Update 27/03/2020

Our update today is a combination of the information from the Headteacher's Blog (linked below) and also a special video message from our Headteacher - Martin Brook (linked below). 

Headteacher's Blog

Video Message

Update 26/03/2020

Dear all,

I would like to say a massive thank you to you all for the way you have responded to the extraordinary times we find ourselves in. I have felt humbled and inspired this week by our students, our brilliant staff and by you, our parents and carers. We have never felt more like one big team this week and I am so proud of the way that Lipson tries to serve its community. I hope you have seen the video messages that have been sent out by our fantastic Heads of Year. If not, please take a look, they are great.

I would like to pass on some key information to you. Thank you to those of you who have worked so hard to try and keep the students in a ‘normal’ learning routine this week. We know there have been a few problems but it has been on the whole a good start. We have already responded to your feedback and will look to improve things further but if you have any specific issues or thoughts you would like to share with us please email Tom Goodman, Asst Head on tgoodman@lipson.plymouth.sch.uk  This will give us a good indication as to how things are going as we try to streamline the service we are providing after Easter.

Please be advised we are open over the Easter Holidays for Key Workers only. Should you require childcare over the next two weeks please send a School Gateway message. Email studentservices@lipson.plymouth.sch.uk or phone 07395798842. Please give us 24hrs notice before you send your child/children into school and ensure that you have had confirmation before you send them in. I would politely remind you of the Govt advice that you should only request this if it is absolutely necessary. You have been brilliant with this so far which has meant that we have only been dealing with a very small handful of children. Thank you for your support with this.

Finally I would remind you that in normal circumstances we would be breaking up on Friday for the Easter break. Please remember this for your children. We will only be setting extended project type work for those who really want it. Please encourage them to read and by all means access some of the online packages that are available. But please give them a break, take the pressure off and give yourselves a break from the home schooling. I will be saying exactly the same to staff who also need to be spending their time on looking after their loved ones.

Thanks again, particularly to those of you who have taken the time to message staff and me personally to express your support and gratitude. We are doing the best we can in very difficult circumstances but we will come through the other side of this even stronger as a school and as a community. Take great care of yourselves and your loved ones,

Martin Brook, Headteacher

Update 24/03/2020

Please follow the links below for:

 - Information for Key Workers

 - Parents guide to home learning

Update 19/03/2020 12:30

Please follow the links below to access copies of letters to parents with further information for each year group:

Year 13

Year 12

Year 11

Year 10

Years 7, 8 & 9

Update 18/03/2020 18:10

Given the announcement from the Prime Minister this evening, we understand that all Year 10, 11 and 13 students due to sit exams in the Summer will undoubtedly be feeling a range of emotions and be worried. Please try not to panic as this is a national situation.

The Lipson Senior Leadership Team will be in school tomorrow and available to all students who wish to talk about this and what it may mean (although it is obviously a shock to us too). We will meet as a senior team in the morning and put further information out tomorrow.

We will work over the next couple of days to understand the requirements regarding provision for vulnerable groups and contact parents/carers to identify which students will need to attend to access any bespoke provision to be put into place. With regard to this, please look out for a further school Comms message tomorrow.

The senior team will all be available to answer phone queries from parents/carers regarding exams between 10-11am tomorrow. Please try not to worry. We will get through this together.

Update 18/03/2020 13:40

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 Communication with parents/carers:

As we have announced a closure starting from tomorrow as a result of the Coronovirus Pandemic, we are delighted to be able to continue supporting your child through the outstanding online packages we subscribe to and with additional materials prepared by our teaching staff in readiness for this eventuality.

All communication and updates regarding the closure and re-opening dates and guidance will be provided through the front page of our school website. We will inform parents/carers via our other social media platforms too to ensure good coverage, but these formats will always link back to the information on the website. We will continue to take advice from the Government and should their guidance/direction change, we will contact parents accordingly.

At this stage, we expect to see all students back after the Easter break, but this will very much depend on the national and local emerging picture. Should the situation change and permit opening in any capacity next week, we will communicate this with parents through the website.

Work set for students to complete from home:

The primary way for parents/carers to see what work is being set for their children will be on Class Charts. Students are advised to study following the structure of their timetable. Teaching staff will be available to each of their own classes during these times to support learning and answer any questions via email. For Year 11 and 13 students, staff will be available throughout the day to support and not just during scheduled lesson times. It is advised that students email their classroom teacher but copy in the Head of Department, in case the individual member of staff has themselves been taken unwell and is unable to respond. Subject leaders will monitor responses in liaison with their teams. Whilst summarised on Class Charts, communication with students regarding their school work will be through a variety of formats depending on the year group and subject.

