Headlines By James Saunders 19th March 2021
277 Lead Learner Interviews It has been pleasing to see so many learners arriving focused and ready to tackle their learning head on; walking around the school this week I have been impressed with the level of engagement and challenge. Everyone has settled in so well and we are all delighted that the school is once more full of learners - as it should be. I particularly enjoyed taking part in the Lead Learner and Lead House Captain interviews today. The candidates gave a presentation to Mrs Frogley, Mrs Reece and myself followed by interview style questions regarding their vision. I was very impressed with the professionalism of every single one of them. I can honestly say that the quality of the presentations and interviews was on a par with many of the interviews I have conducted with teachers. Learners presented their vision for change as well as the legacy they want to leave behind. Of particular note was the honesty they displayed when reflecting on what works and what doesn’t work for them. It was so hard to choose as everyone did such a great job. It takes courage to even put your name forward for a thing like this. Inevitably, processes such as this always lead to disappointment for someone. I would like to extend my thanks to all candidates: Layla Al-Riyami, Charlotte Baker, Emmie Bellingham Wood, Beth Chapman, Matthew Collier, Isabel Corbett, Mia Fisher, Rose Forster, Fern Hazell-Young, Jake Ring, Roxy Slaney, Marcia Swain, Rosie Waine, Megan Walby, Ruby Whillock. We will announce our new Lead Learner appointments in next weeks Headlines. Lateral Flow Testing Our in school lateral flow testing draws to a close next week. After that the guidance is that we are to issue home testing kits for learners to test from home. Part of the rationale for the in school testing was to support learners in being able to confidently complete this process at home which in turn increases the reliability.
I have certainly seen learners grow in confidence with this process over the three tests and we have been able to get through them a lot quicker as a result. Starting next week we will be providing learners with home testing kits. These will be given out during LS5 time to all learners that have been engaged with the testing programme. They will be distributed in the following order: Mon 22nd March: C11 Tue 23rd March: C10 Wed 24th March: C9 Thu 25th March: C7 & C8 The home tests are exactly the same as the ones that learners have taken in school. The key difference is that they need to be processed at home. Each kit is provided with instructions to support families to do this. The recommendation is to take the tests twice a week three to five days apart. We suggest that Sunday evening/Monday morning and Thursday evening/Friday morning are the best times to do the test - two per week. The kits come in boxes of 3 tests. Therefore we will be providing learners with two boxes to take them through to the start of next term. We will be able to provide further tests when they return should the advice be to continue with the testing programme. You should aim for the last test of the holiday to be on the Sunday evening/Monday that learners return. Following this system ensures us a stronger chance of starting each week with reassurance that the community is negative. The kits contain small plastic bags in which to place the used swabs and other pieces of testing equipment after each test is completed, and these can then be placed in normal rubbish bins for household waste. You are able to register each home test through the NHS website just as you have been doing so for the in school ones - https://www.gov.uk/report-covid19result Contd...