Dear Parent/Carer,

Academic Year 20-21 is fully underway!

It is great to have all year groups in their classrooms once again. The first full week has seen our community start to adapt to the new way of working, implementing the safety protocols to reduce the risk of transmission.

Please remember it is a requirement that people who are ill stay at home. Your child must not attend school if they are unwell with any one of the coronavirus (COVID-19) symptoms, or if someone in your household has symptoms as well. Please read this guide to support you in decision making, if your child or someone in your household presents with symptoms. I know parents/carers are anxious about their child missing any more time in school, however we need to be considerate of all in our community, some of whom are more vulnerable to becoming seriously ill if they contract the virus.

Once the school receives notice of a student isolating, Mr Bynoe (Deputy Headteacher) will contact parent/carers to discuss learning provision. We will work with those families where young people need to isolate to ensure their learning continues.

Active engagement with NHS Test and Trace is also a key measure in controlling the virus, however nationally there are difficulties in booking appointments, as demand for tests has increased. If you are unable to book a test at a local site, please attend the Bentley Road Car Park test site, Bentley Road, N1 4DB, where walk-in tests are available seven days a week, 8am-8pm. More information on local test sites can be found here.

At SNS, we follow the Department for Education guidance on reducing contacts and maximise distancing between those in school wherever possible and therefore minimise potential for contamination. As mentioned in previous communication, the school has taken steps to separate year groups as far as possible, whilst we continue to teach a broad and ambitious curriculum.

Our students must follow the school rules on social distancing and regular sanitising of hands as in our revised student expectations. Our behaviour policy has been updated and renamed the SNS Behaviour and Relationships Policy. The draft policy is available here and you will hear more about it at the year group information evening.

For now, I will draw your attention to one aspect in the policy in respect of the safety protocols. Everyone has the right to feel safe and be safe. The following behaviours will lead to an exclusion:

  • Students must never spit or deliberately cough at another student or member of staff.
  • Create disorder by pretending to cough or sneeze or mimic illness.
  • Refuse social distancing requests or on-call requests to leave a room.

I sincerely hope I do not need to exclude any one of our school community for not complying with the safety protocols, and I kindly ask you to reiterate the message already shared by the school to students so there is a clear understanding of these expectations.

Students arrival to and dismissal from school

When students make their way to and from school, it is important for them to continue to support the safety protocols and represent the school with the best of behaviours. If arriving or leaving from Clissold Road, students must stay on the school side of the road, leaving the opposite side of the road for members of the wider community including those from Betty Layward Primary School and the leisure centre. Students should make their way straight home after school.

Mobile phones

A reminder that students are not allowed mobile phones on the school site. If a mobile phone is seen or heard by a member of staff, it will be confiscated. The phone will be given to reception, where it will be kept in the safe. A parent or carer will be able to collect the phone after school on the Friday of that week, if the device is confiscated on a Friday, it will be returned the following Friday.

This rule is to support our young people not becoming victims of crime. Additionally, given we have had six months of school closure with an unprecedented increase in “screen time”, we need to encourage a healthier relationship with devices.

I understand that there may be some of our students who need to carry a phone for exceptional reasons. If this is the case, then please contact the relevant Head of School to request permission to do so, that is Ms Byrne (Head of Lower School – Years 7 and 8) and Ms Lashley (Head of Upper School – Years 9, 10 and 11). If permission is granted the phone must be left in reception and collected at the end of the day. Sixth formers are permitted to have their phones with them, however must only use them in the sixth form area.

Student Wellbeing

We know our community has had differing experiences of the period of school closure. Whilst most students will be pleased to be back to school, the transition from home learning to school may be causing angst to others. If you are worried about how your child is settling into the routines of school again, please do contact their form tutor so we can best support them.

School Street

Clissold Road is now a School Street. This means the road is a no through road from 8.30am to 9.30am and again between 3-4pm.

Stormzy

Finally, on Wednesday, SNS was chosen as one of four schools to be hear Stormzy’s new release Superheroes before the general public and receive a special mention. It was a great way to start the academic year. Thank you Ms Lashley for organising. You can find the video here using this password: st0rmzymess4ge

Best wishes,

Zehra Jaffer