HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER October 2020

In a world which continues to feel strange, I begin with a reminder that there are things we certainly can control – namely our determination to be the best version of ourselves. The Weaverham Way could not be more apt at this time, and we ask each member of our school community to reflect on the ambition they set for themselves. In staff meetings we’ve referred to it as our 2020 Legacy. Let us not worry about the things we cannot control, but focus on what we can do and what we can achieve. Setting the highest expectations for ourselves combined with nurture and support One of my assemblies this term took inspiration from Ruth Bader Ginsburg whose opening quote gives us the sense that ‘my best is good enough’. I have used a number of opportunities since our return to school to acknowledge the excellent way our pupils have embraced school life and that fine start has continued into October. It is a balancing act to run a school in such challenging times as none educational issues sit as the highest priority on our agenda – safety, wellbeing, planning for the unknown to mention just a few. That is why, when we walk in classrooms and see engaged learners, challenging misconceptions, setting high expectations from themselves and those around them, there is a real sense of pride and achievement. We must keep that momentum going, recognise work ethic and champion it. After all, Ofsted in March 2020 told us something we already knew, “Weaverham High School is a wonderful place to learn” and “our pupils show a great deal of respect for each other and their teachers” and it is these strong foundations have enabled us to thrive in such an unsettle time. Our sense of community spirit and our understanding of the role we all play is another reason this autumn term has been so successful. We mustn’t become complacent; we have long winter term ahead that is likely to bring even more challenges for us. We are in a good position to manage and cope with such adversities because we will continue to listen, adapt and communicate and play our role to the best of our ability. And so I draw upon the inspiration of Ruth Bader Ginsburg wise words in the understanding that unified and together we will achieve greatness.

The Difference – Inclusive Leadership

This year Mr Harris will be working in close collaboration with a team of Inclusive Leadership experts. The Difference is a national organisation who exist to improve the life-outcomes of the most vulnerable children in society. Through evidenced based research and working with MPs (Edward Timpson OBE and David Lammy). The Difference have created a school-led leadership programme that seeks to ensure school approaches, multi-agency working, learning and wellbeing provision successfully meets the needs of all members of the school community. Mr Harris has already embarked on the research programmes and developed links with school leaders across the UK. Although in its infancy, many schools from North to South have been interested in our inclusive ethos and strategic approaches through our Safe, Ready Respect and Thrive initiatives. We are excited to be able to develop these strong networking links and learn from other schools to make sure our provision is the very best it can be. The founder of The Difference Karen Gill appeared on Radio 4 last week to share her story and to explain how The Difference aims to change the lives of many. To listen to Karen’s inspirational journey, click on the link below: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000mr6m

Aspirational Pupils

Year 8 pupil Abby Lowe has raised £155 for WWF she made posters` and distributed flyers to draw up the support of her local community for a cake sale in her street.

Commitment and resilience are two qualities we admire at Weaverham Year 8 pupil Esther Cook and so we must congratulate three determined pupils who completed the 34 miles of the Sandstone trail, ( to Whitchurch) over 3 days. The adverse British weather didn't stop the girls as they completed ten and a half miles from to Larkton Hall on difficult terrain, before the sun returned for day three and the relatively flat route from to Whitchurch. Neve said “We've never walked that far before but we just thought it would be a challenge we could all look forward to.”

Year 8 pupil Neve Gatley

Year 9 pupil Emily Jones

Year 10 sporting superstar Isaac Millerchip has been offered a scholarship with Wolves RFL. Isaac who is a talented athlete in many disciplines caught the eye of Peter Farrell who is Head of Talent Identification at the club. Isaac also trains and plays for Sale Sharks so it will be a ruck and a maul to see which code he finally chooses! Well done Isacc, we are immensely proud of your achievement.

Stretch and Challenge In the summer term we informed our pupils of the opportunity to take place in the Global Social Leaders summer programme. Year 8 pupils Sophie Grattidge and Lilian Hadingham took on the challenge, and with great results. In true team spirit, the girls worked together to complete the GSL Summer Catalyst @Home project. The organisers of the project were thrilled with the work completed they commented “We are so impressed with every single participant who has taken positive action during Covid-19. You have contributed to making the world a better place and we salute you for it!” Well done girls!

