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Coronavirous (Covid-19) - UPDATE

Update 20/3/20

Dear Parent/Carer

I want to say how grateful I am to the dedicated team of staff at Bedwas High School who have shown great resilience throughout this difficult period. We have all worked hard, supporting each other and the students to ensure that the school has continue to operate as normal as has been possible. We are living through unprecedented times and the situation remains fluid. At the current time we have no guidance as to when schools will reopen. I would urge you all to follow our school Twitter feed where I will post any updates as and when they become available. Please look at our website often.

I fully appreciate the fact that all parents and students are waiting for further information and clarity following the decisions to close schools and also to cancel the summer examination series in England and Wales. Not running exams, of course, is incredibly disappointing (yet understandable) for everyone, especially pupils and staff, who have worked so hard to prepare and find themselves unsure and anxious about what to do next. Parents/carers of children affected will have so many questions which we simply cannot answer at the moment. I know that the examination boards and qualifications regulators will be determining ways of awarding grades to learners this year. However, at this point, it would be unwise and unhelpful to speculate on the process. It is difficult to respond to individual queries about exams and the awarding of grades until the situation becomes clearer.  In school, we will be working hard to ensure that any judgements or predictions we are required to make do not disadvantage our learners. We will use all the information we have in order to do this. In the meantime, we have been providing emotional support for pupils in Years 10 to 13, most of whom are anxious about what lies ahead. We have advised them to continue working and studying, using the online materials which have been provided for them. Pupils may wish to follow their current timetable in order to organise their time at home.

I would urge you to ensure that pupils complete the work provided – either online or through books and that the work is returned to school when pupils return. This will allow teachers to assess the progress that has been made. In addition to this, there are a wide range of useful learning websites to support home learning on our website under ‘Latest News’. Should the school closures last for an extended period then the amount of work provided for pupils will be increased. This information will be communicated to you via Google Classroom through Hwb. Of course, there are so many things that pupils can be doing at home to develop their learning through real life activities from baking a cake to undertaking an exercise programme on YouTube.

The Local Authority is currently in the process of putting contingency measures in place to support parents who work in the Emergency Services, NHS and Social Care settings amongst others. At this time, I am unable to clarify what these contingencies will be but the information you provide will assist with decision making processes. The Local Authority is looking to provide food for those children who are eligible for Free School Meals whilst the schools are closed. If you wish to receive this service then please contact bridgesinwork@caerphilly.gov.uk. Schools will be deployed for a ‘different purpose’ from next week, in order to support the community through this national emergency. I have informed all staff at Bedwas High School that we need to be available to support in ways that have not yet been determined or communicated to us. We will do everything we can to respond and contribute to this effort.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your patience, understanding and kind words during this very challenging time. The support we have received from parents/carers and the community has been uplifting for all staff and children. Throughout this period please look after yourselves; the Coronavirus will pass, schools will reopen, and things will gradually return to normal. Where possible, enjoy family moments together, and perhaps most importantly, a smile. Look after yourselves and each other. 

I am so grateful for your patience and forbearance during this exceptionally challenging period. Please stay safe and follow the guidance below.

Yours faithfully

Stephen Diehl

Sources of general guidance

Welsh Government coronavirus website:
https://gov.wales/coronavirus-covid19

Welsh Government guidance for educational settings:

https://gov.wales/education-coronavirus

COVID-19: travel guidance for the education sector:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-educational-settings-about-covid-19/covid-19-travel-guidance-for-the-education-sector

Guidance on social distancing:  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-on-social-distancing-and-for-vulnerable-people/guidance-on-social-distancing-for-everyone-in-the-uk-and-protecting-older-people-and-vulnerable-adults

Public Health England and Public Health Wales websites

https://phw.nhs.wales/topics/latest-information-on-novel-coronavirus-covid-19/

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/public-health-england

LATEST ESTYN MONITORING REPORT

Following their latest visit to school on 26-28 March, Estyn have released their report acknowledging that the school has made some real improvement in many important areas and have removed the school from any further monitoring activities.

Whilst this is clearly a very important step forward for the school we will continue in our improvement journey ensuring that we provide the best possible educational experience for all of our pupils now and in the future.

A copy of the full feedback report can be found below.

Dear Parents,

RE: Year 8 Option Choices 2020-21 Free Choice Survey

I hope you are all keeping well. Due to the disruption caused by the Coronavirus, we are having to adapt our plans for the Year 8 options process. With the uncertainty surrounding our return to school, any planning we make could now could also be changed in the near future.

However, the first step in planning the option blocks is to complete a free choice survey. This can be completed on phone or computer. The link for this is here:

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=USzWfcKrok-1WuPxxHKZkWFK9mLEeiNHuo51FF9JUKlUMTY4UVA1TlU4OVhFMEFDT0QzREcxQ1hEWi4u

This is a simple survey that asks for three choices from pupils. It isn’t the final choice, but allows us to put subjects in the best possible order to minimise the number of clashes on the timetable.

The deadline for responses on the free choice survey is Friday 3^rd April at 3.00pm.

I fully appreciate that pupils haven’t had the same amount of information as previous years because of the current disruption. However, we plan to put the options booklet onto our school website as soon as possible. This will support pupil’s choices when they decide on their final options.

Currently, I am unable to give you an exact date for the final choice as this is dependent on government decisions about the opening of schools.

Please do not hesitate to contact me at stanct@bedwashigh.org if there are any issues or if you need further information about the options process.

Yours sincerely,

Mr. T. Stancombe

Senior Assistant Headteacher

Miss S Price

Standards Manager Year 8

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