UPDATE: Sunday 25th April 2021
This update includes:
- Applause and respect to all for a great first week of term!
- Uniform reminders
- Canteen update
- Work with our local Police Community Support Officers
- Year 6 into 7 Summer Camp
- Year 11 Prom
Applause and respect to all for a great first week of term!
I would like to start by thanking all students, colleagues and parents/guardians (because after all it’s thanks to your teamwork as families that students arrive in a good place to learn) for all you did to make last week a brilliant one to be part of all around Noadswood.
I was genuinely privileged to be a part of a whole host of lessons throughout the week, where relationships between students and staff were strong, students were engaged, creative and focused, and Year 11 blew me away with their focus and commitment on their work and assessments. I am also ongoingly grateful to all in the Noadswood family for following all of our Covid-safe arrangements so well and without fuss.
A few highlights from the many pictures I took below:
Uniform reminders:
Grateful thanks to the many who are wearing their uniform smartly, contributing to that feel that we are back, purposeful, reflecting our best selves in all we’re doing.
Jumpers/Blazers - as the weather is gradually getting warmer (we hope!) students can, of course, wear an outer layer of either:
- The school jumper
- OR blazer
- OR their shirt (tucked in) and tie.
Any other jumpers, sweatshirts or hoodies need to be left at home, please. House hoodies are able to be worn for PE lessons when cold.
Coats/jackets with a full zip are, of course, permitted over blazers when we have the cold mornings, or rainy days, but we do, at present, have some jumpers and sweatshirts knocking about that are not part of our uniform – thank you if you can check in with your son/daughter about this to ensure these items are left at home. If there are any issues for you with respect to purchasing an item your son/daughter needs, please don’t hesitate to email Helen Loveday, Assistant Head, and we will do all we can to help – hloveday@noadswood.hants.sch.uk
Shoes – a reminder about black school shoes, please, and again, please reach out if we can help, either to Helen or your child’s House Leader.
Jewellery – permitted jewellery remains as published, one pair of stud earrings, worn one in each ear, and a watch. The reasons for our regs around jewellery wearing are twofold: non-negotiable health and safety requirements in some of our curriculum areas and security (the more jewellery worn into any school, the greater the likelihood of its accidental loss).
Any piercings that any students had done before we went into lockdown after new year will have been in place for way long enough to be able to be removed for the school day, and we ask for your support in not giving your permission for your children to have piercings now.
If your child wishes to have another piercing, and you give this your backing, there is time during the summer holiday for it to be done such that it can be removed each day by September. Managing this in this way would take the whole issue of piercings away from being a source of an issue in school so we would very much welcome everyone’s help in this respect.
From Monday, should a student have an item of jewellery on outside of the regs we have, we will be asking them to put it into a bag/envelope provided to them which they seal. Then it will be named and be taken to the relevant House office by a member of staff at the earliest opportunity from which the student will be able to collect it at the end of the day.
Hair colour – we are aware that with all the lockdowns we have had, some people did wash in different sorts of hair colours, and we understand that. Could we ask that this isn’t something that the young people do, so that we can revert to our usual agreed natural hair colours around the school.
Skirts/trousers – our usual expectations are in place around these items apply in terms of trouser types and our school skirt. Now that the weather is warmer, we don’t expect those wearing skirts to wear tights, but it does mean it’s even more important that they are worn to an appropriate length (around 8cm above the knee and no higher) to ensure modesty across the school when undertaking practical subjects like drama, or walking upstairs, or sitting on high stools, or out and about in the community.
We know ‘modesty’ is an idea that attracts a lot of debate and feeling in 2021, and we understand the reasons why, but we want to remind the students that this is why the regulation is written as it is, and for no other reason.
We know this one troubles you – you often tell us about the number of students who wear their skirts shorter than this, and it troubles us, too. More to follow regarding skirts when we consider our uniform ready for September, but for now we would welcome your support in talking about this to the students.
On the subject of uniform policy going forwards, I have been aware for a good while of needing to address issues of ‘value for money’/easy access to uniform. I have discussed this over the past couple of years with trustees and parents alike.
In terms of national policy, you may be aware of the Bill heading from the House of Commons to the House of Lords as addressed in the online news item from last month (click link):
We have some parent forums coming up later in the term at which this will be one agenda item.
Canteen update:
Our thanks to our catering provider, HCS3, for their support and resilience throughout the pandemic, a time that’s been tough on every company, as we know.
Good news on two counts:
- The canteen will start serving breakfast from this Monday 26th April. Students will continue to queue for food according to all of our usual Covid rules and regs, but it’s super to have this provision back in place.
- The top up reval machines will also be in operation from Monday, with sanitiser available to use before topping up, and cleaning of them will be part of our daily routine of additional touch point cleans that we have run throughout the pandemic. We hope this will make life easier for students and yourselves.
Work with our local Police Community Support Officers:
I am delighted with and thankful for our partnership with local PCSOs, as I know my fellow Heads across the New Forest are. We shared together, in our meeting last Thursday, how good it is to be able to say that schools work with PCSOs in the interests of our communities and of safety for all of our young people. If you would like to find out more about the work we do together, please drop me a line at headteacher@noadswood.hants.sch.uk or get in touch with any member of the Leadership Team.
To that end, we’re pleased to be working alongside local supermarkets and other schools across the Waterside in the week ahead on Operation Sceptre, running from Monday 26th April - Monday 3rd May. This police led operation aims to raise awareness to young people about risks and consequences of carrying knives. As part of this operation, the local police team will be holding knife amnesty bins at various location across the Waterside.
We’ll be welcoming local PCSO Jamie Thain to Noadswood on Thursday 29th. He’ll be on site for an hour or so, chatting to our students and handing out literature on the dangers of carrying knives. For more information on this, please see the safe4me website (click link):
Should this issue throw up any questions, concerns or comments for you, do let us know at headteacher@noadswood.hants.sch.uk
More to follow on other police partnership work on issues around safeguarding, healthy relationships and substance misuse in due course.
Year 6 into 7 Summer Camp
As you will have seen from our social media, we are excitedly planning the above event from Monday 26th to Thursday 29th July 2021.
Perhaps you or your business, or that of one of your friends/family, would have something to offer to our four day event of fun, learning and enrichment time together? No idea stupid, and the more creative the better. If you’d like to be involved, or you know someone who might, just drop us a line at headteacher@noadswood.hants.sch.uk
Year 11 Prom
As the students know, we have consulted them about their vision for the above event and we will soon be able to share with them and you our plan. We appreciate time will be tight, because of the ‘road map’ for relaxing restrictions in terms of organising big gatherings like this but it's a key priority for us.
Again, should you or your business want to be involved with our Prom in any way, please could you email Assistant Head, Helen Loveday, at hloveday@noadswood.hants.sch.uk and she will liaise with the House Leaders and with me to see if we can have you bring something lovely to this event for our students.
We will provide a further update for Year 11 students and parents/guardians only before the end of the week ahead.
Thank you for your ongoing support and connection with us in every way, and remember to use health@noadswood.hants.sch.uk should you have any questions or concerns regarding anything Covid related.
Wishing you all well,
Kathryn Marshall and the Noadswood Leadership Team