Message from the Principal Following the announcement of the Prime Minister on 4 January, a national lockdown will come into force on Wednesday 6 January 2021. The School will remain open to vulnerable and key worker children only and all other students will learn remotely until February half term. As with the last lockdown, teachers will be in contact with parents periodically to check on progress and the wellbeing of all students during the next six weeks. We will continue to support all students through this challenging period. Please remain safe.
Mr Gill, Principal
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Dear Year 10 and Year 12 Students, I hope this finds you and your family safe and well. Following on from my most recent communication regarding your child’s return to the UTC we are now in a position to provide a personal timetable which will run from the week of 15th June until Friday 10th July. This return will consist of some face-to-face time with core subject teachers made up of two half days for Year 10 and half a day per A-level subject for Year 12. This is clearly a limited time in school and the bulk of the learning will continue to take place via remote learning. An extensive risk-assessment has been carried and we will operate systems to ensure that students are socially distanced with opportunities for the highest sanitary standards. We have taken a number of steps to ensure that this phased return is done in as safe a way as possible:
Dear Year 10 and Year 12 Students, I hope this finds you and your family safe and well. As you will be aware from the Prime Minister's recent announcement, schools across England are planning for a phased return. The Government has recently recommended the return of Year 10 and Year 12 pupils on a part-time basis. The DfE guidance has stated ‘this will not be a return to full timetables … rather some support to supplement pupils’ remote education.’ We have decided along with other secondary academies in the Thomas Telford Multi Academy Trust to plan to formally engage with Year 10 and Year 12 students from Monday 15 June 2020. This will give the management of the UTC the opportunity to make all the necessary arrangements to comply with COVID-19 guidance to allow us to welcome some students back to school. This involves making physical changes to the learning environments, amending routines and protocols, preparing appropriate learning, organising teaching and support staff and communicating with parents and students to help minimise risks associated with COVID-19. From Monday 15 June students are likely to be asked to attend on a part time basis but we will send you further specific details in the first week of June. This date will be kept under review and may be delayed should we receive further guidance. In the meantime, remote learning will continue to be available during the first two weeks of June. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate our pupils on their hard work and commitment to their studies up to this point. Teachers have continued to deliver the curriculum through digital platforms. Their work to instill continuity for our learners has been key to our pupils’ progression and is greatly appreciated. The support and loyalty of parents has been fundamental throughout this challenging time, thank you for this. The UTC, with the country, is progressing to a new type of ‘normal.’ We look forward to this next significant stage, by safely welcoming back your child, and will contact you in early June with more details and individual timetables. Yours Faithfully
Dear Year 11 and Year 13 Students, I hope you are all well and managing to do some work at home. Don’t forget that you can access plenty of resources from the Show My Homework app which your teachers are updating on a regular basis. Also, form tutors will attempt to make verbal contact with you via telephone each week. In light of the recent announcements around exams and school closures, we understand that this is a worrying time for you. We wanted to assure you that we are in contact with the Department for Education, awarding bodies, universities and UCAS to provide clarity. As soon as there’s any further information, we will let you know. The latest information released by the UK government on arrangements for exams which have been cancelled to stop the spread of Coronavirus is available here.Government Advice In the meantime, please follow the advice below carefully:
Dear Parents/Carers, Following on from my last update, I am writing to let you know that we have now been instructed to close the school to almost all children from Monday until further notice. As advised by the government, we will do all we can to stay open for the children of key workers (e.g. NHS staff, police, others in frontline services) and vulnerable children. We are waiting for the government to publish more information but it would help us in the meantime if you could let us know if you think your child may fall into one of these categories. Please contact Mrs Murray with the following information: emma.murray@wmcutc.co.uk, e.g. child’s name and tutor group. All other children will need to stay at home, so we ask that you do not send your child into school from Monday until further notice. Please note that this is a national closure and we are not alone. We will contact each of you by e-mail to provide more information around the support we can provide towards your child’s learning. We have been instructed that Year 11 and Year 13 will not be sitting exams. We are awaiting for more information as to ascertain how their grades will be awarded. In the meantime it is important that your child continues with their learning. During school closure, work for your child will be posted daily on Show My Homework (SMHW). Information on how to access SMHW can found here if required. Show My Homework A member of UTC staff will make phone contact with you every week whilst the school is closed. This is to offer support and guidance. It is important to encourage your child to maintain good structures and routines around sleeping, eating and their attitude to schoolwork, approaching it as they would a normal school week. If you have any welfare concerns please contact our Welfare Lead: claire.gleeson@wmcutc.co.uk. To family and children please keep safe in this difficult time. Thank-you for your support in this matter.
I write with an update on the UTCs current actions and future contingency planning due to the developing COVID-19 (coronavirus) situation. May I begin by thanking parents for their calm approach and understanding in the face of a significant amount of media reporting. I can confirm that the UTC is continuing to follow the latest guidance given to all schools in relation to the virus and our Senior Leadership Team meet regularly to assess ongoing developments. Whilst the UTC continues to have no cases of the virus amongst our students or staff, we are aware that the latest advice suggests self-isolation of 7 days if symptoms are exhibited. Those symptoms include a high temperature of 37.8 C or above, a dry cough or sore throat. It is imperative that students are set and able to complete work whilst out of school and this may be for reasons unrelated to the virus. Staff will be setting work for students through the Show My Homework portal. It is imperative that this, as well as UTC e-mails, are checked on a regular basis by parents and students throughout the period of absence. I would suggest each morning and again through the day. Staff will also indicate a deadline for completion of this work and this will often be at the end of the day on which it was set as this mechanism is partly there to replace normal lessons. Students can upload completed work to the portal. If you have any queries relating to this matter please contact Sarah at reception or e-mail subject teachers directly if it relates to the curriculum.
Please see the below table for information regrading lateral flow testing at the UTC.
Please see the below table for information regrading the UTC's catch up statements.
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