Coronavirus Information

This page will be updated with any changes to the usual school routine. To receive urgent updates, please ensure we have your correct email address via INSIGHT.

Any important letters can be found at the bottom of this page

BWS Remote Learning System Status

• Insight Parent/Student Portal - Good Service (If you get an error uploading evidence files, check you don't have characters like , & * @ in the filename)
• Staff Remote Desktop - Good Service
• Student Remote Desktop - Good Service
• New web based Remote Desktop - click here to login - Good Service (Facility  to change your password has been added)
• Teams - click here to login - Good Service (username is xxxxx@bws-school.org.uk)
• Email - Good Service
  

An acceptable user guide for Microsoft Teams has been published for all students to read, a copy is available here

For technical enquiries, please email insight@bws.wilts.sch.uk and we will get back to you as soon as possible.  If you are reporting an error, if possible, please attach a screen shot

Last Updated:-14:00 Monday 13th July

Prime Minister Boris Johnson to address all school leavers

Last updated - 14:00 Tuesday 7th July

On Friday 10 July at 10am, the Prime Minister will be giving an address to all school leavers which will be broadcast on Facebook and YouTube.

A recording of the address will be available to view on both platforms.

Planning for the return to school of students in Year 10 and Year 12

Last updated - 14:30 Sunday 14th June

As we prepare for the phased return of students in Y10 and Y12 all document and letters issued to parents will also be posted here

Letter sent to parents in Y7-9:- Click here

Letter sent to parents in Y10:- Click here Updated 5th June 2020

Attendance letter sent to parents in Y10:- Click here Updated 15th June 2020

Letter sent to parents in Y12:- Click here Updated 5th June 2020

Attendance letter sent to parents in Y12:- Click here Updated 15th June 2020

Proposed timetables for Y10-12:- Click here

Coronavirus Risk Assessment:- Click here

Weekly Parent Briefing by Dr Smallwood

14:00 Monday 13th July

Each week Dr Smallwood will release a Parent Briefing with news, events, information and extra curriculum links.

The latest edition can be found here:- Weekly Bulletin 13th July 2020

The documents mentioned in this weeks bulletin can be found at the bottom of this page in pdf format

Use of face coverings on school transport

08:30 Monday 15th June

Please see the following advice issued by Wiltshire County Council

To help prevent the spread of coronavirus, the government has announced that from Monday 15 June, anyone using public transport will be required to wear a face covering. There will be no requirement for pupils to wear a face covering on school transport organised by Wiltshire Council.   However, should pupils wish to wear a face covering it does not need to be of a professional grade and can easily be made at home – examples can be found here www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-wear-and-make-a-cloth-face-covering/how-to-wear-and-make-a-cloth-face-covering 

Please also see the DfE information on this below with the information relating to school transport in bold.

5.4 What precautions should my child take when travelling to school?

From 1 June, children in reception, year 1 and year 6 will be able to attend school, in addition to the children of critical workers and vulnerable children who were already attending school.

From 15 June, children in year 10 and 12, and 16 to 19 learners in the first year of their course, will be provided with some face-to-face contact and only a quarter of them will attend at any one time.

This should limit the amount of children travelling to and from school/college to manageable numbers.

When planning your journey to school, particularly if using public transport, you should follow the safer travel guidance for passengers.

Pupils and parents should do all they can to help make sure they and others can travel safely. This can be done through:

• not leaving home if anyone in their household, has symptoms of coronavirus
• avoiding travelling on public transport, particularly at peak times
• maintaining a two metre distance from others who are not in their household
• ensuring good respiratory hygiene by using the ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ approach
• avoiding touching their face
• washing their hands thoroughly before and after travelling
• wearing a face covering if they need to use public transport

When deciding whether children wear a face covering on school transport, it is also important to remember:

• school transport is unlike public transport, in that it generally carries the same group of children to and from the same destination each day – this may help reduce the risk of cross infection
• children and staff won’t be expected to wear face coverings in school
• it is important that those using face coverings are able to do so properly – guidance on how to wear and make a cloth face covering is available
• face coverings should not be used by children under the age of 3 or those who may find it difficult to manage them correctly

Letter from Education Secretary regarding 2021 exams

15:00 Thursday 2nd July

The Education Secretary has provided further information regarding GCSE, AS and A level exams next year. More detail in this link.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/how-gcses-as-a-levels-will-be-awarded-in-summer-2020

Important - Letter to Y11 and 13 Parents - Summer 2020 Exam Grades

14:30 Friday 3rd April

As expected, Ofqual have today released further information on how grades will be awarded this academic year following the cancellation of the exams:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/how-gcses-as-a-levels-will-be-awarded-in-summer-2020

Ofqual’s letter to students can be found here: 

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/877830/Letter_to_students_-_Summer_2020_grading.pdf

 Please note: Teachers and BWS staff are not allowed to discuss this process or grades with you, but we will continue to update you where we can.

