January 2021: Updated Information for Parents 

Following the Government’s announcement last night that all schools in England are required to close for most students until at least February half term, I am writing to provide an update on the current situation and how this affects your child.

The school will now be closed from Wednesday 6^th January to all students apart from children of key workers/critical workers and vulnerable students. (If you have not yet applied for a keyworker place, and wish to do so, please complete the form here.)

Students in Years 11 and 13 who were due to return to school next week should now remain at home. Year 11 parents/carers will be receiving a separate letter from Ms Sheehan. Any students who are due to sit vocational examinations this month have been contacted as these will take place as normal. 

All students who are not attending school will continue to follow the remote learning timetable that has been put into place since the start of this week. We are confident that the curriculum we are offering continues to be robust and engaging and have been very impressed with student participation in their “live” lessons and with their classwork over the past two days. We would like to thank all parents/carers for your support of our students as they learn remotely - we know that this is not an easy task.

From Wednesday 6th January onwards, students will be expected to attend a “live” tutor time session every morning from 8.35-8.50am. This is to give students the best possible start to their remote learning day and to give tutors the opportunity to check in on the wellbeing of their tutees on a daily basis. Attendance to all “live” sessions including tutor time is compulsory and student attendance will be monitored closely.

We appreciate that these are challenging times and that some students may find this transition to remote learning difficult. The wellbeing of our students is our main priority and we are committed to providing high quality pastoral support to all who need it. Please rest assured that you will be able to contact your child’s Year Team throughout this time. The contact details of all Year Teams as well as Subject Leaders can be found on our website (https://www.oaksparkhigh.org.uk/1334/staffing-information) if you have any concerns.

If your child is experiencing any issues with accessing the live lessons, please let us know via the office email: office@oaksparkhigh.org.uk   

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support during these uncertain times. We will keep you informed of any further developments as they arise.