Headlines By James Saunders 16th April 2021
Key Covid Info Thank you for supporting the home lateral flow testing programme. This week we have been distributing more test kits to learners to cover the next three weeks. Welcome back Welcome back everybody, it’s the summer term . I think you will all agree that we should put the last term well and truly behind us and start to make strides towards getting back to normal. I think it may take the term to get there but I am hopeful that we can use this time to prepare ourselves well for the year that awaits us. Won’t it be lovely when we lose the masks; the one-way system; the split break and lunch; the additional pressures of covid. Before we broke up I shared the words of Dylan William at a recent World Education Summit: ‘What You Teach Matters: How we teach should be decided once we determine what to teach’. This week I would like to expand on this idea through the blog of David Didau - also known as learning spy. You can view his blog here: https://learningspy.co.uk/learning/why-what-you-teachmatters/ What Didau is positing is that we are moving to a world where the focus shifts from evaluation of the quality of teaching, learning and assessment to one of curriculum, assessment policies and practice. We have seen evidence to support this in the pandemic response by Ofsted and the DfE - they were prepared to throw many things out so readily and it is telling what they are looking at bringing back first. There are hints towards Didau’s thinking in the new inspection framework. In the current climate the challenges of the pandemic have resulted in a further shift of national education priorities which lend credence to the ideas of Didau. Curriculum is vitally important. We have already begun this important journey - A journey to review and refine what we teach and why. Much of our development was, and still is, devoted to this area. And for good reason too. Understanding what we teach and why we teach it will be the thing that elevates us above other schools post-pandemic. It will be the thing that places Honywood where it needs to be and will ultimately secure a successful future for the school.
Don’t forget to complete our online form to let us know if you receive a positive test result: Form Here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/ e/1FAIpQLScakA0DDaB4kRXk0pKVuF3Gj2ZXBkjfc68 C1pyXy-kxmhKIAA/viewform Guidance has now changed and advises that a full PCR test should then be taken to confirm the result of the lateral flow test. Thank you for your support with this testing programme. The guidance has also remained for the use of masks and is the same as it was prior to the Easter break. This is due to be reviewed nationally in four weeks. Change to school calendar Please note that there will be a Non Learner day on Monday 24th May. This day will contribute to the assessment process for current cohort 11 learners in response to the change in examination arrangements. This day has been coordinated across all schools in the trust so that teachers are able to complete the necessary cross moderation and grades. His Royal Highness, The Duke of Edinburgh, 1921 – 2021
It would be remiss of me to not mark the passing of His Royal Highness, The Duke of Edinburgh, 1921 2021. The legacy he leaves is vast and wide reaching. In schools it will continue through the Duke of Edinburgh award - a scheme that has positively impacted so many lives and represents the wider purpose of education and character development. An online Book of Condolence is available on the Royal Website. Thanks To: new Lead Learners Issi Corbett, Mia Fisher, Fern Hazell-Young and Roxy Slaney for guiding candidates on interview for a tour around our school.