Dear Parents and Carers,

 

As we approach half-term I want to wish all of our families a peaceful and restful break.  However, before we arrive at the break there are a couple of very important updates for me to share.

Face Masks

The vast majority of students have returned looking smart and ready to learn.  I would just remind everyone about two specific parts of our uniform policy.  Firstly, acrylic or ‘false’ nails of any kind are not permitted.  Ultimately, this is for health and safety reasons: e

We have removed the requirement for students to wear face masks in either communal spaces or classrooms.  Therefore, from Monday 28th February it is no longer an expectation that students attend with a face mask and they are not expected to wear one.

We do reserve the right to reintroduce face masks as a precaution under the instruction of the local Public Health team.  I’d like to take this opportunity to once again thank everyone for supporting us by sending students with a face mask throughout the pandemic.

Uniform

From Monday 28th February students will no longer be permitted to attend the academy in their PE kits.  All students must return in full uniform every day and then get changed into their PE kit at the start of timetabled lessons.  We will be undertaking our usual uniform inspections as part of the meet and greet programme each morning.  We expect all students to return in the correct uniform every day after the half-term break.

Furthermore, I would repeat again, for the avoidance of doubt, that false nails of any kind are not permitted at the academy.  Equally, students are not allowed to wear piercings of any form at the academy.  Please can I ask parents not to take children for piercings prior to returning to the academy.  It only serves to cause discord and acrimony when we insist such piercings are removed which inevitably we will in order to uphold the uniform policy approved by the Governing Body.

The uniform list is available on our website.

#Proud Event & Manners Award

We have had two wonderful celebrations this week to recognise our students.  Firstly, on Thursday and Friday we held our inaugural #Proud Event which you may have seen on our social media page.  At the time of writing over 250 students have brought work to share that makes them proud.  This has been a wonderful opportunity for me to speak and celebrate students’ hard work and sense of achievement.  Yesterday, we gave out our Manners Award for this term.  We have been having an initiative on manners throughout the last half-term to really drive home the importance of this really vital attribute.  Yesterday we awarded those students, selected by the academy staff, who have been the best examples of great manners this half term.  Well done to everyone who has received an award.

I wish you, and your family, a wonderful break.

Yours faithfully,

Mr S Richardson
Headteacher

Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank you

We have come to the end of the first ‘staggered’ week of term and we’re back into the business of learning.  Thank you to all parents and carers who gave consent to their children doing lateral flow tests on their return.  This is a really important way that we can all do something to keep one another safe and I just want to express my thanks for your support.  Equally, thank you to everyone who has ensured that their child has returned to the Academy with a mask to wear.  Again, it’s a simple act that demonstrates that we’re doing everything we can to try and keep each other safe.

Uniform

The vast majority of students have returned looking smart and ready to learn.  I would just remind everyone about two specific parts of our uniform policy.  Firstly, acrylic or ‘false’ nails of any kind are not permitted.  Ultimately, this is for health and safety reasons: excessively long nails can be a risk to both the student wearing them and others.  Please can I ask that parents do not take students to have their nails done in this way during the term.  It only creates discord when we insist that they are removed.  Equally, can I remind parents that we do not permit the wearing of earrings.  These are long-standing elements of our uniform policy but I wanted to reiterate that as we begin the New Year.

Parking

I have been contacted by a local business – Glass Installations – who operate on Tunstall Trade Park.  They are concerned that parents may be waiting in their car park at the end of the day and putting themselves and children at risk.  The company is currently trying to address an issue it is having with HGV drivers using the car park as a turning circle.  There have been a couple of occasions where there have been ‘near-misses’ between cars, people and HGVs.  I wanted to alert parents to the risk.  I recognise parking can be challenging, but safety has to be a paramount consideration.  Can I also restate the message I sent at the end of last term about the road markings outside of the Academy and the need for parents to give appropriate consideration to local residents when collecting students at the end of the day.

