The friends of bourne
THE COLLEGE IS OPEN WITH A SKELETON STAFF, TO PROVIDE EMERGENCY CHILDCARE FOR THE CHILDREN OF CRITICAL KEY WORKERS
PLEASE REFER TO THE COLLEGE WEBSITE FOR STAFF EMAIL ADDRESSES SEE UNDER HOME LEARNING
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Letter to all Parents from YW – Friday 5/6/2020
Dear Parents and Carers
I hope you have all had a good half term and enjoyed the beautiful weather and that all the children are settling back into the Home Learning and their routines.
Year 11 –
We anticipate that Year 11 will have heard from the Colleges by now about their plans for next year. If you have any questions on this please do contact the Colleges and / or Mr Carter who is happy to assist and will be in touch very soon. We are sad that so much has been postponed for Year 11 who have worked brilliantly this year and we wish them all the very best and hope to see them at a later date for their Prom. (Letter from Mr Carter to follow)
Year 10 –
Further details will soon be with you and we look forward to welcoming many of this year group back on June 15 for their Face to Face Sessions, or talking to them with their telephone consultation.
The gradual re-opening of the school for Year 10 is crucial and we ask all parents for their support with the guidelines we are sending out to ensure the safety of all students and staff.
Years 7/8/9 –
I am so impressed with how well you have risen to the challenge of Home Learning and we love seeing all your ‘discoveries’. Please do keep sending them in and look out for our next Discovery Bulletin on the website next week.
I would like to thank you all, parents, carers and students for your continued support and understanding during this difficult time and if you have any concerns please do contact us for support and advice.
Kind regards
Yvonne Watkins
Headteacher
Letter to Yr 10 Parents Guidelines for on-line learning 5/6/2020
Dear Parents and Carers
Since the school closure, we have been trialling the use of different video conference platforms, to deliver a few live, online sessions. We believe these can be of benefit for students as they offer the opportunity for interaction with a teacher and can provide a more ‘normal’ lesson environment.
With immediate effect we are hoping to offer more opportunities for students to experience these sessions using Google Meet. We are not insisting that all staff undertake this, or that all lessons are delivered in this way, but we are encouraging staff to pilot this with Year 10 students.
‘Live online lessons’ may be shorter than 50 minutes and may be more ‘tutorial style’ sessions where students have the opportunity to ask and answer questions; it will be up to staff to decide what suits each particular class at that moment in time. We also recognise that for some families it may not always be possible for a student to join a class, so students should continue to use Go4School and/or google classroom for independent study, emailing their teachers to request support with any queries they may have.
For these sessions to be successful and safe, students will need to agree to the following rules for live lessons:
- They may only join the session if they are logged into Google using their school email address.
- Links to the session cannot be shared with anyone not on the original class distribution list.
- Students must be dressed appropriately (no pyjamas), they should check the background to their image to ensure it is appropriate and contains no personal or inappropriate material.
- Their participation in this video lesson is covered by our Acceptable use Policy
- Please be aware that ‘normal’ classroom expectations of behaviour will apply and students may be ejected from a meeting and future meetings if they fail to follow these expectations.
- Students are not permitted to record or share any images from any video conference lesson
The following constitute good practice. Students should:
- Log on to the session 5 minutes before the start time
- Have any resources required available (open on a device or printed) before the ‘lesson’
- Ensure the image is clear once they are logged on
- Ensure they know how to turn off their microphone and video as this may be required at points in the lesson.
- Turn off their microphone please if there is a large amount of background noise
- Ensure they can use the chat function to text the teacher if they would like to ask a question during the session, as staff may mute each student’s microphone and request the use of the chat function as appropriate
We ask for your support in meeting the rules above and where possible, that parents check in to see how the lesson is proceeding.
All live lessons will be recorded by the school in order that any issues or incidents can be investigated afterwards. These copies will be stored in line with the school’s data protection policies on approved platforms and will not be shared with other students. Recordings will be deleted after 12 months.
I hope that this will add to your child’s engagement with and enjoyment of the online learning we have in place. We also want to take this opportunity to thank you for all the work you are doing to support your children in completing the work we are setting online.
Yours sincerely
Yvonne Watkins
Headteacher
Letter for Year 11 05/06/2020
Dear Parent/Carer,
Just to update you about plans for the Year 11 Prom. We still plan to hold a Prom for all Year 11 students when it is appropriate for us to do so. We feel it is important for this particular year group to be able to celebrate the end of their schooling in such an unusual year and the staff look forward to joining them for this special occasion.
The Year 11 Prom was planned for 18 June 2020, it is now not possible to hold the event on this date. We have spoken to the event organiser at the Langstone Quay Resort and they will support us with rescheduling and we will continue to work with them to rearrange this important evening.
Unfortunately due to the continually changing guidelines we are not able to provide any further details of a date for the Year 11 Prom at this time. We will update you all in September as there may be further information available then to provide a date for our Year 11 Prom. We will give plenty of notice for a firm date so that students have time to prepare. Any money that has been paid has been recorded and kept safe. We will keep you all informed of progress when we have further information. We will of course follow
Government guidelines regarding the planning of this activity.
If you have any queries or questions please do not hesitate to contact me at mcarter@bourne.org.uk
Kind Regards
Mark Carter
Leader of Year 11
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Letter to Year 10 Parents
Dear Parents and Carers of Year 10
In light of the Government announcement for secondary schools, I wanted to let you know that we will be adjusting our plans slightly for after half term:
- Year 10 will now not come into school until the 15th June and this will be for a tutorial only with full safety measures and social distancing in place.
- Appointments will be organised by Mr Griggs and Mrs Whitlock
- We appreciate that some parents have already replied to let us know their preference either for a Face To Face tutorial or a phone call for the student. If you have not already done so please let us know your preference and reply to Mrs Whitlock – swhitlock@bourne.org.uk
Kind regards,
Yvonne Watkins
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Thursday 21 May 2020 – Plans for possible reopening after half term
Dear Parents/Carers
Planning for a phased return to school at some stage after 1st June
Firstly, I hope that you are all safe and well. This has been a difficult time, and I am sure that for the majority of parents the extended closure of schools due to Coronavirus has not been easy. As I said last week, plans for re-opening are being drafted, with the caveat that we await the Government announcement on 28 May 2020.
