Y6 into 7 Open Events
Potential Sixth Form Closure
Students and facilities at William Brookes School in Much Wenlock, Shropshire

PD Day 4th January 2021

(Posted on 18/12/20)

Dear Parents and Carers,

Following new government guidance issued last night I am confirming that:

  • The government have issued us with an extra PD day to help prepare for the testing requirements and this will take place on 4th January. No students will be in school on that day
  • We will only be open to Year 11, 12 & 13 students from Tuesday 5th January and children deemed vulnerable, pupil premium, have an EHCP or children of critical workers.
  • If your child is in Years 7-10 and they fit one of these categories, a form has been sent to you by email, please complete the form by 23rd December or copy and paste this link into your browser bar

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=XkySU_BWBUSFAHtYpaQY8twgF-r2t-hFm6N_knOEwr9UN1cyMFpPUE9QODJBT05DWUoxWFU3WFdMTi4u Work in school for these students in Y7-10 will be via online TEAMS work as they would have done at home.

  • We will invite Y7 students into school from Thursday 7th January, with all other students starting back on Monday 11th January.

Although there is a promise of rapid testing (test results take 30 minutes to come through for each child) we are unlikely to have capacity to test all students immediately, if at all and we may only move to test those who have been identified as close contacts. Participation will be entirely voluntary and we will send out permission request letters once the templates have arrived from the Department of Education. The Government are expected to recruit a ‘testing team’ made up of volunteers and led by army support to achieve this task. Our current zoning of school and the specifications needed for the test site, holding areas and disposal of tests is proving to be a huge logistical challenge. I will send a separate letter with regard to testing once we have more information.

Our current operating plan has ensured we have had relatively low levels of positive cases and we have remained open to all year groups apart from Year 11 and 12 who had to self-isolate for two weeks in the middle of term. Our focus will continue to be on students and staff adhering closely to the wearing of face masks, maintaining the distance and high standards of personal hygiene. Please emphasise the importance of your child(ren) following these guidelines when they return in January as they will be our primary focus, in your discussion with them before they return.

Remote Learning

For Years 7-10 we will be providing a range of remote learning for the first week of term. Their first point of contact should be TEAMS where staff will either post activities and resources or there will be a message to signpost them to a Teams lesson in Y7-9. In Y10 we will deliver live lessons as per their normal timetabled lessons. Access to a phone, tablet, laptop or computer will be needed. We have invested in a limited number from school funds but unfortunately cannot afford to provide these for all and these devices will have to be prioritised for families in need. If your child has stated they do not have a suitable device a member of staff will be in touch either today or on 4th January.

Students in Years 7-10

To help support them with accessing Teams as an online platform for live or recorded lessons students will receive a tutorial reminder of how to tackle this. This tutorial will be available on the school website so either they or yourselves can refer back to it if needed.

We will send out more information on Monday 4th January 2021 when we will know more.