I hope this finds you and your families well. A Friday update for you at the end of the second
week proper. It’s been another very positive week in school as students and staff begin to settle into
the rhythms of the new school year.
Nationally, there have been a number of developments that affect schools, namely the appointment
of a new Education Secretary, and confirmation after much toing and froing, that schools will be
asked to support with the vaccination programme for 12-15 year olds. On the first piece of news, I
hope Mr Zahawi can quickly provide us with news of what we can expect in terms of exams for the current Year 11, and more on the second piece of news below.
Just one positive case of Covid-19 in our school community this week at the time of writing. I had a
call this week with the Borough to discuss the vaccination programme further. The DFE have
explained their rationale for the programme as follows; “The main purpose of the Covid-19 childhood vaccination programme is to provide protection to the children who receive the vaccine and help to reduce transmission of Covid-19 in the wider population.”
Schools, as public buildings, have been asked to act as hosts so the vaccination programme can take place. We will also support the throughput of students, disseminate consent forms and dates etc. of the programme. I appreciate that this programme may be divisive, and is potentially an emotive topic for some. I hope not to be drawn into a debate about the pros and cons of the programme, I will leave families to do their research and reach their own decision about whether you wish your child to be vaccinated or not. I hope that families will respect the position schools find themselves in. Hopefully there will be a time soon where we can concentrate solely on our main purpose; namely delivering an outstanding education to Kelmscott students both in and outside the classroom.
Next Thursday 23rd September is our Year 11 Parents’ Evening that will take place on site. We have worked hard to plan a Covid secure event for families and staff. Departments will be spread out in different, well-ventilated, classrooms and spaces at the front of school to facilitate this. Staff and families will be expected to wear face coverings as we try to protect one another as best as
we can, I thank you in advance for your support with this. In order to stagger arrival, the evening
has been split into three slots, Year 11 families must sign up using the Eventbrite link below:
Please do not bring additional people, e.g. siblings to the evening, as we try to minimise the number of people on site. If you are unwell on the day, please do not come to the evening, we can always organise some follow-up telephone calls to update you on your child’s progress, that way. Having said all of that, we are very much looking forward to seeing you at this important event.
Details of the prayer spaces we have provided for students to pray in school, throughout the week,
were shared with students this week. This is something that we struggled to do last year due to
bubbles, so it is pleasing we are able to begin this again, as it is an important aspect of life for many of our community.
It was brought to my attention that responses to the info@ email address weren’t as quick as we
would like, my apologies if this has affected you. We think we have improved our systems here now and hopefully you will now receive a timely response to any enquiries to that email address. Please let us know if this is not the case and we will review it again.
Also, following an extensive update by the developers of MyEd, which included a complete rebrand, some parents have experienced issues with missing data and messages not showing, despite receiving notifications. If you are affected by this, please complete the following steps: open the app, tap the small square (made up of 3 small horizontal lines) in the top right hand corner, then tap Sync Data. If this doesn't clear the issue, please try deleting and reinstalling the app. Technology can be so helpful when it works well, but frustrating when it doesn’t, so please do let us know if you experience any further issues with the app.
Do get in contact if you would like to discuss any matters relating to your child’s education at
Kelmscott, wishing you an enjoyable weekend.
Yours sincerely
Mr Sam Jones
Headteacher