We are aware some parents and students may feel concerned about coming back and others will be quite keen. Whatever your feelings and whichever year group your child is in, we would like to reassure you that our plans and thoughts for the planning process are based on our assessment, following Government guidance.
We want to ensure that we can keep both students and staff safe, and that the benefits to students outweigh any increased risks of infection.
As part of our planning, we will be consulting with parents/carers, staff and Governors before putting any phased return into action. This letter is merely the first stage of that process.
Outline summary:
- The Government have asked us to plan for Year 10 to have some face to face contact next half term “From June 1, we expect that secondary schools and colleges will be able to offer some face-to-face contact with year 10 and year 12 pupils. This will not be a return to full timetables or pupils back in school or college full-time, rather some support to supplement pupils’ remote education“.
- We have started the planning process to make this happen
- Safety of staff and students will be the priority
The planning process will have the following steps:
- Completion of risk assessments to cover all of the activities involved in a phased return
- Identification of the staff who are available to work on site with students (those staff who are not in the vulnerable group and do not have dependents at home who could not be kept safe if the staff member came to work on site)
- Identification of the students who would access the face to face sessions, and how they would be grouped
- Drawing together of a timetable for the sessions based on the answers to 2) and 3)
- Agreeing all of the day to day Health and safety procedures which would need to be in place in order to keep students and staff safe
- Sharing of the plan with staff, students, parents/carers and Governors for their views
- Adjusting the plan based on feedback from all groups
- Communicating the plan to staff, students and parents/carers so that everyone knows what is expected of them
- Implementing the first phase of the return
Other factors:
Keyworker children and more vulnerable students
We will of course continue with the childcare provision for children of Keyworkers and our more vulnerable students in other year groups after half term.
Remote learning:
If the school partially reopens, remote learning will continue for all the year groups and for the students in Year 10, as they will not be in school every day. Our intention is that there will be few changes to Years 7-9 in terms of the setting of work. For Year 10, we will continue to set work remotely too.
Potential wider reopening of school
- From 1st June, BCC will not be opening for K.S.3 students but we hope to provisionally open for year 10 students to come in on a rota system. This will form part of a gradual phased reintroduction to school
- Along with our governing body, the senior team and I are planning for a gradual wider reopening of the school, but this will only happen when it is considered practical and safe to do so
- There is currently no certainty that students in years 7, 8 and 9 will return to school in June or July
At present we are planning for the first groups of students to come in for face to face contact in the later part of the first week back. We will have the risk assessment/s (stage 1) completed by next week and will work on steps 2 and 3 in parallel to this. We will obviously make sure that students and parents have plenty of notice before any return to school and you will receive an email inviting your son/daughter to attend.
The Government has issued a lot of guidance for schools and colleges but very little of it is ‘directed’. They are asking schools to consider their local circumstances and plan any return based on these. Our aim therefore is to make sure that we consider all of the issues, and plan carefully, before we bring more students onto the site. The guidance for parents (from the Department for Education) can be found here:
I understand that, inevitably, parents/carers and students will have a number of questions and concerns over the coming weeks and months.
I ask for your continued patience as we work through the details of all assessments and plans. We will continue to update you with further information as soon as it becomes available and please do keep checking the school’s website.
Thank you for your continued support and positivity throughout.
Meanwhile may I wish you and the students a well-deserved break from Home Learning over half term. We will resume this after the half term break.
Take care and kind regards
Yvonne Watkins
Head teacher
Click here to open video in new window
West Sussex County Council Press Release
Supporting schools to safely begin reopening
The County Council is continuing to work closely with West Sussex schools to support a phased return of pupils in a safe and managed way.
Detailed discussions have been held with school and academy representatives and unions to consider the government’s position that schools should begin to reopen from next month.
The council’s aim is for the phased return to start from June 1, in line with national guidance. Schools are showing support for this approach.
Schools’ individual risk assessments are identifying how they can best manage this and maintain the safety of their pupils and staff. Priority places will continue to be given to children who are vulnerable, those with Education Health and Care Plans and the children of key workers across all year groups. The council is also asking schools to prioritise disadvantaged pupils and those who have limited access to online resources in both primary and secondary schools.
It means that the way schools will manage the return of different year groups will vary across the county and may mean that not all of the specified year groups will go back to school at the same time.
Nigel Jupp, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, said: “I would like to thank all of the teachers and school staff across West Sussex who continue to work tirelessly for their pupils. I am also extremely grateful to the children, parents and carers who have adapted so well in very difficult circumstances.
“We are supporting schools to plan for a phased reopening in a safe and managed way for all pupils and staff.
“Throughout the lockdown, our education team has worked together with headteachers, governors and unions. The number of children, including those who are vulnerable, attending school during this period has been above the national average. Everyone involved in education in West Sussex wants what’s best for our children – to keep them safe and keep them learning.”
15-5-20 Letter from Mrs Watkins
Dear Parents/Carers
I cannot believe it is the end of another busy week and I hope you have all been keeping well and the students too. Thank you for all your responses and staying in touch so well and please do thank the students too for keeping in touch with their teachers and please do keep sending in their best work, whatever it may be.
Updates for this week are:
- Plans for re-opening are in place and we do hope to have Year 10 in after half term in some way. We are aware some parents and students may feel concerned about coming back and others will be quite keen. Whatever your feelings and whichever Year group your child is in, we will outline our plans and thoughts for the planning process next week, planning to start with Year 10 first.
- We have many more staff who are going to set up more virtual lessons for your children and guidance on this will also be sent out shortly to ensure the safety and security of all taking part.
- Mrs Whitlock has sent out a challenge to for next week, so please do encourage your children to take part – it is to celebrate Mental Health Awareness Week, we are asking Bourne students to carry out an act of kindness next week. This could be for a friend, a family member, a neighbour or anyone else that you can think of. Everyone is finding our new normal routine difficult, and it can be easy to forget that other people are finding it difficult too. If they do carry out an act of kindness, we would love you to send in a photo, a video to share on social media with #BourneToBeKind. If you can, also tweet the school twitter account @BourneCCollege
- Finally Year 11 Hoodies have arrived and will be delivered over the next few days to those who have ordered them, thanks to all those who organised this with Mrs Tibbetts and Mr Carter.
