Update 20.04.2020
20th April 2020
Dear Parents and Carers
Attending a ‘remote’ Heads of Department meeting this morning and watching one teacher rocking a baby to sleep and another helping a young son with Science homework, both during our curriculum discussion, was a vivid illustration of the pressures that so many of our staff - and you at home – are working under at present. Thank you for all that you’re doing to support your children’s learning under these very difficult working conditions... Please do let us know if you are finding any aspect of home schooling particularly difficult.
Here are today’s updates:
Lessons
Some parents have emailed to ask if teachers can deliver more lessons ‘live’ to classes this term. The examples above, as well as the very differing levels of computer access you all have at home, are two reasons why we won’t be doing this for pupils routinely. However, a lot of work is going into preparing lessons that have more teacher voice recording and explanation included, as we are aware of how helpful this is to pupils.
Year 11
This week, Year 11 teachers will be delivering any lessons needed for students to complete their GCSE and other courses. This is because in some subjects, the Year 11 curriculum had not been fully covered last term and we do not want any student to be disadvantaged when starting Post 16 courses, or possibly when deciding to re-sit any examination in the autumn. Pupils will be communicated with directly where this applies to them.
After this week, we will let you know details about the bridging activities to Post 16 study that will be offered, in conjunction with the Post-16 providers.
Activities Week and Work Experience
We are delaying making a decision about whether Activities Week and Year 10 work experience can go ahead, for as long as possible. This includes the planned Year 7 visit to Beaumanor Hall in July. Clearly no such visit would go ahead unless we were convinced that it could be done safely, but we have not given up hope that it might still just be possible...
Dealing with Stress
We are very aware of the stress that so many people are under due to lockdown. The attachment with this bulletin from Centre 33, a young people’s support organisation, will be shared with your children this week. The links for adults below have been shared with staff today, and may be useful to some of you also:
Working from Home Action Plan: This is a useful resource kit for people working at home, from the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust - https://www.cbi.org.uk/media/4647/cwmt-working-from-home-action-plan.pdf
In times of stress, it recommends:
- Shout text 85258
- Calm: Campaign Against Living Miserably – aimed at men: thecalmzone.net
- Anxiety UK: http://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/
- Beat https://beateatingdisorders.org.uk
NHS Every Mind Matters https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-staying-at-home-tips
First Day of Term
We are looking forward to welcoming back the pupils tomorrow. Lessons will be set on ShowMyHomework as usual; please remember to let us know if your child is unwell and unable to ‘attend’ their lessons by emailing thecollege@cambournevc.org
The Department for Education is constantly updating its advice. You may find the links at the end of this bulletin useful.
With all good wishes for the term ahead. Take good care of yourselves,
Claire Coates
Principal
Guidance for parents and carers on supporting their children’s education during coronavirus (COVID-19)
We have published information, guidance and support for parents and carers of children who are learning at home during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
Guidance on helping children with special educational needs and disabilities learn at home can be found here:
Updated guidance for parents and carers on the closure of educational settings
The guidance for parents and carers on the closure of educational settings has been updated with additional information on the support available for parents, online educational resources and support for vulnerable children.
The guidance can be found here:
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