Headteacher’s Letter – 2nd February 2021
2nd February 2021
Dear parents and carers,
I would like to extend my thanks to all students and parents for their full support and engagement during these first few weeks of 2021 – amidst difficult circumstances, parents, staff and students have made huge progress with remote learning. The introduction of live lessons has been met with overwhelming positivity and we are glad that this is enabling our students to maintain structure and continuity in their education, as well as providing valuable interaction with their peers and teachers. I would like to thank all those parents who have written to us with kind messages of support and gratitude – these are always very warmly received by our staff who are working hard to support the children in our care.
Consultation on a proposed move to a two week half term holiday in the autumn term
Firstly, I am writing to consult on the proposed change to increase the autumn half term holiday to two weeks instead of one. The autumn term is disproportionately long when compared to the spring and summer terms. We have confidence that an extended half term in the autumn will positively impact on staff and student morale, the quality of learning and teaching and lead to a reduction in absence during this term. This in turn will have a positive impact on student outcomes. The term dates we propose are in line with the Tower Hamlets suggested dates.
The proposed school term dates as of September 2021 are:
Autumn Term
1st September 2021 – 17th December 2021 (1st – Inset Day, 2nd – Induction Day)
Half Term: 25th October – 5th November 2021 (2 weeks)
Spring Term
4th January 2022 – 5th April 2022
Half Term: 14th – 18th February 2022
Summer Term
18th April -22nd July 2022
Half Term: 30th May – 3rd June 2022
End of academic year 2022: 22nd July 2022
As you can see from the table of dates above, if we proceed with this proposal, we will nonetheless finish the school year in line with the window for term dates published by Tower Hamlets, and thus is line with other schools. This includes the usual holiday dates for both Eid Al-Adha and Eid Al-Fitr. Governors and I believe that this change will be beneficial to the school community and will have an encouraging effect on your child’s education.
I appreciate these changes may affect you, and welcome your feedback. Should you have any comments, positive or negative on this proposal or require further clarity, please send your response in writing to info@stepneyallsaints.school by Friday 19th February. We will consult with the governing body and will share the outcome of the proposal with you after the February half term.
Re-opening of Schools
In his announcement to Parliament last week, the Prime Minister confirmed that schools would not re-open before Monday 8th March 2021 and that this will be dependent upon a number of different factors, including infection rates and how successfully the Government has delivered its vaccination programme. We will receive two weeks’ notice of reopening and it is quite likely that students will return on a phased basis. In the meantime, we ask that everyone continues to do as they are doing and remain fully engaged with online learning.
SIMS Parent App
A reminder to all parents who have not yet downloaded the SIMS Parent App to do as soon as possible. This is an important communication tool between the school and our parents. Going forward we will be using this app to send out any important messages. You should receive an invitation code from noreply@sims.co.uk . If you have not received this in your inbox, please check your junk mail for the invitation code. For further information about the sims parent app please visit our website – https://www.stepneyallsaints.school/for-parents/useful-school-links/parent-view-app/
Laptops during lockdown
To date we have distributed a total of 427 laptops, and our staff are still working their way through distributing more to those who have requested one. We appreciate your patience whilst we receive our additional laptops from the DfE, prepare them with the relevant software and distribute them to all students who need one as soon as possible, to support our students during the lockdown. We hope to have all laptops out by the end of next week.
Safer Internet Day – 9TH February 2021
Technology and the ability to use the internet have never been more important in our lives, but awareness of the risks and how to avoid them are essential. Every year we mark Safer Internet Day in our school and students in Years 7-11 have all had a recent PSHE lesson to mark the event on issues ranging from cyberbullying to critical thinking and fact checking. We have also been posting advice for parents on the school website and our social media. Our most recent post can be found here – https://www.stepneyallsaints.school/online-safety-at-home/ Please do take some time to read through the guidance and to have a conversation with your child.
Key Events for this Academic Year
All dates can be found on the school website, however, below are key dates for the coming weeks. Please check our website and social media feeds for regular updates @StepneyAS (Twitter and Facebook).
Spring Term
Spring Half Term Holiday Monday 15th February – Friday 19th February 2021
Year 9 Options Evening Wednesday 10th February 2021
Last day of Spring Term Friday 26th March 2021
Stepney Green Coat Primary
We are currently lending one of our school buildings as the premises for Stepney Greencoat Primary School, who would have otherwise had to close their school to vulnerable and key worker children due to an issue with the school heating system. These students are within their own bubble and will be kept separately from our staff and students currently on-site.
Thank you for your continued support.
Yours sincerely,
Paul Woods
Headteacher