans emerge, in the meantime, I would like to thank you all for your patience and the support that I know you will be continuing to provide for your children as they continue to work through the material provided for home study.

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy

Principal

On behalf of Highams Park Academy Trustees

Dear Parent(s)

COVID-19 May Day – Friday 8th May 2020 – VE Day

We hope that you continue to safe and well during this COVID lockdown. We are writing to you as a Parent, who may have on occasion, made use of the supervision that the school is providing for children of Key Workers during the school closure. This Friday, 8th May is a bank holiday to celebrate Victory in Europe Day, so the school will not be open on this day. Therefore, there will not be any care provision for your child at the school on Friday.

Can we thank you for your ongoing efforts as a Key Worker at this time, and wish you good health going forward, so you can maintain your contribution to keeping our society running.

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy

Principal

Dear Parents

COVID-19 – Easter 2020

It is my standard practice to write to you at the start of each half term, highlighting various events and celebrating successes from the previous term.  I must acknowledge that, never has there been a period of time like the last six weeks to reflect upon.   

In writing a letter to in excess of 1500 families, I am painfully aware that to wish you all good health would sound very hollow, as I am aware that many of you will yourselves have been unwell, and indeed am conscious that several of you, have tragically suffered losses within your family as a result of the COVID-19 virus. 

Thank you for the many messages of support that the school received during the hugely confusing end to last term.  Students in Years 11 and 13 found this particularly distressing as their progress towards the forthcoming GCSE and A Level examinations were interrupted.  You will undoubtedly be aware, that the Government have in recent days released guidance on how grades will be awarded for students in these years, in the absence of the examinations that would normally take place. 

Please find below a link that will take parents and students in Years 11, 12 and 13 to a letter from Sally Collier, the Chief Regulator from Ofqual explaining how your grades will be calculated this year.  Please be assured that the teachers at Highams Park School, will be following this advice and guidance from the Government to ensure that each student will gain the grade that they were most likely to achieve, if the exams had gone ahead as normal this summer. Could I please stress part of Ofqual’s instruction which states that, while teachers are preparing the grades to submit to Ofqual colleagues, “Please don’t ask your teachers, or anyone else at your school or college, to tell you the grades they will be sending” as we are not permitted to share these grades with you.   

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/878854/Letter_to_students_-_Summer_2020_grading.pdf   

Whilst the expectations for Years 11 and 13 have changed considerably with the suspension of this Summer’s exams, it is important that students in all other Year Groups continue to learn whilst the school remains shut.  Having reviewed the statistics available to us from Firefly, whilst some students have made excellent use of the resources that teachers are providing, others are not making sufficient progress with the tasks. 

If you are having any IT issues in accessing Firefly, please contact our IT team via the following address and they will assist you in gaining access to the resources available to all students on Firefly at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Whilst online teaching and learning is very different from face to face teaching, it is essential that students don’t become detached from the process of learning.  The activities being set are designed to ensure that students do not fall behind in their studies and are ready for their return, when it is finally confirmed. 

As well as the subject specific work available to each student on Firefly there are also several generic resources available for families on Firefly.  As you will see from the following link:  http://highamspark.fireflycloud.net/remote-projects-and-activities, there are some helpful suggestions around how to maintain a healthy lifestyle, both physically and mentally during this enforced lockdown.  We would not wish to patronise any student or parent about how to manage home studies whilst the school is shut, and appreciate that each family and indeed each child has different resources available to them, as well as capacity to work individually via on line learning.  What is important is that students remain engaged with learning and developing their interest and understanding of a variety of topics and subjects, whilst not becoming distressed or anxious about not being able to complete every single aspect of the work set.  I would suggest each family continue to review and monitor the balance of time spent studying online, whilst also including physical exercise, socialising online and developing other interests. 

I would like to thank school staff who, prior to the headlines, took advantage of their contacts in the NHS to arrange for the donation of all of the safety goggles owned by Highams Park School, previously used by students during their Science lessons, to be donated to frontline nurses in our local hospitals as PPE.  Similar thanks, go to all of you who are now involved in the production of protective clothing for NHS workers or distribution of supplies within our community.  I am sure each of us will be taking steps to support our neighbours, families and NHS colleagues. 