Wishing you a restful weekend,
Yvonne Watkins
Headteacher
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6-5-20 – Letter to Year 9 re: Options
Dear Parents and Carers
As we are completing our planning for next year, we have finalised the Pathways process for Year 9. This year has been very successful with the vast majority of our students getting their first choice subjects.
In Years 10 and 11 all students will be studying the core subjects of English, Maths, Triple Science and PE and Mr Colley will shortly send out the choices that your son / daughter has been allocated.
With this in mind, I will now ask teaching staff to focus on the students taking their option only, so from next Monday, Year 9 will therefore focus on the core subjects plus the 3 subjects they have been allocated.
If you have any concerns about the subjects your child has been allocated, please contact Mr Colley at ccolley@bourne.org.uk or Miss Chappell, Year 9 Student Support Manager at achappell@bourne.org.uk
1-5-20 – Letter to Year 11 Students
Dear Parents and Carers
We are very aware that for Year 11 this has been a particularly difficult period with so much uncertainty and a sudden abrupt ending to their school career. We were equally shocked by how quickly it all happened and understand totally that for some of our students this is a very challenging time.
The guidance we received from the Government was to not assess Year 11 students any more, however we did ask students to keep on working as we wanted them to keep developing and progressing with their studies for as long as possible. We appreciate that this has not been easy or the best way forward for some and in order to support our students’ transition to their next stage of learning, we suggest they should now do the following:-
- The Survey: After the responses to our survey, we have a clearer idea of where our Year 11 are planning to go. Staff have been asked to either provide work where they can to help all students with their next stage of learning or to engage with them re how they can be supported for September.
- College Websites: I would ask that students go online to check out the websites of their chosen Colleges to find out what else they need to do to prepare for starting in September. Should we receive any further information from colleges then we shall ensure this is shared with you promptly.
- Please also see below about Careers from Mrs Jewer.
- Entry requirements for Courses: We would also suggest that some students continue with developing their English Language and Maths skills; particularly those students that did not achieve Grade 5 in their English or a Grade 4 in their Maths mock examinations. Generic work will be set for these areas for students to support them with their studies and the Curriculum leaders for English – Mrs Hutchins and for Maths – Mr Cariou, will monitor this.
- The Yr11 Google Classroom (Class Code: rmqvimb), used to complete the survey, will have additional information added for Year 11 students from Mr Carter to support students too.
If there is anything else we can do to support you, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Kind regards,
Yvonne Watkins
Careers
1. Explore different job roles and the labour market
https://icould.com/
https://guest.startprofile.com/world-of-work/explore/industries
https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles
https://www.ucas.com/careers/buzz-quiz
http://www.lmiforall.org.uk/explore_lmi/
2. Find out about different courses and pathways
https://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/
https://successatschool.org/advicedetails/1221/coronavirus-gatbsy-subject-guides-free-to-access-from-home
https://www.how2become.com/
3. Watch educational videos and documentaries
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/p06zhf9j/the-nine-to-five-with-stacey-dooley
4. Create a CV
https://barclayslifeskills.com/i-want-to-use-my-online-presence-to-get-ahead/school/cv-builder
https://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/cvs-and-cover-letters/how-to-write-a-cv
5. Browse Careers websites
https://www.careerpilot.org.uk/
https://www.startprofile.com/
https://www.springpod.co.uk/
https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/careers
https://www.mycareerspringboard.org/
https://www.careersbox.co.uk/
https://successatschool.org/careerzones
https://www.gov.uk/topic/further-education-skills/apprenticeships
https://www.gov.uk/careers-helpline-for-teenagers
https://allaboutapprenticeships.co.uk/
https://www.allaboutschoolleavers.co.uk/
Here are also some general free online learning sites!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/careers
https://app.senecalearning.com/courses?Price=Free
https://ed.ted.com/
29-4-20 – Spain Trip Update
Dear Parents/Carers
Sadly, I am writing to inform you that due to the current unprecedented circumstances, we have no option but to cancel the Spanish Residential due to take place in May half-term 2020. I know this will hugely disappoint your son/daughter, but as you can appreciate, this is beyond our control.
We are seeking reimbursement via the insurers, who will look at claims as and when they are received. However please bear in mind that in the current situation, they may be either working remotely from home, with lower numbers of staff than usual, and that there may be a delay in any response due to the number of claims they will be receiving.
I would like to thank you for being so patient, but unfortunately we have been in the hands of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) and have been taking advice throughout from the Educational Settings Government Guidance regarding this trip to ensure we followed protocols correctly.
Please be assured that we will be in contact with you as soon as we have any further information from the insurers.
Kind regards
Helena Jewer
Leader of Personal Development
Yvonne Watkins
Head teacher
24-4-20 – Letter from Mrs Watkins
Dear Parents and Carers
I hope you have had a good week and are keeping safe and are getting back into the routine of a very strange new term and are managing ok? I am extremely proud and impressed how well our students are all responding and supporting one another through this. That is definitely down to you as parents working so closely with your children and the teachers and we know it is not easy, so a big thank you from myself and the staff.
A few updates this week:
- Keep on with your routine for student learning- adapt the learning for your child and do not worry if it takes a little time. Remember, do what works best for you and your family
- Encourage your child to keep in touch with their tutor or Year Leader, especially if they are really proud of something they have achieved at home or with their home learning/ or if they need extra help with something. We want to make sure we keep the dialogue going and maintain the tutor / tutee relationship and reward students for their continued efforts
- Thank you to those who have completed the survey for parents and can you ask your children to do the student one too by Wednesday 27th April? The link for the survey is on the Home learning page
- Huge thanks for sending in any work to the teachers during this time. It can be from any home learning you have and we certainly have seen some amazing and very creative pieces to date which we we will be sending out in our Discovery Bulletin – do see the one on the website from the end of last term.
