Update for Olympus Parents and Carers – 12th July 2020
Dear Parents and Carers,
End of Year 2019-20 As we reach the final week of the school year, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support during the course of the academic year, and especially during the last 4 months which have been unlike any we have ever known in education and wider society. We know that it has not been easy for many parents and carers to have to provide support for your children’s education at home whilst juggling other complexities, including your own work in many cases, and we sincerely hope that what we have provided for our learners has helped. There will be a significant focus on re-connection and recovery in the first weeks of the new academic year to ensure that the emphasis is on support rather than pressure and guilt for “missed” work.
Staff Leavers We have 32 staff who will be leaving us across the Trust at the end of the school year. Obviously it is always sad to say goodbye to staff but it is even harder this year as we are unable to give them a proper face to face send-off. Each school will share specifics about leavers and starters in their context but I would just like to say a special thank you and farewell to the following long-serving staff across the Trust who have all given 10+ years of service to their schools:
Steve Fitzgerald 36 years Winterbourne Academy Beckie Marston 19 years Patchway Community School Anne Hawkins 19 years Winterbourne Academy Sharon Bishop 16 years Charborough Rd (+Callicroft, Meadowbrook and Stoke Lodge) Liz Moncur 16 years Winterbourne Academy Sarah Rowland 16 years Stoke Lodge Maria Parisi 12 years Abbeywood Community School Rachel Coleman 11 years Meadowbrook Peter Stafford 10 years Bradley Stoke Community School
I am sure you will want to join me in wishing all our staff leavers well in whatever they are going on to do.
Learners who are leaving inc. Exam Results Schools will be in touch separately about the arrangements for results days for Years 11 and Year 13 which will sadly have to be virtual and not face to face. A Trust letter outlining exam results processes and follow- up will be sent to all affected families in the coming week. We would like to take this opportunity to wish all learners well who will leave the Trust at the end of this academic year and hope that you will take happy memories with you.
Covid-19 Summer Food Fund The Covid-19 Summer Food Fund is the temporary extension of the free school meals scheme to provide supermarket vouchers for eligible families to cover the summer holidays. We are in the process of accessing vouchers for families for 7 weeks rather than 6 because the first week of next term is either a part-week in school or not a school week for some secondary learners. We will also continue to provide food and well- being parcels during the summer break, for which further details are provided below.
Trip Refunds 2019-20 and Trips 2020-21 We are still processing claims for trip refunds and will provide them to parents and carers as soon as possible. Further claims have been approved by our insurers in the last week so refunds are on their way. Please bear with us and we will get the money to you as soon as we can. Current guidance for schools is not to book trips for 2020-21 so we are exercising caution in our planning at this stage.
Plans for September Onwards Following the publication of the guidance from the Government last week, Trust and school senior leaders have been working hard with colleagues to try to work out how our schools can welcome all children back in September, ensuring that the safety and well-being of children and staff is our highest priority. This will
inevitably mean that we have to do things differently from normal. In summary, the larger the school, the more complex the arrangements will need to be. When transport issues and site-specific concerns are factored in, it is going to be very challenging for some schools within the Trust. We are in the midst of detailed planning which will lead to the completion of risk assessments for all schools. All plans will, of course, need to be approved by the Olympus Board of Trustees before they can be shared. They are meeting on Tuesday (14th), following which each school will be in touch with its families to provide headline information for September. As the start of term is still 8 weeks away, and a lot could change in relation to Covid-19 and guidance for schools between now and then, there will have to be further planning and communication with you during the school holiday in readiness.
The guidance from the Government can be found here. The guidance is not over-prescriptive and leaves room for interpretation which has been both helpful and challenging! It is important to note that attending school will return to being compulsory from September and the usual processes will be re-introduced to support full attendance. If you are worried about being able to attend in September, please contact your child’s school to discuss as soon as possible.
We will start the new school year with 2 training days for all staff on Tuesday 1st and Wednesday 2nd September. This will include induction into new arrangements for all staff. Term dates and staff training dates for the year are provided below, followed by more detailed information about the start of term for primary and secondary settings across the Trust.
