We have worked hard to refine our remote learning offer, based on our experience of the first lockdown and the past term. Your child’s education will be as close to in-person learning as possible. It includes Personal Development sessions, assemblies as well as a full timetable of subject-specific sessions. 

We will continue to connect with the school community and deliver the curriculum at home through ‘live’ lessons. All students should use Teams (via Office 365) to access curriculum work set by their teachers.

Please see the online support and equipment section of the website – in this section you also find information about equipment and devices.

We recognise that some pupils may not have suitable online access at home. We aim to support those pupils who are unable to access online learning. If you require a ‘loan laptop’ or you require technical support to access live learning, email

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Timetables

Please follow the below Timetables each day.

Week 1 Timetables: Weeks beginning Monday 11th & Monday 25th January, and Monday 8th February 2021

Week 1 timetables can be downloaded in Excel file HERE

Week 2 Timetables: Weeks beginning Monday 18th January and Monday 1st February 2021

Week 2 Timetables can be downloaded in Excel file HERE

The teachers have set up class groups in Microsoft Teams and will set work via Assignments in Teams groups which can be accessed via Office 365. This will require students to log-in to their school email. Students will also enable you to communicate with teachers during the school shutdown by using this email. Downloading Microsoft Outlook on your phone is one way to do this.  

The email address is the year student joined the school, their surname and first letter of their first name. The password is the same password used to log-in to the computer at school. E.G Joe Bloggs in Year 11 would be: [email protected]  

If your child experiences difficulties with logging into Microsoft Teams or you have any general questions about online learning, please contact us at: [email protected]

A guide to accessing Teams can be found here: 

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Equipment  

CORE Education Trust is committed to ensuring every student has access to a laptop or tablet device so that they can continue to receive high-quality education.  Should you need to borrow a device for this period please get in touch and arrangements will be made for you to collect a laptop from school.  If you do not have access to an internet connection we will support you. Please call the Academy on 0121 729 7310

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Questions & Troubleshooting 

If your child experiences difficulties with logging into Microsoft Teams or you have any general questions about online learning, please contact us by:   

• Calling the school on 0121 729 7310 between 8:00 am and 4:00 pm   
• Emailing us at [email protected]   

We understand the stress and anxiety that students and parents will be experiencing. Tutors will continue to keep a close eye on students’ resilience and wellbeing. We have excellent pastoral care in place for any student who requires it. Should you have any concerns about your child’s welfare, please do not hesitate to contact their tutor to discuss any additional support we can provide.

You can also contact the Well-Being team via email:

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Government Free School Meal Vouchers 

If your son / daughter is eligible for Free School Meals, then you will have received an email from Edenred. The amount issued will be enough for four weeks. Please contact Reception if you are experiencing any difficulties or to update us with your contact details. 

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Parents and carers supporting home learning 

We know as parents and carers it can be difficult to know how best to support your child. Here are some quick tips for supporting your child outside of the virtual school day:  

Remember, you are not alone, many parents are facing the same challenges. Gov.UK provides some detail guidance on the website.

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Outside of the school community there are several support services available to students and parents:  

Here you will find enrichment opportunities in addition to your Timetabled lessons.

For both our mental health and physical wellbeing it is important we keep moving over the coming months.  

We invite students and parents to take part in CORE Educations Trust’s daily 25-minute fun fitness films. Suitable for all ages and abilities, the films offer a wonderful way to stay active. You can access the films via our YouTube channel:

What’s more, we’re delighted to be able to offer students and parents access to Les Mills BORN TO MOVE programme. These Netflix-style fun-filled screen-based classes incorporate a range of movement patterns – including Strength, Stretching, Martial Arts, Core, Dance, Yoga and mindfulness – designed to support physical literacy, confidence and self-esteem. 

To access the Les Mills platform visit:Les Mills on demand

If you are not shielding or self-isolating, taking the time to go outside for your daily exercise is also great idea. There are several resources online which provide ideas around exercising outdoors, whether it is a high intensity work out in the garden or a walk around the block. 