- I have written to Year 11 parents and Year 10 parents this week – so if you are not receiving these emails, can you please let us know? (please email office@bourne.org.uk )
- We have had concerns raised re: our use of different platforms for home learning so this is what we are doing — – all work should be set on G4S as a Hub and then teachers will use a different platform to do the work. We will try to refine this and get more staff to use Google classrooms, however this is not suitable for some subjects. Staff will also let the students know which email address to send their work back to, to avoid any confusion.
- Trips abroad are now being cancelled for the month of May so we will be writing to parents of those who were going on the Spanish trip at half term. This has had to be cancelled and I know students and staff will be disappointed. Mrs Jewer will be in touch with you early next week about what happens next.
And as a little reminder about how we can all settle back into our Home Learning, please do check this too:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/52018134
Meanwhile keep well and keep safe and please do not hesitate to contact us if we can help you in any way. Please also continue to send my best wishes to all the students and tell them I would love to hear from them too, as it feels very strange not seeing them all every day.
Best wishes
Yvonne Watkins
Headteacher
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24-4-20 – Year 11 Prom update
Dear Parent/Carer,
Just to update you about plans for the Year 11 Prom. We still plan to hold a Prom for all Year 11 students when it is appropriate for us to do so. We feel it is important for this particular year group to be able to celebrate the end of their schooling, in such an unusual year and the staff look forward to joining them for this special occasion.
In the present situation we cannot guarantee a date for this event. Originally we set a deadline of 1st May for payment for the Prom. Due to the current circumstances we will extend the payment deadline until we are able to provide a secure date. Any money that has been paid has been recorded and kept safe. We will keep you all informed of progress when we have further information. We will of course follow government guidelines regarding the planning of this activity.
If you have any queries or questions please do not hesitate to contact me at mcarter@bourne.org.uk.
Kind Regards,
Mark Carter
Leader of Year 11
23-4-20 – Year 10 & Year 11 Letters
Year 10
Dear Parents and Carers,
We hope you are all well and keeping yourselves occupied during this difficult time. We thought it would be a good idea to check in with you all and update you on what is happening at school.
As you will know, the school is only open for children of key workers who have registered with us, therefore we have a skeleton staff in school on those days, to oversee the students and their work. We are unsure when the lockdown process will come to a close, but can reassure you that Year 10 will be prioritised, if there is an option for a phased return.
The BBC are releasing a new website which you may have seen and the link is below. Staff may be using some of these resources and materials too and so it may be worth you having a look. Year 10 can also access work through the BBC bitesize page on Instagram.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zn9447h
There is also a link here re; obtaining laptops for some students so please do look at this too.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-52341596
The mock exams, which were scheduled for the beginning of June, are likely to be pushed back and take place before the end of the academic year (if restrictions are lifted). These mocks will be based on the work completed so far and so we hope the students are fully engaging with Home Learning, as it will be essential to keep them focussed, although we appreciate this may be difficult at times . If students or you as parents , have any issues with subject content related to revision or their home learning, please contact the relevant staff or departments through Google Classroom or their school email.
Please be reassured that staff are on hand to help with any issues or problems you may be having during this challenging period and if there is any further information you require, please contact myself on ngriggs@bourne.org.uk and/or the individual class teacher and we will endeavour to get back to you as soon as possible.
Please stay safe and we look forward to seeing you all in the near future.
Kind regards
Yvonne Watkins Nathan Griggs
Head teacher Leader of Year
Year 11
Dear Parents and Carers,
We hope you are all well and keeping safe during this difficult time. As you will know, the school is only open for children of key workers who have registered with us, therefore we have a skeleton staff in school on those days, to oversee the students and their work. We are unsure when the lockdown process will come to a close, but we are very aware of how strange this time is and how difficult this must be for our Year11‘s who have worked so hard to achieve their grades this year and to have left school so abruptly.
We want to reassure you we are following the latest information from OFQUAL how Year 11 Grades will be awarded and the process we will go through at school. OFQUAL (The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation) has published guidance setting out details about how GCSEs, AS and A levels will be awarded this summer.
All this information for teachers, students, parents and carers can be found here:
For this summer’s awards, schools are being asked to provide centre assessment grades for their students. These should be fair, objective and carefully considered judgements of the grades schools and colleges believe their students would have been most likely to achieve, if they had sat their exams and should take into account the full range of available evidence. We will follow this guidance carefully and do all that we can to ensure our students are not disadvantaged by the exceptional circumstances we face this year.
We are unable to give out any indication of the grades awarded, as they will all be moderated and so all information is confidential.
There is a link to a video explaining this here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXuDOrtJY1Q&safe=true
This diagram below is also a good illustration of how it will all work, although we do now know that the results will be available on August 20th.
Year 11 staff are planning to see how they can further support year 11 learning depending, on student choices for the future and to ensure they remain fully engaged in the learning process.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any specific questions about the process or other queries, you need answered.
Kind regards,
Y Watkins – Headteacher
M Carter – Leader of Year 11
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22-4-20 – Request from GTR Southern Rail
As schools & colleges are currently closed for an extended period of time we would encourage to share with your contacts in your communities as a reminder not to trespass on the railway.
We have attached a safety poster provided by Network Rail that can be shared. Network Rail has also released a railway safety campaign video – You Vs Train – http://youvstrain.co.uk/. We recommend parents and care givers view this first before watching with the person they support to decide if they think it is appropriate.
Remember to tell young people:
- The railway is never switched off. Electricity powers the overhead cables and third rail 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
- Passenger services are not the only users of the rail network – freight trains run all through the day and night.
- Never anticipate that you know when the next train is due. Fewer passenger trains running on the rail network allows more freight services to operate during the day, transporting vital goods around the country. A freight train can travel at up to 100mph.
Thank you for your support in sharing this safety message.
From GTR/Southern Rail UK
18-4-20 – Update from Mrs Watkins
Dear Parents/Carers,
I hope you and your families have enjoyed some sort of Easter break and are settling into a routine into our new way of living. I sincerely hope you and your families have stayed safe to date.