SDS

Important - Message for all Y12 'AS' Further Maths  & Core Maths Candidates

14:15 Tuesday 14th April

We appreciate that this is a stressful and unsettling time for you. We have some guidance for you which we have received from the Examination Boards and Ofqual.

If you have been entered for examinations for Summer 2020 you:

• will be awarded a grade based on centre assessment
• will receive these grades/results in August
• If you are not happy with the grade awarded there will also be an Autumn exam series which you can be entered for.

Teachers cannot discuss these grades, they are confidential.

Please see this useful link which will provide more information - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gcses-as-and-a-level-awarding-summer-2020

Please stay safe and well.

Mrs Jan Glasson
Examinations Officer – Centre No: 66715
jg@bws.wilts.sch.uk
Tel: (01722) 424732

Important Information - 11 Plus Open Days and Online Applications

09:45 Thursday 2nd April

Please note the status of the following events have changed

• Late Entry Exam June 22nd Postponed
• Open session on April 30th Cancelled
• Open afternoons in June TBC
  

The online 11+ registration will still open as advertised on April 24th and close July 9th

Student illness during school closure

13:15 Tuesday 24th March

If your son becomes unwell during his time at home, there is no requirement for parents to contact school and inform us. Boys are not expected to continue working while they are unwell and please reassure them about this. They should only resume their work once they are well enough to do so and catch up with the work that has been set as they would usually do if they returned to school. Boys should contact their relevant teacher by email to explain if they have missed a deadline for a piece of work due to illness.

HM Government guidance on keeping children safe from abuse and harm

15:00 Friday 26th June

Advice for parents and carers about the main risks children may be particularly vulnerable to at this time and information about available help and support. Full details can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-keeping-children-safe-from-abuse-and-harm

HM Government guidance on keeping children safe online

16:15 Wednesday 1st April

TheDofE have updated their information for parents and carers to include a section on keeping children safe online. It provides links to online resources that will help support parents and carers in keeping their children safe online. Full details can be found in section 6.3 of the guidance for parents and carers on the closure of educational settings: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/closure-of-educational-settings-information-for-parents-and-carers

Guidance for students during school closure

Updated:- 09:30 Friday 20th March

Whilst the school is closed for you, we will do our best to provide you with resources, exercises and support so that you are able to keep up with your education. Obviously some subjects will be able to do this better than others: English and the Humanities should have few difficulties, but the practical subjects will find it difficult to set work similar to what you’d cover if at school, and Science experiments will also be a bit of a challenge.

You have a part to play in this, too: we will be expecting you to spend sufficient time on the tasks we set (and meet deadlines where necessary) unless you are too ill to do so, or you’re helping others in your family.

It is important to realise that we’ve never been in a situation like this before so we don’t know what will work and where problems might arise. We all need to be flexible – and processes may have to change. If there are difficulties, let us know and we will try to sort things as soon as we can.

Remember also, that we may be ill or be looking after others who are ill – and that, like you, we will probably want to put away our school-work at weekends and during the holidays.

The following should help you understand what we’ve put in place for you. It’s also possible that some teachers may make other arrangements, for example videoing lessons and uploading them to the BWS YouTube Channel, but they will let you know what to do via Insight.

You might find it easier to complete the work according to your normal daily timetable, but it is really up to you to organise your time as sensibly as possible so that you don’t fall behind. Think about how much time you would normally spend in lessons for each subject each week, add on the time for homework – and that’s what you should be spending on the work we set.

If your teachers set a deadline for you to complete work by, you must make every effort to meet this.

We have now made it possible for you to submit work through Insight for your teachers to review – they will make it clear which tasks require this, as it may not be necessary for every task.

Save your work with a sensible filename (e.g. surname tutorgroup task) and make sure you save it in a format your teachers can view: using a Microsoft Office app (e.g. .xlsx, .docx, .pptx) or Adobe/Photoshop (e.g. .pdf, .psd).

There is a button on each assignment to submit the work (under the heading Evidence). When you click this, you will be able to drag-and-drop files or browse to find the file you want to upload. (NB - the upload bug from Wed/Thur has now been fixed)

Once your teacher has reviewed your work, you will be able to see their feedback under the assignment title. Unfortunately, Insight doesn’t have the facility for teachers to mark work onscreen – but individual teachers may find alternative solutions.

Please be patient if feedback doesn’t readily appear: your teachers will review the work when they can.

