Headteacher’s Letter 25.03.21
25th March 2021
Dear parents and carers,
We have enjoyed an excellent return to school following the lockdown and I would like to extend my continued thanks for your support in ensuring such high levels of student attendance, correctly worn school uniform and completion of homework tasks. We do not underestimate the hard work and effort the parents put into helping their children excel at school, and our successes can be attributed to this collaborative approach.
Attendance
Every day really does count in your child’s progress and we are always proud to say our attendance figures remain ‘outstanding’ year on year. With your support, we are aiming to maintain or even better our figures by the end of the academic year. We also pride ourselves in having a low unauthorised attendance figure and ask you to support us with our procedures by contacting the school either by letter or phone call to explain your child’s absence.
Uniform
Uniform gives our students a sense of belonging and creates an identity for the school in the community. You will have seen in my recent communication to parents about the ‘Rule of Blue’ expectation for all students following the Easter holiday.
Parents are able to purchase uniform items via Parent Pay. Once the order is prepared, uniform will be distributed to students in school at the end of the school day, on their relevant collection day. For further information regarding school uniform, please visit the school website – https://www.stepneyallsaints.school/for-parents/school-rules-and-information/uniformequipment-list/
Enrichment
We have already resumed a number of after school activities, in particular for outdoor sports. Following the Easter holiday, a full programme will resume in year bubbles. Details will be shared with students via their head of year and tutor and details will be posted on the school website.
Free School Meal Vouchers
As per the government’s COVID Winter Grant Scheme, we have issued an Asda free school meal voucher worth £25 to those students who are eligible for free school meals. Vouchers will be sent to the same email address that they were sent to previously during the school closure, and should arrive on 29th March.
LFT Home Testing Kits
All students have been provided with sufficient COVID-19 home testing kits which they should continue to use twice weekly during the Easter holiday. I have previously shared information with you regarding home testing, and this information still applies. Information can be viewed on the school website – https://www.stepneyallsaints.school/home-test-kits-information-for-parents/
RSE Consultation
We have recently planned changes to the way in which we will deliver RSE (Relationship and Sex Education) within our PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education) programme. These changes have been made so as to ensure that we meet the requirements of the new Relationship and Sex Education legislation from the Department for Education. In line with government guidance, we are conducting a parent consultation regarding our RSE policy and the resources that we are planning to use in the Summer Term 2021. The consultation will be open for a period of one week, and will close on Thursday 1st April. As part of the consultation we have worked closely with Tower Hamlets to provide a series of FAQs and you will also have an opportunity to submit any further questions.
The following link will provide you with information about what we are planning to teach for each year group and why it is important that we teach it.
https://www.stepneyallsaints.school/rse-parental-consultation/
Key Dates
Key dates for the coming term are listed below. Please check our website and social media feeds @StepneyAS for regular updates on events.
Spring Term
Last day of Spring Term Friday 26th March 2021
Summer Term
Start of the summer term for students Monday 12th April 2021
Summer Half Term Holiday Monday 31st May – Friday 4th June 2021
Last day of Summer Term Friday 16th July 2021
The remaining days of this term will be particularly busy for students preparing for assessments and before we know it the forty days of Lent will have passed, and it will be Easter. As always, I would like to thank you for your support and if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us via email on info@stepneyallsaints.school
Yours sincerely,
Paul Woods
Headteacher