Letter from the Deputy CEO (27/03/2020)
Dear Parent/Carer,
I am writing to you on behalf of the David Ross Education Trust Secondary Team because I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your incredible support over the last few weeks. Our staff, as doubtless many of you know, are dedicated, passionate and highly skilled and we are extremely proud of how they have stepped up to the challenge we are facing as a country. I am grateful they have had your unwavering support at such a difficult time.
We are, however, working very differently now. We are asking children to work online much more, and this brings with it certain risks. We are mindful about a potential increase in online bullying, so please see the advice at the bottom of this letter if your child experiences this, and what you might need to look out for to spot it.
We are also conscious that many parents are now having to work from home and home school their children at the same time. This is a huge challenge - teaching something that you are perhaps not an expert in, in a more relaxed environment, without sometimes the resources that we would have in school. We are all finding this challenging, myself included! Please understand that we don't expect this to be smooth running just yet, we will all need time to get used to this new routine. Staff need time to work out what sort of tasks work well for their classes online, and you need time to find a new routine for your family. We understand this and will support you as much as we can.
We are keen that our students maintain that sense of belonging that being part of DRET brings, so we intend to step up our competitions and our communications to help us maintain that. If you are on twitter, please follow @DRETnews and also the #DRETlistentothis #Cheerupvideos. Otherwise, keep an eye on your school’s website/ communications where items to keep us all feeling connected will be posted.
www.HavelockAcademy.co.uk Twitter: @HavelockAcademy
If you have not done so yet then please download the My Child At School (MCAS) app to ensure that you get the messages from your school. Your school can help you with instructions on how to do this.
Mark Neild
DCEO
Bullying.
Bullying online is not something that your child should ever experience. It is not okay and will not be tolerated. Your child's school will ALWAYS take this seriously.
Just like in school, we will follow a consequence system and investigate any issues of bullying. We will:
- Ask your child for a statement.
- Contact you to ensure that you are aware.
- Contact the parents of the other child(ren) involved.
- Let you know the outcome.
- Follow our anti-bullying policy: www.dret.co.uk
You should report any incidents of bullying to our dedicated email address: safeguardingteam@havelockacademy.co.uk. You can expect to receive a response within 24 hours.
Please be vigilant also of other threats to your child over the internet. Some ideas of how to keep your child safe are explored here:
