Message to all parents – 03/07/2020

Dear Parents and Carers

As you may have heard the Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has outlined plans in more detail for schools to reopen fully in September 2020.
This is being widely reported in the media and you may find this summary useful from the BBC:

• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-53253722

We are very much looking forward to welcoming all of our students back to school next term and especially our new Year 7 students who will be joining us for the first time.
I am sure you will appreciate, however, it will not be ‘business as usual’ when schools reopen and we will follow the Guidance to ensure the health and safety of our whole community for a safe and successful opening. The Government has released a 35 page guidance document for schools which includes protective and other measures which should be in place, including consideration of organising ‘year group bubbles’.

The logistics which underpin this range of revised requirements are complex and the school will be working through these over the next two weeks of term in consultation with staff and Governors.

We will update you with information regarding the start of next term as soon as possible. To date we have planned that Year 7 will start on September 4th and then the rest of the school will be reintegrated the following week. I ask for your patience in the meantime, as we prepare for September, until we are able to fully publish all our plans.

The Government has also published updated guidance for parents/carers today which you may find useful:-

– https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/what-parents-and-carers-need-to-know-about-earlyyears-providers-schools-and-colleges-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak/what-parentsand-carers-need-to-know-about-early-years-providers-schools-and-colleges-in-the-autumn-term

Meanwhile our current arrangements for Home Learning and our Year 10 sessions and on-site provision for the children of key workers and vulnerable children will all continue and we look forward to seeing our Year 8 for their 1:1 sessions on July 6th and our Year 7 on July 13th. All these sessions are proving very worthwhile as we prepare to support all our students back to school for September.

Thanking you as always for your support and wishing you a restful weekend.

Yvonne Watkins

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All Parents – 26th June 2020

Dear Parents and Carers

Wider opening of the school for September: 

I am sure you will have heard that the Government have said all children will be back in school for September. What has not yet been specified is, if that is full time or on a rota basis.

We are obviously planning different scenarios so we can welcome all students back as soon as possible and we are awaiting guidance on this. As soon as we have more details, we will let you know.

This week in school: 

Year 10 have responded so positively to their study sessions and being back in school. As I said, we want to ensure everyone’s safety and wellbeing on their return to school and compliance with our expectations around hygiene and social distancing are vital in maintaining the safety and confidence of students and staff.  I thank them and you for your support on this.

We have also started the Transition process with 1:1 meetings with Year 6 students who will be with us in September and we look forward to welcoming them to our school on September 4^th. At present the plan is that they will be the only year group to return on that day for a special Welcome Day.

Safety of our students:

We have all seen the reports of mass gatherings and concerning behaviour in the media this week.

We have also received several letters from the police, Rail safety and other organisations, concerned about student safety and I urge you to reinforce these messages with your children, when they are out and about.

The following is from the RNLI which is particularly pertinent to us living by the sea and as there have already been a few incidents locally.

RNLI

This summer, our Lifeguards can’t be on every beach, meaning a heightened water safety risk to beach goers. We are asking you to help us share some important messages to children and their families.

It is anticipated that once restrictions further ease and the summer weather continues, people will continue to head to the beaches and coastline in large quantities to enjoy the sun, sea and time with friends and family.  In a normal year, the RNLI, alongside other water safety partners, help thousands of people who end up getting into difficulty in or close to the water when doing these types of activities.

Please do go to the RNLI & MCA’s Beach Safety Campaign  as beach lifeguards cannot be everywhere this summer and it is vital every one of us takes responsibility for our own, and our families’, safety.

West Sussex and Hampshire Police

I also attach a letter from West Sussex Police re: mass gatherings of year 11 and 13 students to replace PROM celebrations. The concern here is not only the risk of mass gatherings but also because they are attracting people from out of area which very much concerns the Police and the authorities.

This letter is primarily for older students but we all need to be aware and talk to all our young people about these dangers and keep a watchful eye out for any concerns and different behaviours.

Future plans

• Mr Carter will soon be in touch about plans for Results Day for Year 11 on August 20^th
• We look forward to seeing our Year 9 students in on Monday 29^th June for their 1:1 sessions, followed by Year 8 on the 6^th July and Year 7 on the 13^th

I wish you all a restful weekend and as always please do contact us if you have any questions.

Kind regards

Yvonne Watkins

Parents Update – 19/6/2020

Dear Parents and Carers

The week of announcements

This has been another very interesting week both in school and nationally; with big announcements from the Government related to schools. We awoke on Friday to good news that there will be more funding for schools and we certainly welcome this and await to see how we can implement this for our students at the Bourne.

Year 10 Sessions

We were also delighted to see our Year 10 students in school on Monday, responding so maturely during their Face to Face sessions. They have now been invited into school for one day a week from Monday 22nd to work closely with their teachers on their studies and learning and to prepare for next year.

Years 7/ 8/ 9

We now want to safely invite more students into school to check in on them before the end of term and see where they are in preparation for September. Our plan therefore is that, we will hold Face to Face tutorials with Years 7 / 8 /9 before the end of term and you will hear shortly from the Year Leaders giving more information and guidance on how these will be organised.

Wider reopening of the school

As the school re opens to more students this term and more staff are back in school, work will be set as usual for all students. Staff will respond with feedback and emails but perhaps not as swiftly as before and I ask for your understanding on this. We will also let you know our plans for September after the Government announcement that all schools will now open in September.

Health and safety

Our focus for planning of all these sessions is to ensure we keep students and staff as safe as possible. Compliance with our expectations around hygiene and social distancing are vital in maintaining the safety and confidence of students and staff. We ask for your support on reinforcing this crucial message to our young learners and thank you in advance.

Please keep checking the website for more information and do not hesitate to get in touch.

Wishing you a restful weekend.

Kind regards

Yvonne Watkins
Headteacher

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Message to Parents – 12/6/2020

Dear Parents & Carers

I hope that you and your families are all well.  I would just like to update you on our plans and activities –

Year 10
We are preparing to welcome our Year 10 in next week for 1:1 sessions, with further subject sessions as from 22 June 2020.

Virtual/Live Online Sessions
Staff are gradually increasing some virtual/live lessons and are letting students know on Go4Schools when these are happening.  The lessons may not be the same time as the actual timetable, so do please get your child to check on Go4Schools for timings.

Laptops
We have had a few enquiries about laptops, as they seem to be very much in the news at the moment.  We have received 40 laptops from the National Grid through our link with the charity Business2Schools and these have been allocated to students.

As yet we have NOT received any from the Government but we are hoping that they will arrive very soon.  The priority for these will be for Year 10 and for those students who are more vulnerable and disadvantaged.

As a school we do need more laptops and are grateful to our Fundraiser Mrs Dartmouth, who has been working to secure these and to those parents who are helping too.  If you do have any laptops in good condition that you would be willing to donate to the school, or if you have any contacts who may be able to help, please contact Mrs Dartmouth – email gdartmouth@bourne.org.uk

Finally, thank you for all your support and as always, please contact us if we can help in any further way.

Wishing you all a lovely weekend.

Kind regards

Yvonne Watkins
Headteacher

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