Kings Heath Boys

Weekly Parent/Carer and Student Bulletin No. 15 July 17th 2020

Dear pupils, parents and carers, It was lovely to say goodbye to four fantastic staff members yesterday at the picnic. I am sure you will all join me in wishing Dr Smith, Mr Smikle, Mr Yafai and Mr Ahmed (cover supervisor) all the very best in their next ventures. They have been fantastic staff at the school and we have been very lucky to have them as part of team at Kings Heath Boys. With so much to get ready for September I have updated the PowerPoint I shared in the parent forums earlier this week and it will be attached to this email. Please note that I have put one or two of the essential slides below with information about the first week back and the temporary timings of the school day. I would encourage you to read the full PowerPoint. Please can I ask you to complete the travel survey that was emailed earlier this week if you haven’t already. It is essential we have a s much information as possible about your plans in September. Can I ask you to carefully consider your travel plans as access for vehicles around school will be very limited as Birmingham City Council helps schools manage a safe entry and exit from site. I encourage you to walk or cycle to school if possible. We have installed new cycle racks at Chamberlain Road and we hope you take up the offer. Many thanks to our staff highlighted I this bulletin for the wonderful ‘Read with me’ project. We have received lovely feedback from the pupils and I encourage you all to keep reading over the holidays. Another thing that older pupils can do with their time this summer is access virtual work experience and careers guidance. Ms Howat has highlighted some great opportunities below. This bulletin also contains detailed information about GCSE results day. It is very important that Year 10 and 11 pupils coming to school on that day follow the timings indicated as we must ensure we can manage the day safely. We look forward to seeing you there. We will be filming videos of site and how pupils will access the building and keep safe during results week. please look out for another key communication from the school at that time in preparation for the return. Please remember that the return to school in September is mandatory and all pupils must attend. We are really looking forward to seeing you! Finally, may I thank you for all your hard work over the year and especially the last 4 months. You have shown incredible resilience under the circumstances and we are so very proud of you as a school. I am proud and privileged to be your headteacher. Have a great summer, Eid Mubarak to those who are celebrating and make sure you get some rest. Stay safe Many thanks Mr Etheridge

Curriculum GCSE Results’ Day: Thursday 20th August

We look forward to Results’ Day with both year 11 and year 10 receiving results. The school will be open on

Results’ Day, but we will need to ensure safe social distancing, so a letter has been sent to all year 11 and year 10

parents and carers explaining the arrangements for the day. This letter is reproduced below.

Re: GCSE Results’ Day - Thursday 20th August, 2020

Dear Parents and Carers,

As you are all aware, due to current social distancing guidelines we are not in a position to hold a normal Results’

Day with all students mingling together in the hall at the same time. However, we feel it is really important that

students have the opportunity to pick up their results on site so the school will be open on Results’ Day, which is

Thursday 20th August, 2020.

How will GCSE Results’ Day run?

Students will access the school from the Chamberlain Road entrance and there will be classrooms designated for

students to receive their grades with staff, including senior members of staff, on site to help and assist all the

students with any queries or questions.

To enable the school to ensure that appropriate social distancing measures are in place, your son will have a

designated time slot to receive his GCSE grades and these are identified below:

• 9.00am – 9.30am: Year 11 students whose surname begins with A

• 9.30am – 10.00am: Year 11 students whose surname begins B through to I

• 10.00am – 10.30am: Year 11 students whose surname begins J through to M

• 10.30am – 11.00am: Year 11 students whose surname begins N though to Z

• 11.30am – 12.00pm: Year 10 students who surname begins A through to H

• 12.00pm – 12.30pm: Year 10 students who surname begins I through to M

• 12.30pm – 1.00pm: Year 10 students who surname begins N through to Z

We kindly ask you to observe and follow these timings so that students and staff on site can maintain appropriate

social distancing from entrance to exit. Students will not be permitted access to the school until their designated

time.

Regretfully, we cannot allow parents and carers onto site during Results’ Day and please be mindful of parking

around the school at this time.

Furthermore, we would like to remind you that if your son or anyone in the family is showing symptoms of COVID-

19 your son should not attend school and self-isolate according to the national test and trace guidelines.

What happens if my child is unable to attend and wants someone else to pick up their results for them instead?

Only the student can collect his results. Another person, which includes parents and carers, may collect the

results, but only if prior permission is given beforehand. If another person is to collect your son’s results then you

must notify Miss Bradley, the Exams Officer, in advance by Monday 17th August stating who will be collecting

these results. Miss Bradley can be informed by email and her school contact email is s.bradley@khb.bham.sch.uk

On the day of results that person must bring a signed letter confirming permission to do so from the student,

along with proof of their own identification, e.g. passport or driving license. Results cannot be given out without

prior notification to Miss Bradley and both of these documents.

