Message from the Principal

Happy New Year! I genuinely hope that you managed to get some time to wind down and find some time to relax over the Christmas break. This has been a tumultuous week across the nation and the world as well as in education.

Within education, this week has been extraordinary and probably the most challenging of my 25-year career. Unbelievably, I have had to write to you several times since our last newsletter on 17 December, the last day of the autumn term. Therefore, I will not regurgitate all that I covered in that correspondence.

We recognise that the government is dealing with a very difficult situation and trying to find the right balance to protect people’s health while maintaining the economy. However, in my view the timeline of the week, the timescales we have had to deal with and the lack of future planning have been unacceptable as they have meant that we have not been able to communicate with you as we would wish. The following short timeline is not a political statement – just a factual account of events unfolding and what we have achieved.

Our understanding at the end of last term was that all students were to return on 4 January and all students to be mass tested to begin on 4 January but no further details we available at that point.

Over the Christmas period this changed to a delayed and staggered start with exam groups returning on the 11th and other year groups on 18th January, with schools providing remote learning for 1 or 2 weeks. We set up for this.

Mass testing kits were to arrive on Monday 4 January with all students to be tested on arrival, staff tested weekly, close contact students tested when required and consent and registration to be gained for all students.

We set up for this and on Monday 4 January vulnerable/key worker students were in school and remote learning provision was set up and implemented. Exam preparations for January vocational exams were also organised.

On Monday regarding mass testing: equipment received, risk assessment written, protocol devised, consent and registration form designed for staff and students, volunteers sought and lead staff trained.

At 8pm that evening, the Prime Minister announced that a national lockdown would be implemented, schools would be closed to all but vulnerable and key workers children until 22nd February at the earliest, and that exams were cancelled but no indication was given as to what would replace them or how grades would be calculated. Later still that evening, the DfE confirmed that vocational exams would be going ahead in January with the guidance being delivered at 10:52pm.

As I have stated here before, there is no additional notice for school leaders. We find out the information at the same time as you do via media leaks and televised statements.

Tuesday 5 January we received updates on: Free School Meals, recording attendance, and remote learning expectations including the statutory requirement of 4 hours of remote education offered per day being confirmed.

For us this meant that mass testing would be delayed until students return, although we are still expected to test students and staff who are in school.

Clarification was given on Tuesday morning that vocational exams would be going ahead as planned and that the Education Secretary would make a statement in the House of Commons on Wednesday about exams and schooling.

At 10:21pm we received a bulletin stating that it was up to schools to decide if vocational exams would go ahead or not but that students wouldn’t be penalised -without any further clarification. Our first vocational exam of the year was less than 12 hours away the following morning.

We had spent a very early morning period on Wednesday 6th January ensuring we had a plan for students who were turning up for their exam at 9:00 am and a letter to send to parents in the examination groups later in the day (which you can see in the exams section of this newsletter).

Gavin Williamson addressed parliament and outlined that the DfE would work with OFQUAL to come up with the detail around exams but it would be based on teacher/school judgements rather than an algorithm but we await further details. He also reinforced the messages about high quality remote learning, citing that if parents were unhappy with the quality that they should refer to the school in the first instance, then the Principal, and then OFSTED if still not satisfied.

None of us would disagree that high quality remote provision is important to support students and parents/carers to ensure that progress is enabled and lost learning is minimised whilst students are out of school. Included in this newsletter are a number of sections that cite how you can support the delivery of home learning in a variety of ways.

In setting up huge systems around whole new ways of working to move an entire school online, there will inevitably be some teething problems and I hope that you would work with us to resolve these problems. I know many of you already have and I would encourage you to remain patient – we are monitoring the homelearning@manor.school email address heavily and responding to all queries as quickly as we can.

To provide some context, over the past six months at Manor - like in many other schools across the country - we have achieved a lot. We have created blended learning processes and protocols, updated IT systems, trained staff, run pilot schemes (sixth form digital week) to gain student feedback, and planned and delivered sessions to students who are in school and at home simultaneously. Unlike in the first lockdown, teachers and leaders are still ‘teaching’ and present during their full teaching load whether they are at home or in school.

This has been achieved in the middle of a global pandemic where the in-school processes are all brand new due to social distancing and pods, with very little additional funding or resourcing (although some support with IT provision is now coming through). I also recognise the huge role that students and parents/carers have played in supporting us in doing this at a time that is difficult for us all.

We want to keep improving, continue to work with students and parents/carers to refine our systems, and be the best that we can be. Therefore, on the week beginning 1 February we are having a Remote Learning Focus Week where we will be actively seeking feedback once we have been running the system for a few weeks.

Thursday and today have been slightly quieter, although we received further amendments to the guidance which has caused us to revisit and update our risk assessments. Staff on site are supporting our vulnerable and key worker’s children, enabling us to support the NHS and other critical industries and we are very happy to do so.

This week we have been inundated with positive messages from many families about a whole range of factors including the quality of remote learning, free school meals, the in-school provision, quality of communication, and care and welfare of students. This has been hugely appreciated and made a big difference to the wellbeing of all of us in school or working from home who have been working exceptionally hard to meet the needs of students.

I believe that Gavin Williamson’s comments about OFSTED were unhelpful. We are not shy of external scrutiny (and would welcome it if they came to look at our provision) but in my view, now is a time when communities should be working together; schools, students, and parents/carers to support each other. So please keep sharing your positives with us as they really do provide a boost and perhaps consider also sharing via OFSTED Parent View to demonstrate what communities can achieve working together.

Jay Davenport, Principal