As we approach the new term we will continue with our Home Learning schedule and we will provide emergency childcare for the children of critical key workers, in accordance with Government guidelines
A skeleton staff will be in everyday but please do continue to email office@bourne.org.uk or if you wish to contact a teacher, please do so and refer to the College staff email addresses, which can be found under the Home Learning tab. In an emergency, please do telephone 07909 977948.
The term restarts on the 20th April, so please do:
· Re-establish a routine for student learning- this may take a while after the Easter break and so do not worry if it takes a little time.
· Encourage your child to keep in touch with their tutor or Year Leader, especially if they are really proud of something they have achieved at home or with their home learning/ or if they need extra help with something. We want to make sure we keep the dialogue going and maintain the tutor / tutee relationship and reward students for their continued efforts.
· Complete the survey for parents and ask your children to do the student one too, so we can check how things are and to see if we can support you in other ways .The link for the survey will be added to the Home learning page.
· Send in any great home learning activities that have worked for you as we will be sending out our Discovery Bulletin very soon.
· Remember, do what works best for you and your family, as we are very aware that this is new unchartered territory and as yet, we are not sure how long this lockdown will last.
For Year 9/ 10 /11 parents, I will write to you individually re; the specifics we need to put in place for your child in these particular Year Groups.
Meanwhile keep well and keep safe and please do not hesitate to contact us if we can help you in any way. Please also send my best wishes to all the students and tell them I hope they are ok .I would love to hear from them too, as it feels very strange not seeing them all every day.
Kind regards,
Yvonne Watkins
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8-4-20 – West Sussex County Council Child Employment Licences Suspended
For the information of Children, Parents, Carers and Employers
All West Sussex County Council Child Employment Licences Suspended
The Children and Young Persons Act 1933 states that young people of compulsory school age can only do “light work” , which means “work which, on account of the inherent nature of the tasks which it involves and the particular conditions under which they are performed—(a) is not likely to be harmful to the safety, health or development of children…”
Compulsory school age means from the term after the child’s Fifth birthday, until the last Friday in June of the school year in which they turn 16.
Any child of compulsory school age so engaged in employment MUST have an employment licence issued by the Local Authority.
Due to the current situation with COVID-19, and with reference to the above legislation and in accordance with and adherence to the Government advice to stay at home, all West Sussex County Council Employment Licences have been suspended until further notice.
In addition, no new licences will be issued until further notice.
This means that any employer in West Sussex, from today, 7TH APRIL 2020 , must not continue to employ a child who already holds an employment licence.
Neither must they employ a child who requires a new licence. This directive remains in place until further notice.
Employers are reminded that allowing a child of compulsory school age to be employed without holding a valid licence can lead to a fine of up to £1000
We will continue to follow government guidance and keep the situation under constant review. Should you have any queries in regard to this, please contact the Child Employment Team by emailing CYPSChildEmploymentEntertainmentTeam@westsussex.gov.uk
Kind Regards
Jez Prior
Safeguarding in Education Manager
Download as PDF – WSCC Child Employment Licence Suspension effective 7 April 2020
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6-4-20 – Letter to Parents and Carers from the Police
Dear Parent/Carer,
The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions)(England) Regulations 2020 (‘the Regulations’) came into force on 26 March 2020.
These Regulations have been produced in response to the serious and imminent threat to public health which is posed by the spread of Coronavirus. The purpose of these new powers is to save lives by protecting the public and the NHS,
These include powers to direct a person (who has parental responsibility) to ensure a child complies with these key measures.
The Government has been clear that it expects people to do the right thing and the vast majority have done so.
We are asking that adults ensure their children comply with the government request. Please make sure you encourage your young people to follow the measures.
Stay at home, unless:
- shopping for basic necessities, as infrequently as possible
- one form of exercise a day – for example, a run, walk or cycle – alone or with members of their household
if they are outside their premises without reasonable excuse we can:
- direct that person to return to the place where they are living
- remove that person to the place where they are living and if necessary use reasonable force to do this
- Police will instruct gatherings of three or more people to disperse or direct or remove any person from that gathering to their home.
We will therefore initially engage with your young people, explain the legislation and encourage them to comply with it. We will stress the risk with them to the NHS and public health. However we will enforce the legislation if necessary.
Also normal police powers still apply and can be used where crime is being committed.
Young people will have a lot of questions about what the new legislation is, what powers it gives the police and how those powers will be used. The police national Instagram channel police.uk.insta for young people can help answer some of these questions for them.
Young people are going to find aspects of this lack of freedom particularly challenging. Arguably, without school to attend, they will spend more time online. So there is an increase in the chances they will see something which isn’t intended for them or be contacted by someone they don’t know. Please be aware of what your child is viewing and who your child is speaking to on-line. For advice for you and your child on how to keep safe online or report concerns please visit: https://www.ceop.police.uk/safety-centre
We understand these are challenging days and the impact these restrictions will have on yourselves and your children. We are therefore so grateful for your support and with reinforcing these rules to your children to keep people safe.
Your Sincerely,
CC Giles York & CC Gavin Stephens
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3-4-20
Dear Parents/Carers,
I hope you and your families are well and settling into some sort of routine, as I know this new way of working and living takes time to get used to.
The College is now closed for the Easter holidays and will reopen on April 20th, to continue to provide emergency childcare for the children of critical key workers, in accordance with Government guidelines
The switchboard and Reception are closed, so please email office@bourne.org.uk or if you wish to contact a teacher, please refer to the College staff email addresses, which can be found under the Home Learning tab. In an emergency, please telephone 07909 977948.
- Home learning will take a break over the two week Easter holiday.
- We have put up a List – 40 Things to do over Easter -in our Home learning section on the website with lots of simple activities for students to have a go at. I am sure there are many other projects that they are doing too or may need finishing too.
- We will write separately to Year 11 parents, as we now have more information about how their grades will be awarded this year and there is a letter today from OFQUAL to Year 11 explaining this , which we will also put on the website.
- I will also write to year 10 parents as I this is a critical time for them too.
- We would also like to survey our students and parents just to see how things are and to see if we can help to support you and so would appreciate it, if you could complete a simple survey for us at your earliest convenience . The link for the survey will be added to the Home learning page.
