Closure Update - Thursday 26th March 2020

Closure Update – Thursday 26th March 2020

Dear Parents/Carers

I wanted to start by thanking you today for giving us the time to get systems up and running. Your patience has been appreciated by staff and so have your messages of support. I’m delighted to say that we’ve had record numbers of students using Show My Homework (SMHW) and I think we’ve all started to find the best ways to learn in different ways. Our SMHW team have been busy ensuring everyone has access and if you need any advice or support please contact either [email protected] or [email protected].

The update today will talk a little bit about building structure. We all know that routines are key for children. It doesn’t matter what the routine is, just that it is consistent. However, these are still new habits that need to be formed and we shouldn’t expect them to happen overnight. We are asking children to adapt very quickly. We should give them the opportunity to learn the new habits and routines in a new setting, School timetables are very different to home, we need to work together to help you find the balance but more importantly give the children time to adapt. This is a huge upheaval and we all need to take our time to adapt

We know that our families will be having a range of different approaches to home learning. We cannot control how you do this. However, we can support families by providing access to staff through email and Show My Homework to enable them to carry on learning. It’s also important to support the mental health and emotional state of the children during this transitional phase. We should not expect our children to be able to understand what is happening and the scale of the time we are talking about (because nobody does!) As with the routines, we need to take our time with this. Children WILL learn! We can model how to adapt to learning at home without panic. Reading, cooking, cleaning, gardening, helping with younger children, listening to others, being kind. All things that children learn daily and will do without too much intervention. Life is learning, change things slowly and the whole family will find it easier to adapt. And if you need some extra support or advice, our senior staff are on hand to speak to you and help out.

I have attached an excellent parent factsheet from The Key regarding home learning. Given all of this advice, information and the constant flow of work, my advice would be not to panic. Give yourself and your family time to adapt. We’re here right with you and our aim is to support the change gradually and not create more pressure at this time.

HOME LEARNING PDF – CLICK TO DOWNLOAD

On a different note, we need to ask casual visitors to stay away from the Academy. The country is on lockdown and travel into the Academy is for essential visits only, this includes picking food up or dropping children off and collecting them.

For food, we have created a contactless pick up system where we are strictly enforcing the two-metre rule and you only need to come to the main reception, not into the main part of the Academy.

To ensure that we are able to continue to provide our delivery system for Free School Meal (FSM) students, we are only currently providing for families in self-isolation due to a medical condition or families that are physically unable to get here. We are trying to ensure that this service continues to support those who are most in need. If you have any questions, please email us on [email protected] or send us a Facebook message.

We’ve received some enquiries about trips that are happening later in the year or in 2021. All of our trips are currently under review and unless you have heard otherwise will continue to run as normal. We are in constant discussion with tour operators and following strict advice from Government departments. If you have concerns or questions about payments, please email [email protected]. We will be in touch nearer the date when a decision has to be made about the individual trips going ahead.

I’ll finish off by saying that we are constantly reviewing the learning links on the website, you can find them here: https://bit.ly/2Jd3ImZ. We’ll also be adding a reading list soon which will be age-appropriate. If you are looking for a family fitness regime we can recommend The Body Coach every morning live at 0900. There are nearly one million people from all over the world taking part every day and we’d encourage you to visit The Body Coach on Facebook to join in.

Please follow Government advice by washing your hands frequently and reduce your social interactions – here’s some Government guidance on social distancing: https://bit.ly/2UxH51F.

Yours faithfully,

Dr Lisa Mason
Principal
Ormiston Forge Academy

Don’t forget:
Wash your hands
Cough/sneeze into your elbow
Don’t touch your face
Stay more than 6ft (2m) away from others
Stay home if you feel sick