Dear parents and carers,
As always, I hope that this message continues to find you and all of your families remaining safe and well.
With another week drawing to a close I wanted to write and briefly update you on a few things, as we continue to plan for the phased re-opening of our schools across The Canterbury Academy Trust.
For those parents of children at City View Pre-School and Nursery and The Canterbury Primary School, Mrs Farrell will be writing to you about the final plans for re-opening further accordingly. I would like to thank Mrs Farrell and her team for all of the work that has gone into preparing to welcome more students back to those sites and, of course, my thanks to all those parents who fed back their questionnaires and thoughts on our proposals. The information, opinion and perspective you shared with us was absolutely vital in shaping our plans. I know how much the staff are looking forward to seeing our students and their families again, as we all begin to adjust to our new “normal.”
As regards The Canterbury Academy, can I also thank the vast majority of parents of students in Years 10 and 12 for the prompt return of their questionnaire. Again, how you and your child feel about any potential return is incredibly important to us and will, obviously, play a huge part in our planning for how we may be able to offer some face to face learning to supplement the remote learning that students will already be doing. If you are a parent of a child in Year 10 or 12 and have not yet completed the questionnaire, please may I ask that you do so and submit it at your earliest convenience.
If you are the parent of a child in Year 10, please follow this link to complete and submit the questionnaire; https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=TxWpPkWAgE264qMS1YZuE8cGAJTexPFOt2F0gx2V3jNUOERNOFMxN0tGWjhZWktPM1pZQTdUSE4yRS4u
If you are the parent of a child in Year 12, please follow this link to complete and submit the questionnaire; https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=TxWpPkWAgE264qMS1YZuE8cGAJTexPFOt2F0gx2V3jNUQVVGTUZZTTYwMUJIUzBCSFVKOUlMMU8yRi4u
With our Trust’s staffing capacity now assessed and parental questionnaires largely returned, the leadership group at The Canterbury Academy will be spending the start of next week planning what our offer for Year 10 and 12 might be, and I will be sure to keep you updated as this develops. There is, of course, a huge amount to consider in our planning and much government guidance to incorporate when doing so; especially in light of the fact that we are only allowed to have up to a quarter of each year group on campus at any one time. Risk assessments are also being finalised alongside all COVID compliancy documentation, and will be published on our website(s) for your information in the coming days. We wish to get things as right as possible, as soon as possible, as safely as possible, and remain incredibly grateful for all of your ongoing support as we continue to plan for this next phase. It is my intention to be able to communicate with you a more detailed plan as to what we can offer our Year 10 and 12 students on campus at the end of next week.
Sadly, however, government guidance would now appear to suggest that for students who are currently in Year 7, 8 and 9, there will be no return to campus possible until September at the earliest, unless your child is deemed vulnerable or you are a key worker. If you fit either of those categories a provision will continue to be available for your child, as it has been throughout, if you wish to accept it. If you are a key worker or your child is vulnerable, although I am obliged to point out to you that the government are now “encouraging” you to send your children to school, I also wish to assure you that, should you choose not to, you will receive nothing other than our support in making the right decision for your child and your own individual family circumstances. For students who are in current Years 11 and 13, and for others who may have been sitting public examinations this summer, we shall continue to update you separately.
As we continue to move forward, if you have any questions about our Phase 3 Remote Learning Plan or wish to now book a place in our provision(s) for your child who may be vulnerable, or you are a keyworker, please contact:
- If you attend The Canterbury Primary School, contact bfarrell@canterbury.kent.sch.uk or call 01227 462883
- If you are in years 7 or 8 at The Canterbury Academy, contact abanbery@canterbury.kent.sch.uk or call 01227 463971
- If you are in years 9,10 and 11 at The Canterbury Academy, contact jbrooke@canterbury.kent.sch.uk or call 01227 463971
- If you are in the sixth form at The Canterbury Academy, contact shadlow@canterbury.kent.sch.uk or call 01227 463971
Finally, this evening’s government briefing was planned to announce their “final” decision on whether schools should re-open to more students or not, although the Prime Minister seemed to announce his definitive intention earlier this week. I shall be in touch next week with an update on our planning and next steps.
My very best wishes to you all, always.
Yours,
Jon Watson
Trust Executive Principal