Headteachers Letter – 2nd July 2021

Dear parents and carers,

As we approach the end of the academic year, I feel it is very important to remind ourselves and our students that despite many challenges we have had a successful year. It certainly has been a year like no other and students should be proud of the resilience they have shown in managing the variability and restrictions that have been a consequence of the Corona Virus pandemic.

We are awaiting government guidance regarding the closure of bubbles in schools and will keep you fully informed regarding this guidance once it is available. Our intention is that school will be back to something more familiar in September and we are planning for that eventuality. I will send out a special communication with full details for September once we have all information in place to do so. This will include plans for the September start, a reminder of expectations for uniform, mobile phones and behaviour. We will get this to you at the earliest opportunity.

What we are able to share at this stage are the planned dates for the September start. It has been unfortunate that for the second year in a row we have been unable to host our incoming Year 7s for their traditional transition days. This means that in September we will have two year groups who will need to be inducted into Wollaston School, with the Year 7s and 8s needing some time to adjust to a new school and the practicalities of school life such as finding their way around!

With this in mind we have taken the decision to use a staggered start to term, much like we used last September, please see details below:

Coronavirus

We did receive notice this week of two positive student cases that unfortunately resulted in some students needing to self-isolate. Can I please thank all of those students involved for their maturity whilst waiting to be picked up.

We are pleased to report no further transmission as a result of school notified self-isolations.  We do still have a number of students self-isolating with family members or positive test results as a result of household transmission and we send all best wishes to the students and families affected.

Regular lateral flow testing remains crucially important to keeping Wollaston School as safe as possible.  Please can students continue to test twice weekly (ideally on Wednesday and Sunday evenings) and record the results HERE

We greatly appreciate your support.

 

Final Two Weeks of Term

As we approach the final two weeks of the year, we have been reflecting in assemblies and form times on having a really positive end to a challenging year. We have been looking specifically at the power of making positive choices and encouraging all student to be self-aware of the power that positive choices not only have on themselves but also others. With this in mind, please do encourage your child to maintain their high standards particularly around their punctuality, uniform and attitude to learning.

 

Pastoral Services

We are very excited to announce that from September pastoral care at Wollaston School will have a new look and our current student managers will be taking on exciting new roles that will allow us to provide our students and families with the very best pastoral care. Whilst this will signal a change for families, particularly families who have worked closely with specific student managers, we are excited for the opportunity the change in structure will afford staff to specialise in specific areas. Regardless of structural change, our approach to pastoral care will remain the same and we will continue to work with kindness and integrity with our students and families. Full details will be included in the communications about the September start.

 

Warm Weather Arrangements

As we hopefully get some warmer weather, students are permitted to wear a plain hat or cap during break or lunch and are encouraged to stay hydrated. Please remind your child access to water fountains will only be allowed outside of lesson times and they need to make sure they take the opportunities at break and lunch to refill water bottles.

 

Yours faithfully

Simon Anderson

Senior Deputy Head and Head of School