As always we are very aware that this is new uncharted territory, so please do what works best for you and your family.
Meanwhile keep well and keep safe and please do not hesitate to contact us if we can help you in any way.
With kind good wishes to all our students and their families
Yvonne Watkins
Headteacher
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30-3-20 – Annex to the Child protection and Safeguarding policy
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Message from Mrs Watkins Thursday 26/03/20
Dear Parents/Carers
The College is only open now with a very skeleton staff, to provide emergency childcare for the children of critical key workers, in accordance with Government guidelines and I would like to say a huge thank you to all for your support with this. The switchboard and Reception are now closed. Please email office@bourne.org.uk and your message will be sent to the most appropriate member of staff. In an emergency please telephone 07909 977948.
We will endeavour to respond to your query as soon as possible but please bear with us during this difficult time.
If you wish to contact a teacher, please refer to the College staff email addresses, which can be found under the Home Learning tab.
Please do not panic if you have difficulty accessing certain work, as there is a vast amount of traffic on some sites, and so please direct your child to other work that has been set. A variety of work has been set and do remember it does not all have to be completed immediately. We want to support the children with work for home learning and I know many parents are being creative and doing their own home learning too, which is great! I am also aware this is new unchartered territory, so please do what works best for your child and family.
We have been overwhelmed by the positive response of the children to their learning and how they are coping so well with the change of circumstances and this is down to all your wonderful input too.
Meanwhile, keep safe and keep well.
Mrs Watkins Headteacher
VACCINATION CLINICS ARE NOW APPOINTMENT ONLY – 26-3-20
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
SCHOOL BASED NATIONAL ROUTINE VACCINATIONS
In response to the Governments social distancing guidelines; previous advertised drop in clinics are no longer available; all clinics are now appointment only.
If you have a pre booked appointment please phone the relevant number below to check whether this is still taking place.
If you are unwell, think you have symptoms of Coronavirus (COVID-19) such as a new persistent cough or high temperature, or are in a COVID-19 high risk group; please do not visit any of our
clinics.
For all new enquiries and to book in to one of our vaccination clinics;
Please contact the relevant team after 1st April 2020 by calling 01273 696011 Followed by the extension number shown below:
Chichester Ext 8100 – Chichester, Bognor Regis, Littlehampton, Pulborough
Worthing Ext 8533 – Durrington, Steyning, Shoreham
Crawley Ext 2043 – Burgess Hill, Crawley, East Grinstead, Haywards Heath, Horsham
Brighton Ext 3789 – Brighton, Hove, Newhaven
East Sussex Ext 2080 – Bexhill, Chailey, Eastbourne, Hailsham, Hastings, Pevensy, Ringmer, Wadhurst
Vaccination Clinics March 2020 – COVID-19 – pdf
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PARENT AND STUDENT INFORMATION DURING CLOSURE AS OF MONDAY 23 MARCH 2020
What is the School being asked to do?
- Schools are being asked to remain open for ‘vulnerable’ children and children of critical workers where they can – i.e. where staffing levels allow. At present, we do have the staffing levels to support this but, as ever, this is an evolving situation.
- Where possible, schools are being asked to provide provision over the Easter holidays. This is something we will be reviewing next week, and we will be in touch separately about this. Our priority, at the moment, is the immediate term time need.
- If for any reason we became unable to open, the Local Authority would ensure that eligible children can attend the best setting for them.
- This is not a compulsory provision for those eligible pupils, it is an offer. To help contain the outbreak ALL children are still encouraged, where absolutely possible, to stay at home and not attend school settings. The message from the Government is, ‘every child who can be safely cared for at home, should be.’ We are being asked to relay this message very clearly, but will obviously support as much as we can where this is not possible for you.
What arrangements are being made?
The school will open at 8am. School transport should operate as normal.
Students are required to wear school uniform.
Students should enter through reception ONLY, sign in, sanitise their hands and go into the main hall. Students will not have access to other parts of the building at this time.
If a student is unable to be in school, please notify the school before 7.30am each day of absence or the evening before, with the reason for absence. Please email office@bourne.org.uk or phone/text Mrs Murray-Brown on 07909977948. It is critical, to safe guard each student that you keep us informed of any changes to your son/daughter’s attendance please.
The timings for each day are as follows*:
8.30 – Student briefing in the hall; timetables for the week will be issued on a Monday morning*
Lesson 1 – 8.45 – 10.30
Break – 10.30- 10.55. Students will have access to the canteen, precinct and one court.
Lesson 2 – 10.55– 12.35
Lunch 12.35 – 13.05. Students will have access to the canteen, precinct and one court.
Lesson 3 – 13.05– 14.45
School closed to students at 2.45pm
School closed to staff at 3.30pm
Staff and students must sign out through reception at the end of the day.
Start and finish times are fixed and are not negotiable in these difficult times.
All students must also enter and leave school only through main reception.
The canteen will be open at break and lunchtime with a limited selection of food available.
All students should bring PE kit on Monday and Friday (23 and 27 March)
*Please note that we may have to make changes to the planned timetable and/or timings of the day, depending on availability of staffing.
Register of Key Worker Children
Please download, complete and return with your child on their first day back at school ONLY IF HAVE ALREADY REGISTERED WITH THE SCHOOL. If you have not registered with the school please email keyworker@bourne.org.uk and you will be contacted to confirm arrangements.
Register of Key Worker Children – Word Document
Register of Key Worker Children – PDF
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Letter to Yr 11 Parents – 19/03/20
Dear Parent and Carers
I am sure that you will have heard that the government has announced that exams for Year 11 have been cancelled.
At the moment, there is no clarity around this statement but the Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson told MPs, officials were working with Exam Boards “to ensure that children get the qualifications they need”.
Exam boards do not have forecast grades and therefore no obvious methodology for creating appropriate grades for students, so we are therefore not sure about how such decisions will be made. We are understandably being very cautious about what this might mean for students and reluctant to abandon them to chance announcements or future changes at this point in time. The completion of coursework and/or practical assessments in some subjects should therefore continue as much as possible as planned.
