Staying Connected

In the event of Partial or Full Lockdown, we have set up this page as a one-stop shop for the required links and information.

We will post any new information regarding the school’s status on this page, together with other useful updates.

See the section Working Online for more information on submitting assignments using Show My Homework and Microsoft Teams

Lateral Flow Tests – these need to continue to be done on Mondays and Thursdays until further notice.

Please can you make sure you complete a LFT on 31st October prior to returning to school. We have given students fresh supplies but if you are running out, these are freely available from pharmacies and supermarkets.

Update for January 2022 return to school

Vaccinations

Downloads

Vaccinations for students:  Sixth Form Students were offered vaccines during the July / August Period. Vaccine uptake was high with over 90% of our oldest students now fully vaccinated.

Vaccines were also offered to 12-15 year-olds on 5th October.  All Year 11, 10 and 9 students whose families had requested that they were vaccinated were completed that day. Unfortunately, we were unable to vaccinate Year 7 and 8 students due to being understaffed by NHS (SIAS) personnel.   We are, therefore, planning to run a second day on 17th November.  Students will come out of normal lessons that day so there is no need for a parent to accompany them providing permission has been granted.  Letters from the NHS along with instructions will be sent out WB 1st November.  There will also be an opportunity for anyone in older year groups who was unable to be vaccinated due to illness or following self-isolation to also take up this offer.

Anyone who does not want to be vaccinated for medical or personal reasons will have full access rights to their education unaffected.  Whilst the majority of parents have supported the vaccination process, this remains a personal choice.

We will continue to apply measures which help reduce or mitigate against the spread of Covid-19 or any other virus. These include one-way systems, separate social and recreation areas for different year groups, additional cleaning and hand sanitisation areas.  The wearing of face-makes remains optional for students and staff and we fully respect the right of someone to wear PPE if this makes them feel safe.   We have been very fortunate to have relatively low levels of positive Covid cases at Birchwood.  If infection rates do increase in November / December we will liaise with PHE who will advise us accordingly.  Equally, if the DfE change their regulations for schools, we will fully abide by these.

Our students have been  excellent this term – re-engaging with any lost learning and showing positive attitudes, keeping to the rules we have put in place to keep everyone safe.  The last thing anyone needs is a further lockdown or partial lockdown so we will work our utmost to keep focussed on providing high quality teaching and learning whilst maintain a healthy school environment.

Letter from Dr Ingate regarding the re-opening of school on 8 March

Dear Parents/Carers

I am sure that you will be aware that the Government have just announced a return of all schools in England on Monday 8 March. This is good news. A return to greater normality and routine as well as actually teaching in the classroom is well overdue. Students and staff have done their best with online learning but it is no substitute.

There is a more detailed DfE plan for schools, which has just been released, detailing arrangements including PPE and Lateral Flow Testing. We will spend this week formulating a plan that works for Birchwood. I will also liaise with the other local secondary schools to ensure that there is consistency across the town. I would hope to be in a position to give more details by Monday 1 March so I hope you don’t mind being patient this week.

For now, it is a continuation of business as usual for the next two weeks with remote learning and Key Worker Provision.

Yours sincerely

Dr Chris Ingate

Principal

Dr Ingate's Weekly Blog

Update: 7 January 2021

5 January 2021

Please note that, due to Government restrictions as a result of the Covid 19 Pandemic,  Birchwood High School is now closed to Students until Monday 22nd February.  Work is being set on-line for all our Students including Key Worker and Vulnerable Students who will work in school during this period of time.

Lateral Flow Testing

We will be testing students attending Birchwood during the lockdown, including Key Worker and Vulnerable Students and those attending examinations (BTEC and LiBF).

Key Worker testing will take place for the first time at 08:30 on Wednesday 6 January.  This will be a drive through and all registered Key Worker student/parents will be expected to attend. Also, on this occasion, parents are expected to wait with students for the result.  Thereafter; Key Worker School students will be tested weekly on a Tuesday at 08:30 or weekly on their first attendance of the week if they are not in on subsequent Tuesdays.