Finally, I would like to pass on details of a local initiative that is being provided by members of the school’s local community.  The following link provides information and contact details of a rapidly formed organisation offering support to families in Highams Park and Chingford who are struggling to manage their food supplies during this difficult time at www.tinyurl.com/HPFoodAid-RequestForm.

Whilst we cannot welcome you back to school for our final term of this year (yet), please be assured that colleagues will continue to work remotely to provide support and guidance to each of you during this time.  Please continue to utilise Firefly and established email communication with colleagues to raise any questions that you may have.  I include the link to details, available via our website, of our Heads of department, http://www.highamsparkschool.co.uk/index.php/contact/contact-heads-of-department but would remind you of the letter circulated by Mr Hyde prior to the school closure, where all staff contact details were circulated. 

For those of you who have already made a payment for a future school trip, you should have been contacted Ms Hulme, our Educational Trips Administrator who is underway with the process of making refunds to you.  Please bear with us as she undertakes this considerable task, but if you have any further questions, please feel free to contact her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

I wish you well and hope to see you in the not too distant future. 

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy 

Principal

 

School Risk Assessments March 2021

School Risk Assessment September 2020

School Risk Assessment May 2020

Dear Parent(s)

Firstly, I would like to wish you and your family well during this time of huge change and upheaval for our country. The COVID-19 virus is forcing every section of society to make changes, to previously established ways of working.  Highams Park School is just one small part of a much larger picture.

I am writing to you, as one of the many families at Highams Park School, who are in receipt of free school meals.  During the current school closure and social distancing measures, we have continued to provide the free school meals that your child is entitled to, available for collection from the school canteen.  As you may well be aware, earlier this week the Government released details of how families can access free school meals, without the need to attend school to collect them.

I am pleased to inform you that from today, Friday, 3^rd April 2020 your family will be sent a voucher that you can redeem at the following supermarkets; Morrisons, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Waitrose and M&S.  The Government has said that they are looking to extend the scheme to other stores as well, but at the time of writing this note, these have not been confirmed.

The guidance, link attached here for ease of reference:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance-for-schools

explains that once you have the voucher, there is no need to print it off.  It can be presented at the till on a phone or tablet and £15 will be deducted from your shopping bill.

The voucher will be issued for five days at a time, and will be sent to the email address of the main carer whose details we hold at school.  The allowance for five days amounts to £15 per child, which equates to £3 for each lunch time.

As with the normal free school meal provision, the Government do not make any provision for weekends or school holidays.  So the voucher that you receive today will cover the period from Friday, 3^rd April 2020 to Thursday, 23^rd April 2020.  A new £15 voucher will be issued on Friday, 24^th April 2020 and each subsequent Friday thereafter, until further notice.

You will appreciate, that we have tried to respond as quickly as possible to the Government guidance that was released on Tuesday of this week. We are sending both this explanation and the first voucher on the same day, and appreciate that there may be some teething problems with the administration of this, as yet untested and nationwide system.  If you do not receive your voucher by the end of today, Friday, 3^rd April 2020, please do send your enquiry to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. clearly stating your:

-          Full Name

-          Relationship to the child

-          Child’s full name

-          Child’s Year and Tutor Group

-          Correct email address for yourself

Should you not have access to an email address, please notify us via the main switch board on 0208 527 4051 and we will link with you individually, to make alternative arrangements.

Many thanks for your patience and support of the school during these difficult times.  We hope that the availability of these vouchers, and the flexibility it provides you with in being able to source your families’ food, is a small helping hand during these current measures.

