Message from the Principal
There are a number of very important pieces of information in this week’s newsletter and I would encourage you to read the content carefully.
Centre Assessed Grades
As I am sure you are aware regardless of which year group your child(ren) are in, the summer series of external examinations have been cancelled this year, with the responsibility put on schools to produce, deliver and mark the assessments that will then be used to evidence the Centre Assessed Grade.
It is important to note that due to all of these processes these are Centre Assessed Grades (CAGs) not Teacher Assessed Grades (TAGs) as is reported in some parts of the media. As you will note from the processes outlined below and shared previously, there are a number of people involved in the process at various levels and so all outcomes are that of the centre and not individual teachers.
Year 11 and Year 13 students have now finished all of their assessments, and their work has been marked and moderated both internally and externally. We have an excellent partnership with Montsaye School in Rothwell, who we work closely with across the whole process. In individual subjects we also have partnerships with many other schools who contribute to the moderation processes in checking the accuracy of the marking of individual assessments as well as the holistic overview of students’ work against subject grade descriptors. We are grateful to all these partners for their input.
We are now in the midst of a very robust quality assurance process that involves Curriculum Leaders, Senior Leaders, and representatives of Nene Education Trust. These processes dig deep into whole-school, subject and individual student level information to sample and check for accuracy, rationale and justifications against current and historical data sets.
This work is normally conducted by exam boards after the examinations have been completed, and has created a huge additional burden for schools. However, once the Department for Education and OFQUAL had decided that this was the process, this was always going to be the case and it is vital that we approach all aspects of this work very seriously to ensure a robust process that has integrity at its heart.
In short, the staff have been exceptional. Their ability to pay due diligence to both the integrity of the process as well as demonstrate their dedication to the students has been remarkable at every level. I thank them all for their dedication, professionalism and service.
COVID guidance and pod changes
Earlier this week, I wrote to you to outline a few changes to our pods from Monday 14 June. This information is reiterated later in this edition our Our Manor. This impacts the entrances and location of the pods for Years 8 and 10. All other year groups and our current COVID procedures remain the same.
These changes have been made to maximise the opportunities for GCSE and A Level practical work to take place, particularly in science, as well as to create space for us to plan for a brilliant transition experience for Year 6 into 7 students if restrictions allow.
We have updated the Manor School COVID Risk Assessment once again to reflect all of the latest guidance and this can be found on our website. We will continue to review this as changes are made nationally.
Recruitment and staffing
I am delighted to say that we are currently fully staffed once again with subject specialists in preparation for September 2021. With recruitment and retention within education being an issue nationally, this is an excellent position to be in. When this is combined with the continuing increase in the number of students choosing to come to Manor School, it means we can continue to increase our staffing levels and go from strength to strength.
There is very little movement which is excellent for consistency and relationships. Of the few staff that are moving on the predominant reasons are for promotion, retirement or relocation. Over the coming weeks we will ensure that we celebrate their contributions with you as well as introduce you all to our new staff for September.
Congratulations Josh!
Finally I would like to congratulate Josh R-S who in recent weeks has passed his Gliders license. This means that Josh is able to fly a glider solo – an amazing achievement for a 14-year-old, Year 9 student. He will have the opportunity to do stunts along with Rob Bardsby who is a famous instructor/coach.
Thank you for your continued support.
Jay Davenport, Principal
PE uniform
All students at Manor School are expected to wear the PE uniform as dictated by the whole school uniform policy. We are fully aware that the weather is getting hotter and so strongly recommend that students bring appropriate sun protection and water to stay hydrated. We ensure activities led in PE are appropriate to the conditions with regular breaks embedded into the lesson time, however, it is unacceptable for any student to be wearing PE clothing that is not part of our uniform. This includes short black cycling shorts, vests, and T-shirts of any colour other than that of the top shown in the PE uniform policy.
The new PE uniform is now available to order (as well as standard school uniform items) and includes a thinner and lighter PE top, which was purposefully chosen as we are aware of the thickness of the current tops. Skorts and shorts are also available to purchase.
Students that are not wearing the correct uniform will receive a behaviour point for ‘incorrect uniform’. We must ensure that our standards and expectations of all students remains high and with this in mind, we thank you for your continued compliance and support in this matter.
Updated lunch arrangements
In light of the changes to the pod arrangements which will come into effect on Monday 14 June, we are consequently updating our break/lunch catering provision. Please see the image below for the new locations and days we will be offering the purchase of hot food.
WisePay app
As a school, we use WisePay as our provider to accept online payments for catering, our school shop, transport and visits. WisePay have recently launched their new branding and an app that can be downloaded on both Apple or Android devices. A user guide and FAQs document are linked below. When you download the app you will be asked to enter the organisation code 98635446.
School transport
May we please remind you that final payments for school transport are now due.
Allocations for the academic year 2021/2022 will begin next week and we will be unable to allocate places if payments remain outstanding.
Please email nbannard@manor.school if you no longer require your child's bus place for the next academic year or if you wish to discuss outstanding payments.
Manor Maths Challenges
Inspired by the sparrows that are often found in the hedges outside the school on Mountbatten Way, Mrs Radd is challenging students to become a citizen scientist in this week's blog.
Northants Geographers photography competition
The geography department is looking for aspiring photographers with a keen geographical eye to take part in a county-wide competition.
Details of the competition can be found below:
If students have any questions they should speak to their geography teacher.
Good luck!
Free online maths club
Eedi has offered all Year 5 to Year 9 families free access to Eedi Summer Club, a maths summer program 100% free of charge that will help to boost your child's confidence in maths so it’s sky high for the new school year.
Your child will first do a quick placement quiz to set their work and then get recommended topics that'll help them improve the most over 7 weeks. Your child will get unlimited access to review questions, videos and live chat support with real teachers over the holidays. You'll also get weekly reports on how they're doing.
The minimum recommended work is 1 lesson a week, which should be around 30 minutes of work.
Each week, Eedi will hold competitions to boost motivation and engagement - from who’s given the most thoughtful explanation to a problem to what team has the highest amount of points, plus there are real prizes up for grabs!
- Signup deadline: 14 June (get Eedi Summer Club for free until this date)
- Summer Club starts: 5 July
- Summer Club ends: 23 August
Sign up on this link to get the offer automatically applied to your account.
If you have any questions, please contact family@eedi.co.uk directly.
PE extra-curricular clubs
We saw the start of our new extra-curricular programme for PE activities this week and have had a really good turn out across all the year groups. There is still plenty of space for more to join though, so students are encouraged to come along to any of the activities we have on offer. Remember that they are all free and everyone is welcome, with external coaching for futsal, basketball, archery and bowls as additional opportunities on top of our PE led sessions!
Cover Supervisor vacancy
For more information regarding the above vacancy, please see our website.
