002_KS4_25Feb2022_ECI

Friday 25th February 2022

Parent/Carer Bulletin - Years 10 and 11

Future Diary Events

● Tuesday 1st March - Invite Only Parent Evening Year 11
● Thursday 3rd March - World Book Day
● Thursday 3rd March - Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing Event for parents 6pm
● Wednesday 16th March - BTEC Celebration Evening
● Thursday 31st March - Deep Learning Day - all students off timetable
● Friday 1st April - End of Term 4 - Inset Day (no students in)
● Tuesday 19th April - Start of Term 5

Dear Parents and Carers

It has been an exciting week at the College with all our students involved in Deep Learning Days on
Wednesday. Year 10 Science teachers commented on how well behaved and focused Year 10 students were
in their Science practical day. Year 11 spent the morning completing Maths trial exam papers in the
classroom but then in the afternoon had great fun as the whole year group went for a walk through Buxted
Park. We are conscious that the schooling through covid times has meant for many of our students that
they have missed opportunities for social development such as this. It was a real pleasure to see our
students smiling, happy and covered in mud. Apologies to those parents who had to put the washing
machine on as a result but I hope you think it was worth it. We hope to be able to do something similar for
Year 10 students at some point.

We also launched the Year 11 graduation reward scheme this week which will reward students for showing
the Uckfield ACEs. Further details are below. Ms Shaw will also be sharing details shortly about prom,
hoodies and year book, all ways we can mark the graduation of our students from Key Stage 4.

Many of our older students have asked me this week about the events in Ukraine. Please do encourage
them to talk about this and to inform themselves through reading or watching the news. It is a worrying
time for students in our school community but also an opportunity to become informed and develop opinions
about complex issues. I have mentioned previously about the importance of students reading so please do
share anything you are reading, read aloud to your child, and continue to encourage them to read. World
Book Day is coming up next week so it would be great to see them in costume and entering the
competitions mentioned below.

On Thursday 3rd March we will also be hosting an event for parents to explain our new Mental Health and
Emotional Wellbeing policy. I would encourage all parents to attend this event to understand our 6 step
approach to mental health as it is so critical for the healthy development of our students and underpins our
pastoral work. If you have any questions about the event please do get in touch.

I hope you enjoy the sunshine we are forecast for this weekend. I can highly recommend a walk through
Buxted Park!

Yours sincerely

Sarah Bamford
Deputy Principal Y10-11

NOTICES

New college website - We are delighted to confirm that we have launched our new college website today.
https://www.uckfield.college/

Students can continue wearing a mask in communal areas of the college and in the classroom if
they wish to do so. Please ensure your child brings in a mask in case the teacher
requests they wear one in class, or they have to attend Student Services/First Aid.

Masks are still being sold at Student Services:-
➢ Disposable medical type masks - 30p each
➢ Reusable, washable cloth masks with a filter - £3.50 each

Please bring correct change where possible.

Student LFD Testing at Home & Isolating if Positive
From Monday 21st February the Government removed the guidance for staff and students in most
education and childcare settings to undertake twice-weekly asymptomatic testing. The College is however
still able to access supplies of LFD test kits to enable staff and students to access tests if needed, in
particular to respond to local public health advice in relation to local outbreaks. Staff and students are also
able to access test kits from their local pharmacy or online.
We still recommend students and parents test themselves regularly. Thank you for your continued support in keeping our
college community safe.

From Thursday 24 February, the Government removed the legal requirement to self-isolate following a positive test.
However, staff and students who test positive should continue to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for at
least 5 full days, and then continue to follow the guidance until they have received 2 negative test results on consecutive
days. The maximum time to stay at home would be 10 days.

Connecting Classrooms Project: Year 10 GCSE French
students have been involved in a project called Connecting
Classrooms. Students work in teams to create short videos
about themselves and their lives to share with our partner
school in France. Just before half term the year 10 students
involved in the project got together to watch the videos that we
have received from our partner school. Well done Year 10 -
your videos are absolutely fantastic!

The WiSE project Parent and Carerworker will be available to talk to or give out information leaflets
on Monday 28th February 10am-12pm in the meeting room at the entrance to Uckfield College.
Please see attached leaflet with more information.

Reading Roundup
Next week it will be World Book Day 2022 on Thursday 3rd March! We’ll be hosting
book-related workshops for selected students and encouraging all students to
participate in reading activities throughout the day itself.

We are extending the deadline on the following two competitions until Tuesday 1st
March. All students from years 7-13 are invited to enter. Winners will be announced
on World Book Day itself. Please encourage your child to get involved!

