Posted May 3 - 2024Headteacher's Newsletter
what's happening at Chesham Grammar
Posted on: April 20th 2020
Head's Blog
Dear Parent,
Today is the first day of the summer term and just a reminder that lessons will resume tomorrow for students, with teachers working together today (remotely, of course) to plan for this half term. Thank you once again to those parents who completed our survey at the end of last term. The feedback from this and the student survey has helped us to think about home learning for this term. Staff are working together today with the aim of increasing the use of the available technology where possible so that there is greater variety in terms of the way in which learning is delivered. We will of course review this again after a few weeks and seek further feedback. Our staff are working hard to ensure that students can continue with their learning at home and we are doing what works for us. I have a weekly meeting with several other grammar school Heads in the area so that we can discuss common issues and share ideas and we are all approaching home learning in a similar way, which is reassuring.
I know I have said this in every communication so far but please remember that all schools are shut. Some parents are worried about their child falling behind during the time we are closed. Children fall behind when they are not in school but when everyone else is! If your child undertakes the work set at home, she or he will not fall behind. They may not be doing exactly the same as someone else in another school but they are learning what we want them to learn so please try not to worry. If your child seems to be being set a huge amount and is struggling to complete it all, then something is not quite right our end and we need to know. We are all still getting to grips with this and we are adapting as we go, so please tell us if your child is finding it difficult to complete the work so that this can be adjusted. There has been a good deal of information released about what children should be doing at home in terms of hours each day. The common consensus is that around three hours a day, especially at key stage 3, is about right. This is a view I share. Above all else, it is the mental and physical health of us all which needs to be prioritised at present. There was an article on the BBC website yesterday about home learning which you can read for yourselves if you wish: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-52314856 I thought it was quite useful. It finished with a plea to parents not to worry if things don't go quite according to plan and commented that "children won't remember finishing that geography homework, but they will remember how it made them feel and what the vibe in the house was like."
During the Easter break, there were some announcements about the release of new resources designed to support learning at home during the lockdown period. The Department for Education released a list of useful online education resources and today, the BBC launches the 'biggest online education push in its history' with lots of resources available. BBC Bitesize has launched BBC Bitesize Daily available online and on iPlayer. There are lots of lessons and resources here and there are also resources to supplement GCSE and A level courses being made available on BBC4. You may also have heard about Oak National Academy which goes live today. This is releasing 'a sequenced plan of video lessons and curricular resources for teachers to use...to complement their existing teaching', in a range of subjects. Some of these materials and resources may well be used by our teachers but they are all freely available to students and parents too so do have a look if you wish. As I have said before, learning is about so much more than what comes from school and there may well be topics or areas which interest your child and which she or he may wish to explore.
I mentioned mental health earlier. We know that some of our students are struggling during this period of lockdown and are really missing the interactions and routines which come with day-to-day school life. If this sounds familiar, please be reassured that you and your family are not alone. If you are worried about your child, please get in touch with us. There are lots of resources about mental health and wellbeing available and Mr Bradbury has shared some of these on our website, under the 'safeguarding' section.
Over the course of the next week or so, tutors will be making contact with students in their tutor group, just so we can touch base with the students and see how they are. House Leaders will also be in touch with parents if we are concerned that there is a pattern of work set not being submitted. This is not so that we can issue any sort of sanction but so that we can check to see if a student needs some support.
I will of course continue with my weekly newsletter now that term has resumed.
I hope the week goes well for you and your family.
Best wishes,
Annmarie McNaney
Headteacher