Testing for BTEC/LiBF examination students.  All students who are able to take part in these exams will be expected into school between 12:00 and 14:00 on Wednesday 6 January to undertake a test prior to them sitting the examinations.

Consent: We require parental consent (for students under 16 years of age) or the student’s consent (if aged 16 or over) to carry out these tests: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/birchwoodcovidtestform

You will be able to accept or decline consent via this form. If you do decline please fill in the form declaring this so we have a completed record of data. Should you require a paper copy of this please contact maugustine@birchwoodhigh.org.uk . You can also see the Privacy Notice below explaining how we use and store the data.

For all other students the mass testing programme will be postponed and we will write to you in February when we know the Government’s intentions.

The following letter relates to the original testing timetable, but the information about the tests themselves and the procedure itself still applies:

Key Links

Some essential links for students

Other subject-specific websites used in school

Other websites recommended by staff

Websites recommended by our school counsellor

New Advice Lines

Healthy Minds Network (HMN) have launched a new early intervention and prevention helpline for children and young people aged 10-17 in Herts. The helpline will provide a safe , non-judgemental space to talk to a Young People Advisor or Mentor who will provide emotional support, advice and information, signposting and discuss coping strategies. For opening hours and more information please visit the website https://www.hertsmindnetwork.org/young-peoples-helpline.

The Helpline number is 01923 256391.

Opening times at the moment are:

  • Mon, Wed, Fri – 13:00 – 16:30
  • Tues, Thurs – 17:00 – 19:30
  • Sat – 10:00 – 13:00

The Schools and Families Advice Line (SFAL) is a new service established to provide emotional wellbeing advice and early help to children and young people, families and schools during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It can be really worrying when you or someone you know is going through a difficult time. If you feel this service could help, please call our Single Point of Access (SPA) who will take your details before passing them onto our call back service.

This service is open to self-referrals from families and young people, and education, health and other professionals involved in supporting young people and their families.

Contact details:

You will get a call back from a mental health practitioner between 8am-5pm, Monday-Friday. Support will be offered in a one-off, up to 1 hour phone call

How can the service help?

Supporting children, young people, their families and schools by providing early advice around:

  •  General concerns around mental well-being, coping strategies and self-care.
  • How to support children and young people in relation to the Covid-19 outbreak (e.g. understanding, frustration, anxiety etc).Supporting mental well-being during the transition back to school and the anxiety around this uncertainty.
  • Support for education staff around their own mental well-being and advice around how they can care for themselves.
  • ‘Whole school approaches’ to supporting mental well-being.
  • Specific anxieties (around COVID-19/self-isolating measures, transition between year groups, developing and maintaining relationships, fear of failure, low self-esteem or aspirations, trust issues, social anxiety, etc.)
  • Phobias (animals/insects, specific food stuffs, specific objects, modes of transport etc.)
  • Low mood
  • Emotional regulation difficulties
  • Mild obsessive compulsive difficulties that are starting to impact day to day activities.
  • Low-level behavioural concerns
  • Sleep difficulties
  • Signposting to services and resources that may be helpful for supporting mental wellbeing.

Past Papers and Exam Board Information

Please see the Main Exams Page for all information relating to the 2021 Summer Examinations

IT Student Support

If you have any problems accessing SMHW, TLC Live or Online Reporting

Please Note: Students MUST use their Office 365 e-mail accounts when using this service and not their personal e-mail accounts. If students are unable to log in to their Office 365 accounts, then we will ONLY use the e-mail address recorded in our School Information Management System (SIMS) to send the new login.

If students have technical problems when using Show My Homework, TLC Live or any other website used officially by the school for lessons, please contact ITStudentSupport@birchwoodhigh.org.uk

Working Online

How to submit your homework online and use Microsoft Teams and TLC Live classrooms

Using Office 365

A quick demonstration on how to log in to your Birchwood High School Office 365 account

Using Microsoft Teams

We are expanding our use of Microsoft Teams in the delivery of online learning. In this YouTube video, Mr Briscoe explains the basics of using Microsoft Teams.