Year 11

Year 11 has just 80 school days remaining from the beginning of next week; that equates to around 40 lessons in maths and English, for example.  This is a really important time for students as they prepare for their GCSEs.  It’s also a really exciting time as we build momentum towards those final exams in the summer.  As we know, and as I said in my letter earlier this week: exams are going ahead this year for the first time since 2019.  

We’re continuing to put lots of support in for our Year 11s: P6 every day to increase learning time; specialised tutoring for groups of students; and a whole range of revision materials.  By working together we can help our students to maximise their potential.  

Key things parents can be doing to help are:

• Make sure that their attendance at the Academy is excellent;
• talk to your child about their subjects;
• check that they have a revision timetable and somewhere to revise at home;
• get involved: test them on their knowledge and help them to revise;
• ensure your child has applied to college: this gives them a sense of direction.
• get in touch with us if you have any questions about how you can help.

COVID Testing

Can I again restate that it is really important for students to take two lateral flow tests each week.  This, along with mask wearing, is the best way to keep our academy open, children learning, and reduce the risk of COVID transmission.  If you don’t have sufficient tests at home for your child to test, they can obtain some from the academy.

I wish you and your family a restful weekend.

Yours faithfully,

Mr S Richardson
Headteacher

Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope you had a restful and peaceful break.  I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you and your family a happy and healthy new year.  There has been some updated guidance in relation to COVID-19 that I need to share with you.

Attendance

Attendance at the academy continues to be mandatory.  All students are expected to attend each day unless unwell or for another exceptional reason.  

Exams

Year 11 GCSE exams will go ahead this summer.  The Government is determined that the exams will take place and that students will have the opportunity to demonstrate what they know.  Our P6 programme students will continue and all students in Year 11 will remain on site until 4pm.    

Face Masks

All school age children from Year 7 to Year 11 are now required – unless medically exempt – to wear a face mask in corridors and classrooms.  Please send your child with a mask each day.  The reality is that this is the best way to minimise the transmission of COVID-19 and it is something we can all do to protect each other and our wider community.  Please make sure masks are washed regularly.

Testing

We are carrying out testing this week for returning students.  This is a really effective way to help us stop the spread of COVID-19 in the academy and the wider community.  Parents of students in Years 8-10 can still give consent for their child to have a test by completing this form.  Again, this is something we can all do to keep one another safe.  

The link to the schedule for this week’s testing is at the end of this letter.

Please can I strongly emphasise how important it is that students continue to test twice a week at home.

Isolation 

If a student tests positive for COVID following a PCR test they must:

• isolate for 7 days;
• return to the Academy on day 7 but only if they have had a negative lateral flow test on day 6 and day 7;
• continue to isolate for the full ten days if they do not have negative lateral flow tests on days 6 and 7.

If a student is a contact with a positive case, they do not need to isolate, but they must take lateral flow tests for the next 7 days to check that they have not contracted the virus.

Staffing Shortages

You will have heard lots of news stories about projected staff shortages in academies as a result of isolating teachers and support staff.  At present this is not the case here at the academy.  However, I want to let you know that, in the event that we do start to experience increased cases of the COVID-19, our number one priority will be to keep the academy open so students can continue with face-to-face learning.  It may be that students are taught by a cover teacher or their classes are combined.  It is only as a very last resort that we would move back to home learning.  We will do everything in our power to keep the academy open for learning.

What can we do together to keep students learning?

You can help us  by ensuring that your child brings a mask each day and keeps testing twice a week at home.  In the academy we will do a number of things to stop the spread of COVID like not holding whole year-group assemblies for the time being.  Together, we can successfully ensure that all of the young people can continue to learn in the academy.  We all know that this is the best place for young people: both from an academic perspective but also in terms of their general wellbeing.  

Report Positive Cases

It will help us to monitor the situation if you can continue to report confirmed cases of COVID to us using this email:  covidreporting@coopstoke.co.uk .

