Dear parents and carers,
Today, as a Trust community, we unite in our grief following the sad passing of our Queen, Elizabeth II, yesterday afternoon.
For the significant majority of us, The Queen will have been the one constant in all of our lives, and been with us through both good and bad times. As our nation’s longest serving monarch, each of us will have our own memories of the role that The Queen has played in our lives, and through this period of national mourning it is important that we take time, as a community, to reflect properly on those memories and the dedicated public service she has offered over these last 70 years.
This morning, as the news of Our Majesty’s death continued to sink in, senior Trust staff addressed colleagues across our schools and divisions, so we can prepare to offer the very best support to our young people and families as we move into a period of national mourning.
At times like this, it is natural that we may all react differently and, as always, our Trust community shall remain respectful of each other and everybody’s feelings. Some of us, students, staff and families, may be more profoundly affected than others; especially those who may draw those natural feelings of loss as parallels to events in their own lives. With that said, and through this difficult period in our history, as a community I wish to assure you that we will remain here for our young people and families: supportive, empathetic and always positive about the future.
Today, and until I receive official guidance in line with national protocols for events such as this, colleagues have been encouraged to use their professional judgement and discretion when dealing with our young people and any questions they may have. Our Ethos and Pastoral Leads in your child’s school will be on hand to deal with any questions or concerns sensitively and compassionately.
As we enter a period of national mourning, it is normal to want to recognise Our Majesty’s passing in a variety of ways. As we said to colleagues across the Trust this morning, it is important that we spend the next few days talking with our young people, gathering our thoughts, waiting for protocols and guidance to be issued through Operation London Bridge to the Cabinet Office and Department for Education. Once the situation clarifies around what Royal protocol expects, I anticipate further guidance to be published in the coming days; at which point it will be carefully assessed and disseminated across the Trust, through Heads of School and Divisional Leads, in order to properly commemorate our Queen with our young people and Trust community, in a coordinated way. All of this, of course, will be explained to our students and we shall also be sure to keep you updated as to what these plans will be.
Right now, and for the next few days across our Trust, I believe it is important that we remain in the moment. Your children will notice that staff may choose to dress in a more sombre fashion as the period of national mourning is announced, and they should also feel confident that should they be experiencing any feelings of grief, upset, confusion or loss, they can speak to any member of staff immediately.
Our Queen was the absolute embodiment of public duty; at The Canterbury Academy Trust we shall continue to do ours with respect and unity, as Queen Elizabeth II passes the throne to King Charles III, who will continue to lead our Great Nation forward.
God save the King,
Jon Watson
Executive Principal