Blessed Trinity RC College, Burnley, Lancashire.

Year 10 Return - Phase 2

Message to our Year 11 Leavers

Letter from The Headteacher

3 July 2020

I hope that you and your family are well. I’m sure that you have been following the news and the Government announcement regarding our opening in September for all pupils. I have included the link to the full document (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools). It is a lengthy document and we are currently working through it and the many implications it has for us and will update you when our plans are fully in place. We are so excited that we will be welcoming all of our pupils back in. As you can imagine, there are a good many logistical problems that we will have to solve over the coming weeks to balance high quality education, social distancing and minimising contact between our 1265 pupils and 200 staff. Thanks for your continuing support and patience.

Thanks to all of those pupils who completed our pupil survey last week, it is so important for us to hear the views of our pupils in order to continue moving forward and provide the best education possible, particularly in these unusual times.

I was delighted to see the ranges of responses to how our pupils are looking after their well-being; lots of exercise, use of our PSHE well-being activities and spending time with family. It was pleasing to see that the vast majority of our pupils are having great work / life balance with 78% of pupils reporting to be working up to 4 hours a day, a very small minority are working 6+ hours a day, as I have said previously, you know your child best please make sure they stop when they have had enough.

It was pleasing for us to see that 86% of those surveyed still feel well connected and supported by the school, please encourage your child to contact their teacher via SMH if they are struggling with any aspect of the work. It was wonderful from a Teaching and Learning perspective to see so many responses to the question asking what type of activities they enjoy the most, it is great to see the variety of work being set.

We value the feedback on what we can do to improve and one area that we are keen to respond to is the requirement for more video lessons, we have responded to this by providing staff training and we are looking to move towards Microsoft Teams to offer more interaction and live lessons. I really enjoyed seeing the list of staff that your children had nominated as their ‘star teacher’. I will make sure the individual teachers are informed about this, they will be really pleased to hear it.

Year 7 Full Written Report
Staff are busy completing full written reports for our Year 7 pupils. We shall send these out to you, by email, during the last week of this term.

Progress Reports Year 8-10
We have taken to decision not to send out our usual Summer progress report this term. Pupils and parents have been doing a terrific job with Home Learning over the past 12 weeks and we have tried our best to celebrate this by tweeting great work and issuing weekly pupil rewards. We agreed with external advice however, that is was not appropriate to expect pupils to complete their usual Summer assessments during Lockdown. Without this evidence it seemed unreliable and unfair to change any of the current grade predictions we have made for pupils. At the moment, our plans are to review grades and send out new Progress Reports next term.

Year 10 Pupils: Phase 2 Lessons
We are all ready to welcome Year 10 pupils back for their Phase 2 face-to-face teaching in English, Maths and Science from Monday 6 July. Full details have been sent out to all pupils and we have put together a video to explain what each day will look like; it is available to view on our website or Twitter page. If you do have any further queries, however, do not hesitate to get in touch. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Year 11 Pupils: Results Day 2020
Results Day this year is on 20th August 2020.
We have written to all Year 11 pupils to explain our plan to email out results this year. It is essential that you read and complete the form attached to this letter so that we are able to get results out to all our pupils on the correct day.

Mental Health and Wellbeing
If you are concerned about your child’s mental health, please see the link to a poster provided by Lancashire NHS http://www.btrcc.lancs.sch.uk/index.php/11-news-text-breaking/733-young-people-s-mental-health-support) for access to Virtual Drop ins, these are commencing next week. These are open to children, young people, their families or professionals.

Todmorden Bus
For any parents who need further details about this service for the next academic year, we have had assurances from the bus company that they are just tying up the final details, including information about bus passes. We should have all the necessary information for you in our next parental letter.

We have also attached a really useful booklet which has been produced by Lancashire Mind in relation to looking after your wellbeing with a focus on working from home, furlough and redundancy. This guide explores the effects that changing of work patterns, uncertainty and job loss can have on a person’s mental health and wellbeing. We realise that some of our parents might be experiencing unexpected uncertainties in relation to jobs. The booklet explores some of the circumstances people may find themselves in, how it can affect their mental health and wellbeing and things which can be done to keep you well through uncertain times.

To reflect the current COVID situation, we have updated our behaviour policy. http://www.btrcc.lancs.sch.uk/index.php/2019-10-02-14-51-58/college-policies/84-behaviour

I do hope you have a good weekend. I will be in touch again next week with a further update. Thank you for all you are doing in supporting your child with home learning. Two weeks to the holidays!

Yours sincerely

Richard Varey
Headteacher

Further information for Year 10 Parents and Pupils about the Phased Return to School

Phase 2
From 6 July 2020, Year 10 pupils will enter Phase 2 of their return, coming into school for face-to-face lessons in English, Mathematics and Science. In line with Government guidance, we shall be asking each pupil to come into school once a week and to continue with learning at home for the rest of the time. Pupils will work in groups of around 10.

At their Phase 1 Interviews, pupils are being told their day, group and room for the Phase 2 face-to face lessons. We shall send out further details about the structure of Phase 2 next week. In the meantime, we are pleased to attach again a brief outline of the intended learning from each Core curriculum area.

Phase 2: Face-to-face Lessons
Here is a brief outline of the work Year 10 pupils will be doing during Phase 2, from 6 July 2020.

