The following message went out to all parents on Wednesday 19 April
Welcome back after Easter – we hope you got some sort of break – and we are now headlong back into the Summer Term. Amongst other things, we have more strikes on the horizon so we particularly wanted to give you the details ASAP.
This update will cover:
* Strike Days
* Year 7 Parents Evening
* Y11 Formal Exams
* School Website
* PE Kit
* INSET Day (Friday 26 May)
* Dates for Diary
* End of Term
Strike Days
The teacher strikes are continuing after the NEU rejected the government’s offer due to the amount and the funding of the increase which will largely come out of existing school budgets.
You can read more about the details of this here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-63283289
It is very possible that other trade unions will now ballot for strike action and this could mean the closures could become more extensive.
Due to this government / union impasse, we will be partially closing partially on both Thursday 27 April and Tuesday 2 May.
The following Year groups will be in / out on these dates:
Thursday 27 April:
IN = Years 9, 10, 11 & 13
OUT = Years 7, 8 & 12
Tuesday 2 May:
IN = Years 7, 10, 11 & 13
OUT = Years 8, 9 & 12
Firstly, we want to apologise to Year 8 parents who we did say to (along with Year 9 parents) that we would look to get their children in on future strike days. This has not been possible on these occasions.
The rationale for these Year groups are:
Year 11 & Year 13 – They are just weeks away from their final exams – we cannot see them miss any school days at this stage.
Year 10 – They have a heap of vocational deadlines for these times and the formal coursework needs to be in so it can be marked and then sent off for moderation
Year 9 – They have important sexual health PHSE sessions on Thursday 27 April and we will struggle to re-jig this with the formal exams where they are
Year 7 – We remain reluctant to have them at home – particularly twice – at this relatively early stage.
Elsewhere:
Year 12 – They will be set work to do at home as per private study – and though this is obviously not ideal – we know this group will crack on with it.
Year 8 – They remain a priority to get into school if possible on future strike days.
Again, all Year groups at home will have work set on Show My Homework / Satchel One.
It is important to stress that at the moment the plan is for more strike days in the term ahead. Unfortunately, this problem is not going away in the short-term.
Year 7 Parents Evening
This event falls on a strike day and having reviewed the event it is evident that it will be affected by the industrial action that day.
Consequently, we will have to move this date. The new Year 7 Parents Evening date will be Thursday 15 June. It will run on Teams in the usual way and details will be sent out shortly after half-term.
We are sorry for this inconvenience but it is very much outside of our control.
Further details will come out separately to this update.
Year 11 & Y13 Exams
The Year 11 and Year 13 exams formally begin from W/B Monday 15 May and will run until W/B 19 June.
This is always a hectic time in school and children in other Years may have lessons affected from time to time. This is not ideal but rest assured it will be appreciated when your children get to this stage of their education.
Separate emails will go out to Year 11 & 13 parents to map out some more detailed arrangements.
School Website
The school website has been significantly updated in recent weeks, and though there is a bit still to do here and there, it is largely complete.
It is worth a look at the content – with the following pages being particularly worth reviewing:
* A CANVA resource explaining what we cover in our school curriculum and in every subject area: https://www.canva.com/design/DAFMAnUfM98/wS1jxZPQ_bKIgFzAOmNGlA/view?website#1:welcome-page
* An overview of our Safeguarding team: https://www.friaryschool.co.uk/safeguarding/
* The ‘Curriculum – Excellence’ tab details the many awards our school has gained on what we offer in our curriculum.
PE Kit
We are looking to reduce the cost of our PE kit by further scaling back the branded items.
Further details will be out soon once suppliers are sorted so we would suggest holding fire on any new purchases for now.
INSET Day (Friday 26 May)
Just another reminder that due to the national exam timetable we changed our INSET Day.
Students will not be required in school on Friday 26 May.
They will now be required in school on Monday 5 June
Dates for Diary
Other important dates for your diary in the term ahead include:
Wednesday 26 April – Bags2 School (drop off on Monday or Tuesday is fine)
Thursday 27 April – Year 7 Parents Evening
Monday 1 May – Bank Holiday
Monday 8 May (Bank (Coronation) Holiday
Fri 12 May – PTFA Comedy Night (stand-up comedy for adults – 18+)
W/B 19 June – KS3 Show Week – Mary Poppins (tickets on sale soon)
Thurs 29 June – Y6-Y7 Transition Evening
Mon 3 July – Year 11 Leavers Assembly
Mon 4 July – Y11 Prom
Wed 5 July – Y13 Leavers Assembly & Leavers’ Meal
Thurs 6 July – Sports Day
Fri 7 July – Non-Uniform Day
Thurs 13 July – Summer Sizzler
W/B 17 July – Y12 Experience Week
End of Term
The last day of term is Friday 21 July and we will be finishing at 12.05pm.
This earlier finish is so that classrooms, etc, can be cleared by staff. This means our site teams can start ploughing on with the busy Summer schedule from Day 1. It will be a busy summer.
Looking further ahead, the students return to school on Wednesday 6 September so make sure flights are back, piercings are done at the start of the holiday, and that school uniform is delivered and in place.
Matt Allman, Headteacher, added: “We continue to share your disappointment with the on-going strike action. Hopefully a breakthrough will come sooner rather than later. Either way, we’ll be in touch later in the term as things develop, but with the weather seeming to be somewhat on the up enjoy the longer evenings.”