Office 365

All students received an email last week from Mr White telling them about free access to Office 365. This will allow them to install all the usual Office apps on your home computer (Word, Excel, PowerPoint…) – whether it is a Windows PC or a Mac. It also gives them access to Microsoft’s cloud (One Drive) where they can save their school work rather than using the Remote Desktop if you don’t already have cloud storage. Details of how to do this are in his email. It’s important to understand that their school files have not been uploaded to the cloud nor is there any plan for us to do this: this is something you will need to do (if you haven’t already done so), e.g. using Google Drive.

We are also exploring the use of Microsoft Teams (also through Office 365) which offers opportunities for collaborative work. We were planning on developing this for September but in light of school closures we will be doing our best to accelerate this so that we can provide more interactive learning activities. You’ll receive updates on this in due course.

School email

Unfortunately students cannot access your school email via the Office 365 version of Outlook – there simply hasn’t been enough time to set this up.

Although we have increased provision on the Remote Desktop, it’s possible that when many students are using it you may experience sluggish responses. Therefore it would be better to access your school emails via the webmail link on the school website: navigate to the Main School page, click on the Student Portal menu and select Webmail – use your normal school network logon details to proceed.

You can email your teacher if you have any queries about work that has been set – but, again, be patient if you don’t get an immediate reply. It’s also important for you to regularly check your school email as your teacher may have emailed you!

Remote Desktop (Instructions have changed - please read)

The Remote Desktop gives you access to your files saved on the school’s network and to the apps you’ve been using at school, such as Photoshop. As mentioned above, we have managed to increase provision to this so we will be opening access to all years. However, to avoid overloading the system, please do not leave it sitting in the background whilst you are working on something else (unless you need to).

Insight and your school email account can readily be accessed via the school’s website without using the Remote Desktop.

It also makes good sense to start saving work on your home computer or to the cloud so that if there is an issue with the school’s network you can still carry on.

Department of Education - Latest Updates

Useful information and websites:

• https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak

(Last updated 16:00 Sunday 12th July)

Message from BWS Pastoral Support Officer

I appreciate this is a difficult time with so much uncertainty and with the current extension to the lockdown, you may be struggling to adjust. I am conscious that we are unable to offer face to face support in school, therefore below are some organisations that can offer support during this time:

www.onyourmind.org.uk which lists a variety of organisations pupils/parents can contact for support including:

https://youngminds.org.uk/ which has lots of useful current advice for children and parents about coping with the coronavirus lockdown

www.kooth.com online access to qualified counsellors

www.childline.org.uk

In addition to this with children spending an increasing amount of time indoors online, this might also be useful for parents to review:

https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/ advice on setting up parental controls and advice about age restrictions for gaming, as well as lots of other useful advice.

I am checking my emails daily, so if you do wish to contact me directly for support during this time, please do not hesitate to contact me on: pastoralsupport@bws.wilts.sch.uk.
Best wishes
Mrs Elizabeth Jacobs
Pastoral Support Officer

(Last updated 08:15 Tuesday 21st April)

Message from Wiltshire School Nursing Service

Dear Parents, Carers and Young People, We are aware that it is a very anxious time and there may be concerns about where to access support in coming weeks with school closures or you needing to self isolate.

As a school nursing service we would like to let you know we are here to support you during this time.

For secondary school age young people:-

• We have set up a confidential telephone drop-in service Monday to Friday 12-2pm. Any young person that would like to call and speak to a qualified nurse on the end of the phone can call 0300 247 0090 Monday to Friday 12-2pm and speak to them.
• We also have our CHAT health text service so you can text a school nurse for advice or support for any health issues or worries, again this is confidential and you don't need to give your name if you don't want to. The number is 07480 635513.

For parents of any school age child:-

• We have duty school nurses available at the end of the phone Monday to Friday 9-5pm should you require any support with your school age child. This is available permanently for all parents to access for advice and support. If you would like support please call one of our nurses through our Single Point of access on 0300 247 0090.

(Last updated 08:00 Friday 20th March)

Sixth Form EPQ Lessons

• Instructions for EPQ work to be completed will be put on Insight, with supporting resources on ProjectQ. Students should continue to check their email regularly and continue writing their project.
• The current project deadlines still apply

(Last updated 7:30 Friday 10th April)

School Shop Summer Opening Times

(Last updated 08:30 Thursday 9th July)

• Please find below details of the summer holiday opening times for the BWS uniform shop which will enable you to purchase any new items that you require. Please note that the shop opening times are for existing pupils only.
• Social distancing measures will be followed during these opening times and parents will be asked to wait at the gate to No. 11 until they are collected by a member of the uniform shop team. Ideally only one parent and one child should visit the shop. I would also be grateful if you could check your current sizes at home before you visit.
• Please contact the shop at shop@bws.wilts.sch.uk if you have any queries. We look forward to welcoming you.