Important: COVID-19 update
For the attention of parents not directly contacted by the school
5th November 2020
Dear parent or carer,
We have been made aware that a member of our school community has tested positive for COVID 19.
We know that you may find this concerning but we are continuing to monitor the situation and are working closely with Public Health England. This letter is to inform you of the current situation and provide advice on how to support your child. Please be reassured that for most people, coronavirus (COVID-19) will be a mild illness.
The small number of children who have been in close contact with the individual who has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) have received a letter informing them that their child must stay at home for 14 days.
The school remains open and your child should continue to attend as normal if they remain well.
What to do if your child develops symptoms of COVID 19
If your child develops symptoms of COVID-19, they must not come to school and should remain at home for at least 10 days from the date when their symptoms appeared. Anyone with symptoms will be eligible for testing and this can be arranged via https://www.nhs.uk/ask-for-a-coronavirus-test or by calling 119.
All other household members who remain well, must stay at home and not leave the house for 14 days. This includes anyone in your ‘Support Bubble’.
Further information is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance/stay-at-home-guidance-for-households-with-possible-coronavirus-covid-19-infection
The 14-day period starts from the day when the first person in the house became ill.
Household members should not go to work, school or public areas and exercise should be taken within the home.
If you require help with buying groceries, other shopping or picking up medication, or walking a dog, you should ask friends or family. Alternatively, you can order your shopping online and medication by phone or online.
Household members staying at home for 14 days will greatly reduce the overall amount of infection the household could pass on to others in the community
If you are able, move any vulnerable individuals (such as the elderly and those with underlying health conditions) out of your home, to stay with friends or family for the duration of the home isolation period.
Symptoms
The most common symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are recent onset of:
- a new continuous cough
- a high temperature
- a loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia)
For most people, coronavirus (COVID-19) will be a mild illness.
If your child does develop symptoms, you can seek advice from the nhs.uk website at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/check-if-you-have-coronavirus-symptoms/. If you are concerned about your child’s symptoms, or they are worsening you can seek advice from NHS 111 at https://111.nhs.uk/ or by phoning 111.
How to stop COVID-19 spreading
There are things you can do to help reduce the risk of you and anyone you live with getting ill with COVID-19
Do
- wash your hands with soap and water often – do this for at least 20 seconds
- use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available
- wash your hands as soon as you get home
- cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze
- put used tissues in the bin immediately and wash your hands afterwards
Further Information
Further information is available at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the school.
Yours sincerely
Abbie Thorrington
Principal
Year 7 Virtual Consultation Evening
3rd November 2020
Dear parents/carers of year 7,
Year 7 virtual consultation evening – Thursday 12th November
In light of the current situation we are holding our parent and carer consultation evenings online. Subject teachers will meet with you and your child virtually on an individual basis to provide clear feedback on your child’s learning.
The consultation evening will run from 3:30pm to 8.00pm.
You are able to book five minute appointment slots for each subject teacher using our electronic booking system, these meetings will then be held by video meeting rather than in-person at the school.
The online system for booking appointments and attending the virtual appointments can be accessed here:
https://parents-booking.co.uk/ipswichacademy
In order to login to the system, you will need the following information relating to your child, as held in our database:
- First name
- Surname
- Date of birth
You will also need to enter the details we have on record for you. If you have recently changed your title or surname, for example, and not informed us, we will be expecting you to login with the details we have on record. The email address you enter is only used to receive a confirmation of your appointment. If the system gives you an error when you login, it will not be the email address that is the problem.
On the day of your appointments, you need to login again at the website address above. You will be able to join the video meeting room 10 minutes before your appointments are due to begin.
Internet Browser Compatibility:
You must use one of the below device and internet browser combinations for the video meeting technology to work:
- Apple iPhone/iPad (iOS 11+): Safari
- Android phone/tablet: Chrome or Firefox
- Linux computer: Chrome or Firefox
- Microsoft Surface: Chrome or Firefox
- Mac computer: Safari, Chrome or Firefox
- Windows computer: Chrome, Firefox or Edge (Chromium)
Troubleshooting Tips:
- If you cannot login please contact the school office.
- The email address field entered is only used to send your appointment confirmation. If you have problems logging in, it will not be because of the e-mail address you entered.
You can find a full guide on how the system works by clicking here.
