Tuesday 17 March 2020

Pupils are expected to attend school as normal unless they have a new continuous cough and/or high temperature (read Public Health England Stay at Home Guidance). If your child or anyone in your household has these symptoms, you should all stay at home and not leave the house for 14 days. Notify the school of absence in the normal way and please make sure you let us know if you are self-isolating as a result of symptoms linked to COVID-19.

We will only close the school on the advice we receive from the government or if we are instructed to do so by Public Health England (PHE).

We recognise these are unprecedented circumstances. Please continue to read our newsletters and visit our website www.deerparkschool.net to ensure you receive our latest updates.

If we need to close the school

We are keen to ensure that if we need to close the school all of our pupils are able to continue their education and we are, therefore, planning for staff and pupils to work and learn remotely.

As a part of our emergency planning, should we need to close, we have drafted a provisional interim timetable as a guide for pupils to follow in the short term.  This is based on a minimum of 3 hours a day for pupils in Years 7, 8 and 9 and a minimum of 4 hours a day for pupils in Years 10 and 11.  It covers the breadth of the school’s curriculum and reflects our pupils' option choices in Key Stage 4.

In addition to this, pupils in Year 11 are expected to focus on their revision and prepare for their exams.  They are welcome to contact their teachers by email regarding the areas where they feel less confident.  This will help teachers provide more precisely targeted support.  We will provide advice and guidance on arrangements for the GCSE examinations.

In the short term we plan for teachers to set and assign lessons and activities in Show My Homework (SMHW) for pupils in their classes to complete independently. See our Show My Homework page for guidance on how to use SMHW. Teachers will provide relevant and meaningful tasks and will signpost resources.  These may include textbooks and revision books and websites such as Kerboodle, Seneca and BBC Bitesize.

In the event of a school closure our pupils will be expected to:

• Take responsibility for their own learning;
• Check SMHW and their school emails daily for notifications, instructions, and feedback;
• Spend a minimum of 3 or 4 hours a day on lesson activities and tasks set by their teachers;
• Complete all tasks on paper or online as required, meet deadlines and submit finished work to their teachers;
• Engage in any other learning activities their teachers have prepared, including extended tasks;
• Read for a minimum of 30 minutes a day;
• Apply the transferrable skills they have developed and be resilient and resourceful;
• Show us what they can achieve!

We would we grateful if you could ensure your son/daughter:

• Is able to access SMHW and his/her school email and routinely checks these;
• Has an appropriate space in which he/she can learn independently;
• Engages in the lessons and learning opportunities provided by his/her teachers;
• Spends 3-4 hours learning each day and completes all tasks on time;
• Keeps in touch with his/her teachers.

Thank you for your cooperation and understanding. Please contact Miss Brace or Mrs Lang if your child cannot access SMHW.  We will continue to monitor our pupils’ progress and follow the advice and guidance provided for schools, both locally and nationally.  Should any school closure be for an extended period of time, we plan to adapt our strategies accordingly.

Chiquita Henson, Headteacher

Useful links:

• Gov.uk - coronavirus
• NHS - coronavirus