Thank you

I know that we are entering the third year of the pandemic now.  Inevitably, we will be reaching a point of fatigue with still more new and changing guidance.  However, I want to thank you for doing everything possible, and working with us, to ensure that we limit the spread of the virus and can keep our students learning.  

Exam certificate | Summer 2021

We will be posting Exam Certificates royal mail 2^nd class  “signed for”, this means that someone must sign for receipt of the delivery.

We will post them to the postal address we hold on our management information system, if you have changed your address and did not inform the academy could you please inform the Academy by email  stok-enquiries@coopacademies.co.uk  before 30th November 2021.

The Academy will not be held responsible for any certificates that have gone to an incorrect address or signed for by another person who is not the addressee or a member of their family.

The certificates will be posted out from the end of November 2021.

You will need these very important documents; most employers will ask to see your exam certificates as proof of your qualifications.

The Academy will not be responsible for replacing or payment of any lost or not delivered certificates.

To replace exam certificates a typical cost and website link details are below for your information:

AQA  £43:00

https://www.aqa.org.uk/contact-us/past-results-and-lost-certificates

OCR  £49:00

https://www.ocr.org.uk/students/replacement-certificates/

Pearson/Edexcel  £47:00

https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/support/Services/certificate-services/replacement-documents.html

WJEC  confirmation letter £30:00

https://www.wjec.co.uk/home/student-support/replacement-exam-certificates/

ncfe £35:00

https://www.ncfe.org.uk/learners/replacement-certificates

Dear Parents and Carers,

We have reached the end of another week, and yet again, it has been a real pleasure to see our students working hard with their teachers.  As I said last week, we’re focusing this year entirely on doing those things that really matter: quality classroom teaching; a revitalised extra-curricular programme; and making sure all of our students are supported to be the very best that they can.

Mobile Phones 

I’d like to remind you that we have had a really clear policy on mobile phones for a number of years now.  In short: mobile phones are not to be seen or used during the hours of the Academy day.  Mobile phones are an unwelcome source of distraction and, on occasion, conflict for young people.  Our role is to ensure students can learn in a safe and secure environment free from distractions and conflict.  I have made clear to students that where we see mobile phones, this is reported, and the phone is then confiscated by a Year Manager or senior leader.  We have adopted a very clear line on this in order to make sure there is no confusion about our expectations in this regard. 

This is a policy that applies to all students at the Academy.

Year 11 GCSE Preparation Exams

This term is absolutely crucial for our Year 11 students.  We fully expect exams to take place at the end of the year for GCSE students.  It might be easy for students to wonder whether we will see, as we have in the last two years, a cancellation of exams.  I do not expect that to be the case.  

In turn, the first set of GCSE Preparation Exams will begin on Monday 4th of October for all  Year 11 students.  The timetable is at the end of this letter.  This is a really important first milestone for Year 11 and  students need to take ownership of their revision for these exams: planning ‘what’, ‘when’ and ‘how’ they will prepare.  

Year 11 Study Plus Programme

Our Study Plus timetable (see the end of this letter) is ready to launch from Monday.  This is one of the ways that we will be supporting students to prepare for their exams with confidence.

Attendance is compulsory.  

This is a key part of our educational recovery strategy and means our Year 11 students get even more time with their teachers.  Confidence is really important to anyone approaching exams and this time will be designed to build students’ confidence and ensure they can achieve.

Open Evening

Last night we held our first in-person Open Evening since the pandemic.  One of the real highlights for me was to watch our student volunteers talking to prospective parents and carers about what life is like here at the Academy.  They were a real credit and I wanted to thank you for your support in ensuring that they could attend the event.  Our greatest ambassadors are our students and they make a real difference at events of this kind.  I’d like to specifically congratulate Carla and Mehrab in Year 11 who addressed the parents following my speech.  They spoke with real confidence and conviction about their time here at the Academy.  Congratulations to them.  It was a fantastic event.  

I wish you and your family a restful weekend.

Yours faithfully,