What happens if your son does not collect his results on Results’ Day?

Your son’s results will be posted out to your home address at the end of Results’ Day.

Grades in 2020

We would like to take this opportunity to remind you of the process that all schools and colleges were expected to

follow after the government’s announcement that all examinations in summer 2020 were to be cancelled.

Step 1: Schools gathered information

We provided the exam boards with:

• Centre Assessment Grades

• Rank orders within each grade

The Centre Assessment Grade was the teacher's professional judgement of the most likely grade a student would

have achieved if exams had gone ahead. It was based on the careful consideration of a range of evidence

including mock exams, non-exam assessment and any other record of student performance over the course of

study.

For tiered subjects, the Centre Assessment Grade reflected the most appropriate tier of entry for each student. All

grades and rank orders were signed off internally before being submitted to the exam boards for their June

deadline.

Step 2: Exams boards standardise

Each exam board is now standardising Centre Assessment Grades across all schools and colleges to make the

process fair for everyone. They will use evidence such as prior attainment and national grade distributions so that

final grades are aligned across all schools and colleges, and of equal value to previous year groups. This is to make

sure that students are treated fairly if some schools are more generous or severe than others when making their

judgements.

It is important to note that individual grades may be adjusted upwards or downwards and this means that the

final grade awarded to a student could be different from the one their school submitted.

Step 3: Autumn examination season

There will be an opportunity to sit examinations in November for students who are not satisfied with their grades.

The dates of the exams are Monday 2nd November – Monday 23rd November 2020 and the deadline for any

autumn exam entries is Friday 4th September. More information about this will be available on the day of results.

Furthermore, there is an appeals process and there will be more information about this on the day of results, and

the procedures for appeals will be made available on the school website before students receive their results.

We all understand that this has been an anxious and challenging time for all our students and their families, and

we will have on site our careers adviser, Mrs. Hatton, who will be able to offer further guidance on the day.

Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a safe and enjoyable summer and we look forward to

seeing all the students back here on Thursday 20th August for their results.

Yours sincerely,

Mr. McMillan

Deputy Headteacher: Curriculum

Read with Me: A Final Word

With over 1,900 interactions over 11 hours of reading, it is clear that ‘Read with Me at Key Stage 3’ has been a

success. The chat was buzzing with questions about the text and students offering opinions. Teachers weighed in

too with comments on characters - it seems that Mulch Diggums, the kleptomaniac flatulent dwarf was a definite

favourite amongst staff and students!

Thank you to the students who have offered some helpful feedback on this initiative. I look forward to using it

move the programme forward- students have recommended really brilliant books - I’ve got lots to read over the

summer! I’d also like to thank the students who engaged for their positive behaviour; all of the staff were really

pleased and enjoyed engaging with the students in their reading.

A big and special thanks to:

• Mrs Bradley-Davies

• Mr Strong

• Miss Quinn

• Mrs Beauchamp

• Miss O’Brien

• Mr Jones

• Ms Pattinson

• Mr Bagha

• Mrs Vigers

• Mr Haneef

• Ms Deans

• Ms Kirk

• Ms Pettinger

• Mr McMillian

Miss Povey

Key Stage 3 Co-Ordinator in English

Home Learning

All work that has been posted to the website will remain on the school website over the summer holidays to

enable students to catch up on any missed work from this ‘lockdown’ period.

To access the Home Learning page on the school website you should:

• Click the Home Learning tab under the curriculum section

• Enter the password (your son should be able to provide you with this)

• Then click on the relevant subject folder and then year folder to access work.

• In some instances, you will be taken to other websites, such as GCSE Pod and MathsWatch to complete work.

Below you will find a series of images that take you through the process.

Pastoral updates

Support for pupils and families over the summer holiday

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION CONCERNING THE CORONAVIRUS HELPLINE FROM THE DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION

FOR THE LATEST NHS GUIDANCE PLEASE CLICK HERE AND FOR THE LATEST SCHOOL INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT OUR CORRESPONDENCE PAGE

DURING THESE CONCERNING TIMES, THE POLICE HAVE SEEN A VERY SUDDEN AND DRAMATIC INCREASE IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN THE HOME. TO THIS END, WE WANT TO ENSURE GUIDANCE AND SUPPORT IS SIGNPOSTED FOR ALL OUR STAKEHOLDERS. CLICK HERE FOR A LINK TO RESOURCES WHICH WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO LOOK AT.

