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Parent Bulletin for Years 10 and 11 - 5th March

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Published by a.martin, 2021-03-08 07:20:28

002_KeyStage4_05Mar2021_ECI

Parent Bulletin for Years 10 and 11 - 5th March

Friday 5th March 2021

Parent/Carer Bulletin - Years 10 and 11

 

Monday 8th March

Tuesday 9th March Y11 return to college

Wednesday 10th March Y10 return to college

Thursday 11th March

Friday 12th March

Future Diary Events

● Thursday 1st April - End of Term 4
● Thursday 1st April - INSET DAY - no students in school
● Monday 19th April - Start of Term 5

Dear Students, Parents and Carers,
Welcome back

Our students have had the best possible teaching and learning while in lockdown 1 and 3 with
their Real Time, Remote Learning. Uckfield College teachers have not only been explaining,
questioning and modelling how to answer questions but we have also been using a variety of tools
to assess students. As students return to face to face teaching we will focus on:

● Inspiring teaching
● Getting students to think hard
● Encouraging students to discuss their ideas and develop their oracy skills
● Assessing their understanding
We will map where students are currently with their knowledge; then deepen and consolidate their
prior learning so that where there are any areas that students do not feel confident, we will enable
them to master the curriculum. We have planned support and interventions so that the work
covered during lockdown can be revisited, any misconceptions corrected and student
understanding strengthened.
We are really looking forward to welcoming all our students back into college next week. We have
missed their good humour and laughter.

Sequence of return dates
Monday 8th March:​ All students in Years 7, 12 and 13 return to college all day and will be
back in college every day from Monday onwards. They will be tested that day (all

before lunch). Years 8, 9, 10 & 11 will continue with Real Time, Remote Learning.
Students in Y8, 9, 10 and 11 who currently come into college will continue to work in college. They
will not sit together in their year group classrooms as they currently do, they will go to their
normal timetabled classroom where their normal teacher will be leading remote learning for the
rest of the class at home. (Except for period 1, when they should go to these rooms: ​Y8 - AG03,
Y9 - AG15, Y10 - Reading Room, Y11 - AG17)

Tuesday 9th March:​ All students in Years 8 and 11 return to college all day and will be
back in college every day from Tuesday onwards. They will be tested that day (all
before lunch). Years 9 & 10 will continue with Real Time, Remote Learning. ​Students in
Y9 and 10 and 11 who currently come into college will continue to work in college. They will not sit
together in their year group classrooms as they currently do, they will go to their normal
timetabled classroom where their normal teacher will be leading remote learning for the rest of the
class at home. (Except for period 1, when they should go to these rooms:​ Y9 - AG15, Y10 -
Reading Room)

Wednesday 10th March:​ All students in Years 9 and 10 return to college all day and every
day from then on. They will be tested on Wednesday (all before lunch).

Covid testing
The rapid asymptomatic lateral flow tests are a way we can make our college full reopening as
safe as possible because about a third (and possibly more in the teenage population) of people
carrying covid are asymptomatic. That is why we expect and trust that all our students will do the
covid tests on themselves in school three times before getting their own home testing kit and
doing it at home twice a week after that. These tests are an additional safety measure to limit the
pandemic and we are still continuing with all the other safety measures. We are very lucky to have
the covid tests.

For students under 16, we do need parental permission and we would be very grateful if parents /
carers completed the consent form as soon as possible because we are planning a very large
logistical exercise to get everyone tested as we fully reopen the college next week. Thank you to
everyone who has given their permission. If you haven’t done so, please follow this link to the
consent form: ​Consent for covid tests

A negative test does not mean you can stop doing the covid safety protocols as you can still have
the virus even if your test comes up negative. There have been a number of studies done on how
accurate these tests are. In all the studies, the collection of the sample (from the throat and nose)
is done by the person on themselves; the difference between various studies has been on whether
this was done with well trained people (who would supervise and advise the person being tested

and also would carry out the processing of the swab in the tube and look at the result) or whether
the person carried out the test without supervision. The accuracy for people who did the tests in
centres run by trained personnel was about 30% more accurate than for people in a large city who
walked in off the street and carried out the test by themselves with only the instruction sheet to
follow. This is why students are asked to do them with our highly trained and experienced team
first. Please remember that whether students do the tests in college or later, they will do the
sample collection themselves. A sterilised mirror will be provided as the tonsil area is not easy to
reach without one. Once students have done the tests on themselves in college, students will be
given their home testing kits in the week beginning 13 March. The student home testing kits will
not arrive in schools until that week, so we cannot give them out any earlier.

