I hope this email finds you and your families well. A Friday update for you as always.
There is only one place to start this week, on the instruction of the Local Authority, we were
enforced to move to remote learning for years 8, 9 and 10, following the issues with our
heating and hot water in the main building Firstly, can I offer my apologies to families for the
inevitable disruption this has caused you this week. I hope that students have engaged well
with the recorded lessons provided, and that you have all managed to find a way to cope
reasonably well.
I was first alerted to an issue with our hot water supply at about lunchtime on Tuesday. When
the engineers inspected the hot water system, that is separate from the boiler, they discovered
some very serious issues with the boiler itself. Following that inspection, very late on Tuesday
afternoon, a decision was made to condemn the boiler. This boiler serves both the main building
as well as the Leisure Centre next door; as you can imagine the boiler system is large and
complex. As a result, fixing the problem, or replacing the boiler is a very big undertaking, hence
having to move to remote learning for three days or more.
The Local Authority have supported us very well these past few days in trying to rectify the
situation. In short, we will be replacing the boiler, but this will take a number of weeks to do.
As a result, we are installing a temporary boiler today that will allow us to heat the building and
heat the water, which means that we can re-open to all students this Monday 14th March. Let’s
hope that this is the end of the saga, a challenge we could have all done without this week. We
would urge families to keep a close eye on the app, just in case there is a change in
circumstances.
Our communication systems, via the MyEd app, work very well when we need to urgently
communicate with our families, as we had to do this week. If you are yet to download the app,
please can you do so as a matter of urgency. A reminder to all, that it is important to continue
to engage with the app, on a regular basis, so that it doesn’t go dormant. If you are
experiencing any issues with the app, please give us a call and we will be happy to help.
We have seen a rise in Covid cases in school this week with 15 cases, 7 of these in Year 11. We
will of course continue to monitor the situation closely and take any appropriate action if/when
necessary.
A new initiative this year has been the introduction of interventions for our lower school
students in years 7 and 8. These are extra sessions, normally no longer than 30 minutes in
length, to further support your child in a particular subject. They are running one night a week
for each subject, for targeted students, for just over half a term. Individual students and
families will be informed in advance about the day and timings of the intervention sessions. It is
vitally important that students attend these sessions to support them with their learning, please
do all that you can to support here, and do engage with your child as to what they have done in
those intervention sessions. If you would like to know more about the intervention session for a
particular subject, you are most welcome to contact your child’s teacher or the Head of
Department.
I had a meeting on Wednesday with the other Secondary Headteachers in Waltham Forest. One
or two Heads reported incidents where students at their schools had consumed the edibles I
mentioned in a letter earlier this year. Students were able to buy these edibles at Walthamstow
Central. Below is a communication I had about this from our school based police officer:
“As you may be aware, cannabis can be mixed into sweets (gummies/lollipops) sometimes
known as edibles. The amount of cannabis in these products can vary greatly and sometimes
other harmful drugs are added too”.
The effects of consuming edibles are unpredictable and it can be very easy to accidentally take a
larger dose.
Edibles take between 1-3 hours to have an effect because food is absorbed into the bloodstream
through the liver. Because it takes longer, the user may end up consuming larger amounts of
the drug while thinking the drug isn't working. Overdosing with Edibles can be a greater risk
because of this.
We ask that you consider asking students’ families to monitor food packaging/wrappers at home
looking for wording such as CBD or THC suggesting the items are cannabis oil infused, these can
look very similar to the packaging of popular branded food products.
Please be mindful of the medical needs should a child present with such symptoms, or if it
becomes apparent they have consumed a drug laced substance. Our advice is that medical help
should be immediately sought.
If you are made aware of any social media accounts advertising these items, we ask you report
this information to the Police so that work can be done around these accounts due to the
dangers Edibles present.
I have provided a link to “talk to Frank” which gives more information and laws surrounding
Edibles: www.talktofrank.com/drug/cannabis “
I hope the above information is helpful. Can I also take this opportunity to remind you of the
school’s very firm line on drugs. Should drugs be brought on to our school premises, it is very
likely to lead to a permanent exclusion. My number one priority will always be making Kelmscott
the very safest place to be.
Finally, a big well done to Aleka Williams in 7O who amassed the most rewards points last
week with a huge 40 points, the highest I can remember since I began congratulating students
in this letter - very impressive indeed. Can it be beaten? The gauntlet is very much laid down.
Until next week, take good care everyone.
Yours sincerely
Mr Sam Jones
Headteacher