Dear Parents and Carers
Firstly, thank you very much for your patience with the slightly delayed start of term whilst we tested all the students. Happily, this was all completed on Tuesday afternoon and we welcomed back all our students on Wednesday to what we hope, and plan, to be a far less disrupted year of learning.
The theme for this year is for everyone to have a plan. This was the focus of our INSET day with all staff and then again at our Wednesday morning assemblies. Looking back, the last school day we could claim to be ‘normal’ was way back in early March 2020. We closed the school for lockdown #1 on the evening of Friday 20 March 2020 after two highly-disrupted weeks of staff and student absence. Since then, no day has been as it should be; lockdowns, forced absence through isolation periods, remote learning and, even when in school, zones and bubbles. This all affects learning to a greater or lesser extent. This year, that is all gone. Staff are back in their own rooms, much to their delight; departments are back together with the Heads of Department bossing their corridors; and kids are moving around from room to room instead of teachers.
This is all part of our plan which we have launched this year. It is of the upmost importance that we all work together to achieve shared and agreed goals; meaning actions we take are informed and purposeful. The alternative is waiting for events to happen and reacting to them, which is no good for anyone. I have challenged all staff and all students to have their own plans for what they will achieve by July 2022 and then to make sure every action is designed to get them there. Whether these goals are academic, grade-based, sporty, artistic or personal, we all must know what we are going to achieve and by doing this, we are no longer an organisation responding to events.
I will introduce our school improvement plan to you over the next two weeks. It is split into the red plan which is focused on academic excellence and the blue plan which focuses on social and personal development. It has been worked on by staff and governors and reflects our community, as well as developing our students’ talents in order to make them successful. The 10 objectives in our school improvement plan dominate our discussions and planning and also how we judge success. We’re confident that this, along with the personal goals of all our students and staff, will make sure Myton School moves forward at pace this year. And nowhere do any of these plans mention Covid – how refreshing.
With best wishes
Andy Perry – Head Teacher
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