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Headteacher’s letter 21.6.24

21st June 2024

Dear families,

As the examination period draws to an end, we find ourselves preparing for the arrival of new cohorts of students who will be joining us in September in Years 7 and 12. This is an exciting time as we welcome new families into our school community. It is also a vibrant time of the year for our current students with a number of events taking place, new additions to the enrichment programme and trips abroad as well as in the UK.

New Year 7 induction

Every year on the first Friday of July secondary schools in Tower Hamlets hold their Year 7 induction days. We look forward to meeting our 208 new students who have secured their places from over 1000 applications. Please note that we are holding open mornings in the autumn term for applications for the academic year 2025-26. Bookings must be made and all information is available on our school website – HERE.  

Sixth Form Orientation

For students who have received offers for a place at Stepney All Saints Sixth Form, during the week beginning Monday 24th June 2024 a series of induction events take place. We have an exciting and challenging programme of events ready to inspire our new Year 12’s as they begin their A-level and BTEC courses. Details have been sent out to all those involved.

Safeguarding update

All schools in the UK have recently been sent information from the National Crime Agency, raising awareness of the recent rise in reporting of financially motivated sexual extortion (a type of online blackmail often known in the media as ‘sextortion’). Children and young people worldwide are being targeted.

This type of crime involves an adult offender (often from an organised crime group based overseas) threatening to release nude or semi-nude images and/or videos of a child or young person, unless they pay money, or meet another financial demand, such as purchasing a pre-paid gift card.

Victims of any age and gender can be targets, however a large proportion of cases have involved male victims aged 14-18. Nevertheless, it is important to bear in mind that this could potentially happen to any child. A child or young person is never to blame if they have been a victim. Offenders will have tricked, groomed and/or manipulated them into sharing an image. To find out more about online blackmail please visit CEOP Education’s parents and carers website and the full text of the letter from the National Crime Agency can be found on our website HERE.

Girls to the World: Letters for Change

I would like to congratulate Aqila, one of our Year 9 students, for recently having a letter published in a book titled “Girls to the World: Letters for Change”. Published by the Women of the World organisation which celebrates women and girls, the publication takes a look at the obstacles faced as our society works towards gender equality. We are extremely proud of Aqila’s achievement and commitment. If you would like to purchase the book, it is available on the following link – HERE.

Culture Day

Our Culture Day this year takes place on Friday 28th June. This is an amazing opportunity for students and staff to share, learn and celebrate the different cultures that make up our wonderful community. On the day there will be a range of quizzes, form time activities, a musical performance and the chance to sample a range of international dishes during lunch time. As part of our Culture Day celebrations, students are invited to wear cultural dress or an item that represents their culture with their uniform. Please note that this is NOT non uniform day. Students who do not wish to participate must wear their school uniform. Lessons will take place as normal and students must ensure that they have the correct equipment for the day e.g. laptop, PE kit, etc. More details will be shared with students during form time.

Parent Survey

Thank you for completing the parent surveys over the course of the year. There were over 1000 responses. I am pleased to confirm the outcomes as overwhelmingly positive for our school. The figures are a superb endorsement of our work and our community, and I am proud of what our students and staff have achieved. There were also very many positive free-text comments for which I thank you wholeheartedly. A document setting out the full outcomes of the survey can be found HERE. Where concerns have been raised, I have asked members of the senior leadership team to review these and to address any concerns. Thank you for your constructive feedback where you have been able to give it.

Online Safety – Disinformation

Keeping abreast of the latest developments in technology can be difficult for families. We continue to share updates on issues where families can provide support.  Guiding our young people in developing safe online behaviour is of great importance and with this in mind, we have posted an update on concerns about online disinformation and how to navigate this area. This can be found HERE.

Rewards

Congratulations to Muzzammil Khan who is top of the rewards points chart for the whole school. In second and third positions we have a further two Year 8 students; Amelia Rodrigues and Shakib Abdus who are showing great commitment to their studies and the SASS Way. Top in Year 7 we have Eyashfi Mahbub, in Year 9 we have Hannah Benson, and in Year 10 Yusuf Islam. You are all a credit to the school. Keep up the good work!

Key Events for this term

The calendar on our website is regularly updated and contains dates of activities and events that are taking place in school. Key dates for the coming weeks are listed below. I would also like to remind you of the range of enrichment activities on offer to students and the summer term programme can be found HERE.

To remain up to date on all school news, click HERE . You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @StepneyAS for a wealth of content from students and staff.

As always, thank you for your continued support. Please do get in touch if there is any aspect of our provision that you would like to discuss.

Yours sincerely,

Paul Woods, Headteacher