Charlton School

10.07.2020 Update to Parents

Dear Parents,

I hope all is well with you and your family and that life is a little easier as some of the lockdown measures are relaxed.

We are in the process of finalising our plans for the re-opening of all our schools in September and you will receive all the detailed information for your child’s school next week. We are determined to make sure that we run schools as normally as possible with children and students being taught the full curriculum by their teachers, so that we can give them the best education possible after so much time out of school. We are putting in place a recovery curriculum for the beginning of term, so teachers can identify gaps and make sure these are quickly addressed. We know many children have worked hard with Home Learning and those that have struggled will be given additional support to help them catch up with missed learning.

I cannot stress how important it is that parents send their children to school in September. Education is critically important for all children and there will be a very high focus on attendance at school to make sure all children are back at school. There will be a great welcome for them all and lots of support to help them get back to being in school. We know the children who we have been able to have in school, since June, have really enjoyed being back and settled in very quickly.

Our job is to manage our sites and buildings well with a continued focus on safety, hygiene and cleaning. Schools will have staggered starts and ends of day as well as rolling breaks and lunches so that we avoid congestion and reduce interactions. Children and students will operate in “bubbles” based on year groups, within which there will be classes in primary, and teaching groups in secondary and in special. This means they can be with friends in their year group during breaks and have the proper curriculum. All children will get full inductions in how school will work for them and how to move around the site on the first day they attend in September. All risk assessments and plans will be published on websites by the end of term.

Next week we say goodbye to some very special people who are leaving us and I want to acknowledge the incredible contribution they have made in two of our schools.

Nigel Griffiths retires as Head of Queensway after fantastic service to the school, Queensway has flourished under his leadership and I thank him personally for the hard work and commitment he has given to the school. We have worked very closely together and he has always wanted the very best for his staff and students. He has a great sense of humour and brings perspective to the job!

At Charlton, Lee Tristram, Deputy Headteacher, has been appointed Headteacher of Oldbury Wells Secondary School in Bridgnorth and we are very sad to see him leave after many years of fantastic service to the school, but we are delighted that he has secured a Headship. We wish him every success in his new post and thank him for all he has done at Charlton.

Also at Charlton, Wayne Denfhy, Deputy Headteacher, is retiring after many years at the school. He has made a wonderful contribution to the school and worked tirelessly to support young people during their secondary education. He is not completely retiring and will be working for the Trust in a different position next year.

We break up for the summer next Wednesday and I know all the staff need a break, it has been an unbelievably challenging time for all of us but we have kept our focus on doing the very best for our children.

Enjoy the weekend and hopefully the sun will shine!

Yours sincerely,

Dr. Gill Eatough

CEO LCT