JSTC UPDATE ** 06/04/20 ** 14:52
The list of key workers is now available and can be accessed here.
Please note the Government guidance within the key worker list that states;
Please be advised that Administration staff are available via telephone between 08:30 and 11:30 Monday to Friday.
Government advice is to keep children away from school to help stop spread of coronavirus within the community especially to those with underlying conditions such as asthma.
For those attending school (either through vulnerable classification where school has contacted parents or who are children of key workers) students should wear uniform and bring PE kit.
Please also bring contact details for parents including employer telephone numbers.
‘The most recent advice on how to further limit the spread of COVIC-19 is clear. If children can stay safely at home, they should, to limit the chance of the virus spreading’. That is why the Government has asked parents to keep their children at home, wherever possible, and asked school to remain open only for those children who absolutely need to attend…the fewer children making the journey to school, and the fewer children in educational settings, the lower the risk that the virus can spread and infect vulnerable individuals in wider society’
Children in the vulnerable category can be identified by the school and these parents will be contacted today. If you are not contacted your child is not in the vulnerable category. If you think that you should have received a call do not send your child into school but call the school on Monday 23 March.
Selection of KS4 courses – ‘Options’
13th March 2020
JSTC Coronavirus - Letter to Parents
13th March 2020
Government Key - Worker Details
20th March 2020
19th March 2020
20th March 2020
Free School Meals - New Claims
6th April 2020
Managing Abusive People Online
6th April 2020
Children’s guide to the Coronavirus
6th April 2020
Thinkuknow - Parents Helpsheet
6th April 2020
Children attending school must not present with cough and/or fever/high temperature. If they were sent home for those reasons when the school was last open they should still be self-isolating. If anyone in your household is self-isolating your child should remain with you at home for the recommended period (see Government guidelines).
The school will be operating with unknown numbers of staff each day. The children who attend school will be supervised with activities that can be provided based on the staff who are able to attend. This may not be a teacher. Children may be in mixed age groups depending on the staffing available. Sizes of groups is unknown but we will do our best to limit this. Our pastoral provision will not be operating as staffing will not be able to support this. We have put links to a support package called Kooth onto our Facebook page which may be useful at this difficult time. As we are without our usual support systems in school any poor behaviour will mean unfortunately that your child will not be able to attend further.
All children in the vulnerable/key worker category should assemble in the Sports Hall on Monday March 23 when arriving at school. This will enable us to check details. Not all areas of the school will be open.
Children who receive free school meals will not be able to come to school to receive these. There are national plans for a voucher scheme however we are concerned that this may not arrive in a timely manner and the distances and geography involved for our families make one specific supermarket voucher problematic. We also have large numbers of free school meals students so an individual approach is not possible. Until any national voucher scheme becomes possible we will be taking steps to arrange for the monies to be paid directly to you. We will be sending you a pro-forma to complete with bank details – one will also be available on the website that could be downloaded, completed and emailed back for ease and speed. We will ask you to provide details of your local supermarket in the event that the national voucher scheme becomes active.
We are still struggling to assess the viability of school buses and transport. Buses will run as normal on Monday for those key identified children listed above but future service is likely to be amended as numbers will be severely reduced. We are unable to provide further information at this stage.
We will be continuing to add materials and support to our Class Charts system outlining the activities and topics that your child can self-study whilst school is closed. This should support you to guide your child to keep their learning active whilst school is closed. Staff are working behind the scenes to provide you with the necessary information. This will also be placed within the departmental areas on the website. We are also hearing that educational programme aimed at specific age groups of children will be broadcast to support you and your children. We will continue to update our website with information here to help communication between school and families.
We are still awaiting further details from Ofqual (the examinations body) and the Government about the next steps to ensure progression from JSTC to your child’s post-16 provision. I am aware that some colleges have sent out emails directly to prospective students advising them that entry to their chosen course should still be in place for September. As we hear further information we will advise via Class Charts, Facebook and here about the process and how we are being asked to facilitate the completion of KS4. I am sure that we will be able to support this process effectively through our data systems and our dedicated staff’s professional guidance.
May all in our community stay safe and support each other through this very difficult time.
Governance
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School Ethos
Weekly Bulletin
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We understand that Year 7 is a vital year for settling in and getting used to all the changes starting secondary schools brings. We also understand that, as parents or carers, this may be new to you too. Therefore, we've created a series of quick-links which give you direct access to important information you're bound to need or will be desperate to ask for.
Introduction by Chair of Governors – Mr Peter Milson
There are further details in the links panel but in summary:
The Governing Body are all volunteers and there are currently 13 governors varying from teachers, parents and members of the local and business community. We work together with the Headteacher and his senior team for the benefit of all the pupils and staff at John Spendluffe Technology College.
What do Governors do?
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Governors at John Spendluffe Technology College do not manage the Academy, that is the role of the Headteacher and his team; as Governors we aim to support them in doing this. At John Spendluffe we support a very successful Academy.
Governors are responsible for the strategic vision of the school and for supporting the Headteacher and his team in achieving that vision. Governors have responsibility for appointing the Headteacher, managing the Academy’s budget, setting annual targets and monitoring performance against those targets, all in the interest of raising standards of achievement.
