Dear Parent /Carer

I am writing to inform you that this morning I received information that we have a learner in Year 8 who has tested positive for COVID-19.

We know that you may find this concerning but we are continuing to monitor the situation and are working closely with Public Health England. This letter is to inform you of the current situation and provide advice on how to support your child. Please be reassured that for most people, coronavirus (COVID-19) will be a mild illness. The school remains open and your child should continue to attend as normal if they remain well.

Members of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) have acted swiftly to track and trace all learners and staff that have had ‘direct or close contact’ and instructed them to self-isolate for 14 days.

I am currently working with Public Health Protection Team and with the Department for Education (DfE) to take the necessary steps to ensure that all staff and learners are safe.

Whilst I appreciate that this will be unwelcomed news for some of our learners and their parents/carers, please be assured that our Distance Learning Programme will be implemented for all learners who are having to self-isolate. These learners should log onto the Academy website to access their learning for all subjects so that they can continue to access high quality provision.

The academy remains open as normal to all year groups apart from those self-isolating or have a confirmed case of COVID-19.

What to do if your child develops symptoms of COVID 19

If your child develops symptoms of COVID-19, they must not come to school and should remain at home for at least 10 days from the date when their symptoms appeared. Anyone with symptoms will be eligible for testing and this can be arranged via https://www.nhs.uk/ask-for-a-coronavirus-test or by calling 119.

All other household members who remain well, must stay at home and not leave the house for 14 days. This includes anyone in your ‘Support Bubble’.

Further information is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19- stay-at-home-guidance/stay-at-home-guidance-for-households-with-possible-coronaviruscovid-19-infection

Household members staying at home for 14 days will greatly reduce the overall amount of infection the household could pass on to others in the community.

If you are able, move any vulnerable individuals (such as the elderly and those with underlying health conditions) out of your home, to stay with friends or family for the duration of the home isolation period.

Symptoms

The most common symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are the recent onset of:

- a new continuous cough

- a high temperature

- a loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia)

For most people, coronavirus (COVID-19) will be a mild illness.

If your child does develop symptoms, you can seek advice from the nhs.uk website at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/check-if-you-have-coronavirussymptoms/. If you are concerned about your child’s symptoms, or they are worsening you can seek advice from NHS 111 at https://111.nhs.uk/ or by phoning 111.

How to stop COVID-19 spreading

There are things you can do to help reduce the risk of you and anyone you live with getting ill with COVID-19 Do

- wash your hands with soap and water often

– do this for at least 20 seconds

- use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available

- wash your hands as soon as you get home

- cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze

- put used tissues in the bin immediately and wash your hands afterwards

What you need to do:

- If your child is isolating please ensure that they access their work on the Academy website, set by their teachers.

- If your child is not self-isolating please ensure that they bring and wear a mask as they enter the academy building and any communal areas.

Yours Sincerely,

Mr AP Landers
Principal

Dear Parent/Carer

Outlined below is the process we will use this year at Pegasus Academy if your child is absent from school for an extended period due to Covid 19.

To avoid disruption to learning we have put in place a simple online system to support our learners and are running an online curriculum for learners to follow which is available through our website each week. This means that work currently being studied in lessons will also be available for learners to complete at home.

Subject areas are using the Oak Academy resources produced by the government, and other online programmes that learners are familiar with and already use at the Academy. Having used these excellent resources during lockdown, we are confident of their quality.

The quarantine curriculum can be found on the Pegasus Academy homepage under the Curriculum tab in ‘Distance Learning’ https://www.pegasusacademy.org.uk/distance-learning All learners will need to log in through RM Unify using the same details they would use to access computers in the Academy. Learners have been shown how to access this in lessons.

Whilst absent learners are expected to follow their normal timetable in their planner. All work completed should be brought to the class teachers for marking and feedback upon return to the Academy.

