Dear Parents/Carers and Pupils,
We very much look forward to welcoming pupils back to school on Thursday 19th August.
Please find below some general information in respect of our return to school. Parents/Carers of S1 pupils can find information pertinent to S1 only at the end of this message but would also benefit from reading this post in its entirety.
Please also note that Linda McAulay-Griffiths (Head of Education) released a letter last week to all parents/carers via the School App. If you do not have the School App, then please download it for free from the app store associated with you phone. The App is titled ‘School App for Parents’. Once installed, please search for St. Joseph’s Academy, Kilmarnock. Both the ‘Messages’ and ‘News’ sections provide ongoing updates throughout the year.
After having read this letter, please direct any follow up questions to the general school inbox at the following email address:
eastjosephs.ac@eastayrshire.org.uk
COVID Mitigations
The Scottish government has announced that many school level mitigations should stay in place for at least the first six weeks of term. This means:
- Unless medically exempt, all secondary age pupils must wear face coverings when in the school building and when using school transport
- Pupils must maintain 2m distance from all adults in the building
- Pupils must sanitise their hands upon entry to/exit from classrooms
- Pupils must wipe down desks at the end of lessons
- Staggered break and lunch times are to remain in place
- S1-S3 Interval: 10.30am to 10.45am
- S4-S6 Interval: 11.20am to 11.35am
- S1-S3 Lunch: 12.25pm to 1.10pm
- S4-S6 Lunch: 1.15pm to 2.00pm
- On Fridays, lunch is from 1.15pm to 2.00pm for all pupils
- The one-way system will remain in place
- Designated pupil entrances will remain in place
- Entrance at Modern Languages – New S3 and S4
- Entrance at Maths Department – New S1 and S2
- Entrance at the Centre of the Street – New S5 and S6
- Parents/Carers wishing to meet school staff face-to-face need to make an appointment to do so, and should only request a face-to face meeting if the matter cannot be resolved over the phone
- Other than in the case of a Child Protection concern, parents/carers should not expect to be seen upon arrival if prior agreement as to the necessity and timing of a face-to-face meeting is not in place
- In the event that you do present to see a member of staff without a prior arrangement in place, please expect to be asked to either call the school or make an appointment to meet staff at a later date
COVID Isolation
In the case of a positive COVID test, or the onset of COVID symptoms, the staff member or pupil to have tested positive/display symptoms should immediately self-isolate in line with national guidance. They should then follow all advice offered by NHS Test and Protect.
Some of the guidance around isolation and bubbles has changed. Last session, a mandatory ten-day isolation period was in place for identified school-based close contacts. In keeping with national guidance, school staff will still work with NHS Test and Protect teams to alert parents/carers to positive cases and potential close contact, but routine ten-day isolation will not be necessary in the overwhelming majority of cases.
However, and on a case-by-case basis, NHS Test and Protect could advise that isolation is necessary prior to the return of a negative PCR test. If the pupil asked to isolate returns a negative test result and has no symptoms, they can return to school as soon as possible.
Lateral Flow Testing
Pupils registered for Lateral Flow Testing are reminded to take tests on Thursday 12th and Monday 16th August. The next batch of kits will be issued on Thursday 19th or Friday 20th August.
Any parent/carer of a pupil not yet registered who wishes to participate in testing should email the school as soon as possible. Those not yet registered will commence testing from Monday 23rd August.
eastjosephs.ac@eastayrshire.org.uk
Communication with School Staff – Turnaround Times
As is the case in all industries, real time access to staff is not always possible. Please be aware that we operate a maximum three-day (working days) internal policy for responding to requests from parents/carers. Other than in the case of a Child Protection issue, it is not always reasonable to expect a same day response to requests of school staff. The same is true in other public service sectors e.g., Doctors surgeries or Dentists.
As you are aware, most staff have a teaching commitment, and staff will also be in receipt of all other requests from parents/carers. Staff naturally need to make a judgement as to the issues that need be addressed urgently. Pleasingly, and on most occasions, staff will return calls well within the three-day window and often do so on the same day.
Please also note that if your request requires that Pastoral Care or office staff need to liaise with many colleagues, a delay of some sort is inevitable, particularly as staff teaching commitment times vary from teacher to teacher. We appreciate your support and understanding in this respect and will always endeavour to make contact on the same day where possible.
