Charlton School

23^rd April 2021

Dear Parents/Carers

Welcome back to the summer term, it was lovely having the students start back straight after Easter, having not needed to carry our mass testing or having any additional measures needing to be put in place.  Our students are now very used to the “new normal” in school.

Coronavirus cases in Telford have plateaued a little in recent weeks, and whilst they remain in line with local and National levels, we are still seeing outbreaks.  It is for this reason that we still need to ensure we continue to follow all the control measures in school and as a community we follow the Government guidance on the easing of the lockdown.

We have received notification this week that the Government would like twice weekly testing to be continued.  We are awaiting a new delivery of test kits in school early next week and will distribute these as soon as we have them.  We do have a small amount of stock remaining, students can collect these from student reception if you have run out prior to the delivery arriving in school.  Students will either be issued with a further two boxes containing 3 tests each, or one box containing 7 tests, but until delivered we do not know which kits are due to arrive.

We have received a number of queries from parents and students in regard to the leaving date for Year 11.  Through consultation with the schools in the Learning Community Trust (LCT) we can confirm that the final day Year 11 will be expected in school is Friday 28^th May.

It is important that students understand work produced right through till this date will be considered towards the mark issued by the school.  It is imperative they remain focused and complete all work set to the highest standard they can.  After half-term we will invite any identified students who need additional opportunities to complete missed assessments and process all the data, to compile a Teacher Assessed Grade.

We will also arrange, at an appropriate time, a leavers’ assembly, where students can come together and celebrate the completion of their studies at Charlton, through some very challenging circumstances. 

We are hopeful that after half-term, some of our post 16 providers will be available to provide either online or in person taster and transition sessions.  We are also seeking work from them that students can complete remotely to support the preparation for their new courses.  It goes without saying that we, and our partner advisors at Future Focus, will continue to support students who have yet to secure an offer of a position at post 16.

In addition to these opportunities the LCT are in communication with the National Citizenship Service (NCS) about what activities they may be able to support transition to post 16, such as team building and training around employability and financial management skills.

We cannot stress enough the importance of the next few weeks and thank all Year 11 students for their focus and commitment to help us secure them the best possible grades.  I would seek assistance from all students in school to support our Year 11 students by ensuring they remain quiet when moving around the building, to cause the least amount of disruption possible.

I would like to publicly take this opportunity to thank the staff who are working tirelessly to meet the additional expectations that have been placed on them by Ofqual and the DfE to write, mark and moderate numerous assessments to provide sufficient evidence to accurately grade the students this summer.

The demands on staff time and the pressures on them have never been greater, this is on top of the additional demands the covid restrictions place on them already.  I am indebted to the commitment and dedication of the staff to do the very best for our students.  When contacting colleagues, please do consider these additional pressures placed on the staff at this time and the impact that these requirements are having on their workload.

As we follow Government guidance, it is lovely to see that PE have launched their extra-curricular programme for the summer term, starting next week and look forward to students taking part in these and other additional opportunities as the measures are lifted further.

Kind regards

Mr A McNaughton

Principal