Submitting your assignments using Show My Homework.

The YouTube video to the right shows you what you need to do!

Certain teaching groups are now using TLC Live for their lessons.

Troubleshooting

Please see the following document if you are having any problems using the online lesson system. If you cannot find the solution you need here, please e-mail IT Student Support on itstudentsupport@birchwoodhigh.org.uk

Updates and Announcements

Dr Ingate’s Blog – week beginning 18 May

Dear Parents/ Carers / Students

I hope you and your family are well.  Aside from reviewing the proposals set out by the DfE in terms of getting students back to school, I managed to see my elderly mother yesterday for the first time in 8 weeks. We managed to meet in an outside environment and stand at least 2m apart with my two daughters exchanging some cakes they had baked for her. It was a small but important step.   Whilst the Covid-19 pandemic ‘drags its feet’, being able to see a close relative outside one’s family hopefully helps towards our eventual journey of getting back to some kind of normal.

As a school, we are looking carefully at how best to support Year 10 and 12 students.  We have written to Year 7-9 parents to explain that we do not expect to see their child until September and will continue to set work and give feedback through Show My Homework.

Socially Distanced Chairs
Socially Distanced Chairs

With Year 10 and 12, we are looking at expanding on-line lessons and give 1:1 opportunities in school before the end of term.  Mr Phillips and Mr Torrance will be writing to you later this week with further information. The problem we have in maintaining social distancing and running normal lessons is shown in the photo on the right. We spaced our chairs in the School Hall 2m apart – the school Hall can normally accommodate 240 students – but under this guideline we could only manage 20 chairs.  Applied to a classroom situation, the maximum number we could fit in was 8!  We will be exploring as many options as possible but a return to normal timetables seems a bit of a distant shore at the moment. 

I hope you enjoyed reading our May edition of Birchwood News celebrating the very best of our students’ amazing lockdown homework. We will repeat this formula for June. 

Finally, can I thank all the Mums and Dads for supporting us and helping your child complete their homework.  Whilst I’m sure this has its frustrations, I have received a number of emails from parents saying how much better their French, Algebra, and Biology  was now!! 

Best regards and keep safe.

Dr Ingate

Principal

Download: Birchwood News April/May 2020

Dr Ingate’s Blog – week beginning 11 May

Dear Parents/ Carers/ Students

I hope you enjoyed the 75th Anniversary of VE Day.  For me, I found watching the turbulence and trauma that my parents went through between 1939-1945, as young children, very sobering. It was to be a 6-year war that many expected us to lose.  We were ill-prepared and had no clear battle plan – and yet – in the face of tremendous adversity, we managed to defeat the Nazi ‘war-machine’ with help from Allied forces.  

There are broad parallels with the current Covid-19 restrictions.  Most political commentators agree that the Government’s initial planning was too late and under-estimated the risk to the nation’s health. The fact that the NHS has coped has been down to our fantastic medical personnel and the public’s open support for doctors and nurses. There is no doubt that the inadequate provision of PPE has led to too many deaths in Care Homes in particular.  The good news is that the number in critical care in hospitals is coming down and along with the number of fatalities.   Unfortunately, this virus is unlikely to die or take its own life in a bunker in Berlin!  We will need to find, firstly, an effective anti-viral treatment and, secondly, a vaccine. 

There is no getting away from the fact that Covid-19 is having a profound effect on our way of life.  We will get over this and I hope that we will become a friendlier, more supportive and more environmentally aware society. I would still argue that this pandemic is nothing in comparison to the 250,000 British Soldiers and 70,000 Civilians who died in WW2.  However, over 30,000 people have so far died from Corona Virus in the UK and each death is someone’s family tragedy. 