For now we will continue to expect our students to prepare for some possible assessments (maybe in the form of limited reference tests for a year group) and staff will continue to set work to support this. When we get further guidance we may be in a position to say with more confidence what the coming weeks might hold for them.
We know this is a particularly difficult time for all and especially for Year 11 students who have worked so hard over the last five years and we wish them to be properly rewarded and will work closely with the Exam boards to ensure this happens.
We will be holding a Year 11 Leavers assembly on Friday 20th March at 2.00pm to celebrate their school years with us and currently the Prom on the 18th June will still go ahead but may be subject to change, in which case we will let you know.
This is a message for ALL Year 11 ART students
The Year 11 Art mock will go ahead tomorrow – as far as we know at this stage, the work produced will help inform grades.
If any Year 11 students have their folders at home and won’t be in for the mock, please can folders be sent in by the end of the day tomorrow, as we will need to collate all of the work.
Mrs Y Watkins
Headteacher
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School Closure Letter 19/3/20
Dear Parents and Carers
Re: Coronavirus update – school closure to most students
Following on from yesterday afternoon’s announcement by the Prime Minister, I wanted to write to you all to ensure you are being kept up to date with developments. We have been instructed to close the school to almost all students after this Friday until further notice.
We will continue to support our community and remain open to all key workers’ children if they wish to send them to school, so that they, in turn, continue to look after the rest of us in the days and weeks ahead.
We are waiting for the government to publish more information on what this means, but it would help us in the meantime if you could let us know if you think your child may fall into this category. Please email keyworker@bourne.org.uk with details (Student name and Year group, your name and employer) by 10.00am Friday 20 March 2020.
All other children will need to stay at home, so we ask that you do not send your child into school from Monday 23 March 2020 onwards.
Please note that this is a national closure – as you may have heard in the news – so while it is a challenging situation, we are not alone. We will re-open fully as soon as we can and will let you know when this is by InTouch (email) and a notice on our website.
What we will continue doing whilst your child is at home
Your child’s learning is important to us, so we will continue to help your child to learn. Please look out for communications from staff members providing information to assist your child in home learning whilst the school is closed. Please also look at Go4Schools.
Students entitled to Free School Meals
We will make provision for students who are entitled to a free school meal. We will be providing a packed lunch every day at 12.00pm and these can be collected from Reception between 12.00 – 12.15pm only.
Please email office@bourne.org.uk to register for this service by 10.00am Friday 20 March 2020, please include student name and year group. We aim for this service to continue until further notice.
This is as much as we know right now and we appreciate your continued patience as we deal with this ever-changing situation. We understand that this latest news will have an impact on you and your family and it is far from ideal, but we will continue to keep in touch with any updates as the situation develops.
And remember: if you or your child feels ill and you want to know what to do next, please use NHS 111 online.
Thank you again for your continued support, and we will be in touch with more information when we can.
Mrs Y Watkins
Headteacher
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Letter to parents 18/03/20 re partial closure
Dear Parents/Carers
Following on from my letter yesterday I do want to reassure you that we have no confirmed case of Coronavirus COVID-19. However, following the recent guidance, we have an increased number of staff self-isolating. As a result, we do not have enough staff to safely manage the school for our students. Therefore, reluctantly, I have decided to partially close the school from Thursday 19 March 2020. I fully appreciate the disruption this may cause to families but have no choice in these exceptional circumstances. Parents and carers should also be aware that in order to maintain a safe and orderly school, your child may not be taught by their usual teacher.
On Thursday 19 March Year 8 students only will be required to stay at home.
On Friday 20 March Years 7 & 9 students only will be required to stay at home.
This will be reviewed again at the end of the week.
I do envisage a reduced timetable for next week, w/c Monday 23 March, but this is very fluid. The reduced timetable will involve two year groups staying at home each day on a rotation. This is the plan for next week but this could change.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
| In School Year 11 Year 10 Year 7 |
In School Year 11 Year 10 Year 8 |
In School Year 11 Year 9 Year 7 |
In School Year 11 Year 10 Year 8 |
In School Year 11 Year 10 Year 9 |
| At home Yrs 8 & 9 |
At home Yrs 7 & 9 |
At home Yrs 8 & 10 |
At home Yrs 7 & 9 |
At home Yrs 7 & 8 |
Students can access work on Go4Schools
This partial closure will start on Thursday 19 March but you will appreciate that things are changing all the time and we may have to revise this plan at short notice. If we need to do this, we will contact you by InTouch and will update our website. Please always use the website as your first port of call.
We of course remain extra vigilant and are encouraging pupils, parents and staff to continue taking additional precautions. This includes maintaining high levels of personal hygiene, regularly washing hands and following the Catch it, Bin it, Kill it advice when sneezing or coughing. As you would expect, we already promote these practices at school and we would appreciate your support in continuing to encourage the same at home. If you are worried about your symptoms or those of a child, please call NHS 111. The advice is to not go directly to your GP or other healthcare environments. Please see further information on the Public Health England (PHE) and the National Health Service (NHS) websites.
My sincere thanks for your understanding and support
Yours sincerely
Mrs Y Watkins
Headteacher
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17-3-20
Dear Parents / Carers
Coronavirus Update – headline information
- We are following the guidance from the NHS, Public Health England and the DfE in order to minimise the risks to staff and students whilst we remain open
- We are expecting higher than normal levels of staff absence due to the coronavirus and the instructions to self-isolate for 14 days if at risk
- We are cancelling sports fixtures, most trips and any unnecessary community activities
- If staff levels fall significantly, we may need to operate partial closures (where some year groups of students stay at home on certain days).
The following measures are being put in place –
- Art Mock Exams and Food Technology Exams will go ahead
- P.E and Drama moderation will go ahead
- all events will be cancelled – including Year 10 parents Evening and the SHOW
- all assemblies will be cancelled
- DoE will go ahead
- Leisure centre restrictions – this will close on Friday 20 March 2020to all the public- so will not be accessible for P.E.
We are preparing for three different eventualities:
- The school remains open but an increasing number of students and staff are off school due to self-isolation. Teachers will cover for absent colleagues wherever possible and some classes may be joined together to enable this to work.
