In addition to this week’s blog (please click here if you’ve not seen it yet), I have a few bits of important information for our parents and carers:

Weekly contact

It’s important that we are able to keep in touch with both you and your child whilst your child is at home.  This is so we can support your child’s continued learning and wellbeing.  I know your child’s Form Tutor or a member of their form team has been contacting you each week.  We want this contact to be supportive not intrusive, so I’ll hope you’ll continue to work with us as we strive to get this balance right for you and your family.  It’s important that we stay in touch at least once a week, and in some cases, more often than this.  Our Form Tutors will agree with you how often you will stay in touch with each other and how you will do this, for example by phone or by email.

Supporting clinicians with assessing and treating children with learning difficulties

The NHS has produced guidance for hospital staff to support them in understanding the needs of children with learning difficulties (LD). In many cases, clinicians won’t have worked with children with LD before, yet in the current pandemic, there is the possibility that they may need to assess and treat some of our pupils.  Whilst it is my genuine hope that this will not happen, it is important that hospital staff unfamiliar with children with LD, and our children in particular, are able to assess and treat them effectively.  This requires that they understand how best to communicate and interact with them, understand their behaviour, and understand any existing health concerns.  To help them in this task we will be sending home copies of your child’s ‘All About Me’ profile and Health Care Plan which, alongside your detailed knowledge of your child, should help hospital staff in their role.  This will be sent securely via ParentPay.

Free School Meals

Our Admin teams have been working hard to distribute the Free School Meal vouchers.  We are now registered for electronic food vouchers. Families who qualify will receive vouchers covering the 4 week period from Monday 6th April (which includes the Easter holidays) and these can be used in a number of supermarkets. These will be distributed to you via ParentPay so please check your account and confirm with your child’s Form Team that you have received them when you are next in contact with them.

Easter Holidays

We will continue to be open for the next two weeks of the Easter holiday, including Good Friday but currently not Easter Monday.   This is a continuation of the places we have already agreed for a small number of vulnerable children or children of key workers. 

For our pupils at home, we want it to be a holiday for you so our teachers will temporarily pause providing learning activities.  Instead, some suggestions for play-based or leisure activities are being shared for you to use to support your own family and circumstances over the holiday period.  Form Tutor teams will make contact once a week over the next couple of weeks, to check in and offer any support you may require.

Take care, stay safe,

Gavin

Click here for this week’s news from Graham

You can find Dawn’s blog for the Learning Centre here

For news on our Key Stage 5 pathway groups at Medtia Square please click here

You can find my previous blog posts here