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Letter from the Headteacher – 14/05/21

  • May 18, 2021

Dear Parents and Carers,

I wrote to you yesterday morning regarding the welcome change in guidance to end the use of face coverings in school. Late last night I received a joint statement from the Director of Public Health for Wigan and her counterparts across the Greater Manchester region, which contained a recommendation for schools in our region to continue the use of face coverings in school, particularly in communal areas (mainly corridors) where social distancing is difficult. This is a direct response to the rise in cases that we have seen in the region, most notably in Bolton. The statement reads:

Government guidance states that the reintroduction of face coverings for pupils, students or staff may be advised for a temporary period in response to particular localised outbreaks, including variants of concern, with advice from Directors of Public Health. We are seeing increasing spread in the North West of variants of concern. Several areas in the North West, particularly in Greater Manchester, have seen a recent increase in infections, including amongst young people. Evidence suggests that face coverings continue to be an effective way of reducing transmission. Within schools, they may reduce the extent of transmission and reduce the likelihood of bubbles needing to be asked to self-isolate at home, enabling you to maximise the amount of face to face teaching that can be offered this school year.

I am very disappointed in the timing of this statement, given that all indicators until yesterday morning had been positive and suggested we could fully ease this restriction in our school; however, headteachers are reliant on the experts to guide us and if their joint recommendation is to continue wearing face coverings in certain situations then it would be completely remiss of me to ignore this. In order to try to minimise similar localised outbreaks happening here in our school and community, I am going to continue with some elements of our face covering policy until half term, when the situation will be reviewed again.

Nobody is more frustrated than myself about this situation; however, I hope you can appreciate that in the interests of the school and local community I must respond to this eleventh hour development and heed the professional advice given to me. From Monday 17th May, in line with the recommendations from the Directors of Public Health, students will need to wear face coverings in communal areas in school, this includes the corridors and the canteen. At this stage face coverings will not be required in classrooms unless we are advised to implement this at later date; however, if students wish to voluntarily wear a face covering in lessons this will be allowed. Essentially, this takes our position on face covering back to the position it was in during the Autumn term. If you wish your child to be exempt from wearing a face covering, please can you inform your child’s Head of Year, and we will issue an exemption. All existing exemptions will of course remain in place.

Thank you for your continued support and understanding in these ever-challenging times.

Regards

Mr P Davies

Headteacher

How Yondr Works

Frequently Asked Questions

We want our students to be engaged in their learning. A child at high school should not really have a reason to contact a parent during the day; however, if there is a genuine reason e.g. they have forgotten their packed lunch, a phone call can be made home from the school office. If a parent needs to contact their child in an emergency, they should contact the school office. If you need to contact your child during the school day, contact the main office on 01942 883796.

In case of a school emergency, we direct our students to safety first, following our school emergency procedures.

 

Students are in possession of their phone - in their Yondr pouch - for the entire school day. We will advise students to store the pouch safely in their school bag or blazer pockets.

If a student damages their Pouch or is caught on their phone, we will confiscate the phone and issue a sanction which is likely to be a suspension.

Note: Damage consists of any signs that the physical integrity of the pouch has been compromised, whether intentional or unintentional, as determined by the school or Yondr staff.

Damaged pouches will be charged to parents at a cost of £20.

They will be searched and wanded with a handheld scanner by a member of SLT. If they are found to have their phone on their person they will be expected to place it in their pouch. Refusal will be met with suspension.

If a student forgets their Pouch, their phone will be confiscated.

As per our previous mobile phone policy;

  • Confiscated phones will be taken to reception where the phone will be secured in the school safe.
  • Parents will be alerted to the phone confiscation via the school office.

Parents will have the option to collect the phone at the end of the day. If parents do not collect the phone, the phone will remain in school until the end of the week or until the student has their pouch.

In Yondr’s experience, this almost never happens. All students funnel past the unlocking stations at the exits, they want their phones back and don’t forget to unlock their pouches. If they do arrive home with a phone in a pouch, they can either come back to school to unlock it, or have a phone free evening!

The unlocking process is quick and takes under a second per student. 

As a privilege, Year 11 will be able to unlock their phones as they go off site at lunchtime; however, they will be expected to put their phones back into their pouches when they return to school for period 5.

Yes. There is an adapted version of the pouch which uses a Velcro fastener instead of a magnetic lock. This means the student still follows the policy, but the adapted pouch gives them easy access to their phone when required. If the student abuses this, they will face a sanction. We are already aware of these students.

Your Office 365 account username is your school network account username followed by @flhs.wigan.sch.uk 
The password is the same password that you use in school to access computers.