Headteacher’s Update – April 3rd 2020

Two weeks since closure and I very much hope everyone has managed to stay in good health.

Thank you for all the support that you are giving your children with the work that is being emailed out each day. Establishing learning routines at home can be a bit of challenge (I know this from bitter experience with my own kids) and I really appreciate the hard work that you are likely be putting in to make sure your child completes the daily activities that we are setting.

Teachers are getting familiar with new routines and new ways of delivering learning. We are talking to each other a lot and this is really helping us to develop and refine our practice. The school is making use of a variety of online platforms and resources. We’ve learnt how to use Microsoft Teams; this means we are able to communicate and consult effectively when reviewing and responding to the changing demands of our current situation.

A great deal has changed in the last two weeks and the school is now working to a different set of priorities to those of a fortnight ago. These are:

• Providing places to vulnerable children and children of workers critical to the Covid-19 response
• Working with parents, families and the LA to deliver services required both in and out of school
• Making decisions about staffing and school capacity
• Providing support, activities and education to students at home
• Monitoring wellbeing and welfare of students.

Staff have been fantastic; their response to these new priorities has been outstanding. I have always felt very fortunate to be the Head of a school in which staff are so committed to the children … but this commitment has been taken to another level during the Covid-19 crisis. Colleagues continue to come into school to work with the children of key workers and those with EHCPs, hundreds of welfare checks are being carried out daily, food parcels are being distributed to families in need, work is being dropped to homes where there is limited access to IT and we are continuing to develop creative ways to promote wellbeing during the school closure.

We are keeping ‘on top of things’ but we are not complacent. I am in regular contact with the Local Authority and other Secondary Headteachers in Brighton. They keep me informed of developments across the city and offer support and guidance about dealing with a myriad of issues and concerns that very few, if any, of us have had to deal with before. It is great to be working in a community that has so effectively pulled together in these challenging times.

Today marks the start of the Easter Holiday and had children been in school this would have been the last day of term. This means that for the next couple of weeks students will not be emailed daily with work from their teachers. However, this does not mean the learning has to stop. I would definitely recommend that all students continue to set aside time to read each day, review some of their learning using SENECA and perhaps watch some of films we have suggested in the Wellbeing Handbook. In addition, if you click on the following links they will take you to some optional leaning opportunities (Maths, English and Science) that your child might want to try.

And … our daily workouts will continue to be broadcast throughout the next two weeks!

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any concerns. We can be reached via email, and phone calls to the school between 8:30am and 3pm during the Holiday will be answered by our duty receptionist.

Take care!

John McKee