Thank you for your understanding and messages of support. We said au revoir to our Y11 students today. We hope in this letter to cover the majority of questions that the decision to close all schools will no doubt have caused:
School Closure:
Bohunt will close on Friday at 1:40. The length of the school closure is indefinite at present. It is not true as some public messages seem to be implying that this is the end of the school year. We hope there will be a return in the summer term at some point.
It is important students who are well continue to attend tomorrow as we are practicing and troubleshooting our home working set up with them in lessons.
Our continued provision of on site and remote learning is of course dependent on the health of our staff and their availability
Communicating with School:
We will have a skeleton team in school which includes running the office and reception. This means we will be able to handle email and phone enquiries although we might not be able to provide immediate answers.
GCSE Exams:
We are acutely aware of the additional stress and pressure our year 11 students will be under. It is clear there will be no exams sat this summer in May or June by students and tomorrow there should be an announcement on how assigning qualifications will be done. This does not mean Y11 should stop work at this point because there could be random sampling and testing as part of this proposal. We shall update you once the government has set out its plans for this cohorts’ qualifications.
School provision for Key workers children and vulnerable students:
In order to enable us to plan coverage for key workers’ children ONLY (we have the other groups’ information), it is imperative that you complete this survey.
KEY WORKER SURVEY: https://forms.gle/cr2bBSa54RjwHthm6
In light of the latest government announcement which has given additional categories under their definition of a key worker, this now includes; delivery drivers, supermarket workers and pharmacy workers. If you have completed this survey and your job falls into one of these new categories, please take the time to visit the link and amend your answer. We only require parents who are key workers to complete this survey.
For these young people we will be running – for as long as we are able – provision on our school site, including over the Easter Holidays. This provision will not be students’ usual timetable but rather supervised study of the work that has been set for all learners. We will endeavour to complement this with practical activities.
As we will not be setting work with teacher input over the Easter holidays, the on-site provision will be more activity based and, depending on the availability and specialism of the teachers might include sports and arts.
Anybody attending school is welcome to bring a packed lunch. We will also work with our caterers to have an onsite offer each day once we know the number of students who need it.
Home working arrangements
As a school we are in a fortunate position to be able to continue our education provision through Google Classroom. To reduce the potential negative impacts of school closures on your child’s academic progress, we expect students to follow their school timetables from home. The only exception from their usual timetable is that there will be no online lessons during period 5-6 on Wednesdays. This time will be used by teachers to record non-attendance to lessons. If your child does not submit work for a lesson within their timetable you will receive an automated message informing you that the work has not been completed. We do not currently have systems in place to differentiate between absence from online lessons due to illness. If your child is not well enough to complete online lessons please ignore the automated messages received on Class Charts. Our expectations are outlined below and will be available on our website.
Students are familiar with Google Classroom, which is accessible through iPads, mobile devices and laptops from home. A Wi-Fi or mobile internet connection is required to access Google Classroom. The guide to Google Classroom (below) will provide support for students and parents regarding how to access set assignments and submit work for each lesson. This system has been tested by a number of staff, and has proved to be a successful means of delivering our curriculum through distance learning.
Furthermore, we have been given free licenses for Lexia PowerUp, a literacy program already used with our Year 7 cohort, for all our Year 8s who do not already have access. This will be for an initial four week period. Students will be given login information through their tutors, and online instructions via Google Classroom, for use over the period.
Student Expectations During School Closure
– Students follow their regular timetables, excluding tutor time. (available on their Google Classroom)
– Students use Google Classroom to access their assignments (see guidance attached)
– Students submit their work at the end of their lesson slot. Submission of work will be used as a register of attendance to the lesson.
– Students can communicate with their classroom teacher through the private comment feature within Google Classroom. Teachers will respond via this feature.
We anticipate running a skeleton staff within school, including a level of IT support for parents and students unable to access the online resources. Please contact pjones@bohuntworthing.com during the school closure regarding any queries linked to teaching and learning expectations.
In addition, those students still in school tomorrow will be given a blank exercise book to bring home and complete set work. Pictures of this work can be uploaded to Google Classroom for feedback if required. We will also be looking at ways to keep the community together through some fun challenges. These might include making little videos of families cooking together, pets completing tricks or performing arts challenges. We know that you and your children will rise to the challenge. These will be submitted via homeworking@bohuntworthing.com. More information will follow.
FSM guidance:
We are fully committed to supporting those families in receipt of free school meals and will contact them directly once we are clear whether we are better providing a voucher system for local supermarkets or our caterers are able to produce packed lunches for collection. We will be in contact with the parents of students entitled to free school meals with plans for the initial provision and then review how it works.
Pastoral Support:
Our pastoral team is already significantly affected by the outbreak. Whilst we can support those students who are attending school under special circumstances we recommend you use our wellbeing links on the school website to support or report any worries you have.
ERA week:
As previously communicated this is suspended at present and it is increasingly likely that even if we are back in school it will be used as a normal teaching week because there is unlikely to be time to book and sort activities. Sadly this includes the likely cancellation of work experience for Y10, Sorrento, Bushcraft and Normandy.
IT issues
If you are experiencing difficulty with Google classroom for remote learning in the first instance please make sure you have carefully read the guidance sent out with this letter to troubleshoot issues. If necessary you can log a call with reception and we will endeavour to get back to you when somebody suitable is available to help.
Trip cancellations and refunds
As previously shared with parents all upcoming trips are cancelled or suspended. We are working with the different travel agents involved with each trip and our insurers in regards to refunds for parents. Please be patient in terms of the time taken for this to reach resolution as these organisations are dealing with a huge number of claims and will equally be suffering from a reduced workforce. We therefore have little control over the pace with which this will be resolved.
Students doing the Duke of Edinburgh Award have this process suspended at the moment.
These are extraordinary times and your children are extraordinary young people and we look forward to welcoming them back as soon as possible.
With best wishes
Mr Adam Whitehead BSc (Hons)
Headteacher
