9th July 2020

Dear Parent(s)/Carer(s),

SNS Home Learning Week 13

I hope this letter finds you and your family well.

As discussed at our recent forums, the school is working on our timetable in response to the government guidance released on the 2nd July. The Department for Education guidance for schools re-opening in September cites four main areas for implementation:

  1. Enhanced cleaning
  2. Good hand and respiratory hygiene
  3. Limit mixing of groups
  4. Social distancing

We will implement measures to address all four in priority order as fully as we possibly can do taking into consideration our size and our broad curriculum offer. We will do this whilst maintaining our complete curriculum offer.

As you will appreciate there is much to do before the end of the term for full opening of the school to all students. Presently, we are reviewing key policies taking into account the government guidance and that of Public Health England together with what we understand about community trauma as a consequence of this period of school closure.

I have attached a think piece by Barry Carpenter, Professor of Mental Health in Education which is shaping schools’ approaches to supporting students upon their return called the Recovery Curriculum. Please do take the time to read this to help you better support your child. There are also podcasts available here on the Evidence for Learning website. Our young people have shown great resilience at this uniquely challenging time, but we need to be mindful of the impact this period has had on their mental health and wellbeing.

We will communicate key dates and times in next week’s communication together with some important policies and procedures to be aware of in readiness for the new academic year.

Year 10 and Year 12 Summer Schools plans are finalised and parents will shortly be receiving communication regarding their child’s participation in the summer school. If any parent has any questions please do contact us on summerschool@sns.hackney.sch.uk.

A reminder that Parent Forums continue in the last week of term:

  • Wednesday 15 July 7pm – Forum for the Parents/Carers of BAME Students
  • Thursday 16 July 5pm – Forum for Parents of Students with SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities)

We are sadly saying goodbye to our head of SENCO for many years Mary Straw who will be leaving at the end of this academic year. We wish Mary all the best for her next steps and thank her for all the work she has done for our students and our school. At this week’s SEND Forum, there will be an opportunity to meet our Acting Interim SENCO Nana Konadu-Aboagye.

Thank you as always for your phenomenal support. In particular with regards to the provision of laptops for students in Year 10. I am grateful to the work of the PTFA and the independent donors for your help. Parents of children who are eligible to receive a device have now been emailed with a timeline of when they can expect to receive a laptop. There is still much to do to address the digital divide in our community and working with you I am sure we can find solutions so all of our students can engage with online platforms, in order to support a more dynamic learning experience.

Lastly, this week our theme is innovation, so I leave you with this quote: “Innovation is the ability to see change as an opportunity - not a threat" - Steve Jobs

With best wishes,

Zehra Jaffer