Woodfield Newsletter

Friday 12th June 2020

Dear Parents and Carers,

Pam Ash retiring
Pam, our deputy head will be retiring at the end of this term. She has been with us since 2014, and has been a tremendous asset to the school in dealing with the changes we've had to undergo over those years. We wish her a long and happy retirement. Due to the current situation, she's recorded a video message to all of our community. Click here to view the video on our website.

Term dates for the next academic year are below.

• Your child's form tutor should be contacting you at least once a week. 
• Parents should be provided with an outline of the activities and resources for the week by 9am on the Monday of that week.
• Staff will endeavour to respond to emails about activities etc during one of two one hour windows each day. These windows will be between 9 and 10 in the morning, or 2 and 3 in the afternoon, Monday to Friday during term time.
• Resources and activities should be distributed by Google Classroom , or if a pupil is unable to access that resource, a hard copy of resources can be requested.

PTA virtual forum meeting - 23rd June
PTA meetings were being held every 6 weeks where parents were able to discuss as a group issues and concerns.  Due to the current closure and restrictions on gatherings, we would like to arrange a virtual forum on the 23rd of June. Although this is a PTA meeting, everyone is welcome to join, so please contact Patsy if you would like to be included. There is no strict agenda so if there is something you would like to discuss, please let Patsy know in advance.  Deputy head Mr Prime will be in attendance, as will other staff, who will be confirmed in due course.

There will also be a virtual meeting for parents of Year 11 pupils on June 30th. Let Patsy know if you would like to attend. The forum will answer your question and discuss the issues of your child moving into sixth form.

Email Patsy on phu@compasslp.co.uk

Mental Health Awareness Workshop
The Brent Parent and Carers Forum, along with Brent, Wandsworth and Westminster  Mind charity are offering workshops for parents about Mental Health Awareness. See the flyer below for details and how to book a place.


Duke of Edinburgh Award Update
A letter to Mr Cooper from The Duke of Edinburgh award team.

Dear Mr Nick Cooper

I’m delighted to be sharing with you a certificate of social value for 2019-20 which details the total hours DofE participants at Woodfield School donated to their local community. Across London, DofE participants contributed an incredible 356,616 hours volunteering to help others, which equates to a social value of over £1.5 million.

DofE London Director, Clare Argar, has asked me to pass on her thanks to you, your DofE Manager, staff volunteers, and finally your incredible participants who have made such a positive impact on their local community.

If you would like to share this on social media, please tag us on Twitter @DofELondon so that we can celebrate your DofE participants success with you!

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Best wishes,

Liz

Liz Winterton

Operations Officer

The DofE – London

Brent Educational Psychology Service
The Educational Psychology Service parent drop-in line is available to any parent or carer who has a child in a Brent school and who would like to have some time to discuss any concerns with an Educational Psychologist. Download this flyer for more information. There is now an additional day for parent drop in on Tuesday 9th June 2020 –  9:30 – 12:30

FSM Vouchers
There have been some well documented problems reported across the country that some people have had problems with the government voucher scheme.  When we had control of it at the beginning, it worked well. When the DfE took over, it became much more complicated. I think you should know that it takes in the region of 24 hours solid working to get those vouchers out and sorted every single week. That’s a massive task and we’re applying ourselves to it because it is very important for our families.

There is a DfE update regarding the situation, which you can view here. There are suggestions for how parents can access help, as well as a set of FAQ's.

Video chat & video meetings
We are aware that many pupils are using apps like Google Meet (which we use to conduct our virtual classes), Zoom or Houseparty to 'meet up' and socialise during their free time. We would encourage all parents and carers to monitor and be aware of what their child is doing on the internet. Seeing and speaking to friends is good for a child's mental health, but it's important to balance 'internet time' with other off line activities, such as exercise or family time. It's also important for young people to get plenty of sleep. The NHS recommends a minimum of 8 hrs on a 'school night'.

Parentzone and Net Aware have excellent guides for parents who are looking for advice regarding using video chat, or any aspect of the internet.

Turn2Us Covid 19 Emergency Fund
Please be aware that Turn2us charity has launched a COVID 19 Crisis Fund.

It’s a one off £500 grant.

As you can imagine the online application service is likely to be extremely busy and there is a high likelihood that applicants will have to wait for longer that the 10 days stated.

They can only help those who are in immediate financial difficulty due to the Coronavirus. You will need to satisfy all of the following criteria:

• You can clearly demonstrate a loss of income due to Covid-19 (evidence will be required showing at least a 50% reduction in earnings, we can accept bank statements, letter from employer outlining change in employment)
• You are a resident of the UK / Republic of Ireland
• You are not currently in Further or Higher Education
• You are over 18
• You have less than £1K savings (single person) or less than £2K savings (couple/family)

Please note that if you have received a Turn2us grant in the last 6 months we will be unable to assist you.

Click the here to find out more

Help from local councils
Local councils have set up guides for residents with regard to how to access a range of assistance over this time, be it medical, financial, business or even how to volunteer to assist others.

You can view these offerings from local councils by clicking the links below.

Brent
Barnet
Harrow
Ealing
Camden
Westminster

Coronavirus – Advice for all early years providers, schools and further education providers
The government is closely monitoring the spread of the Coronavirus and is taking action at home and abroad.

Public Health England has issued advice for educational institutions. Updates or changes to this can be found here.

Latest information and advice can also be found at the NHS Coronavirus updates page or https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus

Stay safe


Nick Cooper

Important dates

Term dates for 2020-2021

Term dates are subject to change, parents and carers will be informed of any changes.
 

If you would like hard copies (paper) of any document on our website, please contact the school office and they will arrange this
.