Dear Parent/Carer

I genuinely hope that this letter finds you all well, safe and at home.  Your generosity, your support and your community unity has been both humbling and inspiring and everyone at Poynton High has been so proud to serve you, your children and our community over these last few weeks.  As we move into the Easter break I just wanted to write a note to say thank you but to also give you some updates on a few aspects of school life.  I hope you find these useful and I would also like to encourage you to visit our website for more updates (www.phs.cheshire.sch.uk) and follow us on twitter (@PHS_Headteacher and @PoyntonHigh) where we put daily updates of activities and notices. 

Over the last two weeks we have been supporting our national effort to fight this virus through opening our doors to support those families who are critical workers, and have no other option for child care, and also supporting some of our most vulnerable learners.  I am so very grateful to our staff who have continued to open school and deliver this programme of learning; our teachers, administration, IT, site, cleaning and catering staff have been amazing.  Thank you also to all of our families who have heeded the national government instruction over keeping your children at home if at all possible. In addition to this, we have also been able to support both the NHS and local care workers through providing face masks and protective eye equipment to help them in their efforts very much ‘on the front line’. 

I have received a number of requests from parents asking if they could come to school to pick up their child’s exercise books or portfolios.  Unfortunately, this is strictly against the government guidelines and I am having to refuse such requests.  I genuinely do understand that this is a challenging situation but I must ensure that I protect my staff and our community by strictly adhering to the guidelines.  If and when the restrictions are lifted I will of course revisit this situation.  Thank you in advance for your understanding on this. 

If you have any concerns over the safeguarding of your child or feel that they would benefit from a welfare phone call, please do not hesitate to e-mail us at safeguarding@phs.cheshire.sch.uk and we will arrange for contact to be made.  In addition to that, if your home circumstances change and there are aspects you wish us to know, again please do not hesitate to contact us on the same e-mail address so that we can do our best to support you and your child during these very difficult times. 

There has been a great deal of discussion regarding the grading of both the Year 11 and Year 13 examinations (GCSEs, BTECs, A-Levels).  The government today has released the guidance and this can be found from this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gcses-as-and-a-level-awarding-summer-2020  I have set up a dedicated e-mail address for any questions from students and parents regarding this.  Please do not e-mail staff directly so as to keep them free to support the at-home working but rather e-mail exams2020@phs.cheshire.sch.uk if you have any questions regarding the year 11 or year 13 qualifications.  We are developing a section on our website for ‘frequently asked questions’ and I would encourage you to visit there in the first instance.  Please be aware, I have instructed staff to not answer directly any questions regarding the grading of qualifications to ensure that the most accurate, fair and consistent message will be given. 

Slightly bizarrely, in the midst of all of this madness, over the last two weeks I have received confirmation that our multi-academy trust is expanding.  This last Wednesday we formally welcomed Disley Primary School into The TRUE Learning Partnership and I have also learned that we have formal permission to bring both Hague Bar Primary School and Glossopdale School into our trust.  If you are interested in the work of TTLP then please visit our website for more detail: www.truelearning.org.uk  We presently have a vacancy for a trustee for our Trust Board so if you wish to be considered for this service and specifically have an accounting or financial industry background please do not hesitate to drop me a line at dwaugh@truelearning.org.uk. 

There are lots of exciting things happening with our at-home cohort and it is brilliant to see our students ‘…staying put with both feet’ and getting involved in the on-line doddle activities, weekly challenges, daily challenges and starting to learning new skills and knowledge.  Over Easter we will be releasing a daily ‘Easter Challenge’ via twitter so please look out for this alongside your Joe Wicks homework outs. 

All it leaves me to say is, THANK YOU!!  I am humbled by your support and your understanding.  I just hope, truly, that what comes out of this is a better world, and I genuinely mean that, one where we might be kinder, smile more, support more, and realign our priorities in life.  I just wanted to share this quote with you…

“…I love the stillness.  The blueness of the sky.  Clear air.  Birdsong not traffic.  Lone footsteps.  Spring flowers blooming with new defiance.  People say it feels dead.  It also feels more alive.  Like leaning in to hear the earth’s heartbeat.” 

As we move into Easter, please remember, Easter is Easter!!  Stop working.  Get off line!!  Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home.

Always in your service.

 

Kind regards

David Waugh

Head Teacher