Reading Millionaires A huge congratulations to those 74 students in Year7, 8 and 9 who became reading millionaires last year. Make sure you collect your certificates and keep reading.

Young Writers Well done to Sophie Grattidge who entered a Young Writer's competition and was published in the `Through your Eyes’ book. `Through Their Eyes’ invited students aged from 11 to 18 to write a poem from someone or something else's point of view. Sophie received a special certificate for her `Talent for Writing’.

Weaverham High School Plans for Tier 2 Local Restrictions Rationale The government has asked that every school plans for the possibility of local restrictions and how they will ensure continuity of education in exceptional circumstances where there is some level of restriction applied to education or childcare in a local area. In local areas where restrictions have been implemented for certain sectors (from national direction), it is expected that our school will usually remain fully open to all, with the additional requirement that face coverings should be worn by staff and students in schools from year 7 and above, outside classrooms when moving around communal areas where social distancing cannot easily be maintained (tier 1 onwards). There may be exceptional circumstances in which some level of restriction to school is required in a local area. In those situations, restrictions will be implemented in a phased manner, the key aim being to retain as much face-to-face education and access to childcare as possible. These ‘tiers of restriction’ will ensure that extensive limitations on education are a last resort, and that priority is given to vulnerable children and children of critical workers for face-to-face provision in all cases. Overview of Tiers Tier 1: involves remaining fully open, as the government has been clear that ensuring schools and educational settings remain open should be prioritised over other areas when restrictions are considered. Tier 2: asks secondary schools to adopt a rota system. Full-time on-site provision should remain available for all vulnerable children and young people, who are expected to attend full-time, and for the children of critical workers who require this. Tier 2 will only be adopted where it is necessary and safe to do so, and is primarily a means of reducing risks for the wider community even further by limiting contacts and breaking transmission chains in secondary schools. Tier 3: requires secondary schools to limit on-site attendance to just vulnerable children and young people, the children of critical workers and selected year groups. In the event of tier 3 local restrictions being implemented the Department for Education will issue operational guidance for the affected area that will confirm which year groups should be prioritised. Tier 4: goes further to limit attendance to just vulnerable children and young people and the children of critical workers at all settings

Tier 2 A rota system will limit the number of pupils on-site at any one time and break transmission chains within schools when scheduled time at home is long enough for the onset of symptoms to be detected before returning. Rota lengths should not be any shorter than one week as this does not provide sufficient time off-site for symptoms to present. Schools should plan to utilise time over the weekend effectively in order to prepare for a different rota group at the start of the week.

We will have Year 7 and Year 10 pupils in school on the same rota and Years 8,9 and 11 on the second rota. Rota options: 2 weeks on followed by 2 weeks off (10 days on-site, with a weekend in between, followed by 16 days at home). This allows more than sufficient time for symptoms to present themselves and for pupils to self-isolate and avoid transmitting the virus to others. One week rota (5 days on-site, followed by 9 days at home) if this is necessary for the effective delivery of the curriculum. This should still allow time for symptoms to present in the vast majority of cases.

Our preferred option is option 1 for the following reasons:

Balance of subject area over our current 2 week operational timetable

Fully breaking transmission and chain

All staffin school delivering lessons to pupils face to face or via Google Meet and Google Classroom.

Summary of School Opening

Tiers In school experience Remote learning – Blended Leaning Experience Tier 1 School operates as usual with 100% of pupils in each Pupils who are self isolating will experience day and all week. Blended Learning via Google Classrooms. Tier 2 Year 7 and 10 Rota 1 Pupils in school will follow their usual time- Year 8,9 and 11 Rota 2 table 2 weeks on/ 2 weeks off All staff in school delivering live lesson to pupils in Pupils at home will experience Blended school Learning via Google Classrooms and follow Or their usual timetable. At home Google Classroom. In the event staff absence, in school cover will be ar- ranged and prioritised. This may mean some lesson cannot be delivered remotely and therefore pupil at home follow Google Classroom lesson

Tier 3 Critical Worker pupils, Vulnerable pupils and Priority Pupils at home will experience Blended Pupils Learning via Google Classrooms Confirmation of which pupils are to access school to be made in conjunction with DFE and PHE

Tier 4 Critical Worker pupils, Vulnerable pupils Pupils at home will experience Blended Learning via Google Classrooms

Uniform in cold weather As part of the risk assessment at school, all classrooms have windows open to allow fresh air into the room. This is advised as good practice from Public Health . However as the weather gets cooler , we recognise that students may not be warm enough in their usual uniform. We would encourage students to wear an under-layer, beneath their uniform to maintain a smart appearance. If needed, students can choose to wear an extra jumper / sweater / hoodie. Please can parents and carers ensure these garments are blue or black and do not have large logos on them. This concession to the uniform is only as an addition, NOT a replacement for the school jumper. Students MUST wear their full uniform including their school jumper and then if needed add another jumper on top.

Year 7 – A Terrific Start Rewarding Everyday Excellence. At Weaverham High School we strongly believe in recognising the efforts of our students. In order to make our Phases of Learning strategy as effective as possible, it is critical that students engage in the lessons and work hard to achieve. It is our intention that students’ efforts are recognised. We have made the importance of every lesson very clear to all students and so the disruption of a lesson through poor behaviour choices is not accepted. In every lesson of the day, each student is awarded a Behaviour for Learning (BFL) grade by their class teacher. These grades are as follows: 5 = Outstanding behaviour and attitude to learning, the student has really gone over and above. 4 = A good lesson, the student has applied themselves during the lesson and has tried hard. 3 = The student has worked well, but has had to be reminded to stay on track, could have completed more work, or didn’t have the correct equipment. 2 = The student has either disrupted the learning of others and been moved to work in a different classroom, or has failed to complete an appropriate amount of work during the lesson. 1 = The student has not followed these instructions and a member of the Senior Leadership Team has had to be called to remove them from the lesson. Year 7 pupils have had a terrific start that we need to acknowledge and celebrate

 60 students in the year group have 10 grade 5s or more  Every student in the year group bar one has achieved at least one grade 5 Nobody in the year group has been graded a 1 or 2 A special well done must go to two pupils whose B4L grades are nothing short of outstanding - both Hollie Chidlow and Tom Jenkins have achieved 27 grade 5s since the start of term… That's over a whole week’s worth of learning at an exceptional standard! Well done Hollie and Tom!

Weaverham Alumni

This month we look back at the educational journey of a former pupil Gareth Pym. Gareth left Weaverham High School in 2010 after achieving great GCSE grades and with a real passion for Maths and Chemistry. Gareth went on to study at Loughborough University and is now a Chemical Engineer.

Hello, my name is Kathryn Bee and I am thrilled to be taking over the position of challenge co-ordinator. Weaverham High School already has a successful Endeavour programme, which I intend to enhance, providing further enrichment and access to a broader curriculum covering a variety of exciting topics. I look forward to sharing my plans and the students’ successes with you in future newsletters.

Weaverham High School Endeavour Programme

At Weaverham High School, we are ambitious for every one of our pupils and we have the very highest expectations. We are aware that many of our pupils arrive at Weaverham High School with a great thirst for learning and a desire to be stretched and challenged. We also recognise that we enjoy the luxury of teaching many pupils who have already distinguished themselves as academically able and/or incredibly hard-working when they arrive at Weaverham and continue to do so as they progress in their school career. Therefore, we have implemented the ‘Endeavour Programme’ in response to new challenges at Key Stage 3 and GCSE, intended to support the learning of all our pupils. The aim of our programme is not only to provide able pupils with the specific skills to excel academically, but also to continue to develop a love of learning as an independent and self-regulated learner, ambitious and proud to do well.

In each year, there will be a particular programme, designed to stretch and challenge, which pupils will follow. Pupils who are identified as eligible will follow the course specific to that year. The membership of the cohort will be reviewed regularly by our Challenge Co- ordinator, Mrs Bee. Pupils who have an incredibly high work ethic can apply to take part in the programme, and teachers will regularly select students who, in lessons, show real effort and determination.

