End of Autumn Term

23/10/2020

Dear Parents and Carers,

Romanian Translation if needed: Traducere in Limba Romana

Return of school

Thank you for all of your support in this first half term. It has been wonderful to have pupils and teachers back in classrooms; doing what we are here to do – teach and learn. There have been many new systems for our staff and students to learn and adapt to and they have all taken it all in their stride following our 3Rs of Ready, Respectful and Responsible. All of our new systems and routines have been implemented with safety and learning in mind, and it has been really good to see our pupils so eager to learn again.

School Uniform

We will be focusing on school uniform in the next half term. Students must arrive in the full correct uniform, including school shoes, unless they have PE in which case they should be wearing their school PE kit with their blazer over the top. This will be strictly enforced as wearing our uniform smartly and with pride upholds our school values and shows the respect we hold for our education. We also represent our community when wearing our uniform. In cold weather students can wear their full school uniform on top of their PE Kit including a plain black jumper.

Hooded jumpers are not allowed on the school site and will be confiscated after half term. This includes when they have PE. Full details of the school uniform can be found here; school uniform

Sixth Form students must also follow their dress code when on side, Sixth Form dress code

As with this term, facemasks must be worn on the school site. You will need to have two masks with you, one to wear, and one for spare! Students should be following the national guidance and wearing these whenever they are around people with whom they do not live. Thank you to the considerable amount of students who are helping to keep us all safe by wearing their masks.

Part of the school uniform is arriving with full equipment, including their planner, calculator and fully stocked pencil case. Guidance on what students need with them daily is included in the school handbook. Students should not be lending or borrowing equipment from each other. Student handbook

Parent Pay

If you haven’t activated your child’s parent pay account yet, this must be completed before students return on Monday 2nd November. This is now the only way that students can pay for food, drinks, uniform items and trips. There is guidance on how to activate this at How to activate parent pay

If you require further assistance to set this up please either email parentpayenquiries@moseley.bham.sch.uk or call 0121 566 6444.

Home Learning

All students have received training on how to use our TEAMs which teachers now use to communicate homework, lessons if students are not in school and supportive resources to ensure students catch up on lost learning.

All students should have access to either a laptop, chrome book or computer from home to ensure that they can access learning. This is an investment in their future. Whilst phones and tablets offer some ability to work they are not suitable for students to work from. These can be purchased for around £200.

Assessments

All students will be taking assessments in the coming weeks so we can ensure any gaps in learning are closed. We ask that all students revise for these using the techniques shown by their teachers.

Year 11 students will be taking PPEs, they need to follow the revision guidance that has been sent and complete their revision packs. This will enable our teachers to predict and evidence the student’s grades should we need to.

Students must take these seriously and prepare for them should there be in an issue with taking their GCSE examinations in the summer.

Dropping off and collecting students

If you are dropping off or collecting students, could we please request that you either arrange to meet at a point away from the school or wait for them further along the pavement in front of the cricket pavilion. This will ensure that the area does not become congested, other students can safely leave the school site and Covid-19 2 metre distances are maintained between families. Could we remind you that guidance is that students should be walking or cycling to school and that private cars should only be used when absolutely necessary, and only contain people from your household/bubble.

We ask that all parents/carers follow the Highway Code and Please do not cause a disturbance to our neighbours.

COVID19 – school update

Over the last week we have been made aware of some positive cases of COVID 19 in Y9 and Y8 bubbles. A single class in each bubble have been identified as contacts and will self-isolate, remaining in their home until 30th October. If you have not been advised by us or the NHS to self-isolate, your child is free to leave their home and enjoy the break, in line with lock lockdown guidelines.

What if my child is unwell?

This winter will pose challenges for determining whether illness experienced is the symptoms of Covid-19, winter flu, or a general cold. Where a child has mild cold symptoms they should continue to attend school.

The main symptoms of Covid-19 are:

a high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you’ve noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal.

If your child presents with one or more of these symptoms they must not attend school and should remain at home. We urge all parents to access a test as quickly as possible and to inform the school of the results.

In line with government guidance, a child presenting in school with symptoms will be isolated in a safe space away from other students while we contact family to get them collected from school.

We recommend that families then arrange for a test for a child with symptoms. Further details will be provided to families who are affected by this.

What should we do if someone in our household/bubble has Covid-19 symptoms?

If a student has any of the above listed symptoms they should not attend school and a Covid-19 test should be arranged ASAP.

NHS guidance states:

Stay at home if you have symptoms, this means you do not leave your house and you try to distance from family members.
If you are getting a test because you have symptoms, you and anyone you live with must stay at home until you get your result.
Anyone in your support bubble must also stay at home.

Follow the link if you need to arrange a Coronovirus test: Arrange Coronavirus test

Please remember that students must not return to school if they have recently returned to the UK from a country that is on the UK’s quarantine list, until they have fulfilled the full 14 day self-isolation period; if you are unsure of which countries this applies to, please refer to the Government’s Foreign Travel Advice: Foreign travel advice

As with all absences please call the school before 8.45am on the day on 0121 566 6444

extension 1. If you can’t get through please leave a message on the voicemail.

Self-isolating?

You may qualify for fund if you cannot work: www.birmingham.gov.uk/testandtracepayment ‘

From 28 September 2020, if you receive a positive Covid-19 test result or are told by the NHS to self-isolate because of close contact with someone who has Covid-19, you may be eligible for a £500 lump sum. Payments will only be made for people with a positive diagnosis from 28 September onwards (not before). The scheme is due to end on 31 January 2021.

The Test and Trace Support Payment is for people on a low income, who must legally self-isolate for 14 days and cannot work from home during this period.

Support Service

Hall Green Families offer a free and confidential support service. They are a small, caring team available to help you and your family by connecting you to support close to home and can provide extra support with emergency funds, uniform, goods, IT support, mental health and other areas – including over half term. You can contact them on 0757 0953519

Queries and issues

Due to Covid restrictions we are only allowing pre-booked visitors into reception. If you have any queries or issues please call the school on 0121 566 6444 or email enquiry@moseley.bham.sch.uk.

We would like to thank you once again for your support during these strange times and we look forward to welcoming you all back on Monday 2nd November.