If a student has had covid in the last 90 days, there is the possibility that they will get a false
positive but we suggest they still do the twice weekly lateral flow tests and we will take this into
account and not automatically get them to self-isolate. We suggest that they then get a PCR test
just to double check that they are not infectious.

The government has also announced the good news that everyone in your household / home
bubble can also be tested twice a week at home. ​From 1 March 2021, if you’re a member of a
household, childcare bubble or support bubble of a school pupil you can get a twice-weekly test.
You can either:

1. Get a test through your employer
Your workplace may offer rapid lateral flow testing to you. Contact your employer to find out
more.

2. Take a test at a rapid lateral flow test site
You can take a rapid lateral flow test at a local site. Testing at these sites is assisted, which means
you will swab yourself under the supervision of a trained operator.
You may need to book an appointment.
Find your nearest rapid lateral flow test site​.

3. Collect test kits
You can collect 2 packs of home test kits at a local collection point. Each pack contains 7 tests.
Anyone 18 or over can collect.
Most collection points are open from 1.30pm to 7pm. You can check online if the location is open
or busy before you go. You do not need to make an appointment.
Do not visit a collection point outside opening hours, as it may be used to test people with
coronavirus symptoms outside these times.
Find your nearest home test kit collection point.​

4. Order home test kits online
If you cannot get tested at your workplace, or are unable to go to a test site or collect test kits,
you can order a home test kit online.
Do not order online if you can get a test through other methods. This frees up home delivery for
those who need it most.

Order rapid lateral flow home test kit

How students and parents do lateral flow tests (at school and at home)
There is an excellent video by Dr Amir Khan, an NHS doctor, that gives clear guidance and support
about how to do these covid tests:​ h​ ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCqo7MhQT6U&t=144s
Some of our students have been tested already. This is a great account written by Molly in Year 13
about her experience:
On arrival, I sanitised my hands and was greeted at the door where I stated my name and was
given my swab and some other pieces of paper that the individual, who would help me conduct
my covid test, needed. I then proceeded to walk towards an available section to do my covid test.
The individual helping me gave me clear instructions as to how to conduct my covid test. Despite it
feeling uncomfortable, it was easy enough to do and did not take longer than 20 seconds. I was
told that it is a completely normal reaction to either gag, sneeze or have watery eyes - in which I
did all 3. However, after the test was done I felt absolutely fine and was able to get on with my
day. It took no longer than a few minutes overall and the staff made me feel extremely
comfortable during my experience.
Gabe in Year 13 has made a brilliant and very short video of our student testing centre (p​ lease
find the link here):​

One thing everyone will need to get used to is finding where to stroke their tonsils (or where the
tonsils were if they have been removed):

Timetables for the week beginning 8 March
Below is the timetable for next week, showing you the day that students return and what will
happen on your first day back. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday all students in school will
have mentoring Period 1 in their mentor rooms. Thursday and Friday will be normal school days.
We expect all students to return in full school uniform and with the weather improving this will
mean that jackets will not be allowed to be worn inside the school building.

