16 July 2021

Dear Parents/Carers
Year 10 – End of Summer Term
It has been wonderful to have the Year 10 cohort back with us from March and for them to catch up with their friends. Since the return they have shown great pride and perseverance in spite of all the restrictions that come with the current climate. The past term has been a busy learning path for our students who have had to rise to the challenges in continuing on their GCSE journey. Some students have already taken part of their GCSE exams during this difficult time with great success. The next academic year curriculum will provide opportunities for additional Maths, Science and English sessions in order to strengthen confidence in their knowledge and understanding in these core subjects.

The anticipated summer break is about to commence and offers time to relax and reflect on the achievements of your child during this difficult year. We hope your child will continue to flourish and learn many more great things as they approach their final year of their GCSE curriculum. I look forward to working in partnership with your child and yourselves to ensure your child achieves their potential and would like to thank you for your support during the past academic year. I hope they stay safe and remain kind towards each other demonstrating EPCS Character throughout.

Equipment
The Summer provides an excellent opportunity to replace and restock your child’s equipment. A student that is not equipped, causes significant disruption to the learning environment and valuable learning time is lost as they are not organized. It also means they cannot be successful across the school day. We
ask for your support with this, making sure you have agreed upon and purchased items to support your child. A personal reading book, their own water bottle and a fully stocked pencil case to fully engage with their learning are the minimum required. We will provide them with a student handbook and a place to
write their timetable in, upon their return to school. Stationery equipment can be purchased from the school via your ParentPay account.

Masks
Whilst these are not compulsory we are recommending children have access to a mask in case they need to use one from the start of term. We, like you, are not sure as to how the summer will run in terms of case numbers so it is best to be prepared.

Uniform
We return in September in our Winter uniform (not polo shirts) and we ask that you resolve any issues you identify with your child’s uniform in readiness for the start of term. In particular, many students have outgrown their school shoes so please ensure that these are replaced in time. If students are without the correct uniform then we ask that you provide them with a dated and signed note and that the issue is rectified within three days. Students attending school without the correct uniform and without a qualifying note will have break and lunchtime removed until the issue has been resolved.

Mobile Phones
All students in Year 7, 8, 9, 10 and Year 11 must hand in their mobile phones during morning tutor (Roll Call) as they are not permitted to have mobile phones in their possession. The phone should be silenced and notifications turned off. Students arriving late (after Roll Call) will be expected to hand their phone
into Raising Standards for safekeeping. The phone will be collected by the lates team when they enter via reception, if late without a valid reason they will incur a late detention to be served the same day after school. Students who have a planned appointment, for example, the dentist must let their tutor know, then hand their phone into Raising Standards so that they can collect it at the appropriate time, when signing out of school. Parents and students should be clear that the misuse of mobile phones will not be tolerated and failure to hand in their phone will be treated seriously by the school as it is in clear breach of our rules. Parents wanting to communicate with their child during the school day should do so via the school office. Misuse of their mobile phone will be dealt with using the principle of “see it, hear it, and take it”. If a student is found in possession of a mobile phone between 8.50 am and the end of the school day, communication will be made to the home and the parent/carer will be responsible for visiting the school to collect the mobile phone by appointment. We ask for your support with this and to explain our clear expectations to your child to avoid any conflict with staff. Full details of the school’s Mobile Phone Policy can be found on the school website.

Medical issues
Please update the school regarding any changes in your child’s medical history that will impact on our duty of care or compliance with standard school rules. Please email welfare@epschool.org  with any details. Our welfare team will be happy to discuss with you any changes to ongoing conditions or medication and you should make sure any out-of-date medicines are replaced if still needed.

Communications
Please inform the school of any changes in your named contacts (two are needed for legal reasons) or if any other details have changed, for example, your email, mobile phone number or address. Please email info@epschool.org.

Attendance
We will continue working in partnership with WPA Education Welfare Services in promoting a positive approach to attendance. Could I please remind parents to contact the school before 8.00 am if your child is unable to attend for any reason. The telephone number of our student absence line is 01344 304567 option 1 or 01344 390824 (direct line) and the e-mail address is attendance@epschool.org. It is likely that you will receive a telephone call or text message from the school if your child does not arrive and you have not informed us of the reason.

Return to school in September
Following Government guidelines, we have been advised that students should be tested at school before the school term commences. Before welcoming students back to school, we are therefore required to complete Lateral Flow Testing across all year groups. Students are required to wear their school uniform when they are being tested but once the test has been completed they will return home. We have on file consent forms from the previous round of testing but if you have changed your mind regarding the voluntary testing please let the Head of Year know.

The arrangements for each year group returning to school have been set out below. Students in all year groups will have returned to school by Tuesday 7 September and will be given their new timetable on their return.

Return to school arrangements:

Thursday 2 September 2021
8.45 – Year 7 testing
9.45 – Year 10 testing
10.45 – Year 11 testing
11.45 – Year 8 testing
12.45 – Year 9 testing
1.45 – Year 12 & 13 testing
Students are expected to wear their correct School uniform and go home after testing.

Friday 3 September 2021
8.40 Year 7 and 12 Students – Transition day 1

Monday 6 September 2021
WEEK A School timetable
Students in school Years 7, 11 & 12

Tuesday 7 September 2020
WEEK A School timetable
All year groups to be in school at 8.40

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your family a relaxing summer break and we look forward to welcoming students back in September.

Yours faithfully

Mr S Puttick
Head of Year 10