Luke Price

It has been a real pleasure to welcome students back into the Academy and I sincerely hope your child has settled back into a routine where they can enjoy learning with their friends. We recognise that for some children lockdown has been a very difficult time. Please do not hesitate to share any concerns about your child’s welfare that you believe will help us to make their return to education as smooth as possible. Students finish for the Easter break on Thursday 1st April at the normal time, and return to the Academy on Monday 19th April.

We are absolutely delighted to have welcomed students back to face-to-face teaching at the Academy, and really pleased with how well most students have settled back into a routine. We continue to work within COVID-19 guidelines in the Academy building. However students have adapted to this well, and following a review of our times of the day, we are able to make some minor changes to reduce the wait between students’ arrival times.

Both YouTube and Instagram have announced plans for new safety features to support a safer online environment for children. We’d strongly recommend that parents/carers carefully monitor the internet activity of their children, and here are some handy reminders.

We have been advised that two of our students (one in Year 7 and one in Year 9) have tested positive for COVID-19 in their Lateral Flow Device home tests. As a result we have asked a number of students to self-isolate as a precaution. You will have already been contacted by the Academy if your child is affected. The students who have tested positive have been advised to take confirmatory PCR tests in line with government guidance; if their result is negative then the students currently self-isolating will be able to return to the Academy. The Academy will remain open for other students, and providing your child remains well they may attend as normal unless directed otherwise. Students working from home may access their home learning here.

We have now received the certificates for the summer 2020 examination series and will be offering a COVID-19 safe collection service for these. It is important that certificates are collected as original certificates are required for a number of things and examination boards charge a fee for replacement. We do not store uncollected certificates.

Sandwell MBC publish a regular newsletter of useful links and helpful information to support families in the local community. You may find these links and events to be of interest or to provide some support. Click the links below for more information.

As you may know, our Academy is part of Q3 Academies Trust which is proposing to merge with The Mercian Trust.  We believe that this will bring more opportunities for our students, but we would very much like to hear the views of parents/carers, staff, and other stakeholders.

Families who live with, or are in a bubble with, children attending the Academy (or any other educational or childcare setting) are being encouraged to, participate in twice-weekly COVID-19 testing. Self-test kits can be collected free of charge from a Sandwell testing centre (not the Academy). Full details are available here.

Firstly, thank you for the support you have shown to your children and the Academy during the latest lockdown period. Your efforts to keep children safe and to also educate them at home has been really appreciated. As you will know, the Government announced that the Academy will begin to reopen from 8 March. This will mean that it is once again mandatory for all children to attend unless they are Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (CEV) and have been advised to stay at home.

Welcome back, I hope you managed to have some restful time over half term. I would like to say thank you to all of you for the continued support you have given to Q3 Academies and to each other during these uncertain and difficult times.