9 June 2021

Consultation on Parents’ Evenings/Academic Review Events 2021-2022

Over the last 18 months we have, by necessity caused by the pandemic, had to conduct all our Parents’ Evenings and Academic Review events remotely via the School Cloud.  Many parents feel that these meetings are more focussed, run to time and are more convenient for them as they can be conducted from home or work.  Other parents have told me that they prefer coming into College and having face-to-face meetings with staff.  I am therefore launching a consultation on this subject and I would very much like to hear you views.  I have reproduced the format of the consultation for you below for your information.  As well as the simple alternative of all events being run remotely or face-to-face in College, I have added a third alternative which would mean a ‘mix and match’ approach providing a little more flexibility.

For academic year 2021-2022, what format of parents’ evenings/academic review events would you prefer:

Virtual events, conducted remotely
Visit College and meet face-to-face
A combination of remote and face-to-face events*

* for example all Parents’ Evenings held remotely and then a choice of attending Academic Review meetings face-to-face or remotely.

Please let me know your views - you can access the consultation via:

https://forms.office.com/r/q2BCqQ29Xq

and it will run from today, Wednesday 9 June, until Friday 18 June.

At the end of the consultation period, I will let you know how we intend to arrange these meetings next year.  Thank you in advance for participating in this consultation.

Increase in Local Cases of COVID-19 and Delta Variant

We have been made aware of a number of confirmed cases in the local area recently, including a number of Collingwood students.  It has been confirmed by our local health protection team that at least some of these cases are attributable to the Delta variant of COVID-19.

It is essential that all members of the College community follow the appropriate government guidance on COVID-19 and the measures in place at the College.  In particular, please note the following:

• If a College student tests positive, please notify the College immediately so we can quickly identify any close contacts.  We ask that you do not leave a message on the absence reporting line and instead speak directly to a member of reception staff.
• Students should continue to use lateral flow (LFD) tests twice per week while they have no COVID-19 symptoms.
• If a student develops COVID-19 symptoms, they and the rest of their household must self-isolate immediately and arrange a PCR test.

Teacher Assessed Grades (TAGs)

As you are aware all Teacher Assessed Grades are confidential, however as promised students will receive a final indicative report with a ‘grade range’ on Edulink on Thursday.  If your son or daughter has any concerns or queries about their report they must communicate this via the dedicated email address which is exams@collingwood.surrey.sch.uk by Monday 14 June at noon so that we can look to resolve this before the grade submission date on Friday 18 June.

Year 11 Celebration Event

No further guidance has been received from the government so we will have to delay our final decision until Tuesday 15 June, the day after the Prime Minister informs the country about the possible lifting of all restrictions on Monday 21 June.  We are determined to try to hold a fitting end-of-year event for our Year 11 students, especially given how well they have done in such difficult circumstances.  We have different scenarios mapped out regarding a possible Prom or an outdoor Celebration Breakfast Event, dependent on what the government decides and the prevailing local COVID situation.

It is frustrating that we cannot give you a final decision yet, but I am sure you understand the very difficult, and very fluid, situation we are in this year. 

Year 6 Transition Event

For those parents who have children joining us in September, I can confirm that we are planning to run a transition event on Tuesday 29 June.  Our plans involve keeping students in small clusters of schools, keeping them in their school bubbles as much as possible and giving them two hours on site when they can meet key staff, have a tour of the campus, and have a short tutor group/lesson experience. They will be informed of their Tutor group via a postcard before the end of term (a system we successfully employed last year). In the evening, for parents via our website, there will be a formal pre-recorded presentation by senior staff, an interactive site tour and a facility to submit questions.

Although this is not the full day programme we would normally arrange, we do feel that this will be a very worthwhile experience and will reduce any understandable anxiety that some students might have in changing schools.  We also feel, given the concerns currently circulating about increased COVID infection rates and the Delta variant of the virus, both nationally and in Surrey Heath, that this is a safe and suitably cautious solution to the exceptional circumstances we find ourselves in.

Work Experience

I am delighted to inform you that we intend to reintroduce Work Experience for our Year 10 students next year.  In years past, Work Experience was regarded as an extremely valuable activity for our students to participate in, giving them a real-life experience of the world of work with resultant gains in confidence and focus on their academic work.  Unfortunately, the Government withdrew its support and funding and, regrettably, this valuable experience was then removed from the majority of schools including Collingwood.  There is now a recognition that Work Experience is a valuable part of a school’s Careers provision and we therefore intend to relaunch this next year, alongside our Careers’ Fair and new Careers tracking platform.  I know from the initial reaction from current Year 9 parents that this move has been extremely well-received, and I am grateful for their support in voluntarily committing some funds to help make this happen.

Mr Tanner - Principal