Term Dates for 2020-21 for Learners Term Starts Ends Term 1 Thursday 3rd September 2020 Tuesday 20th October 2020 Term 2 Monday 2nd November 2020 Friday 18th December 2020 Term 3 Tuesday 5th January 2021 Thursday 11th February 2021 Term 4 Monday 22nd February 2021 Thursday 1st April 2021 Term 5 Tuesday 20th April 2021 Friday 28th May 2021* Term 6 Monday 7th June 2021 Thursday 22nd July 2021
Staff Training Days 2020-21 For your information, here are the staff training days for 2020-21, when staff only will attend: Tuesday 1st September 2020 Monday 4th January 2021 Wednesday 2nd September 2020 Friday 12th February 2021 Wednesday 21st October 2020 Monday 19th April 2021 Thursday 22nd October 2020 Friday 28th May 2021*
*Friday 28th May 2021 will be a staff training day but students in Y10-13 will need to attend school if they have public exams scheduled on that day
Arrangements for Primary Learners for September Years 1-6 will return to school full-time on Thursday 3rd September. Each school will be in touch about site- specific arrangements and these will address some of the major challenges which include staggered start and finish times and separate entry and exit points for different year groups or Key Stages; and details of different break and lunch arrangements. Schools will also work in single class or year group bubbles for safety purposes. In order to be able to offer full provision, some staff will need to work across bubbles, as covered in the Government guidance.
Arrangements for Secondary Learners for September In all Trust secondary settings Year 7 and Year 12 will return to school on Thursday 3rd and Friday 4th September but other year groups will not return until the following week (except at Patchway where year group bubbles are generally smaller and all will be invited in at some point on 3rd and/or 4th for induction). This is to ensure that all learners are given a full induction into new arrangements and to allow time for Year 7 students in particular to settle into school having had none of the usual transition experience in preparation for September. Depending on site and transport issues, schools will be operating year group bubbles (Post 16 are likely to be one bubble); physical zoning within the school to keep bubbles apart; shift systems for break and lunchtimes; different entrances for year groups and Key Stages; and staggered start and finish
times. All schools will endeavour to provide a full curriculum but there will be less opportunity for practical learning, for safety reasons, so there is likely to be more emphasis on teacher demonstration in some subjects. In order to be able to offer full provision, some staff will need to work across bubbles, as covered in the Government guidance. Each school will be in touch with its families to share outline plans this week, with more detailed information to follow in due course.
Food and Well-Being Support for Olympus Families in Need Over 285 deliveries of provisions and basic essentials have been made to Olympus families in need. This would not have been possible without the generous contributions from FareShare South West, Morrisons and Asda and the many members of the Olympus family who have made this possible through their kindness.
This scheme will continue for the period of need during the Covid-19 pandemic. Given the ongoing demand for doorstep deliveries, we will endeavour to continue the scheme on a weekly basis throughout the entire 6- week summer holiday i.e. 17th July – 1st September 2020. If you would like a regular delivery throughout the holiday please send an e-mail to the [email protected] address as soon as possible. Please remember to include the following information: Your full name (first name, surname): Your child’s full name (first name, surname): Your child’s school: Your contact telephone number: Your address (please include full postcode): Details of dietary requirements/allergies (if applicable): Details of any specific essential items you may require:
As the Reception Offices at Bradley Stoke Community School and Winterbourne Academy will be closed over the summer break, we will not be able to accept any food donations after Friday 17th July until the start of next term in September. Thank you to all who have been making donations, whether goods or money, during this difficult time. We are still able to take financial donations, either as a one-off or regular commitment; we are really grateful for any support you are able to provide and thank you if you have already contributed. Please use the bank details below: Sort code: 30-62-32 Account number: 50427460 We would be grateful if you could label as “donation” when transferring money so that we can identify the payments as they come in.
In addition, you can contact the following foodbanks to either ask for or offer support: North Bristol Foodbank – [email protected] Bristol North West Foodbank – [email protected] East Bristol Foodbank – [email protected]
Emergency Contact The Trust emergency hotline phone number: 01454 822101 will be available throughout the summer break so please contact us if you need to – please do try to keep it to emergencies though and continue to e-mail your child’s school for non-urgent issues. The Trust e-mail address is: [email protected]. This will also be monitored but please do not expect an immediate response.
Thank you for your continued support. Please stay safe and well during the school break.
With very best wishes,
Dave Baker CEO, Olympus Academy Trust @MrDaveBaker @olympustrust www.olympustrust.co.uk [email protected]