A RANGE OF FURTHER POLICE AND SCHOOL RESOURCES WHICH YOU MAY FIND OF USE CAN BE FOUND OF USE BY CLICKING HERE.

THE NEW MENTAL HEATH SUPPORT SERVICE HAS LAUNCHED IN BIRMINGHAM AND SOLIHULL CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

NSPCC SUPPORT FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES

https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/coronavirus-

advice-suppport-children-families-parents/

Forward Thinking Birmingham offer

https://www.forwardthinkingbirmingham.org.uk/services

If you need to get in touch with school please email enquiry@khb.bham.sch.uk

Please note the school is closed over the summer, therefore there may be a delay in responding to your email.

How NHS test and trace service works Part 1: for someone with symptoms of coronavirus

1. isolate: as soon as you experience coronavirus symptoms, medical advice

is clear: you must self-isolate for at least 7 days. Anyone else in your

household must self-isolate for 14 days from when you started having

symptoms

2. test: order a test immediately at www.nhs.uk/coronavirus or call 119 if you

have no internet access

3. results: if your test is positive, you must complete the remainder of your 7-

day self-isolation. Anyone in your household must also complete self-

isolation for 14 days from when you started having symptoms. If your test

is negative, you and other household members no longer need to self-

isolate

4. share contacts: if you test positive for coronavirus, the NHS test and trace

service will send you a text or email alert or call you with instructions of

how to share details of people with whom you have had close, recent

contact and places you have visited. It is important that you respond as

soon as possible so that we can give appropriate advice to those who

need it. You will be told to do this online via a secure website or you will

be called by one of our contract tracers.

Part 2: if you are contacted by the NHS test and trace service because you

have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for

coronavirus

1. alert: you will be alerted by the NHS test and trace service if you have

been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for

coronavirus. The alert will usually come by text, email or phone call. You

should then log on to the NHS test and trace website, which is normally

the easiest way for you and the service to communicate with each other –

but, if not, a trained call handler will talk you through what you must do.

Under-18s will get a phone call and a parent or guardian will be asked to

give permission for the call to continue

2. isolate: you will be told to begin self-isolation for 14 days from your last

contact with the person who has tested positive. It’s really important to do

this even if you don’t feel unwell because, if you have been infected, you

could become infectious to others at any point up to 14 days. Your

household doesn’t need to self-isolate with you, if you do not have

symptoms, but they must take extra care to follow the guidance on social

distancing and handwashing and avoid contact with you at home

3. test if needed: if you develop symptoms of coronavirus, other members of

your household must self-isolate immediately at home for 14 days and

you must book a test at www.nhs.uk/coronavirus or call 119 if you have

no internet access. If your test is positive, you must continue to stay at

home for at least 7 days and we will get in touch to ask about your

contacts since they must self-isolate. If your test is negative, you must still

complete your 14-day self-isolation period because the virus may not be

detectable yet - this is crucial to avoid unknowingly spreading the virus.

PSHE

This week saw students being asked to complete a Careers Survey as part of their PSHE

lessons – please encourage your son to complete this as it will help us shape our Careers

Programme for next year. Your son can complete the form online here.

New for the PSHE site on Frog this week - information and activities to support your Mental

Health with two different activity packs – one from Kooth and one from Sheffield NHS Trust.

Both resources are under the Mental Well Being page in Frog.

The latest edition of First News – the student friendly newspaper we have in school packed

with interesting articles, book reviews and more is now available via the student Frog

Dashboard.

CAREERS

A couple of opportunities over the summer...

The Careers & Enterprise Company, My Choices – Monday 3rd August @ 10:00am

The Careers & Enterprise Company mission is to prepare and inspire young people for the fast-changing world of work. On Monday 3rd August they are hosting a fantastic day of free sessions to help prepare young people for the workplace through a series of online workshops. Topics include Being prepared, Decision Making, Post 16 Pathways and Positive Well Being to name just a few. If you would like to join in, you need to sign up to Learn Live.

Year 10 and Year 11 don’t forget to boost your employability skills by signing up to Virtual

Work Experience. There are some amazing opportunities listed on the Virtual Work

Experience page in the Careers Section of Frog.

Following the success of their first round there are more fantastic Virtual Work Experience

opportunities with Jacobs.

Start Dates: We have programmes starting on the 3rd of August and the 17th of August.

There is more information on the Frog Careers Page under Virtual Work Experience scroll down

the page to find out more.

If you are interested in joining this fantastic opportunity, please contact Bobby Dias and

Jason Andrews at JacobsVWX@Jacobs.com

Image of the week.

Take care and staff safe.