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy

Principal

Dear parents/carers,

The following is a Covid-19 handbook with has been created by Waltham Forest Early Help. In it you will find some useful tips, contact numbers, websites and other useful documents to support you during these times

Early Help Covid-19 Family Handbook

Dear Parents,

Coronavirus (COVID-19) advice and support for parents and carers (NSPCC)

The NSPCC has created a number of resources to support parents and carers during this difficult time. Topics include:

• Talking to a child worried about coronavirus
• Parents working from home
• Children staying home alone
• Lockdown and separated parents
• How to cope with tantrums and other difficult behaviour

The advice can be found on the NSPCC website here: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/coronavirus-advice-suppport-children-families-parents/

---

 

Please find below a combined pack of documents from various sources including the NHS offering advice and guidance to parents and carers looking after children at home during school closures.  The contents are as follows:

This resource pack contains the following: 

Overview info on coping with being cooped up …………………….Page 2-3

Covid -19- ways to explain to children ………………………………….Pages 4-16

Parenting and behaviour management tips ………………………….Pages 17-35

Activities and resources…………………………………………………………Pages 36-41

Online support groups for parents ……………………………………….Page 42-43

Supporting children and families mental health…………………….Pages 44-45

We hope that this will contain information that many of you find helpful during this time.

Combined Pack for Parents

COVID 19 - YEAR 7 PARENTS EVENING SCHEDULED FOR TUESDAY 31ST MARCH 2020 IS CANCELLED

Dear Parent(s)

YEAR 7 PARENTS EVENING - CANCELLED

I am certain that it will not come as a surprise to you that the Year 7 Parents Evening that was scheduled for this evening, Tuesday 31st March 2020, has been cancelled.  As a result of the COVID-19 out break and the measures put in place by the Government to restrict movement and contact between individuals many, of the things that we previously took for granted, have been taken away from us.

At present, it is not possible to confirm when the school might be open again for students, and therefore plans for when the Parents Evening may be rescheduled, remain uncertain.  If I could ask for your patience in this matter and be assured that once we are permitted to return to "normal", staff here will review how such missed events such as the Parents Evening, can best be addressed.

I wish you and your family well as you navigate your way through this time, and my thoughts are with any of you who are or have been unwell.  I know I echo the thoughts of everyone, as I thank the many NHS and Key Workers amongst our parent body.

Thank you for all you are doing.

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy

Principal

Tuesday 24th March 2020 (12.30pm) 

Dear Parent(s) 

Re: COVID 19  

I trust each of you are slowly beginning to adapt to the new way of life, and the previously unused terms of “social distancing” and “self-isolation” are becoming an embedded part of everyone's vocabulary.  Above all, of this, I hope you and your family are well and will remain so throughout this period. 

All of us are no doubt swamped with the hourly updates from the media, along with the evening briefings from the Prime Minister, and the daily publications via GOV.UK so I will not attempt to compete with or interpret the wealth of information that is out there.  However, I did want to make a few points to the Highams Park Community. 

· We apologise, for Firefly crashing this morning.  This is a National issue and we are in contact with the company who are doing all they can to increase the capacity of the system and get it back up and running again as quickly as possible.  Firefly have released this following statement:

“Due to the significant increase in usage nationally, Firefly is increasing their capacity so students will have noticed times when it is not accessible - it is important that they continue to check Firefly as these 'down-times' are only temporary.  Do encourage your children to continue to develop independent working skills so that when instructions aren't immediately available, they look to other resources such as bbc.co.uk/bitesize or bbc.co.uk/teach for example.” 

· As well as work for particular lessons, colleagues have also put some generic wellbeing suggestions onto Firefly – obviously, do please sense check these against the ever-changing regulations that are being imposed upon us to restrict contact between groups.  The link can be found here:   http://highamspark.fireflycloud.net/wellbeing-and-safety/covid-19-support-1 

· The school remains open, overseen by skeleton staff to provide supervision for the children of Key Workers only.  I would like to express our collective thanks to my colleagues who have continued to oversee this provision thus placing themselves and their families at increased risk.  Please can I stress that this provision is only to be used as an absolute last resort for the children of Key Workers only.  We are working hard to ensure that the students that we have coming to school maintain the practice of social distancing.  Any parent wishing to use this service must contact my PA, Ms Gina Breyer at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to confirm details, on a daily basis. 