Year 7: Endeavour

Pupils in Year 7 will follow an enrichment programme based around a set of challenges. These will include leadership, thinking skills, subject specific challenges and enrichment. They will have a year to complete as many challenges as they can and record them in their ‘Thinking Journal’. This will culminate with an Awards Evening, acknowledging the work that pupils have done independently throughout the year. They will also have the opportunity to work with a Year 8 Mentor who will act as a role model and assist them in their planning and completion of the ‘Thinking Journal’.

Year 8 and 10: Endeavour Independent Project

At GCSE level, pupils now have the luxury of studying subjects that they are truly passionate about. Therefore, we will ask our able pupils to create a piece of independent work linking together their learning from across their subjects. For example, a pupil studying McCarthyism as part of a play in GCSE Drama and as part of Cold War in GCSE History may choose to create a piece of work that will enable him/her to make links between their subjects. Year 10 will also have the opportunity to act as mentors to our KS3 able pupils, supporting them in the completion of their Enrichment projects. They will also receive support/guidance from subject teachers and Mrs Bee. This will culminate in a Presentation Evening for parents and staff to showcase the work that pupils have done independently throughout the year. Pupils complete a ‘junior’ project in Year 8, ready to build upon their experiences for the ‘senior’ project in Year 10.

Year 9: Endeavour ‘Up for Debate’

In Year 9, able pupils will have the opportunity to form our school Debating Society and take part in debates with other schools. We are part of the PIXL ‘Up for Debate’ Programme which aims to develop pupil’s cognitive ability, thinking skills and confidence when debating, arguing, analysing and discussing a whole range of issues. We believe that a key ingredient in developing high level thinking is the ability to articulate it to others. Our debating programme will offer pupils an opportunity to think and argue at a high level academically with like-minded peers. Pupils will then take on roles as ‘Lead Debaters’ as we implement debating across KS3 later in the year.

Year 11 – Exam Readiness – Revision Programme for Complex Thinking

Year 11 follow a structured programme of support for helping them to access those top grades. They attend a range of revision workshops, lectures and visits from outside speakers such as Oxbridge Universities and representatives from careers such as Law and Medicine. They will work closely with Mrs Bee on exam preparation during their PSCHE lessons. They will also have the opportunity to mentor pupils in KS3 and Y10, simultaneously building on their own skills whilst helping encourage complex thinking in others.

Google Classroom Update

As part of our Google Classroom blended learning approach we are making Guardian email summaries available from Google Classroom.

Shortly you will receive an email invite to subscribe to the email summary.

As a guardian, you can get email summaries about your student’s activity in Classroom. Email summaries do not include grades. In email summaries, you can review: Missing work—Work not turned in when the summary was sent. Upcoming work—Work that’s due today and tomorrow (for daily emails) or that’s due in the upcoming week (for weekly emails). Class activities—Announcements, assignments, and questions recently posted by teachers.

A typical summary daily email:

Home Learning

This document has been produced to support pupils and parents with the potential consequences of remote Home Learning. In unprecedented times, it is difficult to predict all the challenges that pupils and parents may face in the event they are not able to attend school, but we do recognise the ongoing need to support pupils with their capacity for independent learning.

Rationale The DfE Guidance for full school reopening states the school’s need to:

“Develop remote education so that it is integrated into school curriculum planning. Remote education may need to be an essential component in the delivery of the school curriculum for some pupils, alongside classroom teaching, or in the case of a local lockdown.”

This expectation provided us with an opportunity to reflect on valuable developments in provision and pedagogical practice during the period of school closure. As a consequence, we have carefully considered how we can evolve our practices, taking into account the varied needs of our learners, especially when the school’s contingency plans are in operation.