If you have any questions or issues regarding distance learning or accessing any of the resources please email us on homelearning@pegasusacademy.org.uk

Yours faithfully,

Mrs K Potter
Vice Principal

Real progress at all four secondary academies in Dudley Academies Trust

Date: Monday 24^th August 2020

Statement from Jo Higgins, Chief Executive of Dudley Academies Trust.

“I am delighted with the progress shown in these encouraging and rewarding results and delighted for our learners.

Their results are not only a massive improvement on last year, but a clear indication that standards of Teaching & Learning in our academies have leapt forward. It is also great news for our staff and I want to send a big ‘thank you’ to all of them.

Our learners have made improved progress in real terms, and I am confident that we will see improved results again next year. We can say to parents that if their children come to one of our academies, they will have every opportunity to excel.”

Jo is adamant that the Trust’s academies have made undeniable progress. “There has been much talk about grade inflation this year. The Trust has a proven model for predicting GCSE grades which enables us to be certain about the overall accuracy of our results. I was delighted to see that our teacher-assessed grades have been significantly raised by the examination boards. This is proof of the robust and realistic approach that we took to assessing our learners. All of the grades our learners achieved are the grades they deserved and the improvements shown by our academies are all real improvements.

If schools league tables were being published for 2020, I am sure that our academies would have moved up significantly.”

Dear Parent/Carer

September Re-opening

After an incredibly strange year myself and all Pegasus staff are excited about welcoming your child back full time to the Academy in September. We have been working hard to ensure we meet current government guidelines for re-opening and would like to reassure you that your child’s safety is a main consideration on their return to school.  We know that you and your child may feel anxious for many different reasons, which is why we have a full induction programme planned in the first week of September, including staggered start and end times and by returning learners to the Academy one-year group at a time, on different days, until the school is full. The start dates and times for your child’s year group can be seen below:

Senior staff will be on the gates to welcome learners and direct them to their year group base. Your child will be expected to wear full school uniform.  Any learner who has ordered a blazer from Oakes that has been delivered to school will receive this on their first day, along with Year 7 and 11 receiving their free school ties. Can I remind you that blazers must be ordered no later than Friday 21 August 2020. Details for ordering uniform and PE kit can be found on our school website.

Due to the unprecedented circumstances we find ourselves in and to avoid the sharing of equipment, we have taken the decision to provide the vast majority of your child’s essential stationary, including pens, pencils, highlighters, a ruler and glue stick. These will be given to your child on the first day along with their planner. We would be grateful though if you could provide a scientific calculator for your child to use.

As further government updates come in over the summer holidays, plans may be subject to change. To keep up to date with any changes please regularly visit our school website or follow us on social media. We will also be sending out a final update towards the end of the holiday and publish our reopening plans and risk assessment in full.

I would like to thank you all for your support this year and wish you a safe and restful summer.

Yours faithfully

Andy Landers

Principal

Dear Parent/Carer and Year 11 Learners

I hope that everybody is safe and well and coping the best they can during this difficult period.

We have taken the difficult decision to postpone the Year 11 Prom, which was scheduled for Friday 3^rd July 2020, due to the current and continuing issues surrounding the COVID 19 pandemic. Whilst we are disappointed that we have had to make this decision, it is not all that unexpected. By making this decision now it allows parents to cancel bookings that have been made.

We would still like to hold a large celebration event for the year group at some point in the autumn term if government advice allows, hoping that some of the restrictions for social distancing will have been loosened by then.

We will keep any money paid to date towards the celebration event in the autumn, of course, should learners decide that they do not wish to attend then we will organise refunds once the academy is re-open.

To celebrate your time at Pegasus you are now able to get your leavers hoodie at www.academyshopdirect.co.uk/pegasus-academy-leavers-hoodie. These can be ordered online for just £14.

I thank you for your continued support at this time, which is difficult for everyone connected with the academy.

Yours faithfully

Mr A Landers, Principal

Since the Government announced that the 2020 GCSE exam series in England would be cancelled, the government have worked at speed to develop a process which fairly recognises learners’ work and makes sure they get their grades in time to progress. Follow the link below to view an open letter to learners who were expecting to be taking their exams this summer.