Letter From The Headmaster
I write to thank you all for your tremendous support in helping us operate the school safely and keeping as much normality to school life as possible. It is a huge team effort for staff, pupils and parents and, so far, we are doing very well.
I also want to say a huge thanks to our medical team, led by our Senior Matron, Paula Greig, for the incredible support they give us under very challenging circumstances. Paula’s letter to parents yesterday has much important information and the new questionnaire for pupils who are absent, will help us manage the situation in the best possible way.
There are some key areas on which I would like to focus your attention and which I think we need to improve upon:
Face masks on buses
We have had a number of instances when pupils are not wearing their masks on the buses or not wearing them properly. If your children use the buses, please discuss this with them and ask them to report any cases of non-compliance to us by talking to a teacher or by texting the confidential pupil helpline.
Pupils who do not comply to this rule will be banned from travelling on the buses.
Parents picking up children who are leaving their cars
A reminder that parents must remain in their cars whilst waiting for their children and not get out to chat to other parents or children. Only in the event of a genuine emergency should a parent leave their car, in which case they should contact a member of staff directly.
School closures or partial closures
You will be aware that a growing number of local schools have been closed either fully or partially because of the number of confirmed Covid cases they have had. We are prepared for such an eventuality, but of course want to do all we can to avoid this.
What seems to be a pattern, is that in many cases closures have been linked to activities of older pupils outside of school. We understand that reduced social contact is difficult for all, and particularly our older pupils, but it is critical that we all continue to follow all government advice strictly in our family lives; many thanks for all you are doing here. To assist with track and trace we would encourage parents and pupils over 16 to download the NHS COVID-19 app. If you have any concerns regarding your child’s social life outside of school or need any support in this area, please do contact us directly.
Appropriate and inappropriate use of IT by pupils
With the ever-increasing use of digital technology it is clearly really important that as a school and as parents, we are continually looking at how best to educate our children so that they make good decisions regards their use of IT and that IT usage enhances rather than detracts from their overall well-being.
Whilst it is still early days, we have been very pleased with the impact of our new BYOD policy in Years 10 and above and are planning to extend the use of in-class devices to the lower years later in the year. Microsoft Teams is become well embedded into our curriculum planning and teaching and we are driving forward the use of OneNote by both pupils and staff.
On a less positive note, we have had a number of recent concerns about inappropriate use of mobile devices, particularly relating to the taking and sharing of digital images, pictures or videos. We have had situations which have caused embarrassment, upset, and worse.
We have a programme of education within our tutor time, pastoral and REAL programmes to try to ensure that pupils do make good decisions and have shared information regularly with parents at Academic Review Evenings and via articles and letters. As you will know, there is helpful guidance on the use of mobile phones and acceptable use of IT in the Princethorpe College information Booklet for Parents and Pupils – which includes the following key rule: do not take images of staff or pupils on site or on the school bus.
We also have a number of policies which reference inappropriate IT use and pupils are regularly reminded of these and the consequences for failing to follow our rules. These include:
Our Use of Images Policy which states ‘misuse of images, cameras or filming is always taken seriously and may be subject to disciplinary procedures.’
Our ICT Acceptable Use Policy, in which pupils must agree to ‘use IT and internet in a mature and responsible manner for educational purposes only.’
Our Mobile Phone Policy which states ‘mobile phones must be switched off and not visible between 8.30am and 3.45pm.’
Sanctions or consequences for failing to follow our rules in this area are in our Behaviour Management Policy, and include:
1. Misuse of social media – after school detention
2. Sexting, filming or taking of images - isolation/suspension
3. Publishing derogatory/defamatory remarks about Princethorpe College or its community – suspension/expulsion
4. Bringing the College into disrepute, including by use of social media -suspension/expulsion
I would like to take this opportunity to recommend some resources that families can use to keep abreast of current advice and guidance about the use of digital technology and how to support their child in the safe usage:
Digital parenting resources and website
If you have any concerns relating to IT please contact Andy Compton, our Director of Digital Strategy.
With all best wishes for the remainder of the half term,
Ed Hester
