I hope this update finds you all in good health. I write to you on the back of Eid celebrations across our community with a some brief updates for this week.
Face coverings
You may have heard updates from central government guidance and speculation in the media regarding face coverings in school. For clarity, our expectations are as follows:
- Students must continue to bring face coverings to school and should wear them when moving throughout the building. Adults and visitors will also do the same.
- When seated in classrooms students no longer need to wear them. They can wear them if they choose to do so but it is no longer an expectation.
With this is mind, please ensure your child comes to school on Monday with an appropriate face covering and a spare in case one is lost or soiled. We have all worked together as a community to maintain the safety of everyone connected to the school over the last year and have operated a ‘sliding scale’ of measures in order to do this. We are moving this scale down one notch to reflect the changes in society but we do not want to take unnecessary risks. With around 1800 people on site each day, some areas can be busy, even with our strict bubbles and practice about moving around school, hence the need to face coverings in communal areas. We are conscious that some schools across the region have relaxed restrictions and suffered outbreaks in recent weeks, we do not want to be in this position. As such, we will proceed with caution and appreciate your support as we do so. We anticipate that arrangements will remain this way until at least half term after which we will review the situation further. We should note however, that face coverings could be reintroduced into classrooms in the event of a concern or localised outbreak.
Years 11 and 13
We are aware that the return to school has been intense and stressful for our students in examinations groups. Whilst they may not have had to endure the typical exam season, the experience of regular assessments over a prolonged period of time is also taxing and has demanded resilience and tenacity from our young people. The end is in sight now. Staff are busy marking, compiling evidence and devising further assessment materials and will continue to do so until the final day of this half term. Our students need to do what they do best – continue working hard and producing the best possible work they can in lessons.
There will be an update on our process for determining student grades next week.
School policies
Each summer we review our school policies with our governing body to check that they are still up to date and meeting the needs of our community. You can find them here and they are open for consultation at present. If you have any feedback on them that you would like to share, please email info@derbymoor.derby.sch.uk
Year 9 Pathways
This week our Year 9 students were taken through the first part of the guided pathways programme and have received their pathway choices. Over the next few weeks they will need to be supported in school and at home in making decisions about the subject choices for Year 10 into Year 11. We offer an exciting, broad range of courses to choose from so it is important are students are fully informed about each course option before making their decisions. Qualifications gained at the end of Key Stage 4 are an essential springboard for students’ development and play a large part in shaping their future educational and career opportunities.
The link below will take you to the Pathways booklets and the loom videos from each subject area along with a video with top tips for making your selection. Please work with the your children over the next two weeks, researching each subject to help make the right choices for next year.
The deadline for these choices is Monday 24th May.
https://sites.google.com/derbymoor.derby.sch.uk/careers/students/post-14
Year 11 Mock interviews
We are delighted to let you know that all of our Year 11 students will be having a mock interview during the week commencing 24th May. These will be conducted either face to face or virtually with a range of volunteers from the world of work. Students are preparing for these interviews in form time and are expected to have a completed a CV and have their Record of Achievement folder ready for the interview. Some example of CVs have been shared with students on ‘Show My Homework’. If you are able to have a conversation with your children about the interviews and encourage them to prepare fully it would be hugely helpful.
Derby Moor Careers Website
We have been working hard on developing our website to include a breadth of information to support our students and parents/carers with relevant and up to date careers information. We wanted to share the link with you and hope you will find it a really useful and informative site:
https://sites.google.com/derbymoor.derby.sch.uk/careers/home
Final thoughts
It has felt like a week of celebration at Derby Moor this week. We are all looking forward to a further relaxation in restrictions in the wider community and a chance to reconnect with others beyond our household. In school, we will remain cautious in our approach. I must emphasise that the changes in society do increase the risk to everyone and make it even more important that we do adhere to the restrictions that remain in place. We will continue with our Covid protocols in school and ask that you support us to keep our community safe by continuing with the home tests every Sunday and Wednesday, limiting contact with others and informing the school if your child or anyone in the household has symptoms of Covid 19 via the covidalert@derbymoor.derby.sch.uk address as soon as possible. Anyone with symptoms or living with someone with symptoms should not attend school and should seek a confirmatory PCR test.
Best wishes,
Scott Doyle
Principal
