Dear Parents and Carers
Re: update to January 2021 return
Firstly, may I wish every one of you the happiest possible New Year’s Eve, and a happy, healthy, safe year ahead.
Thinking of everyone with huge empathy and huge pride today.
We will pull together as a strong Noadswood family to respond to the requirements on us for the weeks and months ahead, as always we have throughout the pandemic.
We are factoring in now that the New Forest and so our community has been moved in to Tier 4, as well as the announcements regarding education for January that came out first via the news outlets and later in a bulletin to us yesterday afternoon and evening.
To read about the requirements for us as a community within Tier 4, please read here (click link):
Now to the Secretary of State for Education’s announcements yesterday, we are able to provide an update for you regarding your child’s education from next week, building on the update we sent you just after the end of term. The attached graphic shares with you the expectations for secondary schools over the next fortnight:
So this means that, with the exception of a group of children from critical workers’ families and some specific students to whom we need to provide support (such as those with EHCPs), all learning at Noadswood will be provided virtually from TUESDAY 5th JANUARY - FRIDAY 8th JANUARY. (The change here, from our previous update, is that Year 11 will not any longer be in school during this week - this isn’t a choice we’re making, but is in order to follow the guidance now issued because of the escalation of cases of Covid-19, and in particular the accelerated rate of transmission of the variant of the virus we are now seeing across our country.)
Year 11 - Exams
Year 11 Child Development students who have their exam at 2pm on Thursday 7th January should attend as normal, arriving about 1.45pm by the Sports Hall (entering through the main gate Year 11 used as their bubble entrance/exit). Uniform is not required.
Year 11 Mock Examinations will also continue as planned (25/01/2021 - 11/02/2021). For more information do visit our GCSE Support pages (click link).
Lessons - from Tuesday 5th January 2021
We will provide Year 11 with a mixture of live lessons delivered via Teams, pre-recorded and Oak National Academy resources to support your child’s learning, according to their school timetable, from Tuesday 5th January. Where a pre-recorded lesson occurs their classroom teacher will be available in their normal lesson slot to answer any questions via ePraise.
The rest of the school will be provided with on-line learning tasks pertinent to their curriculum on Tuesday 5th, and then they will begin a similar mixed diet of live Teams lessons, pre-recorded lessons and Oak National Academy Lessons from Wednesday onwards. Similarly, their classroom teachers will be available via epraise during non-live delivery. If your child has any problems accessing their work or doesn’t have access to an internet connected device please contact their house leader directly and we will do all we can to assist you.
We will not be taking a further planning day during that week to prepare our testing programme for which you have been providing your consent, or not, during the break - we want to maintain continuity of education for your children so we will carry on our planning and work towards this programme as fast and efficiently and safely as we can behind the scenes.
Thank you for all of the offers of help with this - if you’d like to join the volunteers or would like to provide help in any other way, please don’t hesitate to contact us at health@noadswood.hants.sch.uk
As things stand currently, from MONDAY 11th JANUARY, Year 11 will return to school whilst the rest of the school continue with their online live lessons timetable (Year 11 will not need to wear uniform during this week), and the intention is that we will be able to welcome everyone back from MONDAY 18th JANUARY. Within that schedule, the intention is that we will have commenced our testing programme for all students and adults who provide consent to do so.
We will also endeavour to make contact with your child during the time they are learning remotely as before, to check in as to their well-being and their engagement with their online learning. We are so mindful of the impact of this on every single child and family so we will be reaching out in every way we can, as before.
Mr Hewitt has produced a guide for anyone who needs a reminder about how to access the live lessons and handing work in, which is available via the student FROG portal (click link):
Free School Meal Vouchers
We will also be exploring ensuring that vouchers for those eligible for free school meals continue during these January weeks - I’ll let you know more about this once we are back in to term, and our finance team resume their work. If you are in receipt of Free School Meals we will be in contact with you with regards to the delivery of vouchers. If you have been adversely impacted by Covid-19, the PSA still have a small stock of food and essential items that we can drop to families that require these. If you would like to arrange a delivery please email erollett@noadswood.hants.sch.uk.
Key Workers
Noadswood will be open to students of Critical Workers from 8.30am until 3.00pm from Tuesday 5th January and these students will be placed into a specific bubble. Students are not expected to wear uniform and ideally will bring a packed lunch (though the canteen is open) and headphones (3.5mm jack versions). More details will be emailed out to these parents (if you haven't completed the form, and need to, please use the link below (click link):
Summary
- Year 11 - virtual lessons will begin from 05/01/2021 (live / pre-recorded and Oak National)
- Year 11 Child Development exam (07/01/2021 2pm) - continues as normal (uniform not required)
- Year 11 - will come to Noadswood from 11/01/2021 (uniform not required)
- Years 7 - 10 - online tasks will be set on 05/01/2021 and then from 06/01/2021 live / pre-recorded and Oak National lessons will begin
- Years 7 - 11 - will have Noadswood return as normal from 18/01/2021
- Key worker students - can attend Noadswood from 05/01/2021 between 8.30am - 3.00pm (uniform not required + bring 3.5mm headphones + ideally packed lunch)
I hope this update provides you with useful clarity for now - more detail will follow, and regular check ins will come your way as term starts and our preparations for the testing programme continue.
Any questions at all, please email health@noadswood.hants.sch.uk and we’ll be delighted to answer them.
Kathryn Marshall and the Noadswood Leadership Team