School Uniform
It is our expectation that pupils will report to school in full school uniform. As is well known across our community, we will always offer discrete support if cost is a barrier to securing uniform. Given our long-standing commitment to offering support where needed, we anticipate that families will, in turn, support the school and encourage young people to wear uniform in full. Uniform is not optional. We also encourage all families who are eligible to do so to apply for Clothing grants and Free School Meals.
Free School Meals and Clothing Grant applications
The primary purpose of free school meal and clothing grants is to ensure that families are supported to access food when on site and to be able to purchase uniform/clothing items. There is a secondary purpose in that maximum uptake against entitlement directly impacts the funds released to the school by Scottish Government and influences how the results of our school are compared to those of the other schools in Scotland.
In recent years, we are aware of a drop in applications from families we believe to be eligible. Please take time to apply if your family is eligible. In a small number of cases, some families are eligible but do not wish to access Free School Meals or Clothing Grants. If this applies to your family, please apply, not only to ensure that you receive that which you are entitled to, but also to ensure that the school can access all available funding and have our results compared on a like for like basis with the other schools in Scotland. More information on the application process can be found here:
If you require any assistance with your application, please either call the school office or make contact via the Contact Us page of our website.
https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/ea/stjosephsacademy/contact-us/
School Transport
School transport will run as normal. If you are yet to apply for school transport and have need to apply, then please do so as soon as possible. You can find out more and apply via this link:
Face coverings should be worn at all times when using school transport unless medically exempt. School staff do not directly manage school transport and the above link provides access to the email address where enquiries around things like pick up timings and locations can be sent.
Break and Lunch Ordering System
The system for pre-ordering break and lunch food from the canteen has been in place for nearly a year. Unfortunately, a number of young people persistently disregard the need to use this system and report to the canteen without having pre-ordered the day before. It is natural that pupils may forget from time to time, but in order to reduce waste and to streamline service provision, we urge all families to take seriously the need to order food in advance where possible. Not doing so also takes staff away from their core duties while they gather orders that could have been made online the day before.
For a reminder of how to use the portal, please see the video found here:
https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/ea/stjosephsacademy/2020/08/17/ordering-lunch/
By way of clarity, all pupils who have not ordered online will naturally still receive food but will not be served until all those to have pre-ordered have been served first. If your son/daughter has not pre-ordered, then please expect that they will still receive a lunch but will need to wait for all pre-orders to be issued first and will then be able to select from the food that remains available.
Canteen staff will cook against the orders placed, and it is unfortunately unavoidable that those who have not pre-ordered may not be able to choose from the full menu.
During the first week of term, staff will be available to reset portal passwords etc. and ensure access for all pupils. There is no need to notify us of an access issue in advance, as on the first few days of term canteen staff will anticipate a lag in system use and prepare more food.
Where do pupils go upon arrival on Thursday 19th?
Pupils in S2-S6 should report to their Thursday Period 1 class as shown on the timetable that they were given in June. If pupils in S4-S6 wish to request subject changes, they should still report to the classes shown on their timetable until such times as senior staff request that those pupils wishing to change subject report directly to them. Given the volume of subject changes before summer, we do not anticipate that many subject change requests will be received. If you know in advance that your son/daughter in S4-S6 wishes to request a change, then please let us know via the Contact Us page on our website.
https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/ea/stjosephsacademy/contact-us/
Unfortunately, we are unable to guarantee that change requests can be actioned this side of summer. Staff worked hard to offer pupils and families the chance to request changes before summer. In the event that further changes are requested, they can only be delivered if there is space in the class the young person wishes to join.
If pupils have lost their timetable, then there is no need to notify us in advance. Staff will be on hand to provide direction to pupils and all pupils will receive a new copy of their timetable on Thursday.
Issues with Glow or School logins
These will be picked up and addressed by staff during the first two weeks of term. There is no immediate need to notify us of an issue in this regard and all pupils will have a chance to have passwords reset.
ParentPay, Satchel:One (ShowMyHomework), Lockers, EMA
Parents/Carers of those in S2-S6 and in need of access to ParentPay can contact the school office to request that details are shared with you. The same is true of Satchel:One (Show My Homework) and access to Lockers. For those eligible for EMA grants, any paperwork that needs to be completed will be shared with pupils during the first week of the new term.
