I hope that you and your families are well, and thank you for continuing to support your child with their learning.

 

REOPENING SCHOOL TO ALL STUDENTS W/C 8^TH MARCH

Following the Prime Minister’s announcement on Monday afternoon regarding the easing of lockdown measures in England, updated guidance has been published for the reopening of schools in England to all students in the week commencing the 8^th of March. Having taken time to study the guidance and plan accordingly, we are now in a position to share our plan for reopening school.

We have planned a staggered start to the school year to allow us to test all students as they return to school. Please view the ‘Return to School’ page of our website here for more details about our plans to reopen school.

We are very much looking forward to seeing all our students safely back in the classroom!

 

COVID TESTING FOR STUDENTS

We now have plans in place to test all students prior to their return to the classroom. We will invite all students whose parents and carers consent for them to be tested, to come into school for to take a Lateral Flow Test the day before they return to the classroom. Students will return to the classroom on the morning following their test, unless we inform them that they have returned a positive test for COVID 19. Following this they will be tested a further two times in school, with a three to five day gap between tests. From then on, students will be provided with tests they can administer at home.  

A letter with more details about COVID testing in school is available here and was sent to your earlier this afternoon. Please read the letter and then complete a consent form for your child.

Please be aware that if you have more than one child who attends Westfield School, you will be required to complete a separate consent form for each child, and that if you have previously completed a consent form as your child has attended school during lockdown, you are still required to complete a new form. 

You can complete the consent form here.

The deadline for completing the consent form is 1.00PM on Monday 1^st March.

 

We will provide further information to students and parents/carers about the arrangements for testing in the second half of next week, which we hope will reassure students and reduce anxieties they may have about being tested in school.

We will not be able to test any students for whom we do not receive consent. Students whose parents/carers do not consent to them being tested in school should return to school on the morning that the rest of their year group return, in line with government guidance. See our Return To School page here for further information.

 

YEAR 11 GRADES

More guidance was published yesterday on how we will work with and assess our brilliant Year 11 students, who have had such a difficult two years in Key Stage 4.

Pleasingly, it has now been confirmed that grades will be awarded based on our teachers’ assessments. Our Year 11 students will be assessed on the content they have already been taught. The coming weeks will be a great opportunity for all of our Year 11s to build on the work they have produced in class, in mock exams, in assessments, at home and in coursework, to earn some excellent grades.

Over the weeks before June half-term, teachers of Year 11 will re-teach and revise key aspects of the course with their classes and assess their students on key elements of the course. This will ensure our teachers have evidence to be able to give our students the grades they deserve.

It has also been confirmed that results day will be earlier than in previous years, in the week commencing 9^th August. We are working hard to pull together the new guidance and will provide Year 11 students and their families with more details, including the plan for Period 6 classes, before they return to the classroom.

 

With many thanks for your continued excellent support,

Joe Birkbeck
Head of Westfield School