Dear Parents/Carers
Here we are at the start of our second full week! It’s been great to see your children getting into the swing of things here at Crossley Heath. The feedback from their teachers so far has been overwhelmingly positive, behaviour has been very good and their uniform has been superb. This certainly bodes well for the future.
It was fabulous for our tutors and pastoral team to look at and read the summer school projects brought in as part of the ‘getting to know you’ process. There are many fantastic creations that deserve celebration and reward for the time and effort that has clearly been invested. I’ll be getting on with that next week!
The transition from primary to secondary school is a big step for children and we know that some will need a little more support and guidance than others. If you feel that your child needs some further support to help them adjust to their new school environment and you haven’t been in touch with us already, please contact me directly on c.davis@crossleyheath.org.uk
I just want to raise a couple of matters with you as we settle into the term. Firstly, could you please check that your child has their name clearly labelled in their uniform and PE kit. Staff have been doing their best to return items left in changing rooms after PE or outside after break and lunchtime but this proves very difficult and time consuming if items are not named.
Secondly, I would like to give some guidance on phone and social media use. We are aware that students are setting up social media groups, on whattsapp in particular, as they develop friendships and social groups. Most apps are designed for children aged 13+. We realise that younger children do have access to these platforms and we deliver assemblies and lessons on appropriate use of social media in order to educate them in using these apps appropriately. The fundamental message we give is for our students to ensure that anything they post is carefully considered, kind, helpful, constructive or supportive. We would appreciate your continued support at home in monitoring your child’s use of social media. In a large whattsapp group there can often be over 1000 messages a day. Some children feel the pressure to read them all or even respond. This can clearly have a negative impact on important down time, sleep and ultimately emotional wellbeing.
I have asked that Year 7 students avoid using their phones, where not absolutely necessary, during break and lunchtimes so that they can place more focus on speaking to each other face to face in the first few weeks of term. Our school policy currently does allow the use of mobile devices at break and lunchtime and therefore I cannot insist on or enforce non-use. However, the pastoral team and I will continue to ask students if they really need to have their phones out at these social times. Time away from screens is proven to be beneficial to physical and mental health.
We look forward to continuing our support of your child.
Yours faithfully
| Mr C. Davis
Associate Assistant Head – Pastoral
Y6-7 Transition Update – 18th June 2021
Following the government announcement on Monday to delay the lifting of the current covid restrictions we are now planning to go ahead with a virtual programme of events this half term.
A parents’/carers information evening will take place on Tuesday 29th June. We are preparing pre-recorded content that we hope you will find useful in preparation for your child’s start with us in September. This will be available to view on the Transition to Year 7 website pages.
In addition to these available resources we will be holding a ‘live chat’ session from 5-7pm to give you further chance to ask any specific questions you may have. To access the live chat, you will need to click on the ‘chat with us’ icon on the school website.
Our virtual Transition Day will be designed to ensure that none of our new students miss the chance to learn more about their new school, how to prepare and what to expect. We will be uploading pre-recorded content onto the website and we encourage our new students to explore these resources when they can on or after the 2nd July.
Our Year 7 Induction Day, taking place on Friday 3rd September, is a further opportunity to support your child’s transition. Only our new students in Year 7 and 12 will be in school on this day and our programme places a focus on building confidence, supporting new friendships and introducing students to their new school environment.
I hope that parents/carers are now aware that we are running a summer school from 16-20th August. This is not a compulsory event and we appreciate that families may be away on holiday. If you would like your child to attend then please complete the on-line sign up form that can be found on our transition website pages.
As always, if you need to contact me directly then please do so. Positive communication and strong relationships with parent and carers is a key factor in a successful transition for your child. I look forward to working with you to this end.
Mr C Davis
Transition Update 7th June:
At this current time my colleagues and I are working hard to provide the best possible transition for your child and we are very much looking forward to welcoming all of our new Year 7 students into our school community. Our transition planning must adhere to the guidance set out by Public Health England (PHE). The current PHE guidance states that; If transition events are to go ahead before the end of term with students returning to their primary school, secondary schools should protect existing primary school bubbles. We have seventy primary feeder schools this year and sadly we do not have the resources to be able to meet the PHE guidance to hold a face to face Transition Day on Friday 2nd July on this basis.
If we cannot hold our face to face transition events, we will be running a virtual programme and more information about these plans will be published closer to the time.
The government and local authorities are due to review their roadmap out of covid restrictions on June 21st. Should PHE guidance to schools allow, we intend to go ahead with our face to face Transition Day. More precise information about this event will be published once we are informed that we can go ahead. For now, I would ask parents/carers to consider making travel arrangements for your child to attend on Friday 2nd July. Children will need to be at school by 8:25am and will need collecting at 3:15pm. They should attend school in their primary school uniform.
We will continue to build up useful content on Y7 Transition web pages during this half term. To access this platform please visit our school website and select ‘Transition to Year 7’ from the school information drop down menu.
Your transition packs will be sent out this week and it is important that you read through the contents carefully as there are some actions for you to take on behalf of your child.
I am also able to announce that we will be running an exciting summer school programme for our new Year 7 students from 16th – 20th August. More details about this free opportunity will be available on our website and in the parent pack.
If you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me.