Dear Parents and Carers
I hope that you and your family have had an enjoyable summer break so far.
It was lovely to celebrate GCSE, AS and A level results earlier in the break with our older students. Their grades reflected their hard work and endeavour throughout their qualification course, and it was a great pleasure to celebrate their achievements with them.
As you will have seen in the press in recent days, Covid cases are on the rise at the moment in Wales. Schools received updated guidance a week ago, and as such the guidance from Welsh Government may be further updated. We already know that we will receive updated guidance from WG in the first week of term which we will have a few weeks to implement.
In the meantime, and as per my letter 15 July 2021, please find below details as known at this time about our return to school in September:
Start of term dates
- Friday 3 September 2021 – INSET day. Our school switchboard will be open from 1100-1400 if you wish to contact the school on this day. Staff will be involved in training throughout the day so you may not be able to talk to a particular member of staff straight away but you will be able to leave a message for them to contact you ASAP. Please note that it remains part of our current risk assessment that parents and visitors should not come onto school site.
- Monday 6 September 2021 – Y7 start and Y12 return to school. Pupils should arrive at school between 0815-0830. Staff will be waiting for pupils at both entrances at this time to welcome and direct them as to where they should go on their first day. The school day will begin promptly at 0835. The school day ends at 1455 with all pupils leaving school site by 1505.
- Tuesday 7 September 2021 – Y8, Y9, Y10, Y11 and Y13 return to school. Pupils should arrive at school between 0815-0830. Staff will be waiting for pupils at both entrances at this time to welcome and direct them as to where they should go on their first day. The school day will begin promptly at 0835. The school day ends at 1455 with all pupils leaving school site by 1505.
School Day timings – we will return to our normal school session times from the first day in September i.e. pupils should arrive at school between 0815-0830 in readiness for their form tutor time each day which will start at 0835 promptly. Pupils will go straight to their form room. The school day will end at 1455, with pupils leaving school site by 1505 unless they have a prearranged club, activity, etc. supervised by a member of staff.
School Uniform – as per my letter last month, we will be returning to a strict school uniform policy in September with all pupils expected to attend in their full school uniform each day. Our school uniform expectations are as published and as detailed on our school website e.g. please ensure that school skirts are knee length, school trousers are tailored, school shoes are black, and that all pupils have the appropriate tie for their key stage. We will be insisting on a return to the highest standards of uniform.
PDG Access Grant - for those families who qualify for the 2021/2022 PDG Access Grant, there is an online application process to be accessed via the Caerphilly Council website. The PDG Access Grant is available for all families who are currently eligible for free school meals. For Y7 the grant is £200, and for Y8-Y11 the grant is £125. For 2020-21 Welsh Government amended the terms and conditions of the grant to allow families to use the funding to assist with purchasing laptops or tablets to help children when learning from home and Welsh Government will continue to apply this amendment for 2021-22. Please contact CCBC if you have any queries about the PDG Access Grant.
Lateral Flow Tests – we understand that all staff and secondary age pupils are encouraged to undertake Lateral Flow Tests just before they return to school. Welsh Government announced that these tests will be accessed through community channels during this time and we were assured that further communication on this will be made in due course. As soon as we know about this, I will be in contact to update you.
Face coverings – please ensure that your child brings a clean face covering with them to school each day. We are strongly encouraging the wearing of a face covering by all pupils and staff in corridors, halls, and in all indoor communal areas where there is likely to be more social mixing. Face coverings are required on school transport as well. Pupils and staff can also continue to wear a face covering in their classrooms if they wish.
Contacts of a positive case - contact groups will no longer have a role to play at the start of the autumn term. Welsh government are replacing contact groups with a stronger focus on their TTP contact tracing service. The TTP system will identify close contacts of pupils and staff who have tested positive. TTP may contact the school to supplement the information they have gathered. The expectation of schools is that we follow the specific advice we receive from TTP about whether individuals need to self-isolate.
Caerphilly Council Services (canteen, buses, taxis) – as you will be aware Caerphilly Council run school transport, canteen and cleaning services. I understand that bus passes have been sent to the pupils home address by CCBC school transport services. Please contact CCBC if you have not received a pass if you were expecting one. The canteen will be operating from Monday 6 September. Please use the online service operated by CCBC to top up your childs account in readiness. We have put a link to this on our school website. Please remind your child to bring their canteen card to school with them. These will be available for Y7 and Y8 on their first day.
Heads of Year – Mr Chaytor, Mrs Brocklebank and Mrs Davies will be sharing the Head of Year 10 responsibilities before Mrs Barton returns later in the autumn term. Mr Owen will be leading Y7, Miss Steer remains with Y8, Mrs Croll with Y9, Mr Corke with Y11 and Mr Jones with Y12/Y13.
If there are further updates from Welsh Government that are pertinent to the beginning of term, I will write to you.
Aspire and Achieve / Ready, Respect Safe
As we finalise our plans for our return to school, we will be focusing on our school motto ‘Aspire and Achieve’ and our school rule ‘Ready, Respect, Safe’. We would appreciate it if you would discuss our collective expectations with your child to support their success in readiness for September.
With regard to our one simple school rule – Ready, Respect, Safe - students should: be ready to learn by arriving on time and with the right equipment; show respect for themselves, others and their environment; and be safe by arriving on time and behaving in a sensible manner.
All pupils should be dressed in their full school uniform. Please note that their school blazer and tie are compulsory each day. If they wish to wear the school cardigan, jumper or tank top (which are optional items), these should be worn underneath their school blazer. A waterproof coat with a hood will also be needed.
All pupils should have their own equipment for their lessons which they should bring to school each day in a pencil case – two black pens, pencils, a ruler, pencil sharpener and eraser are the minimum they will need. A calculator, a green biro pen, a glue stick, a set of highlighters, and a set of colouring pencils would also be very useful. Other items all pupils should have in their school bag each day include a clean face covering, their school planner or PEL book (they will receive these on their first day), their books/equipment for each lesson that day, a water bottle, and a snack. They will also need to bring a packed lunch and/or their card/fob to pay for their food in the canteen. We would recommend that they pack as much of their school bag as possible the night before, including any homework they will be handing in. You may find it useful to take a photo of their school timetable so that you know what lessons they have each day.
Attendance and punctuality remain important priorities. Your support in ensuring excellent attendance and punctuality as well as the highest uniform standards is appreciated.
We will start the school year by talking to all students about the small steps they can take this year to make further personal and collective improvements.
St Cenydd pupils Aspire and Achieve by
taking responsibility – both by taking ownership of their learning in the classroom because they value their education and by being ambitious to always be the best version of themselves.
taking part – both by being resilient and persevering with hard work and thought in the classroom and by knowing taking part will ultimately lead to them achieving their wider aspirations.
taking pride – both in the work they produce and in themselves based on the traditional values of our community.
taking care – both of themselves and over their work by expecting excellence, thinking hard and using knowledge critically.
taking opportunities – both to push themselves beyond their comfort zone, embracing and enjoying the challenges that arise in the classroom and by being confident about contributing and sharing their own views and opinions.
taking action – both because they are motivated and empowered to make a difference and because they know they can always improve and do better next time.
I will write to you again at the beginning of the school term with our calendar of key dates for 2021/2022. Our School Development Plan will also be updated and available on the school website later in September.
I hope that you and your family enjoy the final week of the summer break and we look forward to welcoming your children back to school.
Yours sincerely
Miss Collins
Headteacher