Monday 8th March Tuesday 9th March Wednesday 10th March

Year 7 P1: students with form P1: students with form P1: students with form mentor
Year 8 mentor mentor P2 - 5 + PDT: in-school usual
Year 9 P2 - 5 + PDT: in-school usual P2 - 5 + PDT: in-school usual lessons
lessons lessons
P1: students with form mentor
First lateral flow test P2 - 5 + PDT: in-school usual
lessons
Phase 3 Remote teaching P1: students with form
P1-5 + PDT mentor P1: students with form mentor
P2 - 5 + PDT: in-school usual P2 - 5 + PDT: in-school usual
lessons
lessons First lateral flow test
First lateral flow test
P1: students with form mentor
Phase 3 Remote teaching Phase 3 Remote teaching P2 - 5+ PDT: in-school usual
P1-5 + PDT P1-5 + PDT lessons
First lateral flow test
Year 10 Phase 3 Remote teaching Phase 3 Remote teaching
P1-5 + PDT P1-5 + PDT P1: students with form mentor
P2 - 5 + PDT: in-school usual
Year 11 Phase 3 Remote teaching P1:students with form lessons
P1-5 + PDT
mentor P1: students with form mentor
P2 - 5+ PDT: in-school usual P2 - 5 + PDT: in-school usual
lessons lessons
First lateral flow test

Year P1: students with form P1: students with form
12/13 mentor mentor
P2 - 5 + PDT: in-school usual P2 - 5 + PDT: in-school usual
lessons lessons

First lateral flow test

What happens if I feel unwell?
In order to minimise the risk of the spread of possible infection, students should not come to
College if they, or anyone they live with, has​ any of these symptoms​:

● recent onset of a new continuous cough,
● a high temperature,
● loss of, or change in, normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia)

We are also asking students not to come into school before getting a PCR test, if they
have any of the less common symptoms​:

● aches and pains
● sore throat
● diarrhoea

● conjunctivitis (sore, red eyes)
● headache
● a skin rash,
● discolouration of fingers or toes
We know that some of the cases we have had in school presented these less common symptoms
and we would much rather people erred on the side of caution rather than unintentionally
spreading the virus in the school and causing lots of students to have to self-isolate.

Covid protocols
The impact of social distancing, hand washing and mask wearing can not be underestimated.
Although we may have seen a surge over the new year in Covid cases, (partly due to the new
highly transmissible variants) we have also seen incredibly low rates of flu across the country. The
NHS partly put this down to our new Covid safer practices.

Wearing a face mask is a way of showing that you care about others and their health and you are
doing your bit to help with the pandemic. Students in all year groups will have to wear masks at all
times in the building and during lessons. The only exception is for those who are exempt for
medical reasons and have provided evidence of this to their Pastoral Leader or the SEND dept if
more appropriate.

As a change to the rules before Christmas, all students will now also have to wear masks in all
year 7-11 lessons and the vast majority of 6th form lessons where social distancing can not be
guaranteed. To support this, good ventilation of classrooms will be managed by teachers.

Walking to and from school. Please remember that you may only do this with 1 other person
outside of your household bubble and must remain 2 meters apart. Students please ensure you
are being considerate of other members of the public when leaving school and make way for the
elderly. You must not walk in large friendship groups (2 is the maximum size) that take up the
whole pavement.

Please remember to wash your hands before leaving for school, throughout the school day and
when you return home. It is also advisable to carry hand sanitizer to use on a regular basis.

Expectations - every second counts
Students’ learning is our core purpose and to ensure that all students fulfill their potential ‘Every
Second Counts’ includes a few key expectations:

● that all lessons start in silence and
● have at least ten minutes of silent work during the lesson.

This is to provide students with the best environment to fully focus on their learning in every
lesson.

Alongside this, to ensure students feel a true sense of belonging to team Uckfield, to promote
equal opportunities and to avoid unconscious bias and peer pressure, we have the highest
expectations of students' uniforms. We trust all students to be wearing it correctly next week. This
includes correct footwear, no fake eyelashes and jewellery and no hoodies. Coats will no longer be
permitted indoors.

Break and lunch arrangements including having our field open. Litter
The same arrangements for break and lunch exist as before lockdown and your mentors will
remind you about these on your first day back. In terms of the Refectory, Years 10 and 11 have
swapped times at break and lunch so Year 11 are now first in at lunch and Year 10 are first in at
break. Ball games are not allowed on the Terrace and Court to ensure student safety.

Weather permitting, the field will be open to all students but you must remain in your designated
areas. Your mentors will go through with you where these are on your first day back.