English
The English team have designed Literature lessons around ‘A Christmas Carol’ looking at themes and characters. There will also be work on Language. At their Phase 1 interview, all pupils will receive a revision guide for ‘A Christmas Carol’ and some ‘Walking Talking Mock Papers’. Pupils will need to bring these resources with them into school for their face-to-face lessons. English teachers will offer further guidance and instructions on Show my Homework.

Mathematics
The Mathematics team have designed their sessions around key GCSE topics and exam technique in areas that pupils in Year 10 can often find difficult. At their Phase 1 interview, all pupils are receiving a copy of a recent GCSE paper. Pupils will need to bring this paper with them into school for their face-to-face lessons. Maths teachers will offer further guidance and instructions on Show my Homework.

Science
The Science team have designed their sessions around high impact GCSE exam technique and interpreting exam style questions. At their Phase 1 interview, all pupils will receive copies of recent GCSE papers. Pupils will need to bring these papers with them into school for their face-to-face lessons. Science teachers will offer further guidance and instructions on Show my Homework.

We have worked hard to make these first sessions meaningful and relevant to our pupils but will review all arrangements on a regular basis and keep you fully informed of any changes.

Updated guidance for parents and carers

The guidance for parents and carers on the closure of educational settings has been updated.

The guidance can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/closure-of-educational-settings-information-for-parents-and-carers

Other Support Information

Submitting Work on a mobile phone using Show My Homework

Managing your Show My Homework account

Government Information

The govenment had published guidance for all UK residents on what you need to know about the Coronavirus pandemic and what you should do. Follow the link below for the most up to date information.

https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus

GCSE Exam information from OFQUAL

Please see below latest information in full from Ofqual regarding GCSE exams:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofqual

Recent Letters From The Headteacher

3 JULY 2020

UPDATED INFORMATION REGARDING YEAR 7-10, YEAR 11 LEAVERS
AND THE PHASE 2 RETURN OF YEAR 10 STUDENTS

25 JUNE 2020

UPDATED INFORMATION REGARDING YEAR 11 AND THE PHASE 1 / 2 RETURN OF YEAR 10 STUDENTS

19 JUNE 2020

UPDATED INFORMATION REGARDING THE PHASE 1 RETURN OF YEAR 10 STUDENTS

Additional Year 10 Information

15 JUNE 2020

UPDATED INFORMATION REGARDING THE PHASE 1 RETURN OF YEAR 10 STUDENTS

12 JUNE 2020

LETTER TO PARENTS AND CARERS ABOUT PUPIL SUPPORT

5 JUNE 2020

LETTER TO PARENTS AND CARERS ABOUT PUPIL SUPPORT

Older Letters Click Here

OTHER RESOURCES AND INFORMATION

MANAGING YOUR SHOW MY HOMEWORK ACCOUNT

A Useful Guide to Managing your Show My Homework Account so that it more organised and appears less cluttered

ONLINE SAFETY

Keeping students safe online

Parent / Carer Online Safety Support Guide

Parent / Carer Online Radicalisation Information

ONLINE CULTURE

Some staff and families might be interested in this to keep their cultural experiences alive.

https://www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on/2020/digital-stage/

Links on here for upcoming online dance classes aimed at families and elderly, which staff might like to share their friends and families.

SOME SCIENCE RELATED PROGRAMME YOU CAN WATCH AT HOME

If you have a few moments and want to catch up on the Sciences and Science related topics, there is plenty of media on straeming and catch-up services, Here is a link which details some of the programmes we have found for you.

OFFICE 365 FOR STUDENTS

Students at Blessed Trinity have access to use Microsoft Office 365 at home

Follow the link for Instructions on installing Office 365

HOME LEARNING

Home Learning Timetable

Work should be available by 9:30am each day. Additionally, staff will be available to answer individual queries between 9-1pm each day using the Show My Homework facility.

The school have collated some useful resouces to allow parents and carers to continue with home learning during the closure, these are organised by subject.

HOME LEARNING RESOURCES, CLICK HERE

ONLINE RESOURCES AND SUPPORT THAT STUDENTS AND PARENTS CAN ACCESS

TASSOMAI

Tassomai is a online learning resource for all Year 9 and 10 learners.

This program allows students to develop their recall and retention skills of the key scientific concepts they have covered in preparation for their GCSE examinations.

In these unprecedented times this is an invaluable resource that will allow learners to continue to develop their understanding and unable them to become experts in the topics already taught.
We would recommend that learners log on to Tassomai for 15 minutes a day to aid their recall of key facts.

Pupils will be provided with details to allow them to make their own account and monitor their progress from their class teachers via Show my Homework.

If you have any questions please email Mrs Hacking at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Tassomai Guide

TASSOMAI LETTER TO PARENTS AND CARERS

Tassomai Letter

LCC SUPPORT GUIDES

Lancashire County Council have published an on-line guide for parents and carers, on how they can help their child continue their learning during the school closure.

They have also published a Mental Health guide that provides information and resources that may help families and students who are self-isolating.

Helping your child study guide

Helpful Mental Health advice

MENTAL HEALTH

Helping children deal with stress

WHO information about dealing with stress and the impact on mental health caused by the COVID-19 outbreak

MESSAGE OF WELCOME FROM THE HEADTEACHER

BLESSED TRINITY RC COLLEGE

Welcome, Blessed Trinity is a fantastic place - we believe that we are part of God’s creative process, fulfilling the potential of each individual in order to make the world a better place. We are a vibrant community, inspiring young hearts and minds and enabling all of our youngsters to flourish.

We do hope that you find our website a useful resource.

Richard Varey
Headteacher