· Year 11 and Year 13, A Level and GCSE examinations.  At the weekend, the government made an announcement regarding the allocation of grades to students in each of these Year Groups. At this moment, it is unclear how the grades will be allocated.  We are currently liaising with the Department for Education (DfE) and exam boards to ensure that students receive the grades they deserve. The grades will be evidence based; however, the final decision will rest with the DfE. No student/parent/carer should approach teachers directly in reference to any grades. We will be in contact as and when we have more information. 

· Free School Meals are available for any student entitled to them.  These will be available from the school canteen between 1.25pm to 2.10pm.  Students do not need to wear school uniform, when coming to school for their food but must sign in at reception and continue to follow the rules of social distancing, throughout their visit.  I would ask parents to contact our Catering Manager, Ms Julie Kelly directly via email to enable her to ensure sufficient food is provided.  She can be contacted vie email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; At present, the school do not have use of e vouchers for Free School Meals, but we will keep you updated on this possibility.

· Any student entitled to Free School Meals whose family are self-isolating should contact my colleague, Ms Halkes via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to discuss your individual circumstances.

Can I say, a huge thank you to the many of you, who have contacted the school expressing your gratitude to the staff for their efforts to provide as much support as possible to students, in what proved to be an unplanned and very rushed, end to the school term.  Your understanding and willingness to take time, to say as much at such a difficult time, has been greatly appreciated. 

We will endeavor to keep you updated, on how schooling will progress both in the short and medium term, as more details become available.  We will continue to send out information by parent email as well as posting messages on our school website under the banner Coronavirus updates.  Link provided here:   http://highamsparkschool.co.uk/index.php/coronavirus-updates 

I wish you and your families every success during these difficult times. 

Yours faithfully 

Phil Grundy 

Principa

23^rd March 2020

Dear Parent(s)

Re: COVID-19 - MESSAGE TO PARENTS OF KEY WORKERS

Thank you for responding to our survey and identifying yourself as a Key Worker who may potentially need to utilise the school to supervise your children during this virus outbreak.  Can I firstly thank you for the essential work that you are doing in keeping our country running during this difficult time, each of you are serving our community in some way, enabling the vast majority of the population to stringently apply the principles of self-isolation or social distancing.

From our initial enquiry there were some fifty plus students identified as potentially needing supervision, but with the change in the Governments directives to try and cut down on all unnecessary contact outside of the home, we have only had some thirteen students arrive at school today.  The points emphasised by the Government about only sending your child to school if it is absolutely necessary and because there was no other safe alternative, and increasing the insistence of social distancing in all settings, have clearly driven this reduction.

I am therefore following the Government guidance and will reduce the teaching staff that will be required to travel to school, to supervise this smaller number of students.  Please could I ask that any parent needing to utilise this emergency Key Worker supervision can email my PA, Ms Gina Breyer at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to confirm which days this is essential, so that we can continue to review our staffing levels.

Any student who does attend school must sign in at the main school reception, and then proceed to the canteen between 8.30am to 8.55am.  Contrary to my previous request for students to wear school uniform, they can now attend in clothing of their choice.  This is to enable them, and the staff who are supervising them to wear clothing that can be put in washing machine at the end of each day rather than wearing a uniform or a suit that requires dry cleaning.  Students will be supervised in our largest teaching space, the 6^th Form Study Centre so that there is social distancing between them.  They will have access to the school canteen at lunch and break time where food will be available and they will have opportunity to utilise the school grounds at these points to get some fresh air as well. 

Due to the constraints of social distancing students will be working individually on their studies, and collaborative work requiring contact between students, will be prohibited.  Please can I reiterate the increasingly insistent message from the Government that “If it is at all possible for children to be at home, then they should be.”  Can I thank you for your assistance in following this advice and thank you again for the vital work that you are doing.

Yours faithfully

Mr Phil Grundy

Principal

20^th March 2020 (1.45pm)

Dear Parent(s)

Re: Re: COVID-19

As you may well be aware overnight, the Government issued further guidance as to the imposed school closures, which includes the awaited list of Key Workers.  I attach links to both of these documents below for your ease of reference.

