Update for parents and carers: Friday 7^th May 2021

Our thoughts and prayers are with families of those recently deceased, people who are unwell, lonely, isolated or unemployed and facing hardship.

We pray for our Muslim Community as they continue to observe Ramadan. We pray that this period of fasting and prayer will bring many blessings.

We pray that the coming week brings much joy and happiness as members of our community celebrate Eid!

We continue to operate within full Government and Public Health guidelines for schools.

Please continue to support your child in carrying out twice-weekly Covid tests at home. Thank you.

Pupils are still expected to wear face coverings in classrooms at the outset of this term. This situation is under constant review by Public Health and Government, but no modification or change, is expected until the 17^th May at the earliest.

Our current timings for school start and exit have worked very well since September for a whole host of reasons but principally to support with safety. Our compressed curriculum model has meant that pupils have full subject coverage with no learning time lost. Despite the huge challenges, the quality of education at Holy Trinity remains excellent and at the very highest standard. Key performance indicators are showing very pleasing progress data for pupils in all years. It seems sensible to continue with these timings for the rest of the year with any changes happening in September.

Despite the current challenges, we continue to be ambitious for all of our youngsters and there are a number of important and exciting developments happening for each year group in the weeks and months ahead:

Year 7 – We are aiming to resume an extra-curricular PE Programme. I am delighted that this has already started, with pupils remaining in their ‘teaching class bubbles’.

Year 8 – Pupils will participate in the ‘Next Generation Citizenship Project’ in the summer term.

Year 9 – Pupils have started the process of looking at their GCSE Option Subjects through a series of special assemblies.  

Year 10 – We are delighted that 35 youngsters have taken the opportunity to study for a 4^th and additional Option Subject Qualification. Learning has started  and has begun purposefully! Well-done Year 10!

Year 11 – Pupils are working very hard to prepare for final school exams starting next week!

Final exam schedule has been amended, to enable youngsters and families to have the opportunity to enjoy Eid Celebrations together.

Year 11 now enter the final stages of their education at Holy Trinity and we are confident that these remaining weeks will be successful ones.

Key Performance Indicators for pupils in Year 11 have consistently shown ‘Outstanding’ progress for pupils since they started in Year 7. Youngsters are on course to achieve an exceptional set of outcomes placing them amongst the highest achieving pupils in the country.

We are again delighted that we are over-subscribed for places in Year 7 for September and are currently receiving a huge volume of applications for places in other year groups.

Please refer to separate message from Mrs Henvey (Assistant Headteacher) regarding an update to our Homework Policy. I am delighted that this last 12 months has seen a significant improvement in how we access and use online learning as a school. The successful school rollout of laptops has meant that we are confident that we can now take the step to move all pupil homework online. We will continue to support pupils and families where needed, as we make this change together.

In other news:  

School Expansion Project is edging closer to becoming very much a reality in school. We are delighted that youngsters will have excellent facilities to go alongside their high quality curriculum and teaching and learning. Final Funding has been approved, with June 1^st provisionally set as a date for the project to start.

TUPE Consultation process for The Rosary, St Chad’s and St Joseph’s Catholic Primary Schools joining our Academy is progressing well. We are excited by the growth of our Academy from September 1^st.

A huge well done to all youngsters who entered our St Teresa of Calcutta MAC ‘Motto’ Competition!

These two winning entries will take their place in the grand final:

Rehanna Mahallah (Year 10)

‘Believing in yourself determines your success’

Madhia Jangeer (Year 10)

‘A place to learn,

A place to love

A place to hope’

Very well done to our youngsters for producing these excellent mottos!

As we progress through these challenging times together, we must be mindful that our continued collaboration and strong working partnership is the only way in which we can overcome the challenges that are faced.

Thank you for your continued support of our school and myself, personally. It is greatly appreciated.

Our school mission has been strengthened during this pandemic, which is to provide all of our pupils with an excellent education, to support them in achieving absolutely anything that they set their ambition for. There are ‘no limits’ to what can be achieved in our school.

We must continue to take all proactive and preventative measures to ensure the safety of all. Thank you for your continued diligence in wearing a face covering and maintaining social distance when you visit school.

If your child or any of the household are displaying any of the main symptoms of Covid19, such as a new or continuous cough, a high temperature or fever, a loss or change to taste or smell, you are expected to stay at home, isolate and to seek a test.

A reminder of some key dates as we approach the end of this academic year:

Monday 3^rd May: Bank Holiday. School Closed.

Friday 28^th May: School closes for Half Term.

Monday 7^th June: School reopens at normal times.

Wednesday 9^th June: Year 11 Final Day in School. Timings to be confirmed, with some final celebrations planned, restrictions permitting.

Friday 16^th July: School closes for pupils and they begin their summer break. Pupils to leave in staggered exit times from 12.30 – 12.45.

The start of the following week will be remaining INSET time for staff and will see an acceleration in the school buildings work project.

An additional time slot for Parental Consultation to discuss updated Sex and Relationships Curriculum guidance for September will be determined in the coming weeks.

We would love to be able to offer a Summer School provision to welcome our new Year 7 pupils but we are unclear about the full Government proposal and the final allocated funding total for this. We are also mindful about the Health and Safety implications with our school buildings work project accelerating due to having a largely empty school site. There will be restricted access to the site and a reduction in the facilities we have available. We will assess the benefits and risks of running a Summer School provision and will finalise a decision by May Half-Term.

Please look out for further information via text message, pupil email, ‘Microsoft Teams’ messages, updates to this website, or letters posted to your homes.

Thank you for your continued support.

With every best wish for a good weekend.

Mr Crehan