I am not sure what you made of Boris Johnson’s speech on Sunday?  It was pleasing to see a plan moving forward where restrictions are being eased but there seemed to be a lack of detail about the specifics.  I will read the 50-page report when it is published and will let you know any specifics for your child.  My understanding at present is that we will continue to allow Key Worker and vulnerable children into school and then set on-line work through Show My Homework for all other students. We have made contact and talked with almost every Year 11 and 13 student to make sure they are aware of their next steps and offer support as required.  Year 10 and 12 students have been mentioned by the Government as the first cohorts to come back to school, which is understandable, but the detail of how this is to be done remains unclear.  At present, I am planning for a normal September but even this is becoming a little unsure. 

At the end of WW2, the British economy was severely damaged through the war effort –  yet the Clement Attlee government at the time managed to set up an effective welfare state including the NHS and a state-funded education system for all children.  These two institutions have largely remained in place ever since and thank goodness they have – we would be in a far worse situation today without them. 

Best regards and keep safe.

Dr Ingate

Principal

Download: Letter to Year 7 to 10 and Yr12 Parents and Carers - Moving Forward - 12 May 2020

VE and VJ Day Challenges

Mr Morton has produced a PowerPoint presentation for a virtual assembly on VE and VJ Day. The presentation includes a range of challenges, with a collection of resources and activities including bunting making and WWII style recipes. The full presentation is available in Show My Homework. If you just wanted to see (and try) the challenges for yourself, please download the VE and VJ Day Challenges.

Here is a piece by Mr Morton.

This Friday is a bank Holiday celebrating "Victory in Europe" when, 75 years ago, Germany surrendered and World War Two came to an end. During the war, which had lasted almost 6 years, 85 Million people worldwide had died and in the UK alone 450,900 civilians and servicemen had died.

At home in 1940, it wasn't loo rolls, or indeed just flour that people struggled to buy in the shops; from 1940 onwards rationing was commonplace with an adult being allowed to buy just 50g of cheese and one egg a week. Butter, bacon, chocolate and even clothes had to be rationed in order to avoid starvation, then as now, Britain was not self sufficient and we relied on shipping supplies from abroad, however all supplies had to dodge German submarines in order to get their cargos to our shores. Additionally, on the “Home Front” children were evacuated from cities and the bombing of cities and even of towns like Stortford meant that people lived in constant fear of attack. There is a bomb shelter in the cheese shop on North Street and Hockerill Teacher Training College (as it was then) was  hit by bombs on 10th October 1940, leaving three studens dead.

As "Key Workers" soldiers, airmen, members of the Royal Navy and Merchant Navy as well as medics had been away from home and separated from their families for months at a time. Many of those separated (such as members of the Women's Land Army) were volunteers, however conscription (forcing men to join the armed forces) had been introduced in 1939, so large numbers of those involved in WWII, including Bishop's Stortford's own Cyril Banks, who visited Birchwood in 2018 to help mark the centenary of the end of WWI, and talk about the importance of Remembrance, were "enlisted" to help the war effort without much choice. 

The war meant that families did not know when or even if, they would see loved ones again and the risks they took were huge, two years ago, Cyril told a group of our students what it was like serving in Minesweepers in the Russian Convoys and during the preparations for D Day and so it was with understandable joy that parties and celebrations broke out nationwide on VE Day. It meant that the end was in sight and that normality, or at least, a new normal, would return. As it happened, the events of World War Two changed Britain forever with the invention of the NHS in 1948 as a result of the WWII Beverage Report, conscription lasted until 1960 and rationing was not ended until 1954.

In Year 8 many of our History students undertake Family History Projects and it is always fascinating for their peers (and our History team) to see their research and find out how our students relatives were involved in conflicts from the War in the Desert in WWII, or fought on the Eastern Front for the Russians or as part of the Chindits in Burma. As we celebrate our Bank Holiday on Friday, it is perhaps a time to remember and reflect on what this day is for and to commemorate and remember the sacrifices of our Grandparents and Great Grandparents. It’s a huge event historically and one which I hope you take time to remember, indeed if you do have a socially distanced “Stay At Home Tea Party” in your front gardens (Carrot Scone Recipe available on SMHW) please share any pictures with wmorton@birchwoodhigh.org.uk and we will try to use them in a future edition of Birchwood News.