St Joseph's Academy – East Ayrshire

Dear Parent/Carer,

Please see the attached letter issued by Linda McAulay-Griffiths this afternoon. The letter is also accessible via the twitter feed on the right hand side of this page and via the school app.

Mrs Marshall has found some YouTube links to access GLOW from the XBox or PS4

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=mHTHaXhccDE

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=rWTwAfLKbkU

Pupils

Due to COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and the closure of the school, Skills Development Scotland cannot deliver career services face to face, but they are still there to help. You can contact your school Careers Adviser, Kate Faulds for career information, advice and guidance at kate.faulds@sds.co.uk or Tel: 07500 097 503, or visit http://myworldofwork.co.uk.

Parents

Due to COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and the closure of the school, Skills Development Scotland cannot deliver career services face to face, but they are still there to help. Your child can contact their school Careers Adviser, Kate Faulds for career information, advice and guidance at kate.faulds@sds.co.uk or Tel: 07500 097 503, or visit http://myworldofwork.co.uk. You can also still access their career services. Call your local centre to speak to one of our qualified advisers. Find your nearest centre at http://myworldofwork.co.uk/centres. You can also find their services for parents/carers online at http://myworldofwork.co.uk and www.mykidscareer.com

A number of our current S3 to S5 pupils are applying for various college courses on offer next session. The file below provides guidance on how to complete the application process. School staff will also make contact next week to provide any support and guidance necessary.

We know that the overwhelming majority of our young people can currently access Glow. In the event that you cannot access glow, you can ask any teacher to reset your password today. If you are at home and require a password reset, or have another Glow issue, please let us know via the contact us page of this site.

https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/ea/stjosephsacademy/contact-us/

Dear Parent/Carer,

In an address this afternoon, the First Minister acknowledged that the most recent advice around potential self-isolation will result in some practical challenges for schools. With this in mind, I want to share with you some information around online provision of learning and teaching. It is hoped that all members of our school community will take a balanced, realistic view of what is and is not possible at this time. We are duty bound to prepare and deliver lessons in school, and are simultaneously tasked with trying our best to provide access to online learning experiences for those self-isolating.

I would like to stress that in accordance with NHS and government advice, all young people should be in school if they have no reason to self-isolate. A number of parents/carers have informed us of the fact that young people are not attending school as a precautionary measure.  While I empathise with the predicament families face when deciding to take precautionary measures, it would not be fair or appropriate to expect that elective absence outwith government advice can be supported by the delivery of online learning. It is not possible for staff to simultaneously teach classes and engage in widespread online delivery.

By way of clarity:

• While school remains open, priority will be given to the preparation and delivery of lessons in school
• Where staff have to self-isolate, there is potential for classes not having a subject specialist. However, at the time of writing this is not yet the case within our school. This may change given the challenges the most up to date guidance may bring
• Where pupils have to self-isolate, they will miss lessons delivered in school by school staff. During a self-isolation period, it may or may not be possible for young people to work online, but they may wish to access online material as follows
  • In the short term, we encourage S4-S6 pupils to access SQA and Scholar materials via the SQA website and Glow
  • In the short term, we encourage S1-S3 pupils to access BBC Bitesize Third and Fourth Level content – https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize
• Over time, our own portfolio of online materials will increase and will be shared via Glow Groups/Teams
• Given the proximity to SQA exams, priority will be given to uploading materials for pupils in S4-S6

We have extensive contingency plans in place in the event of a school closure, and anticipate that all staff would be engaged in online provision on an ongoing regular basis.  However, while we remain open, we cannot enact these contingency plans fully. As such there can be no realistic expectation on my part that staff simultaneously teach classes and engage in extensive online delivery. This does not mean that we are not already doing all we can to upload content to our Glow site. Rather, it means we request patience in what is a unique set of circumstances.

Please do not hesitate to contact me using the ‘Contact Us’ page of our website if you have any concerns in relation to the above.  Finally, I urge all parents/carers to regularly check the latest government advice in relation to self-isolation. If reporting pupil absence, please state clearly if the absence is due to self-isolation as a result of following government guidance. This will allow us to capture absence appropriately.

Kind Regards

Mr Kane

Please see undernoted letter from Linda McAulay-Griffiths, Head of Education.