Mr Atkinson's Friday Update 09.09.22

Dear Parents/Carers,
 
For those new to Bingley Grammar School my name is Mr Atkinson (Deputy Headteacher) and I will make contact with you every two weeks to keep you updated regarding school matters. In between these times, you will receive further communications from key staff such as Mrs Spicer (Assistant Headteacher) regarding curriculum and assessments or the year teams to celebrate key successes.     
 
I would like to start by recognising the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the school shares the nation's sadness at this news. We are awaiting further guidance from the DfE regarding actions for schools and will communicate any changes to you once we have been informed about them.  Over the coming days we will be focusing on the life of Queen Elizabeth II. We decided that today we would answer key questions but not do something collectively until we know how and what the family of the Queen will be doing to celebrate her life.

So firstly, it has been amazing to have the students back in school this week especially with no restrictions. Even better to see was how students are supporting and helping one another with finding their way round school. There were even Yr 10s and Yr 11s asking for directions! The Yr 7 students have also been excellent and very polite in their requests for help around school and in lessons and are already navigating their way around the school site with more confidence. I must personally say well done to my 7O7 Geography class who excelled in their first lesson and I am hoping my other Yr 7 class 7O6 can match them in every way....nothing like a bit of healthy competition!
 
Also with regards to competition, it is time for Yr 7 students to send in their pictures of their sunflowers that they grew to:
 
deborah.helliwell@bingleygrammar.org
 
Mrs Helliwell will then be working with Mr Foster (Assistant Headteacher) and Mrs Cartledge (PSHCE/LORIC lead for KS3) to judge these...all students will also get a LORIC certificate for this therefore building towards their badges and ties.
 
I would also like to welcome back Mr Illahi (Assistant Headteacher) who will be leading on Attendance, Punctuality and Standards. Mr IIahi will be writing to you next week with a further update regarding this based on the government and our school expectations. One aspect he asked me to raise this week is punctuality to school; he asks that students be in school for 8.25am and at form rooms for 8.30am. He has also asked you to be aware that if your daughter or son is late for school twice in a half term they will have a leadership detention with him on a Friday after school until 4.15pm. Please be aware that the traffic is busy around the school area and you may need to factor in more time for your journey to address this.
 
Secondly, the Student Leadership team last year asked that we keep Sunflower Lanyards to signify hidden disabilities; this is something we are very keen to support as it helps students to break down barriers nonverbally. The Student Leadership Team will also be leading assemblies on this in November and in particular about Neurodiversity. If your daughter or son has a hidden disability and would like to wear one of these lanyards please can I ask that you contact the SEN Department via the email:
 
learningsupport@bingleygrammar.org 
 
We will be talking about both of these aspects and more over the next two weeks at Welcome/Information evenings, please see below for dates and times:
 
Year 7 Welcome/Information Evening - Wednesday 14th September - 6pm (Milner and Oldfield forms) and 7:15pm (Sunderland and Wooler forms) in N6
Year 8 Welcome/Information Evening - Thursday 15th September - 6pm in N6
Year 9 Welcome/Information Evening - Thursday 15th September - 7:15pm in N6
Year 10 Welcome/Information Evening - Thursday 22nd September 6pm in N6
Year 11 Welcome/Information Evening - Thursday 22nd September 7:15pm in N6
 
At these evenings, we will also be talking about the Enrichment offer at Bingley Grammar School for each year group. As part of this, I want to draw to your attention the current PE extra-curricular activities (see link below). This will be followed by further updates such as our plans for the Yr 8 Camp, Yr 9 Malham field trip and of course the highly successful Yr 10 DofE experience.

Click here to view the Extra Curricular Sport Activities List for this Half Term >>
 
Also as well as the above evenings, we will be opening the school for Yr 7 students and their parents on Saturday 24th September from 9am - 11.30am. More details will be released for this by Mrs Spicer.
 
Yesterday we emailed you to let you know about next week’s planned rail strikes. Due to the period of national mourning that the country has now entered, all the unions involved have called these off and the trains services will be running as normal.
This information is on the National Rail Enquiries website:
Strikes called off in September
The industrial action that was planned on 15, 16 and 26 / 27 September has been called off by all the unions involved.
National Rail services are now expected to operate as normal on these days.
 
Unfortunately, I do have some issues to highlight.
 
Firstly, concerning parking after school, please do not park on the double yellow lines or complete three point turns in the road or at either entrance to the school's bus turnaround.  Not only does this block traffic, stop emergency vehicles and cause pedestrians to step into the road, it is dangerous for your children and we do not want to see an accident occurring. Mr Ashley (Deputy Headteacher) and I have both had near misses this week when politely asking people to move on. Also with regards to traffic, the local side roads are 'access only' and we ask you not to park and wait on these roads. Equally, Castlefields Industrial Estate is not a safe place to collect your children as lorries and large industrial vehicles are constantly moving around and require constant access to the businesses there. Please arrange for your daughter or son to meet you somewhere further away from school.... this will also make it easier for yourself as you are not then trying to pull out into congested traffic. Once parked we ask that you turn your engine off whilst waiting for your children. Engine idling has been identified as a big source of air pollution especially around school sites. Finally, on this matter the police do patrol the roads around school and do fine for traffic infringements.
 
Secondly, uniform and equipment, please can you ensure that your child is wearing the correct uniform and has the necessary equipment.  Your child’s tutor or year team will contact you if this is not the case and we ask this is resolved quickly.
 
Thank you for reading,
 
Mr Atkinson
Matthew Atkinson - Deputy Headteacher/Designated Safeguarding Lead