16 July 2021

Dear Parents/Carers
Year 7 – End of Summer Term
I have only just come to know this positive cohort of students. What I have found is an enthusiastic and caring group of students who have a real determination to succeed in their studies. I see this in their lessons, in their interactions at break and lunchtime and most recently when completing their activities during Criss Cross day. It was wonderful to see them learning how to work together and support one another.

This has been a year with some challenges, the transition from Year 6 to 7 can be a difficult one to navigate. With the stop start nature of face-to-face learning both in Years 6 and 7 these challenges have increased. I am pleased to see the level of ownership students have taken over their education and the mature response they have had to these challenging circumstances. We are a school that expects students to take pride in what they do and show respect towards one another. This Year 7 cohort has all the hallmarks of this and I look forward to helping them further develop this in Year 8.

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 lunch time 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 T Ayliffe
Head of Year 7