Closure of schools:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/closure-of-educational-settings-information-for-parents-and-carers/closure-of-educational-settings-information-for-parents-and-carers

Key Workers list:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-educational-provision/guidance-for-schools-colleges-and-local-authorities-on-maintaining-educational-provision

When I wrote to you yesterday, I asked you, to complete a survey with regard to parents who may be a “Key Worker”, and suggested waiting until the Government had issued the confirmed list.  The publication of the list took longer than anticipated but I would ask anyone, for whom it is relevant to review the documents and complete the survey by following the link below.  Thank you to those who have already done so.

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/V3BLCC7

Having now been able to review the documents myself, I would like to highlight some of the key points that are made.  It is the Government’s intention that “If children can stay safely at home they should”, and that the provision at schools is “only for those children who absolutely need to attend.”  The provision in school for children of Key Workers is not there to provide students with the opportunity to socialise.  The guidance is very clear in its intention; “the fewer children making the journey to school, and the fewer children in educational settings, the lower the risk that the virus can spread and infect vulnerable individuals in the wider society.”

We as a school are attempting to follow the same guidance as each of you and to maintain the policy of social distancing and isolation for the staff of the school.  Thank you to those of you who have responded already to confirm that although a key worker, you are doing all that is within your power to follow the clear instruction from the Government: “If it is it is at all possible for children to be at home, then they should be”.

 

We have been, and will continue to be in contact with specific Key Workers to confirm arrangements for specific days or indeed hours of support that you may require.  I do appreciate that many of you have already been working long extended hours and may not even have been able to engage with the email communication from the school, until finishing your shifts!

Please could I request that if, at all possible, the survey is completed by all relevant families by 5.00pm this afternoon (Friday, 20^th March 2020) so that we can best prepare supervision for Monday morning, 23^rd March 2020.  Supervision of children of Key Workers will run during the normal hours of school 8.30am to 3.15pm and students should make their way to the School Canteen to register, alternatively is they arrive during the day, they should report to the Main School Reception in full school uniform. 

Any student who is entitled to a free school meal and who is not in isolation is welcome to come to school during our lunch break 1.25pm – 2.10pm and will be provided with a hot meal.  To help with our catering arrangements, please contact our Head Chef, Ms Julie Kelly at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to let her know who will be attending, this information will be kept in the strictest confidence. 

Alternatively, if any student who is entitled to a free school meal is in isolation therefore unable to attend school to have a meal, please can you email, Ms Halkes at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to discuss individual arrangements, this information will be kept in strictest confidence.

I would again thank all of you for your support, and would praise the students who have shown real resilience during this most unusual process.  Particularly those students in Years 11 and 13 who have invested so much time and effort in preparing for examinations, that it would appear are now no longer going to take place.  Please be assured that we, as a school, will be engaging with all of the Government instructions and guidance as the details of how grades, will be awarded, are confirmed.  I will write to parents of these Year Groups separately, as soon as there is any more clarity on this process, thank you for your patience.

Yours faithfully

Mr Phil Grundy

Principal

19^th March 2020 (4.45pm)

Dear Parent(s)

Re: Re: COVID-19

As promised, I would like to outline our plans for school opening tomorrow, Friday 20^th March 2020. 

Sixth Form students, Years 12 and 13 are invited to come to school between 8.30am and 8.50am to meet with their Tutors.  They will then be able to use the school’s Study Room facilities throughout the day and meet with any specific teachers that they need to, throughout the day.  They will be free to leave when they wish.

Years 7 and 10 should stay at home and work on the lessons provided for them on Firefly.  Any student in these Year Groups are welcome to come to school at lunchtime to collect or purchase food from the canteen.  If they choose to do so, they should be dressed in their full school uniform and sign in via the 6^th Form entrance between the times of 1.25pm to 2.10pm.

Years 8, 9 and 11 should attend school as normal for their timetabled lessons.  We have attempted during this very disruptive week to provide each Year Group with the opportunity to meet with their teachers, and indeed their friends and therefore prepare for and support one another in what will be a very strange period of time.

I am aware, that I have bombarded you with messages on a daily basis, but could I please draw to your attention my message from earlier today asking you to indicate whether you fall into the category of a “Key worker”.  As I type this note, the Government have still not released the confirmed list of jobs that fit within this definition.  I will do my utmost to forward it to you as soon as it becomes available.

