3 April 2020

Dear Parent/Carer,

Easter Holidays - COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

I do hope that you and your families are staying well. There have been some tragedies across
the country and some of these events have touched families in our school community, so I would
be grateful if you would keep people in your thoughts and look out for other members of society
during these pressing times.

Regarding the weeks ahead for our staff and students, please do note the following information.

The school is closed during Easter. However, if you are a critical worker and need support, there
are a number of schools open across the borough and they may be able to accommodate your
son/daughter/ward. The link to the Local Authority (LA) website, where further information can
be found is here.

Key Parent/Carer Contact Information

We would be grateful if all parents/carers could ensure that we have the most up-to-date contact
information for you, especially phone numbers. You can update your own records through the
Parent Portal or via the new school app.

Free School Meals

The LA have agreed to provide Free School Meal vouchers over the school holiday period.
Families that are eligible will have received a separate letter regarding the next voucher. After
Easter, we will take advantage of the Government’s National Voucher Scheme and details of this
scheme will be issued over the holiday period.

Should any family be experiencing difficulties and think that they have become eligible for Free
School Meals recently, then please do make an application to the Local Authority by completing
the form here. If the application is confirmed, we will endeavour to make arrangements for support
as quickly as we can.

Remote Learning

We are aware that the move to home learning will have been a challenge for many students as
well as parents/carers. We cannot replicate a school experience from home but hope that you
are managing to support us in our efforts to maintain education by keeping routines in place and
by providing as much support as you can to your children. We do hope that it has not been too
burdensome and that your son/daughter/ward has managed to keep up with the work.

Lessons will stop at lunchtime on Friday, the normal end-of-term for the school. It might well be
the case that some students have work to complete during the break, especially some of the
senior students with coursework deadlines still in place. The staff will be spending the afternoon
in team meetings (online) discussing how the first two weeks have progressed and planning for
the new term.
Continued on next page…
After Easter, we will move into the next phase of home learning. As student and staff skills
improve, our teaching staff will be asked to increase their engagement with students, with some
direct contact teaching (technology allowing) and by periodically collecting samples of work for
feedback.

All contact with students will be undertaken through Microsoft Teams in order to ensure
consistency of practice and online safety. Students will be sent an email with a link to training
videos on YouTube. Please do note that staff will not be responding to individual student emails
as this will not be manageable. There will be the opportunity for some contact through Microsoft
Teams on the “chat” icon. There will also be a “helpline” within the class team.

Work will continue to be set through PARS, which students can access on the INSIGHT app
and/or the Parent Portal. Different subject areas will provide material in different formats and
students are encouraged to continue to do their very best in all of their learning. Self-discipline
and self-regulation will remain important and we continue to ask parents/carers to support their
children with their learning.

Easter Enrichment

We will not be setting additional school work for the school holiday period. However, a number of
staff have been preparing a range of exciting activities for the break to inspire students and to
keep them engaged in a wide range of opportunities which link in to our “Isleworth & Syon Way”
strategy.

All students have been emailed the link to the document. These activities are designed to appeal
to a wide range of interests and it is hoped that your son/daughter/ward will find them inspiring.

Please find the link to the activities here. They are also available on the ‘Study and Revision
Skills’ page of the school website.

Summer Term

The summer term begins on Monday 20 April, when the online teaching will recommence. This
was due to be a non-school day for our students and a training day for our staff. This training day
will be deferred, probably by just a few days in order to give our staff the opportunity to collate
GCSE and Advanced level grades for submission to the examination boards. We will inform you
of the new date once it has been confirmed.

I do hope that you manage to enjoy the holiday period. I also want to recognise the enormous
effort and commitment of the staff at school who have been working tirelessly endeavouring to
keep education provision going. Thank you too to our parents/carers for your continued support
and for the many positive messages that have been received. Stay well!

Yours faithfully,

Euan Ferguson
Headteacher