The DfE further states:

In developing these contingency plans, we expect schools to: · use a curriculum sequence that allows access to high-quality online and offline resources and teaching videos and that is linked to the school’s curriculum expectations · give access to high quality remote education resources · select the online tools that will be consistently used across the school in order to allow interaction, assessment and feedback and make sure staff are trained in their use · provide printed resources, such as textbooks and workbooks, for pupils who do not have suitable online access · recognise that younger pupils and some pupils with SEND may not be able to access remote education without adult support and so schools should work with families to deliver a broad and ambitious curriculum

When teaching pupils remotely, we expect schools to: · set assignments so that pupils have meaningful and ambitious work each day in a number of different subjects · teach a planned and well-sequenced curriculum so that knowledge and skills are built incrementally, with a good level of clarity about what is intended to be taught and practised in each subject · provide frequent, clear explanations of new content, delivered by a teacher in the school or through high-quality curriculum resources or videos · gauge how well pupils are progressing through the curriculum, using questions and other suitable tasks and set a clear expectation on how regularly teachers will check work · enable teachers to adjust the pace or difficulty of what is being taught in response to questions or assessments, including, where necessary, revising material or simplifying explanations to ensure pupils’ understanding · plan a programme that is of equivalent length to the core teaching pupils would receive in school, ideally including daily contact with teachers.

EEF Research into Distance Learning

During the period of school closure, the Education Endowment Foundation published guidance on effective distance learning. Their research into this determined:

· Teaching quality is more important than how lessons are delivered · Ensuring access to technology is key, especially for disadvantaged pupils · Peer interactions can provide motivation and improve learning outcomes · Supporting pupils to work independently can improve learning outcomes · Different approaches to remote learning suit different types of content and pupils

Therefore, it is our intention to ensure that our approach to Home Learning gives pupils a range of vehicles to access lessons. The information below sets out our approach:

Learning from Home The Slides for all lessons are available, in the classroom section, of every Google Classroom: Look for “Classwork”

Where it is meaningful and practical the pupils may be invited to join the lesson through the Google Classroom “Meet”. Please refer to the “Stream”, within the classrooms, for the details of the links to “Meet”. These lessons will take place at the usual timetabled time.. More information will be shared in the coming weeks.

Assessments for all pupils including, those working from home will be based on the “key marked pieces” as set out in our Assessment policy. These occur twice every half term.

Aspiring Careers Education, Information and Guidance

It’s Official! Weaverham High School meets 100% of Gatsby Benchmark

Earlier this week it was confimred that our Careers Education and Guidance provision has met the 8 Gatsby Benchmarks which is an expectation of all school by December 2020. The review of our provision concluded that our approach ensures that every pupil has access to high-quality career guidance to make informed decisions about their future. Congratulations to Mr Clarke our lead for careers for his excellent work in securing this achievement. The eight Gatsby benchmarks of Good Career Guidance 1. A stable careers programme 2. Learning from career and labour market information 3. Addressing the needs of each pupil 4. Linking curriculum learning to careers 5. Encounters with employers and employees 6. Experiences of workplaces 7. Encounters with further and higher education 8. Personal guidance

Enrichment Experiences are coming back!

As our return to school has been so positive and pupils have settled quickly into their new routines, we now feel it is appropriate to begin an our after school programme. We understand the importance of these experiences and opportunities for our pupils and I want to take the opportunity to thank my colleagues for their support in ensuring all year groups have access to a range of after school activities. Those who have been part of the Weaverham community for some time will know all too well the vast array of activities that we put on for our pupils – this year the options will be slightly smaller in number due to the social distancing and restrictions of not mixing year group bubbles. Mrs Bryer will be sending out a full timetable to pupils next week and we will publish this for parents on the website. Please encourage your child to take part.

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Parking when collecting students after school. We understand that it is challenging to find a parking space to wait for your child to come out of school. Many thanks to everyone who are parking a short walk away from the school, it has made a real difference to the traffic flow at 3pm. Please do be aware not to block any driveways, particularly on Pear Tree Close, where the residents have struggled recently to access their drive when returning home. Many thanks.

We are recruiting

Instrumental Music Lessons – There are still spaces available for lessons in the following instruments – Singing, Violin, Cello, Flute and Brass (Trombone, Trumpet, Cornet and Euphonium). Please contact Mrs Bryer in the office, [email protected] if your child is interested, or return the slip from the bottom of the instrument tuition letter (paper copies in the letter rack).