Dear parents/carers,
Firstly, I would like to thank you for your ongoing support since the full reopening of the school. We are so pleased to have all our students back in school and accessing their learning with their expert teachers. Our students have responded so well to our new expectations – even though their daily routine is very different to what it was prior to the enforced school closure we continue to be so impressed with their support and their positivity. The changes to school life have not at all dampened their enthusiasm for their learning and their love for their school. We would also like to thank our parents and carers who continue to show incredible support for the school. Having such supportive students and families makes our job so much easier in these very challenging times.
I have attached Derby City Council’s guide to school absence due to a variety of possible Covid-19 situations. Please have a look at this as it provides useful information which covers a variety of scenarios. Please remember if your child has a high temperature or a new, continuous cough (this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours), or a loss or change to their sense of smell or taste your child should not attend school.
Our students have adapted very well to wearing face coverings in the corridors, while queueing in the Restaurant and for gatherings, and most students generally attend school with a face covering. Students who have not attended school with a face covering have been provided with one free of charge, at considerable cost to the school. At the start of term 2 we will provide every student with a free, reusable face covering to ensure every young person in the school will have their own face covering. From the start of term 2 we will then be charging 50p for disposable face coverings.
Thank you to all the families who have signed up for the school’s cashless payment system, Parent Pay. We aim to eliminate cash payments at the school, and are therefore asking that all our parents/carers use Parent Pay to pay for breakfast, lunch and other items. From the start of next academic year, we intend to be a cashless school and we will be working with our families to support them in accessing the Parent Pay system. If you have experienced any problems using or signing up for Parent Pay, please do contact the school office and we will help resolve this.
I have attached a list of key dates for this academic year. The calendar looks very different to normal with much fewer events due to the Covid-19 restrictions! We are trying to be as innovative as possible, including taking our Parents’ Evenings online. We held the Year 13 Parents’ Evening last week and it went very well. Thank you to the Year 13 parents and students for their patience with trying out our new system. The feedback was exceptionally positive. Until there is a change to the government guidance we will continue to hold parents evenings and other events online. Due to not being able to hold Year 6 and Sixth Form Open Evenings we have created new pages on our website, detailing all the information you need to make an informed decision about if Landau Forte College Derby is the place for your child. Please have a look at our website for further details.
The school will close for the end of term break at 3.30pm on Friday 16 October and reopen on Monday 2 November. We would ask that from the start of term 2, Year 7 and 8 students arrive on site no later than 8.50am and Year 9, 10 and 11 students arrive on site no later than 9.10am. The other new expectations will remain in place until further notice as the safety of our staff and students will always be of paramount importance. For that reason the school will continue to adhere to all Department for Education and Public Health England guidance.
We wish you and your family a restful and peaceful end of term break.
Kind regards,
Alison Brannick