We are very proud of the way our staff and our students – and their
families – have adapted to home learning. It is a very different way of
working to normal school lessons and students have had to learn to be very
resilient and resourceful in a short space of time.
Feedback from all those involved in the process of home learning has been
positive but not without challenge. For this reason we have evaluated and
reviewed the Marden approach and decided to pare back the number of
subjects per day to two. This will make learning simpler for students and
alleviate some of the feelings of being overwhelmed by multiple subjects to
complete every day. Emails with instructions and resources will still be
sent out by teachers in the morning.
At key stage 3, each subject will have one slot every two weeks, except the
core subjects which will have 3. In Year 10 option subjects will have 2
sessions over a two week cycle and the core will have 4. Each session will
be between 1.5 and 2 hours of learning. The only exceptions to this will
be Personal Development and Physical Education which will focus on mental
health and wellbeing with suggested activities to complete at any time.
These can be found in the daily form time slides.
To give students a chance to catch up on any subjects that may be taking a
little longer, there will be one free slot per week for catch-up or
extension work in any subject.
Students will still be receiving support and feedback from teachers, form
tutors and heads of year and, as we all become more familiar with the range
of technology available to us, we are beginning to make effective use of
Google Classroom, screencasts, demonstration videos and other online
resources to ensure that students have the most accessible and engaging
learning experience possible.
Full details of the revised timetable and daily form time activities can be
found below and will also be shared with pupils.
If students are unable to work online, and if year heads have been
informed, a paper pack of work will be sent out over half term. This will
contain similar activities to the online work being set.
Revised Timetables for Home Learning – effective from 01_06_20
Friday 15th May 2020
Dear All,
As I am sure you are aware, there have been further announcements from the government this week around the partial reopening of schools, including the expectation that from 1st June, “secondary schools and colleges will be able to offer some face to face contact with year 10 and year 12 pupils.” These announcements have generated a great many questions from a variety of quarters, including around the validity of the guidelines and scientific advice the government is using. Unfortunately this presents a confusing picture and I appreciate that this adds to the uncertainty of what might be happening in the future.
We have, as a Senior Leadership Team, and with governors, been working hard planning for a range of scenarios, and the safety, and mental, emotional and physical well being of staff and students is paramount in our thinking around any additional people being in school. It seems that there is still more thinking to be done and more conversations to be had at a national level before any detailed plans can be made to bring additional students into school on 1st June. Instead, we are working on a set of principles as the basis for planning any face to face contact we have with Year 10 students at some point in the future when it is safe to do so.
The thanks and positive feedback continues to come in regarding our provision to students from parents and students, and it has been great to see the skills of students developing, perhaps most significantly their independence. Yesterday evening I had a Full Governing Body meeting, and the governors were very keen to pass on their utmost thanks to all Marden staff for the tremendous work they are all doing.
It has also been good to hear reports back from parents and staff of students working together online, using information in a resourceful manner and developing their collaboration and teamwork skills. It has been lovely to hear of the rewards sent out to students in recognition of their hard work and resilience.
I would like to also remind the students of the importance of keeping going with the part, I am sure they are playing, in helping out in the house. Stepping up to your responsibilities as a family member is so important at this time, even if you think what you’re doing is a small task. Remember the words of John Wooden, one of the best basketball players and coaches ever: “It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.”
The English department have recently finished judging our Greatest (Short) Story Never Told creative writing competition; they have picked one winner from each class and compiled their compositions into an anthology, and very soon we will be able to hear some of those on this website, so watch this space for some intriguing tales.
I am sure that by now most students and parents will have seen the latest edition of our student magazine Revolution. It really is a great read, so if you haven’t had a look yet, I strongly recommend you do this weekend. We are also looking forward to our virtual auditions for Marden’s Got Talent. No, not even a pandemic can stop this event, and whilst we won’t be able to come together in the Auditorium to celebrate, I’m sure the virtual broadcast on this website will dazzle and amaze us, so watch this space.
With children likely spending more time online, it is now more important than ever to be aware of the risks certain websites, apps and social media can pose, so that we can ensure our children are protected. The Key is a well established and trusted website used by education professionals and they have created a safeguarding hub that allows parents to access interactive guidance on setting up parental controls on their child’s devices, as well as guidance on apps like TikTok, YouTube and Instagram and more.
https://parenthub.thekeysupport.com?uuid=ca22738d-d9e2-4258-b04c-c510c2ba3d00
Please remember that there is still ongoing support from the Connexions Advisers who will be providing a telephone and email guidance service to all young people. Young people can use the general number 0191 6436965, and email [email protected]. Advisers will be proactive in contacting those students who are due to leave school to ensure that they have offers of learning and intended destinations, and they will ensure that young people are given advice and information on the range of post sixteen options and support with application processes and transition planning. Advisers can be contacted as follows:
Helen Bishop – 07583 225747 – [email protected]
Carol Myers – 07964 017069 – [email protected]
In addition to support for leavers, Connexions Advisers will be able to provide careers guidance to all year groups from year 9 onwards. Parents may wish to encourage their children to use some of their time at home for career exploration. Connexions can provide a range of resources, information and learning tasks to support, as well as over the phone careers guidance.
Now that we have gathered information together from students, parents and staff, we have been undertaking a review of our provision this week, and we aim to put in place a few changes to the way we expect students to manage their work which we think will make it easier for them, but also ensure that the quality of work and feedback received remains high. There will be more detail published on this website next week.
As we did for the Easter holiday period, we want to be able to provide some support in terms of activities that children could choose to do over the half term break, at the same time as giving everyone a bit of a break. These will be completely optional for students, but we would encourage the children to get involved with at least some of them as they will be designed to develop a range of knowledge, understanding and skills, as well as the 5Rs. It may be an opportunity for students to do something fun or culturally based around a variety of different subjects, and these may be activities that do not always fit into curriculum planning. Departments will be sharing these activities with students at the end of next week. They will also be available by clicking on the ‘Home Learning’ button on the school website.
Take care and look after each other.
Mr M. Snape
Head Teacher
DC2 for Year 8 have now been added to the Parent Portal. These are full
reports.
Please contact [email protected] with your full name and the name of your child if you are having difficulty logging on.
DC2 for Year 7 are now on the Parent Portal. These are interim reports.
If you have difficulty logging in, please contact
Dear Parent/Carer,
At this difficult time when your children are being asked to access learning at home, we realise that most of this learning is done online, and that some families may not have access to the technology.
Smartphones are great for many simple tasks but they can make other tasks difficult or impossible in some cases.
North Tyneside Council is looking at different ways to try to support families to ensure that every child can access online home learning easily. If you believe your family would benefit from additional support in this area please click the link below and complete this short form.
All information gathered is solely for the purpose of getting support to these families and will not be shared beyond North Tyneside Council
The deadline for this is 5pm on Thursday 16 April 2020.
Cancellation notice: Year 10 Science Information Evening for parents tonight has been cancelled until further notice.
Thank you, Mrs Glover