Enquiries related to any of the above should be directed to the general school office inbox – eastjosephs.ac@eastayrshire.org.uk
PE
Where PE is shown on pupil timetables for a given day, they should bring PE kit to school. If your son/daughter has PE on their timetable on Thursdays, then they should bring their PE kit to school on the 19th. Clean kit will be provided in the rare event that a young person has forgotten to bring their own kit.
School Calendar (Parents’ Evenings and Reporting)
Scottish Government advice to local authorities has been to refrain from agreeing what are known as Working Time Agreements until the start of the new session. This seems sensible given uncertainty in late June as to the conditions of re-opening in August. The Working Time Agreement is a consensus between employers and trade unions as to how the allocation of duties outwith class teaching time is balanced across an academic year.
It is not possible to issue a school calendar without a Working Time Agreement. Draft calendars are in place – one which includes Parents’ Evenings and another which utilises additional interim reporting. There is a need to retain two drafts in case Parents’ Evening cannot go ahead. However, the current direction of travel in respect of restrictions easing means that a return to Parents’ Nights this session may be possible. Please be assured that school staff will release the final calendar to all parents/carers as soon as the Working Time Agreement is signed off by all parties and as per legislation.
Information Specific to our new S1
In a secondary school context, it is rare that parents/carers liaise directly with class teachers. This is often the single biggest change in terms of the relationship between parents/carers and the school.
All parents/carers are advised to contact their child’s Pastoral Care teacher if they have a question or concern that they would like to discuss. Pastoral Care teachers are promoted staff with a specific caseload remit and responsibility for communication with parents/carers. If calling the school, all first-time enquiries will be directed to Pastoral Care staff unless the matter is administrative. Administrative matters will often be resolved by our office staff. As a reminder, Pastoral caseloads are as follows:
Andrew House – Miss Cathie
Columba House – Mrs Parker
Margaret House – Mrs Kelly (from November, Mrs Marshall will return from maternity leave and resume this position)
At the start of a new session, it is understandable that parents/carers of our new S1 may want to speak with school staff. Please be reassured that correspondence with Pastoral Care staff is the correct route in the context of a Secondary environment. Direct requests to speak with specific class teachers, Depute Head Teachers or the Head Teacher will generally be directed to Pastoral Care colleagues in the first instance. Pastoral colleagues are then best placed to advise on how the issue will be resolved.
First Day
Ongoing mitigations mean that we cannot accommodate parents/carers on site on the morning of 19th August. Staff will be present in the playground area to direct S1 pupils to the entrance that they should use, and staff will be on hand inside the building to guide S1 pupils to their period 1 classroom. Thereafter, S1 will follow the timetable that they have been given (a new copy will be issued in school on the 19th). Senior Pupils will accompany S1 classes from room to room and classes will be released a few minutes early for the first few weeks of term and to avoid congestion in and around corridors.
As a reminder, our school day starts at 8.50am and ends at 3.40pm from Monday to Thursday. On Fridays, lunch for all pupils begins at 1.15pm and school buses depart at 2.00pm.
Registration including ParentPay, SEEMIS, Glow, Lockers and Lunch Portal Access
Legally, we cannot migrate new S1 pupils into our SEEMIS management system until they set foot in the school. For this reason, things like school logins, full Glow access, lunch order system access, Satchel:One (Show My Homework) and ParentPay may not be fully operational until the early part of the second week of term. Once pupils arrive on site, they will be added to our system as current pupils and will be registered on a period-by-period basis. Staff will then work with pupils to allow for access to the various systems they will use this year.
Where necessary, correspondence will follow from the 19th in respect of ParentPay, Lockers and Satchel:One access.
Break and Lunch Ordering System
For at least the first two days, but potentially into the following week, break and lunch time orders will be taken manually for S1 pupils. Once we know that all S1 pupils are registered and can pre-order, the aforementioned advice in terms of ordering food will apply.
Dietary and Medical Requirements
During the transition process, our staff were made aware of any specific dietary or medical requirements. Staff will have accounted for this in advance of the 19th.
Thank you for your ongoing support. Staff return to work on Tuesday 17th August, and look forward to seeing pupils again on Thursday 19th.
Kind Regards
Mr Kane