Whilst the majority of our students will be learning remotely, we are providing school provision to vulnerable and key worker families.  

If you need to access this provision, please email our Lead DSL: [email protected]

Students who are on site will be accessing their live learning timetables using devices and headphones, supervised by pastoral staff.

Full information around vulnerable children and who is classed as a key worker can be found on the Government website.

If your circumstances have changed and you qualify as a key worker, please contact the school or :  

• Call: 0121 729 7310 between 8:00am and 3:00pm    

Alongside your online lessons, there are several external websites that can help to extend and enrich student learning. Please see below for available resources.

We’re in this together and we urge you to stay in touch. We will be in touch with parents as much as possible and if you have any issues with online learning or need support with access to our learning portals, please contact: [email protected]

CORE Education Trust is committed to ensuring every student has access to a laptop or tablet device so that they can continue to receive a high quality of education.  Should you need to borrow a device for this period please contact: [email protected], arrangements will be made for you to collect a laptop from school on Monday 4th January.

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Safeguarding

You can email the Student Welfare team: [email protected]

Mrs Chance, Mrs Sinclair & Mrs Kilroy
Your email will only go to the staff in this team.

The emails are checked between 9:00am and 3:30pm weekdays during Term Time. You can also speak to the team directly on 0121 679 4663

Here you will find the most recent and up to date Headteacher home communications.

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Dear Parents and Carers,

As we endeavour to respond to the ever-changing landscape in regard to this pandemic and the current Government lockdown, our first and foremost priority has to be the safety of our students, staff, and families.

Across the country, including at Arena Academy, the numbers of children attending during lockdown is significantly higher than during the first lockdown – when the situation is now more critical across the country. For example, during the first lockdown, on average we had less than 20 children attending daily. We now have between 50 and 60 attending every day, on average.

As a school we are open and will remain open for all of our vulnerable students and students of critical workers, this is from year 7 up to Year 11, this is in line with the Government Guidance: Critical workers and vulnerable children who can access schools or educational settings – GOV.UK

Further guidance from the DfE issued this week; Restricting attendance during the national lockdown: schools states that: “Parents whose work is critical to the coronavirus (COVID-19) and EU transition response include those who work in health and social care and in other key sectors. Children with at least one parent or carer who is a critical worker can go to school if required. This includes parents who may be working from home. Schools should speak to parents and carers to identify who needs to go to school. If it proves necessary, schools can ask for simple evidence that the parent in question is a critical worker, such as their work ID badge or pay slip. Parents and carers who are critical workers should keep their children at home if they can.”

We are currently supporting students from all Year Groups in school, we are delivering remote education to all of our students and we are dealing with an ever-changing picture in regard to staff absences. The support we offer to our students’ families is central to all we do and we will continue to offer the best provision we can whether students are at home or in school. In line with this newest guidance, we are asking you all to consider whether your children need to come into school, whether they need to come every day and whether they are able to learn from home. Children who are attending when they do not have to, increase numbers and therefore, increase the size of bubbles, making it more difficult to socially distance and prevent the spread of the virus.

This week we will be contacting all of our families who have children attending school to ensure we are keeping all of our school community safe and where possible reduce the number of children we have in school each day which in turn will reduce the risk of transmission. We will also be reassuring you that your children have a space in school where they need it and we will continue this support throughout the period of lockdown.
We have always done and will continue to do everything we can to support families and children during the lockdown period, including those of critical workers. Where children have to attend, we will always support you and that will never change. It is important to stress that I know that in most cases, parents and carers, who are critical workers, do have to send their children into school and that is, of course, absolutely fine and acceptable.

We thank you for all of your ongoing support, the support you are giving your children and welcome you to contact us if there is any further support we can offer.

Kind Regards,
Claire Kilroy Deputy Headteacher

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Letter from Ms Kilroy: Further clarification for parents and carers who are Critical (Key) Workers. 12th January 2021  Download