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8th June 2020

Dear Parent/Carer

Further to your child’s admission to The Elton High School for September, we are contacting you so as to outline our plans in response to the ongoing period of school closure due to the nationwide lockdown.

At this point we would usually be finalising arrangements for the Year 6 Induction Day (scheduled for Tuesday 23^rd June) and the Parent Information Evening (scheduled for Thursday 25^th June). However, along with other high schools in Bury, we do not feel it is practical or sensible to go ahead with those events in the usual manner. Both events require hundreds of students and also hundreds of parents/carers to be gathered for a period of time and this obviously goes against all current guidelines about social distancing.

Despite the cancellation of those events, I wish to reaffirm that we are wholly focussed on ensuring that our new students are prepared to be ready for their start at Elton in September. While we cannot make plans in the usual manner, we are taking a number of measures that we feel will support the students in their transition to our school. The key actions are listed below:

• Meetings are taking place over the coming weeks with our key staff and Year 6 teachers from every feeder primary school. This will enable personalised, relevant information to be collected about every single student.

• Transition booklets will be sent to all students this week (via their primary schools) with information and activities that will support their move to our school.

• Before the end of this term a ‘Bridge To Elton’ booklet will be sent to all students to complete over summer, containing a number of curriculum challenges and activities which will be set and then marked by our subject leaders.

• A daily surgery is being scheduled with a number of different key staff. This provides you all with a daily opportunity to call with any enquiries/queries/concerns about the transition process. This surgery will be in place from Monday 8^th June onwards and the different staff available are listed below:

Monday – Miss Helme (Assistant Headteacher) – Safeguarding concerns (1pm-3pm)

Tuesday – Mr Meighan (Yr 7 Learning Co-ordinator) – General enquiries (9am – 11am)

Wednesday – Ms Edwards (School Counsellor) – Emotional well-being (2pm-3pm)

Thursday – Mrs Rafferty and Mrs Patel (SEN team)  – Learning Support (1pm – 3pm)

Friday – Miss Alexander (Student Support Leader) – General enquiries (12pm-1pm)

Those staff will be waiting to take any calls through our usual school number (0161 7631434).

• We are planning to hold a Year 6 Transition Day at the start of September which will be organised in the usual manner. This will be before other students return to school and will allow the children the chance to meet with their new form groups, their tutors, key staff and again have a look around the school site. I strongly feel that this should be put in place due to the currently unprecedented circumstances and I will be seeking support from the LA as necessary. Their initial response has been favourable, so more details will be provided as soon as possible.

• We are also planning to hold the Parent Information Evening at the start of September, so that you will all have the opportunity to listen to relevant information and ask any necessary questions to our key staff. Again, we will seek to do this as soon as possible in the new school term.

• We are proud of our recently updated school uniform and realise that our new students will be keen to get it ready for September. Full details of our uniform requirements can be found on the website link above. Our main suppliers are open from June 15^th and leaflets for those suppliers are enclosed with this letter. Our PE kit is available to order online from S K Kits (www.skkits.co.uk – link to ‘School Orders) while our supplier will also send a further communication in the next couple of weeks providing details about when the kit may be bought on the school site.

We are delighted that so many applications were again made to our school for September 2020 and are excited about working with our new Year 7! However, we are keenly aware that our new students will be more apprehensive and nervous than ever before due to the recent school closures – it is our job to provide them with all the necessary support, guidance and reassurance, so that they are fully prepared to join our school community and have as smooth a transition as possible.

We will contact you again as some of the above arrangements are put into place. I would also like to make a reminder that transition documents should be returned to the main school office as soon as possible (either by post or dropped off directly) so that we can input all of your details.

I would like to emphasise that if you have any queries or issues regarding any of these arrangements, or any personal matter regarding your child, please do not hesitate to contact me directly via email wiltonj@eltonhigh.bury.sch.uk

We look forward to meeting with you soon and welcoming you to our school.

Uniform

Monkhouse Parent Uniform Guide

Information for the Students