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Announcement

School Closure

Dear Families,

 

It's something of an understatement to say a lot has happened this week! I could never have imagined that I would be talking about the school closing - yet here I am.

 

The children of key workers and vulnerable children

From next week, we will be closed to all students apart from children with EHCPs, those with key worker parents and other children who are vulnerable. If you require more information to see if this applies to your daughter/ward please check here

 

If you believe your daughter/ward is part of this group please email carley.stephenson@egas.islington.sch.uk  and give information on year, house and which group they apply to. 

 

Current advice is that students should only attend school if absolutely necessary to prevent the spread of the virus.  

 

Students that are attending will follow the below timings of the day:

9.30am-10.00am - breakfast will be available 

10.00am-2.00pm - the day will consist of a mixture of group activities and online learning set via students specific teachers. 

2.00pm - end of the school day.

 

To support with planning for lunches we please ask that your daughter/ward notifies reception on arrival that day if they require a lunch so we can fully cater for those on site. 

 

Working at home

We expect events to move quickly and to be unexpected. However, we are sure of our commitment to keeping our students safe and learning. Work will be set daily on one of our online platforms. Your daughter will need to check her emails, Google classroom and Show My Homework every day. There is a list of websites in this week's newsletter. We have also printed some numbers of organisations where you can source any support you might need.

 

The Home Learning section of the school website can be accessed here where you will find:

 

  • Home Learning Guides for both KS3 and KS4. These give an overview of courses and support materials that can be used. They also provide email addresses of teachers in each department.

 

  • Super Curriculum learning opportunities. This document includes a wide number of enriching opportunities for students that can all be accessed at home throughout the school closure.

 

  • Google classroom codes so that students can access work on this platform from their teachers.

 

  • Resources for EAL learners.

 

  • Contact details of pastoral members of staff. Tutors will email their tutees weekly to touch base and see if any support is needed but if a student or parent would like pastoral support they can contact their Head of House at any time.

 

We will endeavour to give as much feedback as possible and provide the best range of learning activities as we can, but please understand that we will not be able to provide the same experience as if school was open. It is also inevitable that we will have staff who will be unwell at points during this closure, and whilst we will do our best to cover their classes this may cause some reduction in work set for a period of time. 

 

Free School Meals

We will continue to provide a free meal at lunchtime to any student on free school meals. In the first instance this will be a packed lunch available to collect at a designated time from the Risinghill Street entrance. If you would like to make use of this provision and have not already informed us, please email admin@egas.org.uk or ring the school office. We will inform you of a time when your child can collect their lunch as we will need to stagger collections in order to guarantee effective social distancing.

 

As time goes on, we are hoping to make alternative arrangements to support families whose children are entitled to free school meals. We will be in touch regarding this.

 

Illness

Please remember that it is really important that we are kept aware of any confirmed cases of COVID-19 in your family and ask that you let us know by either emailing tina.southall@egas.islington.sch.uk, informing us via the study bugs app  or studybugs.com  or telephoning the school on 0207 837 0739.

 

Examination groups

The Department for Education has released information about how it will be awarding grades to students who are not sitting exams. This can be accessed here. In essence, teachers will take into account a range of evidence and data to submit a judgement about the grade they believe the student would have received if the exams went ahead. Students will also have the opportunity to sit exams at the soonest possible time once schools have reopened. 

 

We know what a difficult time this is for you, and will be available to support you if you have any questions about the work provided. And remember: if you or your child feels ill and you want to know what to do next, please use NHS 111 online.

 

Finally, I would like to say a huge thank you to staff and parents for the support they've shown. And, of course, thank you to our wonderful students who have responded to these unsettling times with maturity and kindness.

 

Yours sincerely,   


 

Sarah Beagley

Headteacher