Dear Parents and Carers,

Students are settling into the routine of being back in school and re-engaging in their school work. Whilst we have all been pleased with our remote learning provision, nothing is as good as being in the classroom, and it is lovely to see our students back in their lessons in school and interacting with each other and staff in a face-to-face setting.

Charitable Giving – Comic Relief fundraising on 19^th March

Thank you to all pupils for your continued support for others. Our efforts this term have helped to support Comic Relief. Thank you for the wonderful support you give your child to support charity events and for your encouragement for their fund raising, enabling them to demonstrate our school value of humanity in action and service to others, even in these challenging times, we raised £508.17 on the day.

Teacher Assessed Grades- Years 11 and 13

For 2021, grades for GCSEs, A-levels, and other qualifications will be based on teacher assessment benchmarked against national standards. Over the past few weeks, we have been finalising our plans to reflect the decisions outlined by OFQUAL. Our priority has been to ensure we clearly follow the guidance provided by OFQUAL and exam boards to deliver a grading system that is student focused, consistent, fair and robust and affords students the best opportunity to demonstrate what they are capable of.

The deadline for submitting grades to the exam board is the 18th June. This date has dictated our timeline for assessment, adequate time for marking, moderation and quality assurance.As all students have returned to schools after national lock down, it is imperative that your child attends school every day and engages fully in all their lessons. Students must continue to take an active part in all lessons, complete all the work set and attempt all assessments to the best of their ability. Teachers will be using variety of sources to arrive to the final grade, no one piece of assessment will determine the overall grade. Over the coming weeks teachers will be gathering information of students’ knowledge and understanding of the topics they have already been taught. We know that many students and parents will have questions about how we will ensure that this process is fair. The whole process of awarding teacher assessed grades will undertake a rigorous quality assurance process both within school and by Exam Boards. Exam Boards will have the ability to adjust our grades if our process does not stand up to external scrutiny.Please note we are unable to provide any predicted end of year grades for any student in Year 11 and Year 13. Your child will only receive their grade on the GCSE and A-Level results days.Thank you for your efforts to support our work and to aid your child in their learning.

Home testing Kits

As you know, secondary students and staff have now moved to twice weekly, rapid COVID-19 testing at home. Keeping our school as safe as possible has been paramount. It has been confirmed by the Department for Education (DFE) that all staff and secondary aged students should continue testing twice a week, at home, throughout the Easter school holidays. This does not replace testing for those with symptoms. If your child has symptoms they must self-isolate immediately, book a PCR test and follow national guidelines. You must continue to report their result to both the academy and the NHS in the usual way over the Easter break.

Testing for parents, households and bubbles twice a week

A reminder that regular rapid testing is now also available for parents, their households and support or childcare bubbles. The government is encouraging all families to participate in twice weekly testing to help stop the spread. Parents and other adults in the household can access tests by:

• Ordering tests online www.gov.uk/order-school-household-tests
• Getting an assisted test at work, if it is available
• Attending a test site to get tested (where you will be able to see how to take the test) or pick up tests to do at home.

To find out more on school household testing visit Households and bubbles of students, students and staff of schools and colleges: get rapid lateral flow tests - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) We continue to encourage everyone to take part in regular COVID-19 testing.

Shielding guidance for clinically extremely vulnerable children and young people

The government has announced that from 1 April 2021, clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV) individuals are no longer advised to shield. If your child falls into this category you will receive a letter from the NHS with updated guidance setting out practical steps to follow to reduce the risk of catching the virus. All CEV students should have a risk assessment which must be updated with the detail from their latest letter received from the NHS. From 1 April, all CEV children should attend school (and attendance will be mandatory), unless they are one of the very small number of children under paediatric or other specialist care and have been advised by their GP or clinician not to attend.

Face masks

The DFE guidance on the use of facemasks is still in place. Our current position is that the use of facemasks in communal areas for all staff and secondary aged students is mandatory and is highly recommended in classrooms. This does not apply to primary aged students.

Uniform Standards

It is a priority that the school’s uniform expectations continue to be met. Please note the following are not acceptable uniform: -

• 'Skinny’ trousers
• Nose studs
• Black Trainers (appropriate black school shoes must be worn)
• Heavy Makeup (discreet makeup is only permissible in Year 11 and Sixth Form)

All uniform should be labelled clearly so that it can be identified if it has been lost. Please ensure all pupils arrive to school with the correct uniform.  We will send pupils home to come back with the correct uniform.

Attendance and medical appointments

At Waverley School we believe that excellent attendance and punctuality is the key to success. We are committed to supporting families to improve attendance and punctuality. Pupils will be placed on a Fast Track Programme to improve attendance.

We understand that Covid-19 has led to sickness absence to self-isolation following government guidance. If your child falls into either category, please phone the school absence line to inform us of the situation.

We advise and highly encourage parents to make medical appointments (doctors, dentist, etc.) out of school hours where at all possible. However, when this is not possible, please bring your child into school to obtain their registration mark and then collect them before their appointment.

We appreciate hospital appointments cannot be changed, but we seem to be having a high number of children going to the dentist, doctors etc. Collecting children for appointments or children arriving after appointments disrupts the whole class. Please note, the office staff will need to see appointment cards/letters to authorise absence and please notify the school at least 24 hours in advance.

We are receiving a number of requests for extended leave where families have already booked tickets. Authorisation cannot be given in retrospect and this will be classed as unauthorised absence and appropriate legal action taken. Your child’s place at Waverley School is put at risk if you take holidays without authorisation.

It is currently illegal to book holidays abroad due to Government covid-19 rules. To find out more: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice

Mobile Phones

A reminder to parents and students that students are not permitted to use their mobile phones throughout the school day and are strongly advised not to bring their mobile phones to school. 

We are expecting an update to the Government guidelines before we return to school, and we will be informing parents about any changes that are being made as a result.

Thank you to all our pupils and parents for your support and kindness this term. The last twelve months have been an enormous challenge for us all in so many ways. Your continued messages, phone calls and feedback have been a great source of encouragement for all at Waverley.

I wish you all a happy and safe Easter holiday. Although there are still restrictions in place and the route out of lockdown has only just started, I hope you enjoy being able to spend some time outside with family members or friends who you may not have seen for a while.

We wish all families observing Ramadan, Ramadan Mubarak and for those celebrating a Happy Easter.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs A Lloyd
Principal
Waverley School - Secondary