Orsett Heath Academy

HEAD OF SCHOOL: Miss S Rawson EXECUTIVE HEADTEACHER: Mr S Bell

12th May 2020

Dear Parents/Carers and Pupils in Year 6,

Welcome to Orsett Heath!

We have now processed all of your Admissions Information forms (send back quickly if you haven’t managed to do this yet please!) and we are delighted that you have accepted a place at Orsett Heath Academy. Please be assured that we have notified the local authority and that any previous offer from Thurrock has been withdrawn.

In these difficult times, we want to assure you that we are working hard behind the scenes to plan for different scenarios in relation to Covid-19 and our September start.

We are fortunate to be in a strong position in this regard as we have more space than we need in our 1st year of opening, however we will ensure you are kept updated of any changes to circumstance that may impact on Orsett Heath students.

Building update Building works are continuing to make good progress at the Orsett Heath site, with strict social distancing policies in place. They are on track to be finished by September. The external cladding of the building is now well underway and the roof is now on. We would encourage you to follow Orsett Heath on Facebook or Twitter if you are not doing so already, as regular updates are being uploaded as the school begins to take shape. Uniform We are pleased to report that uniform is available to order from both our suppliers  Snappy Schoolwear – https://www.snappyschoolwear.com  Uniformwise – https://www.uniformwise.co.uk

The school uniform and equipment expectations can also be found on the school website for guidance.

Induction We want to assure you that we are working on an adapted induction plan in light of the current situation and although we cannot tell you exact transition arrangements quite yet, we will have a comprehensive transition programme focused upon pupil wellbeing in place. We will be in contact shortly regarding these arrangements to ensure all students receive strong support in their transition to Orsett Heath Academy. Please also be reassured that we are in touch with the Primary Schools regarding the transfer of information about pupils. They are currently working on completing a spreadsheet that will give us detailed information about pupils’ learning outcomes and needs, and when we receive this in June we will be collating that information as a starting point for managing pupils’ transition into secondary school.

Orsett Heath Academy is operated by the South West Essex Community Education Trust which is a charitable company limited by guarantee and registered in England & Wales. Company number 07693309. The Registered Office is at William Edwards School, Stifford Clays Road, Grays, Essex, RM16 3NJ.Tel: 01375486000 www.williamedwards.org.uk

Orsett Heath Academy

HEAD OF SCHOOL: Miss S Rawson EXECUTIVE HEADTEACHER: Mr S Bell

In the meantime, we realise that you may have many questions to ask at the moment. In the first instance, a list of FAQs will be available on the Orsett Heath website from Monday 18 th May, as well as a ‘Welcome to Orsett Heath’ pack designed to support Year 6 students in the first stages of their transition. Alongside these, there is a dedicated email address for Year 6 parents from May 18th – [email protected] which can be used if you can’t find the answer you need in the FAQs or if you want to share with us some of the students outcomes from the Welcome to OHA packs!

SEN / Medical needs Over the course of the next few weeks, we will begin contacting parents of students with Special Educational Needs and medical needs with an overview of the adapted provisions in place to support your son / daughters transition in light of covid-19. If you feel that your child has Special Education Needs or medical needs, and you have not received a phone call from either myself or Miss McGrane by the beginning of June, then please email [email protected] and give brief details. We will then contact you regarding your child’s potential needs, and will work with you to have a support plan in place prior to your child starting at OHA.

In the meantime, and most importantly, stay safe until we are able to meet you in person; we look forward to working with you, and will do everything we can to make sure your transition to us is as smooth as possible, despite the current challenges.

Yours faithfully

S Rawson Head of School