- The school may need to partially close. This means we do not have sufficient staff to operate safely or effectively with the staff who are in school. It is likely that we would need to ask different year groups to stay at home on different days so that we can adequately staff the year groups, which are in school.
- The school will be instructed to close or will have to close due to insufficient staff. In this event, work would be set through Go4Schools for students. In this scenario, it is possible that an increased number of staff may not be able to set work due to illness but colleagues in subject areas will endeavour to provide suitable work for all students.
Exams –
We understand that many parents will be concerned, as we are, about the summer examinations. The government is looking at contingency plans for these but as yet, nothing has been published. We will of course keep you updated as soon as we can.
School closures at Bourne Community College are a very rare thing but we are facing an unprecedented challenge with the Coronavirus. Whilst current evidence suggests that young people are generally not too adversely affected by the symptoms, we are conscious that older members of our community and those with underlying health conditions are at much greater risk. We will do what we can to mitigate the effect of this virus in the coming weeks and potentially months, and be prepared for any increased range of actions we may need to take.
We will keep you informed via InTouch (email) and the College website and thank you for your support.
Mrs Y Watkins
Headteacher
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16-3-20
Dear Parents/Carers
We are aware that as part of the Government action plans, options include the possibility of school closures to reduce the speed of infection.
If the Government does require the Bourne Community College to close at any time, we will of course alert families of this immediately via InTouch (email) and then update you regularly on the situation via our website.
Whilst we hope the school does not have to close, staff are preparing in case we do and will set work accordingly using Go4Schools. For this to be effective, we would ask for your support on the following –
- Passwords – Staff are reminding students of the importance of having and keeping safe any passwords, so that they can access the online tasks. We value your support with this to ensure your child can access the following websites.
Go4Schools
Google Classroom
Doddle
Seneca
MyMaths
_ - Year 11 Students – In addition and particularly to support Year 11 for their GCSE exams, we need students to access all the revision materials and websites to make sure they can all work effectively from home.
_ - Communication – We will use our website and InTouch for official communication. Please do refer to our website to ensure that you are receiving the most up to date official information from the College.
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With thanks for your support
Mrs Y Watkins
Headteacher
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13-3-20
This is your daily email to keep you updated on the government’s response to COVID-19 (coronavirus).
Government announces move from Contain to Delay phaseYesterday, the Government announced that we are moving from the Contain phase of the coronavirus action plan and into the Delay phase, in response to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Full details of each stage in the government action plan can be found here:
To support the delay of the spread of the virus, the Department for Health and Social Care has asked anyone who shows certain symptoms to stay at home for 7 days, regardless of whether they have travelled to affected areas. This means people should stay at home and avoid all but essential contact with others for 7 days from the point of displaying mild symptoms, to slow the spread of infection. The symptoms are:
You do not need to call NHS 111 to stay at home. If your symptoms worsen during your stay at home period or are no better after 7 days contact NHS 111 online at 111.nhs.uk. If you have no internet access, you should call NHS 111. For a medical emergency dial 999. Current advice remains in place: no education or children’s social care setting should close in response to a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 case unless advised to do so by Public Health England. The Chief Medical Officer has advised that the impact of closing schools on both children’s education and on the workforce will be substantial, but the benefit to public health may not be. Decisions on future advice to schools will be taken based on the latest and best scientific evidence, which at this stage suggests children are a lower risk group. COVID-19 travel guidance for the education sectorThe Government has issued new travel guidance for the education sector. This advises against all overseas education trips for children under 18. This does not apply to domestic trips, or overseas trips which are already underway. The full guidance can be found here:
Handwashing adviceThe most important thing individuals can do to protect themselves is to wash their hands more often, for at least 20 seconds, with soap and water. Public Health England recommends that in addition to handwashing before eating, and after coughing and sneezing, everyone should also wash hands after using toilets and travelling on public transport. Watch this short NHS film for guidance:
Educational resourcesThe e-Bug project is led by Public Health England and has a dedicated webpage for learning resources on hand washing and respiratory hygiene. Resources are currently available for KS1, KS2 and KS3 and can be used in various settings including schools:
Department for Education coronavirus helplineThe Department for Education coronavirus helpline is available to answer questions about COVID-19 relating to education and children’s social care. Staff, parents and young people can contact this helpline as follows: Phone: 0800 046 8687 Please note, we are currently experiencing high volumes of calls and apologise for any wait that you may experience. To ensure that we answer your calls as quickly as possible we have now extended our opening hours to cover weekends. If you work in a school, please have your unique reference number (URN or UK PRN) available when calling the hotline. Where to find the latest informationUpdates on COVID-19:
Guidance for educational settings:
Guidance for social or community care and residential settings:
Travel advice for those travelling and living overseas:
Educational resources:
Latest Department for Education information:
Please keep your GIAS contacts up to dateIf you work in a school, please take this opportunity to review your contact information in Get Information About Schools (GIAS). To update your record, please go to the GIAS home page, “Sign in” using your “DfE Sign-in” credentials and select GIAS from your available services here:
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12-3-20
I would just like to reassure you that we are following all the correct procedures regarding keeping the school a safe and healthy place, we have risk assessed the possibility of Coronavirus impacting on the school and have put into place all recommended control measures. We are, of course, monitoring the situation on a daily basis and receiving daily updates from the Government, Public Health England and the NHS.
So far it has had minimal impact on us but I am fully aware of the need to keep on top of a very dynamic situation and the various responses needed to protect both students and staff.
We are now reviewing our advice to parents if they have a sick child –
a. We are advising them to keep their child at home until they are fully recovered
b. Those children in school who present with coughs/cold/temperature and say they feel unwell – we are calling parents and asking them to collect their child. This is a precautionary measure, it is the season for coughs and colds anyway
c. Any staff who may feel unwell will be sent home and to stay at home until fully recovered
You may have heard that a member of staff was sent home yesterday, I would like to reassure you that Mrs Phillips has taken medical advice and it has been confirmed that she has a heavy cold and needs to rest and is expected to return on Monday.
The health and safety of all our staff and students remains our highest priority and we will keep you informed of any developments. Please refer to the College website for official updates.
Mrs Y Watkins
Headteacher