A suggested structure for students is as follows:

Parents/carers are reminded that during this period of closure, students should not be seen out and about in the community during school hours. The expectation is that they are at home and studying.

6^th form learning and study support:

For students in Years 12 and 13, all of the work set will be shared directly with the individual students/classes through either email, Google Classroom or Google Drive. If there are any concerns regarding the availability or suitability of work for these year groups, concerns should be sent to pboyes@lipson.plymouth.sch.uk and/or gcomber@lipson.plymouth.sch.uk and Mr Boyes/Mrs Comber will address this with the appropriate staff.

Year 11 learning and study support:

For students in Year 11, all revision materials have been collated for students onto Google Drive and this link has been shared with them. They will all have received an email to their school account providing them with this link. They will find folders for each subject which contain a host of revision materials. In addition to this, they will find a document entitled “Useful Links and Resources.” This contains all of the required links to the various online learning packages including GCSE Pod, Seneca Learning, Hegarty Maths, BBC Bitesize and PIXL. In addition to this, some departments have prepared additional bespoke learning materials which can be accessed through Google Classroom and the access codes are also listed in this document. Year 11 students will also be able to access further resources on the exam board websites and links to these have also been included within this document. If there are any concerns regarding the availability or suitability of work for these year groups, concerns should be sent to tashton@lipson.plymouth.sch.uk and/or smitchell1@lipson.plymouth.sch.uk and Mrs Ashton/Mr Mitchell will address this with the appropriate staff.

Additional Year 11 Information

Year 10 learning and study support:

For students in Year 10, all work is focussed on preparing students for the GCSE English Literature exam in the Summer. For students in Year 10, all revision materials have been collated for students onto Google Drive and this link has been shared with them. They will all have received an email to their school account providing them with this link.

If there are any concerns regarding the availability or suitability of work for these year groups, concerns should be sent to klewis-ward@lipson.plymouth.sch and/or swatson@lipson.plymouth.sch.uk and Miss Lewis-Ward/Mr Watson will address this with the appropriate staff.

Year 7-9

For students in Years 7-9, subjects are setting research projects to be undertaken by the students based on the schemes of learning students will be going on to study in Term 5.

All work for students in Key Stage 3 will be set using either Google Classroom or Class Charts, with supporting materials available on Google Drive. Some departments will link students directly to online software such as Hegarty for Maths or Seneca Learning for Geography.

Below is a summary of the work / project titles set initially. Staff will provide additional tasks and guidance to go with these headings.

Year 9 learning and study support:

Contacts regarding this work are as follows:

Year 9 – ndyke@lipson.plymouth.sch.uk and/or kgeraghty@lipson.plymouth.sch.uk

Year 8 learning and study support:

Contacts regarding this work are as follows:

Year 8 – tgoodman@lipson.plymouth.sch.uk and/or hgreen@lipson.plymouth.sch.uk

Year 7 learning and study support:

Contacts regarding this work are as follows:

Year 7 – tgoodman@lipson.plymouth.sch.uk and/or cswiggs@lipson.plymouth.sch.uk

Safeguarding Concerns:

For parents/carers or students who might have concerns arising during the closure with regard to matters of a safeguarding and/or welfare nature, the following agencies can be contacted for further support, advice or guidance.

Supporting children who are LAC or if you have safeguarding concerns:

If you are a LAC student, a foster carer, or have safeguarding concerns about one of our students and wish to speak with a member of the Lipson safeguarding Team, please email safeguarding@lipson.plymouth.sch.uk and one of the team will contact you when available.

Contact subject specialist teachers during the closure:

If you wish to contact individual teachers directly regarding work set during the closure, our teachers can be contacted using their email addresses which can be found on the following link:

https://www.lipsonco-operativeacademy.coop/Teaching-Staff-Contact-List/  

Supporting Children with SEND:

We realise that, for students who usually access additional support in-class through one of our teaching assistants, undertaking independent study at home may be more difficult. We have therefore linked each one of our key SEN students with an identified Teaching Assistant who will be available to provide some remote online or phone-based explanation if needed. Miss Woodstock as the SENCo will share the identified TA and their contact emails directly with the affected students/parents. All parents of SEND students can also contact Miss Woodstock with any queries by email on wwoodstock@lipson.plymouth.sch.uk

General contact:

We hope that this provides full information to enable you to support your child/children during this time. If you have any further questions, please address them to the contacts above or directly to student services on studentservices@lipson.plymouth.sch.uk