Many thanks for your ongoing support during this challenging time.

Yours faithfully

Mr Phil Grundy

Principal

19^th March 2020 (11.00am)

Dear Parent(s)

Re: Re: COVID-19

An inevitable further update on how Highams Park School are responding to the announcement from the Government on the 18^th March 2020.  As you can imagine we will need to keep the flow of information going between the school, you as parents and the students in the coming months.

As you will be aware it was announced that during the COVID-19 crisis schools have been asked to shut the gates from this Friday afternoon.  I will write to you again later on today to confirm our arrangements for Friday 20^th March 2020, once I have had opportunity to review the levels of staff that are available to us.

Schools have also been asked to continue to provide a safe place for students who are the children of “Key workers”, have an EHCP plan, or an allocated Social Worker, during the crisis.  We are obviously aware of those students with an EHCP plan and those with a Social Worker and are in the process of contacting you directly but at present, the school does not know which students have parents who may be classified as “Key workers”.

The Government have stated that they will be providing clarification of which jobs fall into the category of “Key Workers” at some point this morning.  At the time of writing this, I have not yet seen its publication but will forward it to you, as soon as it is available.

In the meantime please could I ask that if you believe you may fall into this category that you complete an online survey here https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/V3BLCC7.  It would make sense to wait until the Key Workers are defined by the Government before completing the survey. However, I wanted to flag the process with you as soon as possible.  Finally, there is a comments box on the survey, so if you are uncertain about which category you may fall in, or more generally please include these here.  Your swift completion of the survey would be greatly appreciated to facilitate our planning for next week.

Many thanks for your cooperation with this request.  As you will appreciate, the plans that we are making for this provision are very much dependent upon how many students may need the support and then indeed, how many staff are available to be able to provide it.

There are inevitably many questions from parents and students with regard to how Year 11 and Year 13 exam grades will be awarded following yesterday’s announcement.  I will write to parents of both Year Groups separately but please be assured we will working with the Government led consultations on this to ensure your children, our students, are best represented during this process.

Yours faithfully

Mr Phil Grundy

Principal

Dear Parent(s)

Re: Plans for Thursday, 19^th March 2020

Highams Park School will be open for Years 7, 10, 11, 12 and 13 on Thursday 19^th March 2020.  Year 8 and 9 students should remain at home and complete the work that will be set for them on Firefly.  Please can I remind you that tomorrow is one of the three planned reduced days throughout the year so the school will close as planned at the end of period 4 at 1.25pm. 

Food will be available for all students at break time, and similar to today, if students from the absent Years 8 and 9 would like to purchase or collect food they should sign in at the 6^th Form reception.  Students must be in full school uniform, come between 11am and 11.20am, and proceed to the canteen as normal, before then making their way back home.

I fully appreciate the disruption that these changed arrangements cause to you as a family, please be assured that my colleagues are doing their utmost to try and provide each student with continuity of education during this challenging time.  Like you, I await the Government announcement at 5pm this evening to inform further plans for the rest of the week.

Arrangements for how school will be organised on Friday, 20^th March 2020 will be posted at a similar time tomorrow.

Many thanks for your ongoing support.

Yours faithfully

Mr Phil Grundy

Principal

17^th March 2020

Dear Parent(s)

Re: COVID-19

I am sorry to contact you twice in one day, but the rapidly changing situation of the COVID-19 virus requires me to share the following important news with all of you.  Due to the level of staff absence that I already know is going to impact the school tomorrow, Wednesday, 18^th March 2020, it will be necessary to restrict the Year Groups that attend.  The school will remain open for all students in Years 10, 11, 12 and 13, but students from Years 7, 8 and 9 will need to remain at home.

It is with great regret that from Wednesday, 18^th March 2020 students in our youngest Years will have to remain at home.  We have on this occasion prioritised students from our GCSE and A Level Years to maintain their attendance at school, we are aware that students in these Year Groups are very anxious about their forthcoming examinations. 