● Extreme Reading Competition - students submit a picture of them reading
in an unusual or “extreme” location. Even better if they can think of a connection
between their book title and their location.
● Manga Drawing Competition - students create a manga drawing of their favourite book character(s) or
a scene from their favourite book. This will be judged by Chie Kutsuwada, a local published manga
artist!

The entry Google forms are on the above linked slides. Please note that the Google forms can only be accessed
from an Uckfield email account.

Recommended Read
One of our Year 10 Reading Ambassadors, Oscar R-S, recommends ‘The Left-Handed Booksellers of London’ by
Garth Nix to students aged 12 and above: “It just had really funny characters and an alluring plotline, I highly
recommend.”

Talking Point - Top tips for engaging your child in reading
Tip number 2: Read with them if possible. Sit with them for a short time every day and read a book or article with
them on a subject that interests them, whether that’s cars, animals or sports. Don’t expect them to read it for
themselves. Just show them how interesting and empowering it is to be able to read, so that they want to do it
for themselves.

Parent Forums
We are always keen to know what parents and carers think about your children’s education and your views on the
college. We are going to put on a series of Parent Forum meetings on the first Monday of each month (5-6pm)
and we will have two types of Parent Voice meetings:

1. A one to one appointment with Hugh Hennebry and you can raise any issue you wish. These are called
Parent Surgeries. There will be an invitation sent out in the two preceding Parent Bulletins inviting you
to make an appointment for the next Parent Surgery. We invite parents / carers to raise whatever issues
you choose. These issues will influence what topics we discuss in the Parent Forums (see below). If you
wish to have a video meeting appointment with the Principal, Mr Hennebry, please sign up
here:

2. Group Parent Forums that will discuss different aspects of school e.g. Learning Organisers, reports,
parents’ evenings, combatting discrimination (sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia etc), homework,
PIN feedback, My Ace, college facilities, rewards / celebration and sanction systems etc. Parents can write
at any time to Toni Fletcher ([email protected]) to suggest topics. We will propose certain topics
for each Parent Forum meeting based on parental suggestions and also suggestions from leaders at the
college who wish to consult parents on developments / improvements. We will send out an invitation in
the two preceding Fridays along with the suggested topics. The length of the meeting will be up to an
hour but may finish sooner.

The next of these Parent Forum meetings will be held remotely on Monday 7th March at 5pm with Mrs
Marshallsay (Head of School).

The theme for this meeting is parental involvement with teaching and learning: how much help are
students getting at home and how confident are parents with this? What are the habits that students
have developed to shape their success? How engaged are parents/carers in their child’s schooling and
what potential barriers exist? How do parents/carers view the standards of teaching and learning in the
College?

If you would like to join this remote meeting, please complete this short Google form and we will send you a link
to join the meeting just ahead of the meeting.

Uckfield College Careers Fair - Wednesday 16th March
On Wednesday 16th March we will be hosting our In-Person Careers Fair here at Uckfield College. There will be a
diverse range of local and national employers, universities and further education and apprenticeship providers for
the students to meet with, in the main hall and theatre. All students may attend the careers fair at break and
lunch. Year 10 and 11 students will also be brought to the careers fair for part of their lessons.

There will be a variety of sectors to explore covering careers in healthcare, engineering, law, hospitality,
construction, travel & tourism, pharmacy and more! We have universities coming from all over the UK including,
University of Sheffield, UCL, University of Loughborough, Exeter University, Sussex University. There will also be a
range of apprenticeship providers as well as support and guidance specialists on training and skills. This is a
fantastic opportunity to explore careers and what employers look for when hiring and the types of jobs and
apprenticeships that are on offer. It is also a great opportunity to explore courses and training opportunities to
further your education, skills and qualifications. To view who will be there please click on the following link Careers
fair Wednesday 16th March 2022.

Vacancies at the College

Data Team Support Assistant - https://www.uckfield.college/132/join-our-staff-team

Required as soon as possible
26 hours per week, Term Time only
Single Status Grade 4 - £18,933 to £19,312 (pro rata)
Actual salary equates to £11,769 to £12,005 per annum
Closes on Monday 14th March

Assistant Maintenance Caretaker - https://www.uckfield.college/132/join-our-staff-team

(Apprentice) - Required as soon as possible for a 12 month contract

Salary: East Sussex Single Status Local Pay Structure
Grade 2 (£18,333 per annum)
Closes on Monday 14th March

Year 11 Reward Programme - 21st February to 7th May
To reward our fantastic Year 11 students for the work they complete in and outside of school we are pleased to
launch our Year 11 reward program that will run from now until their first GCSE exam in May.

