Welcome to this week's newsletter
Welcome back after the half term break.
It was brilliant to wave off and welcome back the students and staff who went in the ski trip. Our school values were demonstrated throughout the week by all who went, not least resilience! Students have represented themselves, their families and the school in an impeccable manner. The commitment and relentless enthusiasm of staff involved in the trip and their genuine support of the students is valued and very much appreciated. We particularly appreciate parents'/carers' support of the staff team. Your words of encouragement and thanks make a real difference!
This week’s edition of Our Manor includes lots of important information for families. We continue to use this outlet as our main source of communication in which we communicate what is happening in school as well as other important information e.g. exam dates. We have sent a separate communication out this week reminding families to read the newsletter each week. The contents featured in Our Manor should help to focus the reader on the aspects they need to seek out quickly.
Have a great weekend!
Lee Towers, Head of School
Industrial action plan update
We are continuing to plan for industrial action planned to take place on Wednesday 1 March as outlined in our previous communications. Based on continued risk assessment and operating within the guidelines provided by the Nene Education Trust, the Department for Education and the Unions participating in action, our contingency plan remains as follows:
- The site remains open for Year 11, 12 and 13 students who are expected to attend school as normal. The site will also be open for Year 10 Health & Social Care students.
- A slightly amended timetable will be in place for Year 11 and 13 students who will be participating in some of their trial examinations which has been communicated directly with students and their parents/carers.
- The site remains closed for students in Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 non-Health & Social Care students. These students should continue to learn remotely during this time following the guidance issued previously or on the school website. Please note that the work published has been set centrally and so may not be in precisely the right sequence within the scheme of work that each class is following. For some classes, this may mean that the work is pre-learning, for others retrieval practice.
- A provision remains open for vulnerable students and children of key workers with the same arrangements as the previous day of industrial action. If you believe your child now falls into this category, please contact enquiries@manor.school.
All previous arrangements for students eligible for free school meals and the collection of paper workbooks remain the same.
Safeguarding at Manor School
We are increasingly aware that some students are finding it difficult to access toilet facilities because of a minority of students congregating in toilets and cubicles.
In order to resolve this situation and to carry out essential repairs and maintenance beyond, we are changing which toilets students can use during lesson time. Breaktime and lunchtime arrangements will remain the same. We have also reviewed the duty arrangements to ensure that there is greater supervision around the toilets during breaktime and lunchtime. This information will be shared with students during Monday morning tutor time.
Students with an exit card for toilet use will be able to use three toilets across the school site as we understand they might need to use a toilet that is close by. We will write to these families separately with more information. Students with an exit card will also be provided with a new card at the beginning of next week.
In addition to the measures above, we are also going to adopt a firm line on punctuality to school and lessons. From Monday, if a student is late three times then a formal sanction will be applied.
Uniform exchange scheme
Raunds Food Bank are looking for donations for their uniform exchange scheme. If you have any clean unwanted items of Manor uniform that are in good condition, please ask your child to pass them onto their tutor or a member of the pastoral team.
Food practical exams
GCSE and Level 3 Food and Nutrition practical exams are taking place during the week of 6-10 March. It is a very exciting week as we look forward to the menus that students produce - think of it as Great British Bake Off and MasterChef rolled into one!
We are mindful of the fresh produce shortages causing some concern for you, so all students have now been e-mailed their exam date (please ask them to check their e-mails). This should help with planning your shopping.
Students are allowed to pre-weigh all their ingredients, and Mr Isaacs will have further information next week to give to the students regarding adaptations if the fresh produce issues currently being experienced continue.
Summer exam timetable
We are currently in the process of making entries for the examinations in May/June and when this process is complete, we will send students and their parents/carers a list of exams that they have been entered for and a personalised examination timetable.
In the meantime, if you would like information on when the exams take place this year, the overall timetable of all examinations can be found below. Please note that all students, whether Year 11 or Year 13, should be available until 28 June 2023.
Word of the Week
Each week, the English department focuses on encouraging students to use one ambitious word – it is displayed in classrooms and discussed during teaching. It would be great if adults at home could try to encourage the use of this word too. You could try to fit into a conversation or even question your young person on the meaning. It will be fantastic for the students to see us all working together to help improve their language. Thank you for your support.
The Word of the Week for 20-24 February is eloquence.
Homework and assessment parent forum
Thank you to the parents/carers of students in Year 8 that have met with us over recent weeks to share their views on our current homework and assessment strategies and the potential future direction of travel that these areas might take.
The general feedback that we have received has been collated into the linked Microsoft Form below. We would now appreciate feedback from as many parents/carers as possible based on the feedback provided at the parent forums that have taken place.
It is our intention to share our plans for an updated homework strategy this term, and an updated assessment strategy before the end of the academic year.
Mr Bateman and Mr Hurren