Update from Post 16

Dear parent/carers

Thank you for your patience as we navigated the government guidance. As you can imagine, we are still expecting further adaptations to come over the next few days and we will communicate with you when these arrive.

We are sharing with you now our current plan for the next 6 weeks.

As you are aware, the government has requested that all education be online until February half term – 12th February 2021.

This means that students will be following their normal timetables and accessing their live lessons on Teams. All students are expected to attend all of their timetabled lessons. Please contact teachers for clarity and guidance.

If your son/daughter  is ill, please contact our absence line on 01179 927117 or email [email protected] as all absence will be monitored.

Please also continue to inform us of any positive Covid-19 cases as we will still be tracking these at the above number or email address.

We sent out a survey on Monday to determine whether students are classed as vulnerable or as the children of key workers. These students are entitled to come on site to access their online lessons and will be supported by members of staff. Please let us know asap if you require a space on site for your son/daughter to work.

If your son/daughter  is experiencing issues with devices, Wifi or a space to study, please email [email protected] as we have some limited ability to support with these.

We will also be supporting all students pastorally by maintaining regular contact with them through email and phone contact. Please encourage your child to check their CLF emails daily and to answer any unknown or private numbers as these are likely to be us!

At the moment the government are maintaining January exams. We understand the need for students to be able to demonstrate their learning and have put in place strong protocols to protect our students as they sit these exams, including social distancing, masks and offering lateral flow tests (please see below for further information on these tests).

We are awaiting national clarity around formal assessments for after these exams and we recognise that some students may be feeling that with the uncertainty around exams, the need to study may be less. However, we know that learning and the full curriculum content will never have been more important for students and therefore teachers will continue to focus on completing their courses and students will need to maintain the focus and hard work that they have been showing so far.

Lateral Flow Tests allow us to test people who are not showing symptoms of Covid-19 to determine whether they are carrying the virus.

The test is fast and can be performed in school, with results being obtained within 30 minutes.

These tests will allow us to reduce the transmission of Covid-19 in our community whilst providing individuals with peace of mind that they are not carrying the virus.

We will be offering these tests to every staff member and student on site. Students must decide whether they wish to give consent for these tests or opt out. They have been given a form to allow them to do this. Please discuss this test with your son/daughter if they are coming on site and encourage them to fill out the form.

Students who are eligible for Free School Meals will receive funds from the bursary into their accounts.

If you require any educational resources, please email [email protected] as the bursary could be used to support with this.

The UCAS deadline for sending the completed forms and references has been extended by 2 weeks to 29th January 2021. This means our internal deadline for students is extended to 22nd January when we will be able to support with references and completion. Any applications that have not been completed and submitted by students onto the UCAS site by the 22nd  we will unfortunately not be able to complete references in time.  Please ensure that all applications have been completed and submitted by this date.

We do recognise that there are increased levels of anxiety amongst our school community and would like to support as much as possible. We are maintaining our counselling service and pastoral support throughout the lockdown so please reach out and keep in contact.

If you have any questions or concerns or would like to contact Post 16, we will have a small team of staff in the office every day. We can be contacted on 0117 9882525 or by email at [email protected].

Thank you again for your ongoing support and flexibility as we navigate through these changing times.

The Post 16 team