Reward cards will be awarded if students demonstrate excellence in any of our A.C.E qualities

A - Academic Please see the presentation for examples of
C - Character how to achieve each of the qualities
E - Enterprise

Each student has the opportunity to collect as many reward cards as they wish, every two weeks students will
enter their cards collected into a live draw and have the opportunity to win up to £60 worth of prizes. The prizes
on offer are Amazon and Apple vouchers, or £10 towards the cost of their prom tickets. Alongside this, there will
be a cumulative total of all reward cards collected over this period, minus any behaviour points achieved. A
student will receive a Gold, Silver, or Bronze graduation certificate from this reward programme in their final
assembly if they achieve the following;

Gold Graduation - Top 20% of reward cards received minus any behaviour points
Silver Graduation - Next 30% of reward cards received minus any behaviour points
Bronze Graduation - Next 40% of reward cards received minus any behaviour points

A Reward Card
In addition to this, any student that is in the top 20% of reward cards earned after the
Easter holiday will have the privilege to wear their leaver’s hoodie as part of their school
uniform in term 5. The privilege to wear the leavers hoodie will be available to others when
they achieve this threshold. The only time this privilege will not be offered is if the correct
uniform is an ongoing concern.

Information about ordering a leaver’s hoodie will be sent out by the Year 11 team shortly.

Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing (MHEW) support
If you would like to know more about MHEW and how best to support your child please see below.

Parenting Webinars
Coping with teen emotions:
Free parenting webinar on Tuesday 22nd March 6:30-8:30pm. Book here

Getting teens to cooperate:
Free parenting webinar on Tuesday 15th March 6:30-8:30pm. Book here

Reducing family conflict:

Free parenting webinar on Thursday 17th March 10am – 12:00pm. Book here

E-safety discussion group:
Free discussion on Wednesday 16th March 6:30-8:30pm. Book here

Courses
6 week anxiety support course:
With funding from Sussex Learning Network & Uni Connect we are running a 6-week anxiety programme for parents whose
children are aged 7-13 and have anxiety. We work with you 1:1 offering support and strategies. Places are limited. Book here.

8 week behavioural support course:
“Whose in charge” is a programme designed to help parents regain cooperation
from their children. Book here.

Online workshops (bookable through the links provided)
These workshops (provided by East Sussex’s Mental Health Team) include strategies to help parents/carers to
manage at home. They also include resources and activities that you can do at home with your family.

Understanding Anxiety: What it is and how you can support your child. Click here

Understanding Low Mood: What it is and how you can support your child. Click here

Understanding Sleep: Understanding the importance of sleep and how you can support your child to sleep better. Click here

Understanding Phobias: What they are and how can you support your child if they experience them Click here

Written toolkits
Toolkits written by the NHS providing concise advice, links to further support and numbers for support lines etc.

Toolkit for parents/carers: Advice from the NHS on helping your child look after their mental health Click
here

Toolkit for pupils Advice from the NHS for young people about supporting their own mental health Click here

Self Harm Guidance
Approximately 10% of young people will self harm at some point. Therefore if your child is self harming you are not alone and
a plethora of guidance is available to help your and your child. Below are links to resources that can be used at home to talk
about and reduce self harming behaviours.

Self harm resources: To use with your child to reduce their self harm Click here
Self harm support group: Online group for students 14+ Click here

Family Mediation
Parenting (particularly teenagers!) can be very tricky and we all encounter bumps along the road. Below is a link to free
mediation service for parents and children to help resolve conflict and improve relationships.

Mediation: Click here

Food bank
If you are finding it difficult to make ends meet please consider using the Uckfield food bank. Any family can reach crisis point,
but they can help. Click here.

PREVIOUSLY SHARED INFORMATION:

Wearing face coverings on School coaches/public buses:
COVID-19 spreads through the air by droplets and aerosols that are exhaled
from the nose and mouth of an infected person. It is strongly recommended
to keep wearing a mask on public transport from Thursday 24th February

Job Vacancies - see link below for current vacancies page for both Support staff and Teachers
https://www.uckfield.college/vacancies

The Martlet - Uckfield College's newspaper - this is the new newspaper for the students written

by the students.

Uckfield College Life - Term 2 2021

Uckfield College Life will be published once a term. We have attached the Newsletter to the title
above - if you wish you can click on the title to see the newsletter. Please e-mail details to Toni
Fletcher, [email protected].

Term dates for the Academic years 20/21 & 21/22 - http://www.uckfield.college/termdates

Reporting Absences - See link to information on Website

Uckfield College Facebook - Uckfield College Facebook page

UCTC TWITTER- Follow us on Twitter @UckfieldCollege