Principal’s Update – 11/05/2020

Posted on 11 May 2020

Many families will have heard the Prime Minister’s address on Sunday 11th May in which he stated that:

“At the earliest by June 1 – after half term – we believe we may be in a position to begin the phased reopening of shops and to get primary pupils back into schools, in stages, beginning with reception, Year 1 and Year 6. Our ambition is that secondary pupils facing exams next year will get at least some time with their teachers before the holidays.”

Tavistock College will continue to offer places for vulnerable children and those of key workers, but we understand that many other parents will want to know more about when their children will return to school. Schools across the country will also have heard this news for the first time on Sunday and over the course of the next week or two, we will be reviewing the detailed guidance the government has said it will provide. We will then take any action required to open the school to the year groups identified in a safe way. When we are in a position to do so, we will provide information on the website and in other communications so that you  will know exactly when Tavistock College will be able to once again offer a place for your children. 

GSCEPod Parent Webinars

Posted on 5 May 2020

The College uses GCSEPod to support online learning in school and at home. They are offering a series of webinars for parents. Join a GCSEPod webinar and find out how you can use GCSEPod to support your child’s learning plus get tips and guidance on effective home learning practices. Follow the link to register.

Principal’s update – 28/04/2020

Posted on 28 April 2020

Dear parents and carers,

 

As you will have heard, the Department for Education has recently announced that they will make available IT hardware for vulnerable children, alongside disadvantaged Y10 students with limited access to a digital device, during the period of school closure. We welcome this move, and I know many parents will too. 

 

We do not yet have details about the project, but we do know that the Local Authority and the Dartmoor Multi-Academy Trust will be given a fixed number of laptops and tablets to loan to parents to support children who are designated as qualifying for this scheme. We know that there will not be a device for everyone, so some decisions will need to be made about their allocation. Also, it is intended that the laptop remains the property of the LA or Trust, and therefore there will be limitations placed on how they are used. When we have more details, such as the date these will actually be available, I will be sure to provide an update.

 

The school will be closed on the May bank holidays, but we will remain open throughout the half term break for children of key workers and vulnerable students. If you need to send your child to school in half term, and they qualify for a place, please can you let us know by 0800 on Monday 25th May so that staffing can be arranged. 

 

Thank you all for your patience with us during this period of partial closure. Please remember that we are here to help you, so please feel confident that you can contact us at any time and we will endeavour to support as much as we can.

Information: increased fraud risk during coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic

Posted on 22 April 2020

Periods of instability, such as during the coronavirus pandemic, bring an increased risk of fraud. Fraudsters will actively exploit these difficult times and will target vulnerable areas for financial gain.

We have been informed some learners and parents have received a letter from ESFA asking for personal learner bank details in relation to the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund. We never ask for personal bank account details. This is a fraudulent letter – please do not respond.

Update from the Principal – 14th April 2020

Posted on 14 April 2020

Dear Parents and Carers.

Thank you for your patience over the last few weeks.  We have finally received more specific information from the exam boards about grade allocation for vocational qualifications. The information is pretty much the same as it was for GCSEs and A Levels. However, grading will be more individualised as each course is different, made up of multiple units and  assessed in different ways.

Teachers will be asked to draw on a range of evidence from the past 2 or 3 years and make a judgement about the grade each learner would most likely have achieved had they been able to complete their assessments in summer 2020.

 

Ofqual, the exams regulator, has made it clear that teachers will not be permitted to discuss with you the grading process or the grades we submit to the exam boards. This is because our judgements will be subject to some kind of moderation process. However, we can tell you that the final grades will be ‘calculated grades’, a mix of completed work and partially completed units and your process across the course.

Please find the link below if you wish to read a more detailed account

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/awarding-vocational-and-technical-qualifications-this-summer

Sarah Jones

Principal.

Urgent Update – 03/04/2020

Posted on 3 April 2020

Dear parents and carers

I understand how unsettling the past weeks have been for you, since the announcement that exams have been cancelled this summer, and that you are urgently waiting for news. The exams regulator, Ofqual has this morning published some further clarification on how this year’s examination results will be calculated. We have sent to all Y11 and Y13 parents the letter that has been written by Ofqual explaining the details.

This letter explains how grades will be calculated. Tavistock College will be asked to send exam boards two pieces of information for each subject where a grade was expected. This information will be based on what teachers know about each student’s work and achievements. This information will be:

• The grade teachers believe students were most likely to get if teaching, learning and exams had happened as planned. Teachers will consider a range of things like classwork and homework; results in assignments and any mock exams; any non-exam assessment or coursework completed; and each student’s general progress during the course.

• The order of students at the school by performance, for each grade, for each subject. This information will be used to standardise judgements, allowing fine tuning of the standard applied across all schools and colleges in England. The final grade students get could be different from the ones we send to the exam boards due to this standardisation process.

Students and parents will not be allowed to see the grade that has been submitted to the exam boards as Ofqual have instructed us that this is confidential. Please do not send requests or ask teachers to tell you the grades they will be sending to the exam boards or where they have placed your child in the order of students: they will not be allowed to share this with you.

Final results are expected in August, although this date has yet to be published. Students and parents that are dissatisfied with the grades when they are release can ask for an alternative examination date to sit an examination. This could be in the Autumn term 2020 or the summer term 2021.

