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Letter from the Headteacher – 16/05/21

  • May 18, 2021

Dear Parents and Carers

I am sure that you have been watching the news over the weekend with increasing concern about the alarming rise in cases of the new Covid variant, which is practically on our doorstep and is spreading amongst younger people especially.  As you know from my update on Friday, tomorrow we were due to ease our restrictions slightly on the wearing of face coverings by lifting the expectation to wear face coverings in classrooms; however, I would like you to consider the implications of this advice given by experts on the BBC this morning in relation to the spread of the new variant:

“The advice can be summed up like this; think twice about lingering for hours in a crowded room that has little fresh air”

Please now consider what it is like in a classroom in a high school. Whilst we do ensure that all our classrooms are well ventilated, many rooms are nevertheless small and can contain up to 27 people. The situation locally seems to be deteriorating rapidly, common sense dictates that now does not seem the time to be removing the expectation to wear face coverings in classrooms. Last week we had three cases of Covid within the same form bubble in Year 9 and a further case in Year 11 this weekend.  For this reason, from tomorrow, our full policy of wearing face masks in school, including in classrooms,  will be maintained. This course of action has already been endorsed by public health officials in Bury and Bolton and I suspect that the other Greater Manchester authorities will follow suit later this week.

I know that there may be some parents who will not welcome this change of direction, but I firmly believe that it is the most sensible thing to do in the circumstances. We know from the scientific advice that we were adhering to only last week that face coverings help to minimise transmission. If you do not agree with this and do not wish your child to wear a mask in classrooms, you can contact your child’s Head of Year and ask for an exemption, which will be granted. All existing exemptions will remain in place.

The students will be told about the change in the morning in an assembly. Of course, we will keep this policy under constant review and look to lift this restriction as soon as circumstances will allow us to do so.

I thank-you for your continued support and cooperation.

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.