Principal’s Update – 18th February 2022

Dear Families,

I hope this update finds you and those closest to you in good health as we approach our February half term break. Today is not a typical day at Derby Moor with our students spending all day inside due to Storm Eunis. As I write this I can see our students making use of our indoor spaces, eating lunch and mixing with their peers. They never fail to impress us with their ability to adapt to whatever changes the world throws at them and they have adjusted to our change in routine today with no fuss at all. This week’s update includes some reminders about events, mock examinations, vaccinations and a careers update.

Parents Evening

A reminder that the Year 10 Parents Evening will take place after half term on the 2^nd March via our SchoolCloud software. If you require support with any of this, please do contact your child’s Year Manager in advance of the event.

Year 11 Update

This is a critical point in the year for our Year 11 students. Our key message at this point is rest and revise over the February Half term. It is important to enjoy some downtime with family and friends but they also need to feel prepared for the upcoming mock examinations immediately after the break. The schedule for the first week of Year 11 mocks can be found below:

Our students are in a good place ahead of this series of tests. Attendance at intervention and the productivity and engagement of students who attended additional sessions in the form of the Fish and Chip/ Pizza evenings has made us all feel really proud of them. My thanks go out to our staff for giving up their free time to organise and deliver the sessions but also to our students for grabbing the opportunities we provide with both hands.

Finally, it has been a joy to conduct a number of sixth form interviews with Year 11 over the last week or so. Our students have arrived prepared, with high aspirations and a genuine determination to succeed. It has been a real pleasure to spend time individually with them discussing their hopes for the future. They are so articulate and have conducted themselves in such a professional manner; this is testimony to themselves as individuals but also the work of Mr Kilgour and the Careers team. Well done Year 11.

Sports Update

Whilst things have been quiet in terms of fixtures this week there has been plenty going on in the PE faculty with our Btec Sport intervention evening last night in preparation for their external examination today. Turnout was excellent as ever, with over 74 Year 11 pupils in attendance after hours last night.

We have a street-dance performance coming up in March as part of a Performing Arts Festival in Burton. The festival is taking place on the 30th March at 7.00pm with tickets available to buy at £8 and £5 for concessions. These will be on a first come, first served basis and with 13 groups from different schools performing they may sell quickly. You can purchase tickets from the Brewhouse Arts Centre via phone 01283 508100 or online http://www.brewhouse.co.uk/events/unite-performing-arts-festival

Information on the Vaccination Programme

The DfE have published some frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the vaccination programme including information on eligibility, accessibility and advice for parents of children at high risk from COVID-19. The DfE have asked me to share these FAQs with families. Guidance on how to book appointments for children aged 12 years and over is available on the NHS website.

Careers Update

On Tuesday 1^st March approximately 30 Year 10 students will be taking part in a selection day for a chance to participate in a residential experience with  the DHL UK Foundation’s partnership with The Outward Bound Trust. The day will be run by employers from DHL who will be working with the students. The students will take part in a whole range of activities which will develop their employability skills such as problem solving, teamwork, creativity and communication.

After half term students in Years 7, 8 and 9 will be completing the Future Skills Questionnaire (FSQ). This will help us evaluate the school’s careers programme, plan future careers activities and target students who may need additional support. The activity will also encourage them to begin thinking about future careers and next steps after school. We use a third-party tool called Compass+ to administer the questionnaire. All student data is processed in compliance with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and you can find more information about how Compass+ collects, uses and stores personal data in this privacy notice for students.

Last week we invited parents/carers to get involved in supporting careers activity with our students. We are running a Careers Fair for our Year 11 students on Tuesday 22nd March as part of our next ‘Drop Down Day’. If you would be able to support the event by encouraging your business or place of work to be present, please get in touch. If you wish to know more about this event or anything about the careers programme in school please contact Andrew Kilgour (Careers Leader) a.kilgour@derbymoor.derby.sch.uk

Final Thoughts

I tend to write these updates at the end of the week to sum up how the week has gone and provide updates on the rich experience that comes with being a member of the Derby Moor Community. Thinking about the past half term, we have had our fair share of challenges as a community. The persistence of Covid and the associated absence of both students and staff is disruptive to the smooth running of a school and we have certainly felt the effects of this across our provision this half term. What this does highlight to me is how important every individual in our community is. If they are absent, our community feels the effects of that. Particularly with our staff. The relationships between our staff and our students is a real strength of the school and their consistency and care helps our young people feel confident in their learning and secure enough to take on challenges. As we move to a new phase in the pandemic I hope we will see less disruption to our provision and a period of prolonged stability so we can see our young people and our community make further steps towards greatness. Our school is a school like no other, and even through challenging times our young people make this such a rewarding and positive place to belong to. Together We Succeed.

Best wishes for the half term break,

Scott Doyle

Principal