The latest letter from the headteacher to parents/carers (dated 25th September) is below and on the newsletter section of our website here: https://longbenton.org.uk/parents/newsletters

 

25th September 2020 

Dear Parent/Carer 

The vast majority of students have had a fantastic return to school this month. It has been amazing to have our building full of students again and our Covid systems are working well to ensure that we have not had to send any classes or bubbles home to self-isolate yet. Thank you for your continued support. 

The focus of assemblies over the past few weeks has been to remind students of our core values and purpose. We have been talking to them about the following: 

  • The things that we value and which we expect them to embody each day: kindness, positivity, honesty, determination, manners and ambition. 

  • The importance of respect for themselves, other students and staff, our building (eg avoiding litter) and our wider community (eg wearing face masks on the bus/metro). 

  • The expectation that students should follow instructions the first time when asked straight away and respond appropriately (this means not walking away, engaging in an unnecessary argument, swearing, laughing, etc). 

  • The importance of following school Covid protocols: staying in the right part of the school building / bubbles (refusing to do so is a serious breach of our school risk assessment); hand sanitising and wearing a mask in all communal areas and corridors. Please note: the wearing of face masks is a mandated government directive now that we are under tighter regional restrictions in the North East; students must wear a face mask unless exempt under medical grounds. 

We understand that some students have struggled more than others with the return to school routines after lockdown and that additional Covid restrictions make life difficult for all of us. However, we need to ensure that we create a calm and positive environment at Longbenton High School, where every student achieves their full potential both academically and personally. We care about our students and want them to succeed, which means we also need to encourage and teach self-regulation (controlling emotions such as anger and frustration) so that learning is not disrupted. Low level persistent disruption is damaging to our school culture and cannot be tolerated. 

We greatly value the support we receive from you. I would appreciate it if you could reinforce these messages at home and take some time to talk to your child about the importance of the points above. 

Yours faithfully, 

 

Kelly Holbrook 

Headteacher