Headteachers October 2020 Blog

Firstly, thank you for your support and flexibility with our return to school since September, it has not been easy for anybody given the circumstances. We are grateful for the understanding families have demonstrated and the maturity of our students, despite staff absences and significant self-isolation periods for large numbers of different year groups. No doubt you have seen the text messages and read the letters we have sent to you about Covid related issues, we will continue to communicate our next steps clearly so that you have an overall picture of how we are operating as a school community.

As the government announce plans for students to sit GCSE’s next year (slightly later than normal) as well as increasing measures to control the spread of the virus in different areas of the country, we are consistently reviewing our offer of remote and online learning for the students. You will have received the information about your child accessing lesson resources via this link www.bedfordacademy.co.uk/home-learning/483.html and may also be aware that specific groups of students have been taught ‘live lessons’ by some teachers, as we continue to look at ways of developing this offer for students that are not in the building.

We are already looking ahead to our transition package for potential new families that may be thinking of joining us next year from Year 6 into 7. Our weekend ‘socially distanced’ tours and live virtual Open Evening have helped to provide prospective parents with the information that may help make that important decision which is due by 31^st October. You can view our  promotional video here. Our school numbers have grown significantly with our reputation in the past two years, and we are hopeful that our admissions in Year 7 reflect our popularity again in September 2021.

A polite reminder to all parents of our uniform expectations for students. All boys must wear a tie at all times, black trainers are not permitted unless accompanied with an up to date medical note, students do not wear coats in the building (unless allowed to do so in classrooms by individual teachers due to required ventilation with Covid in mind). If your child loses an item of school uniform, you can access the online uniform shop to purchase replacements.

I am hopeful that the communication from us, coupled with the feedback from your child has reassured you that we are doing everything possible to ensure that the children have a really positive experience at school. We know that the current situation is not ideal, but are sticking to our core values of following the BA Way, building positive relationships and setting high standards for every member of our community. We know that this consistent approach supports students to be successful, and will help us all to overcome the many challenges we will be faced with throughout this academic year.

Chris Deller - Head teacher

Twitter: c_deller