Staff will be setting tasks for Years 7, 8 and 9 to complete at home via Firefly.  My Deputy Principal, Mr Hyde has recently sent a separate email, which details how to access all of the online resources and how students can contact their teachers.  Students from all Year Groups should take careful note of this, as it would be our intention to rotate which Year Groups attend school and I anticipate that fuller school closures may well be forced upon us by the Government in due course.

I will continue to review the situation on a daily basis and will, if possible, bring Year Groups back into school as the timetable and staffing levels permit. Thank you for your support and understanding at this very challenging time for us as a community.

Yours faithfully

Mr Phil Grundy

Principal

 

 

17^th March 2020

Dear Parent(s)

Re: COVID-19

As you will be aware of the growing impact of the COVID 19 virus upon our nation, and obviously this has an impact upon the Highams Park School community as well.  To date we have been able to maintain educational provision for all of our seven Year Groups, 7 to 13 but with the ramping up of the Government’s methods of containment and social distancing it will not be possible in the near future for Highams Park School to stay open for all Year Groups.

We will review this on a daily basis in response to staff absence, and will do our utmost to prioritise teaching for those Year Groups closest to their GCSE or A Level examinations.  As soon as a firm decision has been made as to which Year Groups will be effected, I will notify you via parent mail and post an updated message on the website.

I am sure that you appreciate the tension that exists between staff wishing to cooperate with the Government’s desire to keep schools open, but also needing to follow the individual guidance with regard to their own health and that of their families.  I am aware from the notifications received from parents that all of you are also juggling the same issues within your families.  I include for ease of reference the new guidance on social distancing that was issued yesterday.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-on-social-distancing-and-for-vulnerable-people/guidance-on-social-distancing-for-everyone-in-the-uk-and-protecting-older-people-and-vulnerable-adults

In addition to confirming opening arrangements for each Year Group, we will also circulate guidance on how students and parents can access work remotely, if they are instructed to stay at home.  There are already a wealth of resources that are available for students to access via Firefly, I would encourage them to make use of these.  However, it is not possible for staff to set individual work for students currently self-isolating, as they are engaged with delivering lessons for those students still present at school.

When/if it becomes necessary for us to close the school for particular Year Groups, teachers who remain in good health will aim to set specific tasks for classes via Firefly.  Could I suggest that each of you check with your child that they understand how to log onto Firefly.  My Deputy Principal, Mr Hyde will be sending updated information on how to do this later on today.

Many thanks for your continued support and understanding at this challenging time.

Yours faithfully

Mr Phil Grundy

Principal

12^th March 2020

Dear Parent(s)

Re: COVID-19

At Highams Park School, we continue to monitor the Coronavirus situation very closely and are following the latest Government guidelines as they are issued.  I attach the link to the specific advice issued to schools and educational settings below for your ease of reference:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-educational-settings-about-covid-19/guidance-to-educational-settings-about-covid-19

We will share any changes to the school status with you via our website and Parent mail communications.  We are aware of reports of schools closing on the advice of the Government and taking precautionary measures, and we will link with the Department of Education and Public Health England if any such decision is to be taken.  Please note that the guidance that we have been issued with states that “No school should close in response to a suspected (or confirmed) COVID-19 case unless directed to do so by Public Health England.”

The school currently remains open as normal, we have not been notified of any symptoms in our school community that would suggest the presence of the virus and we have not received any instructions to stop any of our planned school activities.  We will of course continue to monitor the advice both for the school setting here at Highams Park and any educational visits that are planned.

The Department for Education (DfE) is providing a helpline to answer any questions about COVID-19 related to education.  Staff, Parents and Students can contact the helpline as follows:

                Phone: 0800 046 8687

                Email:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

                Opening hours: 8am to 6pm (Monday to Friday)

Can I thank you for your continued support and understanding as this helps with the management and clear communication regarding the situation.  We have this week delivered messages via assemblies to each Year Group reminding everyone of the importance of good hygiene practices, maintaining these will obviously support the ongoing good health of our school community.  We will remain cautious but also maintain a good sense of perspective and ask you to help encourage your children, our students to do the same.    I will update you if there are any further developments in due course.

Yours faithfully

Mr Phil Grundy

Principal