Headteachers Letter – 10th September 2021

Dear parents and carers.

With the return to school of Years 9 & 10, this week has certainly been one of significance for staff and students alike. It has been a tremendous week with all year groups assimilating back into normal school life and it is wonderful to walk the school and see students enjoying lessons and having full access to our facilities. Over 5000 positive events have been logged on Go4Schools by staff since September 3rd – a remarkable number that gives an indication of how our students have come back to school  with a fantastic attitude.

 

Reflective Journals

If your child is anything like my 14 year old,  getting any information about their school day can be a thankless task! However, this year we have introduced reflective journals into our pastoral curriculum and this may give you an easy opportunity to find out more about their week. All students in years 7-11 will spend one registration period per week completing the reflective journal. During this session they will consider the aspects of the week that have gone well and what they feel they have achieved, but also to set some accomplishable targets for the following week. Having the opportunity to rehearse this at home with the family will encourage their self-esteem and their ability to self-manage and hopefully make for some interesting dinner conversation! The objective of the journal is to keep at the forefront of their minds that they are active agents in determining how successful they are and also to remind them that there are a number of support networks, both in school and in the community, that can enable them to achieve success.

 

Covid Testing

I am pleased to say that we have now completed the second round of lateral flow tests with all year groups. In total we administered 2038 tests with 3 asymptomatic students testing positive on the lateral flow tests. In subsequent PCR tests those students have tested positive for Covid-19. This demonstrates the importance of the twice weekly lateral flow tests that the government guidance asks that staff and students follow. We would ask that as per last year, tests are completed on a Wednesday and a Sunday.  Having said that, we are experiencing a delay in the delivery of lateral flow tests to send home- we expect to have these with students by the middle of next week. Thank you also to our parental volunteers without whose help we would not have been able to run such an efficient process.

 

Buses

Thank you to students and parents for their patience with regard to the few issues we have had with the buses this week in terms of capacity issues and breakdowns! We are in close contact with the Schools’ Transport Team to ensure that the service they provide is of the standard that we expect. If your child does use a school bus to travel to and from school, please do remind them that expectations of their conduct on the bus is the same as with any form of public transport: they are expected to be seated for the duration of the journey and also that they represent Wollaston School with exemplary behaviour.

 

Uniform

Form tutors have been working hard this week to ensure that all students are suitably attired as per our uniform policy. This will continue into next week and we ask parents to please support the ethos and the high standards, we have with uniform and check that your child is appropriately dressed for school. I have noticed a few students this week who have been confused with the arrangements for PE and have worn their PE kit to school. If I could take this opportunity to reiterate that students should now bring their PE kit to school to change for PE lessons.

 

Open Evening 2021

The time is rapidly approaching for our annual open evening for prospective parents, which takes place on Thursday, 30th September 2021. We are looking forward to demonstrating all that is wonderful about Wollaston School and of course the central aspect of this is our students. Faculties and subject areas will invite students into school for the evening to talk about their learning, their experiences, and to demonstrate all that they have gained from an education at Wollaston School.

We also use Sixth Form and Year 11 students as tour guides and to welcome the new parents and children to our school. If your child is invited to take on a role during open evening, we greatly appreciate your support in facilitating their attendance and providing transport to and from school. Letters will be issued to all students invited, with full details and a consent form. Thank you for your support in advance, we know that visitors to our school are always impressed with our students and we believe that our children are the very best advocates for Wollaston School.

 

Meet the Tutor Evenings 2021 for Years 7 and 12

September 23rd will bring the opportunity for Year 7 and Year 12 parents to meet their child’s form tutor and to find out how the term has started and to ask any question that they may have. Please look out for correspondence from the year team regarding this.

 

Parking & Driving Close to the School Site

The first days back at school are always busy and this has led to some considerable congestion in the local residential area immediately before and after the school day. We are of course concerned with being good neighbours and want to ensure that any congestion is kept to a minimum. We are particularly concerned that some roads close to the school may be virtually impassable for emergency services if required, which could lead to a potentially dangerous situation, particularly as we have a number of elderly residents in our locality.

In order to alleviate the issue, we would be grateful if parents and families could ensure that:

  • When parking or waiting for students, you do not block driveways, park on corners or double park on both sides of the road.
  • Residents’ drives and properties are not used as a place to turn around or wait for students.
  • A sensible speed is maintained when driving close to the site. This is not only for the benefit of residents, but also for our students leaving at the end of the day.
  • Students are encouraged to walk to school when safe and practical to do so. We always recommend walking in pairs or small groups as a safety measure.

Families are also reminded that the site is considerably less busy after 3.15pm once the buses have left. Students are able to wait inside the canteen or library during this time, and then collection can occur at a less busy time. Thank you in advance for your support in this matter, it is much appreciated. There are no easy solutions to ensuring 1450 students leave with no congestion, but consideration and small measures can make a big difference.

Kind regards

Simon Anderson

Head of School and Senior Deputy Headteacher