17^th December 2021
head@hattonacademy.org.uk                                                                              

Dear Parents/Carers,

As our school community closes today for 2021 we would like to thank our staff and students who have worked tirelessly throughout this year.  We would also like to thank the wider school community including parents and carers for their ongoing support. December is often a time to reflect, and we are both extremely proud that Sir Christopher Hatton Academy continues to provide young people with a positive environment in which they feel safe and inspired to achieve. 

Over the past year we have all seen that daily routines help provide familiarity and certainty for our students, knowing what to expect and when, helps to maintain a positive culture of wellbeing.  As part of our daily routines, we both enjoy greeting the students each morning.  Being parents ourselves we understand the importance of children knowing who is there to support and guide them; helping them navigate the way through their school journey.  This year at the school gate we have braced against Storm Arwen, pumped up flat bicycle tyres and enjoyed many tales and anecdotes as your children leave school. We are extremely lucky to have such wonderful students who form our Hatton community.  Our commitment to you through 2022 and beyond is that we will always have your children’s best interests at heart and they will always have our unwavering support.

At the end of this letter you will find important information with regards to the staggered return of students in January 2022.  

Celebration is a focus at this time of year and through the Autumn term our students and staff have achieved an incredible amount. Some of our highlights are included below:

• The awarding of eight Special Ambassadors for going above and beyond
• 160 Ambassadors of the Week awarded from individual departments
• Charity funds raised totalling over £1500 for Niamh’s Next Step
• Foodbank Donations received for the Daylight Centre which were so plentiful that we had to enlist our two school minibuses to deliver the items
• House Dodgeball and Netball tournaments raised £155.40, with Equinox House currently in pole position
• HBacc graduation ceremonies were held with students, parents, Directors and the Lady Mayor and Consort in attendance
• Receiving our own Sir Christopher Hatton Academy Combined Cadet Force standard (CCF) we would like to take this opportunity to once again thank Courtney Rampley (9R3) for her hard work and perseverance in raising funds for the CCF standard.

Recognising contributions and issuing rewards for excellence is part of our embedded culture.  When the academy re-opens in January we will be improving the communication in relation to our Team Hatton rewards system, with a focus on rewarding ‘character development’.

Looking towards January, this is often a time to embark on new endeavours, and we are asking our parent/carers to consider if they would like to be a voluntary member of our extremely popular and successful Combined Cadets Force. Since its launch in 2019 the enthusiasm from our students has soared with such high demand for places each year.  Parent/Carer Volunteers are required to be available on a Tuesday afternoon between 14:00 and 17:00. As well as being a very rewarding experience, volunteering with a cadet unit can lead to fully-accredited qualifications in a wide range of activities and disciplines.  If you are interested in taking on a new challenge and helping to support our children please email: info@hattonacademy.org.uk for further information with regards to the recruitment process. 

2022 will see some incredible opportunities ahead for our young people, including the long awaited return of our school production, Bugsy Malone. 

On behalf of all at Hatton we wish you a restful and enjoyable festive period.

Details in relation to the return of students in January and asymptomatic testing

On 26^th November, the government wrote to all secondary schools asking them to test pupils on the school site on their return to school in January. They have stated that it is their aim is to reduce transmission of the virus after a period of social mixing over the school holidays. To manage this large-scale testing procedure, schools have been given permission to stagger the return of students over the course of the first week back after the holiday period.

We fully endorse the asymptomatic testing of students, as regular testing is an important measure in reducing the risk of the transmission of COVID-19 within schools, and we strongly encourage participation in this programme to ensure that Sir Christopher Hatton is not managing school outbreaks of the virus at the start of the school year.

Following this on-site test, students will be asked to take a second LFD test, at home, 3-4 days later. They should then continue to test twice weekly in line with government guidelines. Further test kits will be provided to students in January.

If you have already provided consent for your child to be tested, there is no need to do anything else other than to ensure your child attends at the time slot provided below. If you wish to change your consent status, please contact our data department at data@hattonacademy.org.uk.

All parents are reminded if they have not previously provided written consent you must kindly complete the form via the link below: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=tx2mHM2dgUKZ2ko78Yi80PnF7tndVvhLlO2eAvOUMkVUM0RJNkxDUFExODQ1Uk1ZT1c0SUI4U0ZHQi4u

Students who have tested positive for Covid in the last 90 days are exempt from this on-site testing.

Students will be on site for approximately 30 minutes and should go directly to the school gym for their test. They will be asked to leave school site once their test has been completed. Parents/Carers will be notified if their child tests positive.

All students in years 7, 10, 11, 12 and 13 will return to the academy on Wednesday 5^th January and should arrive at their usual start time.

Students in years 8 and 9 will return to the academy on Thursday 6^th January and should arrive at their usual start time.
 

Daily testing for contacts of COVID-19
From Tuesday 14 December, a new national approach to daily testing for contacts of
COVID-19 is being introduced (including until the end of this term). All adults who are fully
vaccinated and children aged 5 to 18 years and 6 months, identified as a contact of
someone with COVID-19 – whether Omicron or not – should take a lateral flow device (LFD) test every day for 7 days instead of self-isolating. Daily testing by close contacts will help to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Daily testing for contacts of COVID-19 will help protect education settings by reducing
transmission and will also help keep pupils in face-to-face education.
Once notified by NHS Test and Trace as a close contact, all eligible staff, pupils and
students should take an LFD each day for 7 days and report the results to NHS test and trace and to the academy. If they test negative, they can continue to attend the academy.

If they test positive, they should self-isolate and order a PCR test to confirm the result. If the PCR is positive, they must self-isolate for 10 days. If the PCR test is negative, they no longer need to self-isolate but should continue to carry out the remainder of the daily tests, and only need to isolate if it is positive.