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Strike Action – Letter to Parents and Carers

  • February 15, 2023

Dear Parents and Carers,

As you are no doubt aware the National Education Union (NEU) is coordinating a series of teacher strikes on the following dates: Tuesday 28 February 2023; Wednesday 15 March 2023; Thursday 16 March 2023.

I am writing to you now so that you have a clear indication of how these strikes are likely to affect the school. Due to the fact that a significant proportion of our teaching staff are members of the NEU, there will not be enough staff on site to ensure the safety of all 1300 students and so the school will have to close. The closure will be for the majority of students with the exception of Year 11 and a small number of Year 10 Food Technology students.

Tuesday 28th February

To mitigate the impact of this strike day on students in Year 11, the following plans are being put in place.

The strike day falls within our core mock exam week, exams have been scheduled throughout the week in English, Maths, Science and MFL. All Year 11 students should attend school on the strike day in full uniform. They will complete a mock paper in English and Science. Students will need to arrive in school for 8:45 am and make their way to the Sports Hall where they will sit their English exam. This exam will be followed by a slightly earlier lunch between 11:15 to 12:00 in the canteen. Students will not be allowed off site for lunch on that day. Following lunch, all students will then sit their science mock exam in the Sports Hall. Once this exam is completed, students will be sent home at approximately 1:30pm.

School will be closed to all other year groups except for a small number of Year 10 Food Technology students to complete a practical assessment. Mrs Clarke (Head of Technology) will be in touch with the parents of these students separately with the arrangements.

Wednesday 15th March and Thursday 16th March

On Wednesday 15th March and Thursday 16th March, school is likely to close to all students but we are making provisional plans to bring Year 11 into school to complete further assessments in Maths, History, Geography, French and Spanish.

Year 11 students who have signed up for the An Inspector Calls theatre visit in the afternoon of the 16th March will still be able to attend this trip (letters have been sent out separately).

On both 15th and 16th March, the school library will be open so that any Year 11 student, when not involved in exams, can come into school between 9:00am and 1:30pm to carry out private study.

We will also accommodate other Year 10 Food Technology groups in school on these days to complete practical assessments. Mrs Clarke (Head of Technology) will contact the parents of these students separately.

All of these arrangements are provisional and are assuming that the strikes will go ahead. Should anything change in the meantime, you will be contacted. I’d like to thank-you for your patience and understanding during this time.

Yours sincerely,

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.