To exercise this role, as well as the main governing body, there are a number of committees, the detail of which are in the links panel but as a an overview the committees are:
- Finance & General Purposes Committee (Chaired by Mr Giles Crust)
- Strategic, Standards, Students and Curriculum Committee (Chaired by Mr George Willoughby)
- Personnel Committee (Chaired by Mr Peter Milson)
Our Governing Body are:
- Ms J Shorrock (Headteacher)
- Mr P Milson (Chair)
- Mr G Willoughby (Vice Chair)
- Mr J Treasure (Company Secretary / Clerk to Governors)
- Mrs L Ailsby (Parent Governor)
- Mr D Allen (Community / Parent Governor)
- Mrs T Chatterton (Staff Governor - Support Staff)
- Mr G Crust (Community Governor)
- Mrs S Gibney (Community Governor)
- Miss R Hickson (Parent Governor) (Declaration)
- Mr R Follett (Staff Governor - Teaching Staff)
- Mrs L Iaquaniello (Community Governor)
- Mrs E Ramm (Community Governor) (Declaration)
- Mrs J Sharp (Staff Governor - Teaching Staff)
- Mr R Snell (Parent Governor)
The governors are committed to parental and community engagement and there is always a minimum of two parents who sit on our governing body. Currently there are four governors who are parents of students of the school.
If you want to contact us then we would be happy to hear from you; please contact Mr J Treasure, Clerk to the Governing Body at the Academy or via the Governors contact email address: governors@jstc.org.uk.
Important Information:
Year 6 appeals are provisionally booked in for the 8th, 9th and 10th June 2020.
Coronavirus Information
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Dear Parent/ Carer,
I want to reassure you that we remain vigilant with respect to the coronavirus outbreak. Our posters around school remind students to wash hands and use other simple hygiene techniques. Soap in toilet areas is checked three times a day and any reports of concerns are acted upon as a matter of urgency.
We get daily updates from the Government which we read and are guided by the advice.
I will of course contact you if there are significant developments. In the meantime we are continuing to work with your children and welcome them to school each day.
Ms J Shorrock
Coronavirus Information The Importance of hygiene
Personal hygiene is the most important way we can tackle COVID-19, especially washing hands more; and the catch it, bin it, kill it strategy for those with coughs and sneezes.
Wash your hands more often for 20 seconds with soap and hot water.
In addition to handwashing before eating and after sneezing, both children and staff should also wash hands after using toilets and after travelling on public transport.
Please help us in sharing simple and effective hand hygiene messages:
Public Health England has a dedicated webpage with a range of posters and digital materials at:
https://campaignresources.phe.gov.uk/resources/campaigns/101-coronavirus-/resources
Sign up is quick, free and means you will be alerted as more resources are made available.
Educational Resources
The e-Bug project is led by Public Health England and has a dedicated webpage for learning resources on hand washing and respiratory hygiene.
Resources are currently available for KS1, KS2 and KS3 and can be used in various settings including schools:
Updated travel advice for travellers returning from Italy
The advice remains the same for travellers returning from the lockdown areas of Italy, that you should self-isolate even if you are not showing symptoms. The advice for other parts of Italy has been expanded to cover the whole country: if you have returned from anywhere else in Italy outside of the lockdown areas, you should self-isolate if you develop symptoms and call NHS 111.
The latest travel guidance can be found here:
Further information on what you should do if you are asked to self-isolate can be found here:
https://publichealthmatters.blog.gov.uk/2020/02/20/what-is-self-isolation-and-why-is-it-important/
Department for Education coronavirus helpline
The Department for Education coronavirus helpline is now available to answer questions about COVID-19 relating to education and children’s social care. Staff, parents and young people can contact this helpline as follows:
Phone: 0800 046 8687
Email: DfE.coronavirushelpline@education.gov.uk
Opening hours: 8am to 6pm (Monday to Friday)
Where to find the latest information
Updates on COVID-19: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
Guidance for educational settings: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-educational-settings-about-covid-19
Travel advice for those travelling and living overseas: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/travel-advice-novel-coronavirus
Latest Department for Education information: https://twitter.com/educationgovuk & https://www.facebook.com/educationgovuk/
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The learning community at JSTC enables its students to grow and develop into resilient, responsible and respectful young people ready for the challenges of life beyond school. As an inclusive school we celebrate our students' successes at all levels nurturing their talents and ensuring they have the skills for the next step of their career goals.
Maximising your child’s potential
On entry to JSTC your child will have a range of data linked to their potential and, from this data, GCSE targets can be set. Children develop at different rates and therefore we wait until Year 9 before your child is given a specific GCSE target grade.
Therefore, in Years 7 and 8 your child will be assigned to a ‘flightpath’ that has a narrow range of potential GCSE grades they could achieve.
What will we measure?
We will measure your child’s progress against a projected GCSE grade. If your child makes more progress than expected in Years 7 and 8 then their target grade will be adjusted and a new, higher target put in place for Year 9. If your child makes less progress than expected we will support your child to help them gain the skills and expertise needed.
