Chair of Governors Letter to Parents and Carers

Dear Parents and Carers,

It is the end of another long year which has been anything but normal. School has tried to remain open to provide the education appropriate for your child. With all the lockdowns and government rules and regulations it has been difficult.

As a governing body our thoughts go out to all those at Halesbury and their families who have been affected by this pandemic. Ranging from missing holidays, missing special occasions or not seeing families, to the worst cases where people have lost close family members and friends who have been taken before their time. Hopefully with the easing of restrictions next term, things will feel much more normal. As governors we are aware that in September it will take time and patience to help pupils to continue catching up with their progress but also to continue catching up on developing their confidence, social skills and wellbeing.

Governors have continued to meet using Teams and we have met on 16 occasions in the last year. We have also continued to attend training courses again via Teams. However, this has meant that we have all missed seeing pupils, as for a long time last year visitors to school were not encouraged. Even now, whilst we can arrange small group meetings, we can only look through the windows at pupils as we don’t want to burst the bubbles.

We would like to acknowledge and thank the staff for their efforts this year. After a reappraisal of their roles we believe they have worked tirelessly supporting pupils, parents and families both at home and in school. It has been difficult, but staff have tried to give every child the chance to learn. We have also ensured that testing pupils has been carried out in a safe and caring way. It involved staff training, organising and undertaking roles they were happy to do for the safety of our pupils.

Governors have appreciated the support HHSA have given to pupils, at Christmas, Easter and with School trips. Obviously, their fund raising activities have not taken place, perhaps we can all support the next event they organise as they provide the treats that pupils really enjoy and they can continue to provide things that, as a school, we can’t.

School has continued to develop the post 16 provision, which we are now able to offer to pupils with autism. It is an excellent facility and is down to the hard work, energy and commitment of Mr Kulyk, Mrs Appleby-Payne and Mrs Byrne.

We would also like to say a big thank you to you the parents and carers in supporting your children’s learning while they were at home. Many of you would never have thought you might have had to become teachers. We thank you and your children for your continued efforts and enthusiasm. We really appreciate the way you have risen to this challenge and supported the school.

Finally, as governors we will continue to work hard to make Halesbury the best it can be in meeting the needs of your children. We hope you all have an enjoyable summer break and that we can welcome everyone back to a more normal situation in September.