22 May 2020

Dear Parent/Carer,

End of Half-Term Update (Summer Term)

As we approach the end of the ninth week of lockdown, I do hope that you, your families and
loved ones remain in good spirits and that you all are keeping healthy.

Returning Students to School

The Government announcements about the easing of lockdown and statements from the
Secretary of State for Education concerning students returning to school have mainly been
focussed on primary schools. In recent announcements, the government has expressed the wish
for secondary schools to prepare, from 1 June at the earliest, to “offer some face-to-face support
to supplement the remote education of Year 10 and Year 12 students who are due to take key
exams next year”.

All of the secondary schools in Hounslow are now planning with this intention in mind and all
schools are certainly keen to return to normal schooling as soon as possible. Our guiding priority
will be to be sure that staff and students will be safe when we do return.

We are planning for a phased return of certain students to school over the next half-term, although
we are not confirming actual dates at this time and when so much uncertainty remains about the
Government and health advice being given.

When we do put our plan into place it is likely to be in stages as follows:

• some invited students from across the school

• the phased return of Years 10 and 12 students

At this stage we are planning for Years 7, 8 and 9 students to continue with remote learning until
the new academic year. If circumstances change, we will of course let you know.

When we feel confident in moving forward with the plans, we will share them with you, including
what will be in place in school to minimise risks on site with the safety of all members of the school
community.

It should be noted that individual schools will be operating differently for the rest of this term and
this will depend on their own assessment of risk, taking into account factors like staffing levels;
site constraints and transport issues. Please do be assured that these individual school decisions
are taken with the best interests of their students and staff remaining the most important
consideration. In addition, schools will continue to work together to plan for the next school year,
learning from each other about the best way of managing learning in these challenging times.

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Remote Learning

As remote learning is going to continue for some time, please do keep urging your children to
maintain good work habits and to keep to a routine. We are aware that many students are doing
great work and keeping up with the daily challenges. Others are finding this more of a challenge
and they do need encouragement to maintain their learning.

One thing that will help is ensuring that your children are getting to sleep at a decent time and
getting up ahead of the school day.

Please do keep a watch on the school’s Twitter feed here, where you can see some of the work
being produced by our students.

Daily Registration – Years 7, 8, 9, 10 & 12

After half-term and for the remainder of this period of remote working, we will be requiring all
students to register their attendance on Teams by 11.00am each day. This will be treated like a
normal attendance mark. Year 10 students have been doing this for a few weeks now and will
continue with this practice.

Enrichment Work – For Half-Term

For the half-term week, we ask you to guide your son/ward to the enrichment activities which
remain open on the school website and can be found here. It can also be found via the orange
‘Enrichment’ tile at the top of the school website.

Key Worker Support

We currently remain open for a very small number of children in Years 7 and 8 who have
parents/carers that are key workers. We are not teaching these students but allowing them to
complete the remote learning tasks in school under the supervision of a very small number of
staff. If you need to take advantage of this provision, even for the odd day, please email
school@isleworthsyon.org and a member of staff will return your call.

Year 8 Mini-Options

A communication has been sent to all families with a son/ward in Year 8 explaining the process
of selecting Mini-Options for next year. Please make sure that the form is completed by the end
of the half-term break, so that we can move ahead with planning the curriculum. Full details about
the process can be found at www.isleworthsyon.org/mini-options.

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Free School Meals

Free School Meal vouchers are being provided for half-term, so the next voucher will be for £30
and cover both the half-term break and the first week of next half-term.

If any family thinks that they have become eligible for Free School Meals, please do apply by
completing the form here. New applications are being processed quickly, and this provides £15
a week to contribute to the weekly shopping bill.

I wish you all a good half-term break and thank you for your continued support.

Yours sincerely,

Euan Ferguson
Headteacher