In order to support our COVID protocols and maintain a calm environment in the school buildings,
students should walk on the left in corridors at all times. Furthermore, we are all very proud of our
new school building and a large amount of money has been spent to provide us with wonderful
new facilities for our students. Therefore we expect students to ensure litter is always put in the
bin and we all take responsibility for looking after our site and the global environment (e.g. waste
plastic is a global problem in oceans).

Students using Chromebooks during social times
In lockdown, we have noticed that students have not spoken as much as when in normal school.
We would like our students to develop their oracy skills by talking with each other at social times
(before school, at breaktime, lunchtime, after school). We will soon see some lovely and inspiring
wall displays and TV screen displays around the school and hopefully these will stimulate
conversations amongst the students. To help them to have these conversations we are introducing
a n​ ew rule of no chromebook use during social times o​ r between lessons, similar to the rule
about mobile phones.
In recent months our students have spent a lot of time each day on their chromebooks and some
of them are not good at regulating the time that they spend using them outside lesson times. The
new rule about no screens (mobile phones, chromebooks, tablets etc) at social times will help give
the students a break from their screens and will encourage them to talk with each other to develop
their oracy skills.

On Monday to Wednesday next week, if a student is seen using a screen at social times, they will
be asked to stop and will be issued a detention if they do not. From Thursday, they will not be
given a prior warning but will be given a detention straight away. If they are using their phone, it
will be confiscated. Chromebooks will not be confiscated.

How are you?
Lockdown and the Covid-19 pandemic in general has had a big impact on our lives. If a student
has suffered a bereavement or has concerns about their mental and emotional health please could
parents email the student’s Form Mentor. This will mean the pastoral team can assess what help
and support needs to be put into place with the aim of transitioning back into College as easily as
possible.

Clubs and after school activities that are restarting
An important part of our college life is the wide range of extra-curricular activities that are
normally offered. At present, we cannot run most of these activities due to the Covid restrictions.
However, Government guidance allows PE extra-curricular clubs and activities to take place and
our P​ E department has arranged a​ full timetable of activities f​ or when we return to
college.​ We know that it has not been easy for students to exercise as normal during the
lockdown, so we encourage everyone to take part in at least one PE club or activity each week.
The PE department will be ‘advertising’ the activities to students and the timetable will be shared
with students and their form mentors. Please encourage your child to take part.
The E​ co Club​ will also run (as this is an outdoor activity) on Thursday after school. Students
should contact Ms King for details.

Academic interventions will start up when students return to school. These initially will focus on
students in years 10 and 11 but will widen out after Easter and all interventions will be kept in year
group bubbles and socially distanced where possible. All lesson Covid Protocols (masks worn,
windows open etc) will be used.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read all of this letter. There is a lot to tell you about!
Looking forward to next week,

Hugh Hennebry and all the staff at Uckfield College

NOTICES  

Students attending college must bring a face mask to college every day.
Masks must be worn at all times whilst moving between classrooms and at any other time as
requested by a member of staff. It is really important that students have a good supply of
masks and they have a fresh, clean one every day.

Please bring correct change where possible.

Update on the full opening of secondary schools - f​ rom the Director of Children’s Services, East
Sussex. ​Click here for the letter​.

Science department
In order for us to best continue supporting their progress once we return to college we would like to
outline our planned activities for identifying where support will be most valuable.
Please see attached information - K​ S4 Science document

Reading Roundup

World Book Day 2021!
This year we delivered World Book Day activities remotely to students across all year
groups. The theme this year was ‘Reading is Power’, so we encouraged students to
reflect on the importance and power of reading, and to consider how the books they
read can help shape their lives and futures. Our KS3 students enjoyed a ​talk by local
author​ Jenny McLachlan, who offered insight into her inspirations and encouraged
students to think like authors themselves!

We also announced the winners of our World Book Day competitions. Maria T (Year
7) won the Extreme Reading competition for reading whilst in a contortionist yoga pose. Bronwen S, Maya
U and Freya H (Year 13) won the Creative Readers competition for their dramatic tableau of ‘King Lear’,
which they staged over Google Meet. Congratulations to all who entered! You can see all our winners on
our social media pages.