There is a link below that will take you to the detailed document published today by Ofqual should you have further questions, or want to read guidance in more detail.

Thank you for your patience in this matter, and for all your support

Sarah Jones

Principal

Please be aware of scammers

Posted on 2 April 2020
Please be aware that a number of parents across the country have been targeted by unscrupulousness scammers.
 
They are focusing on the parents of children who are eligible for Free School Meals.  Any correspondence about Free School Meals will come from Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust, so please do not reply or respond to any approaches made to you asking for bank details etc.

Further updates for parents – 26/03/2020

Posted on 26 March 2020

Examinations:

The Department for Education has now issued the guidelines and the process for awarding grades in light of the cancellation of examinations this summer.  This is very similar to the guidance I gave two days ago but now we have now received it officially, I would like to pass the most relevant information on to you. 

All schools will submit a calculated grade for each subject, for each student. The examinations regulator (Ofqual) will develop and set out a process that will provide students with a calculated grade which reflects their performance as fairly as possible.  The exam boards will be asking teachers to submit their judgement about the grade they believe students would have received if examinations had gone ahead.  Teachers will take into account a range of evidence and data including performance on mock examinations (PPEs) and non-examination assessment such as class work and coursework and will act upon clear guidance provided by Ofqual on how to do this fairly and robustly. 

Unfortunately, in order to keep the process fair and consistent, we are not able to take into account any additional material or assessments which have been completed since school closure was announced except for on-going coursework tasks completed electronically from home and where exam board rules allow this to happen; in these cases, teachers will advise you of any relevant deadlines. Only some subjects have coursework elements.  All teachers are able to answer email requests you might have, but please direct particular subject requests to the Head of Faculty. These can be found on our website if you are unsure of who to contact. 

We know our students well, so please do not feel the need to email us in order to make the case for a particular grade. Please rest assured that the school  has a robust system for moderating the data we will submit to the exam boards to ensure that all students are treated fairly.  

Ofqual will calculate a final grade for each subject, for each student, based upon the information sent from the school and the prior attainment for each students at KS2. It is anticipated that these grades will be released by the end of July 2020. 

The government is currently suggesting an opportunity to challenge outcomes if students wish and/or be given the opportunity to sit examinations at a later date (at the earliest reasonable opportunity, once schools are open again or in summer 2021). We have little information about this at the current time. 

Free school meals:

We have now stopped a daily delivery service to families who are in receipt of free school meals. We are now delivering hampers once a week. This is to cut down on unnecessary travel and to allow families to devise their own meals. The hampers will contain fresh food. The first delivery will be tomorrow on Friday 27th March. Parents who are in receipt of free school meals will be contacted with a pick up point close to home.

Home learning:

Teachers are working hard to set and check work for your children. This is being set online through Class Charts and Google Classroom. We have been busily helping parents with logins and other IT requests. We are aware that there is more work being set than some children can complete. Please do not worry about this. We do not intend to cause unnecessary stress to young people or families at this challenging time. It is perfectly acceptable for students to not complete everything, or to have days off. This is expected over the Easter Holiday. The work is there to help, not to make your lives difficult. Similarly, if you want more work, please just ask. 

Thank you as ever for your ongoing support and for the positive messages sent to staff. They are working very hard, sometimes in difficult circumstances themselves from home, and appreciate the comments that you have made. 

Sarah Jones

Principal

Coronavirus Update – 24/03/2020

Posted on 24 March 2020

Tuesday 24/03/2020.

Many thanks for your continued support and understanding at this difficult time. I am writing to update you about examination accreditation proposals and free school meals provision.  

GCSE, A-Level and other examinations.

As you will be aware, The Department for Education has cancelled assessments and examinations for this academic year.  I want to ensure that you are fully informed about the current situation, what we know and, importantly, what we don’t know yet.  

In summary,  students will be awarded grades using a method that triangulates teacher assessment  with performance in PPEs/summative assessments and recorded incremental progress over the duration of their examination courses. It is not the intention of any organisation to cause any disadvantage to any student. Students’ eventual grades will carry equal weight with previously examined cohorts’ grades in terms of progression pathways into Post 16 and Post 18 routes.

Free School Meals

The Government has confirmed that they are ‘developing a national approach to providing support through supermarket and shop vouchers [and] will provide further details shortly’.  In the meantime we are sending food out to relevant families on two routes, as already notified to you. Tomorrow, we intend to send out food parcels that will last for the remainder of the week, again via the two published routes. From then on we will be sending a food parcel once a week. You can opt to collect this from the school site if you prefer. A survey is being sent to parents who are in receipt of free school meals to avoid us wasting resources driving meals to places where they are not wanted. 

Communicating with the school

We are currently unable to ensure that the main reception and the switchboard are attended at all times. Please, therefore send any communication in via the office email address; office@tavistockcollege.org 

Please send any queries about IT and online learning to itsupport@tavistockcollege.org 

If you have any further concerns that you feel we may be able to help with, please do not hesitate to contact us.  Please do adhere to the instructions given by the Prime Minister yesterday. Only send your children to school if you are a key worker and have no reasonable alternative. This is to keep everyone safe in this troubling time .

 

Sarah Jones

Principal.