Contact details if you are in need of assistance from the administration team:
- Email: info@ipswichacademy.org.uk
- Telephone: 01473 550040
If you do not have access to the Internet, or do not have a suitable device to use for the appointments, please phone the school on the number above to make alternative arrangements.
Some subjects may not be available or may be fully booked on the evening, if you would like to discuss your child’s progress in subjects not available please contact the school and we will arrange for the member of staff to call you.
Many thanks for your ongoing support.
Yours sincerely
Naomi Shenton
Assistant Principal
Maled Akhlak
Progress Lead
Use of face coverings at Ipswich Academy
2nd November 2020
Dear parents and carers,
Following on from the announcement by the Government of a full lockdown starting Thursday 5th November, I have taken the decision to make face coverings compulsory for adults and students from Tuesday 3rd November for safety reasons.
They will be compulsory for students on school site at all times unless:
a) you are sat down and eating/drinking or
b) you are sat down in a classroom in a structured learning session led by an adult.
In some exceptional circumstances individuals may be exempt because they:
- cannot put on, wear or remove a face covering because of a physical or mental illness or impairment or disability;
- speak to or provide assistance to someone who relies on lip reading, clear sound or facial expression to communicate.
If you think that your child might be exempt from wearing a face covering, please email the school directly and a member of the senior leadership team will be in contact with you prior to students returning on Tuesday 3rd November. We will then communicate any names with staff by 8.30am.
Ipswich Academy does have a small supply of face coverings for students struggling to access one, where they are unable to use their face covering due to having forgotten it, or it having become soiled or unsafe. I would strongly encourage students to bring their own.
Students who are not exempt from wearing a face covering and have been offered one and refuse will be isolated to ensure the safety of others.
I will communicate the expectations and the safe wearing of face coverings to all students tomorrow morning during a virtual assembly.
In the event of a confirmed case at Ipswich Academy I will seek immediate guidance from Public Health England and the Department of Education. I will then communicate this with you without delay. In the event that Ipswich Academy is advised to close a year group bubble or a full closure occurs we will support students’ education online through Google classrooms and regular welfare calls home. All students were invited to new Google classrooms by their teachers prior to the holiday, this week students will be trained again on using the platform. As we have done previously, we will be able to loan out computers and dongles if they are required.
Extra curricular clubs and interventions will continue, we are however expecting further Government guidance. If anything changes then I will communicate with you.
Finally, on days students have PE, please can students come wearing their PE kit. Correct PE clothing will be expected to be worn, it is not a ‘dress down’ day for students.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the school.
Once again, thank you for your continued support.
Yours faithfully
Abbie Thorrington
Principal
Communication from the Principal
Dear parents and carers,
It has been brought to our attention that a student within the year nine bubble has recently returned from foreign travel and not followed the quarantine measures. Neither the student nor their family are showing any symptoms of Coronavirus and they are now all isolating.
I have sought advice from Public Health England, who have advised us to continue with the full opening of the bubble and school.
We have no indication that any student has symptoms within the year nine bubble, this communication is to make you aware and ask you to be vigilant.
If circumstances change, I will of course communicate with you straight away.
Yours faithfully
Abbie Thorrington
Principal
Year 11 information session
On Monday, we hosted a year 11 information session, unformtunatley there were a number of technical issues. To view the presentation, please click on this link to access the student hub, your child will need to log in with their school Google account to view the presentation.
If you have any further questions, please use the contact us button on our website.
Virtual Open Evening
Please click here to navigate to our Virtual Open Evening page.
Year 11 information session
Dear parent / carer
We are now into our fourth week of students returning full-time back to school post school closure, for our year 11 students it has been an incredibly positive start. Due to the absence of year 11 ‘boot camp’ due to the current restrictions, we felt it important to officially launch our year 11 support package and make you aware of key information that you need to know.
We will be holding a year 11 information session on Monday 5th October at 5.00pm virtually using google meet. The meeting will cover the following;
- Intervention sessions
- Mock exams
- Effective revision strategies
- Information from the core GCSE subjects (English, maths and science)
- Post 16 options
- Well-being support
We will send invites for the google meet to students’ Paradigm email addresses. We will also record the session to allow you catch up should you miss it.
If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me via the school phone number and email address.
Yours faithfully,
Maled Akhlak
Head of Progress