Sponne School update summer term 2021
For Lateral flow testing guidance and videos, Click HERE.
Reporting Lateral Flow Test Results to Sponne - Students
Reporting LFT Results to NHS ( Gov.uk )
Welcome back to the summer term. I am pleased to report that so far we have had no positive Covid cases, though I am aware of a couple in our local community. Can I remind you that students should be testing at home twice per week using the lateral flow devices we have sent home and that the results need to be reported on the government site and logged on our school Google form. We have definitely seen a fall in the number of reported results coming into school and I suspect that this is due to some complacency and fatigue as cases have fallen nationally. I would very much appreciate it if you could check that your child has not got multiple boxes of devices in their bag and is carrying out their tests twice per week.
If your child develops any symptoms or tests positive using one of the lateral flow devices they must get a confirmatory PCR test and the household needs to isolate for 10 days unless this comes back as a negative result. If you have any queries regarding this, please do not hesitate to contact the dedicated school via email .
Year 11 and year 13 students are continuing to work through their assessments and I want to congratulate them on their determination and commitment. Their approach and attitude has been excellent. Final days for Year 11 and 13 will be Thursday 20th and Friday 21st May respectively.
We are delighted to confirm that we have finally been allocated some Section 106 funds from the development opposite the racecourse. We will be receiving approximately £1.3million and can therefore progress with our plans to improve the accommodation for our current students. This is likely to help us cover the costs for an extension to our science faculty and we are working with our architects to get this started before the summer holidays. More details on this to come!
We have Parents’ Evenings for Years 7, 9 and 12 during June and July. These will be via live video links for Years 9 and 12. We are hopeful that we will be able to invite Year 7 students and parents in to meet teachers face to face in school, pending Covid restrictions being reviewed on 21st June.
Please do not hesitate to contact us at school if there is anything we can do to support you at this time.
Dates for your diary
Thursday 10th June – Year 12 Parents Evening (remote)
Thursday 17th June – Year 9 Parents Evening (remote)
Thursday 24th June – Year 7A Parents Evening (TBC)
Thursday 1st July – Year 7B Parents Evening (TBC)
Yours sincerely
Iain Massey
Headteacher
Harmful Sexual Behaviour in schools
Sexual abuse, sexual violence and sexual harassment in any form are abhorrent and it is vital that reports of abuse are appropriately investigated and victims supported and protected.
At Sponne School we take our safeguarding responsibilities extremely seriously but the “Everyone’s Invited campaign” has reminded us that there is more we need to do.
On 31 March, the Secretary of State announced that he had asked Ofsted to undertake a thematic review into sexual abuse across state and independent schools and colleges. The review was published on 10th June 2021, and looked at the processes in place within schools to allow pupils to report concerns freely, knowing these will be taken seriously and dealt with swiftly and appropriately.
A dedicated NSPCC helpline is now available to support anyone who has experienced sexual abuse in educational settings or has concerns about someone or the issues raised. The dedicated NSPCC helpline number is 0800 136 663 and more information is available at: Dedicated helpline for victims of abuse in schools NSPCC.
Statutory safeguarding guidance and advice are very clear on our schools legal duties and the policies and processes already in place to safeguard children.
Part 5 of Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE 2020) provides schools with detailed guidance about child-on-child sexual violence and sexual harassment, including responding to reports of abuse and protecting victims. Part 5 also signposts to the wider specialist support that is available to us as a school.
Alongside this, recent government guidance documents supports us to understand what child-on-child sexual violence and sexual harassment looks like, how to prevent it, how to respond to reports of it, and how to support victims. The Safeguarding team refer to this document in all reported cases.
National guidance is very clear on how we as a school should work with our local multi-agency children’s partnerships as a relevant agency and how any concerns about a child should be referred. We will always look to contact our local multi-agency children’s partnership as well as the police for further advice and support when needed.
The curriculum for Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) has included this topic for both Key Stage 3 and 4 this term. At Sponne assemblies have and are continuing to take place with this in mind, and we have included the most recent assembly here for your information.
We always have and will continue to take these matters very seriously. The Everyone’s Invited campaign has rightly served to focus our minds on the need to continue to work together to protect children.
If you have any questions, or wish to discuss this further, please make contact with the school Designated Safeguarding Lead - Miss Harris.