Please remind all students that they can pick up a £1 book token next week, which will allow them to get
a book for free in a local bookstore or supermarket. They can pick these up from their English teachers or
the Reading Room. ​More information here​ (including which books are available).

Recommended Read
Mrs Mitchell recommends ‘Holes’ by Louis Sachar: “I​ always recommend this book - the story pulls you in
straight away, it is really easy to read, and it comes to a really satisfying conclusion. It really is for
everyone!”

Talking Point​ - Reading is Power!
This year the World Book Day theme was “Reading is Power”. A good book can give us so much. It could
be an opportunity to further understand ourselves, a chance to exercise our curiosity, or it might offer us
the knowledge that we need to make decisions about our future. When was the last time you felt
empowered by a book? How did it help you?

Real-time remote learning: Guidance for Students (Rob Wakeling)
Please find below some guidance for your child which explores how they should continue to engage with,
and will be supported during, real-time remote learning.

RTRL - Key Messages for Students-​ -

Uckfield College Life​ ​- ​February’s World book day special Issue

January & February 2021 Edition - ​Uckfield College Life
Uckfield College Life will be published once a month. ​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, t​ [email protected].​

PREVIOUSLY SHARED INFORMATION:

To update any of your personal details with the college please remember to use EDULINK. Or if you are
having problems using that please let us know by emailing o​ [email protected]​.

Stagecoach Service Changes from 17th January
Following the government's recent announcement regarding another national lockdown, Stagecoach
thought it would be useful to up-date you all with what services they will be running during this time.

From Sunday 17th January, following guidance issued by the Department of Transport and consultation
with both Kent County Council and East Sussex Council, they will be reverting to the same level of service
provided pre-September.

Details of services can be found here: h​ ttps://www.stagecoachbus.com/SECovid19

Bus Service Update - Coronavirus (Covid-19) ​from East Sussex.gov.uk
https://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/roadsandtransport/public/buses/bus-service-changes-incl
uding-back-to-school-changes/#subtitle1

'All about Apprenticeships' - ​Please see a​ ttached December​ issue for lots of information for parents
and students on apprenticeships.

What Next booklet - advice and tips in an easy to read guide
Here is the brand new W​ hat Next booklet.​ This is a ​really​ useful guide for anyone aged 14 - 18 so please
do take a look and share with your child/ren. It is full of useful advice and practical tips at each stage of
the decision making journey.

Edulink access for parents/carers
Edulink One is our 'Parent Portal' where you can:

● promptly report to us that your child will be absent when they are ill,
● access your child's school reports (called Academic Profiles),
● view your child's timetable,
● view your child's attendance record,
● view details of any visits your child makes to our college medical room,
● view, recent parent information bulletins,
● Booking Parents' Evening appointments,
● inform the college of changes to your phone number, address, email etc,
● view your child's itemised purchasing history from our catering services,
● view details of achievement points given to your child by staff,
● view details of your child's behaviour log.

To access Edulink please go to the 'Parent Zone' on our college website and click the button called
'Edulink'. The direct link is:​ ​https://edulinkone.uctc.org.uk/#!/login?id=2

There is also an easy to use 'Edulink One' app for both Android and iPhones. Please consider downloading
and installing Edulink One from your device's App Store. Once available, you should use the same log in
details for the app as the web browser version. When prompted, you will need to confirm the Site ID as
'uc'.

If you do not currently have access to your Edulink username and password please contact the college,
via [email protected], to request our IT Service's team re-share your login details. Our aim is for
100% of Uckfield College parents/carers to be using EdulinkOne this year so please do join us. If you are
new to the platform, please find l​ inked here​ a guide for Edulink One:

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

If you have any questions about our covid protocols or any other worry, please submit your
question using this link - l​ ink to parent question.​ We will either publish some FAQs from your
questions or, if it is an individual matter, someone from the year group pastoral team will get in contact
with you.

 

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

Reporting Absences - S​ ee li​ nk to information on Website
Uckfield College Facebook - ​Uckfield College Facebook page
UCTC TWITTER- Follow us on ​Twitter @​ UckfieldCollege


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