July 2020

 

Dear Parents and Carers,

 

We are now at the end of what can only be described as a different and challenging year! I hope you and your families are well as we head into the summer period. I would like to thank all of you for your support over the past few months, in what has been a very difficult time.

 

Many of our students have been attending on both sites since March but where that has not been possible our aim has been to keep in touch as often as we can to maintain contact with your children. I know many of you have valued this communication and have enjoyed sharing some of the positive (and also negative!) aspects of having your children at home. The pressure on parents and carers during this time has been immense, especially where there are more children in the household. Thank you all for your patience and perseverance.

 

We have really enjoyed seeing more of the students since June 1st and many have come in and had some face to face learning with their subject teachers. Our Year 11s have also benefited from our focussed career advice and we have been able to secure college placements or post-16 study for many of them. Year 6 students at Little Bridge have also enjoyed coming back in and finishing off their time with us before moving onto secondary provision.

 

September 2020 Opening

 

Students first day is Thursday 3rd September 2020

 

The Bridge Centre

Key Stage 3 - Arrive by 9.15am

Key Stage 4 – Arrive by 9.45am

 

Little Bridge

Please arrive by 9.15am

 

The guidance for September is that Schools will be fully open to all year groups. We will be following this guidance and will be looking to welcome back all students at both sites. However, we will be ensuring that the safety of all staff and students is the most important factor in this decision. We will be updating our risk assessments over the summer and making sure that both Little Bridge and the Bridge Centre sites are as safe as possible. The following protocols will be followed:

 

  • Measures such as enhanced cleaning, personal hygiene guidelines and staff protocols will be followed at both sites.
  • At Little Bridge, the site is small enough to operate in just one bubble. We have 2 rooms offering natural separation thus reducing any potential cross contamination risks.
  • At the Bridge Centre, we are able to separate the School into two areas; one for Key Stage 3 (Yr7-9) and one for Key Stage 4 (Yr10-11). Students will enter into the School via different entrances and be taught in their respective areas.
  • Staggered start times at the Bridge Centre –see above for times

If there are any changes to the guidelines before September we will be in touch with you as soon as possible.

 

Please also refer to our website which will have all relevant updates.  This can be found at www.bridge.staffs.sch.uk

 

Progress and Success (September 2019 – March 2020)

 

I have to say it is difficult to think back to before Covid – but this time did exist! I would like to share some of the successes and progress we have made this year:

 

  • From September 2019 to March 2020 we have educated 90 students in total over the 2 sites. Outcomes range from achieving exam results which allow students to move on to suitable post-16 provision to making a successful return to mainstream school. For every student success can be different and we are proud of the difference we can make to our students lives.

 

  • Attendance across the whole School has risen to 75% in this time, with around 2/3 of learners maintaining or improving their attendance from their mainstream baseline. Attendance continues to rise year on year and has risen 16% since 2018. Whilst attendance overall may seem low, it is considerably above the average for Alternative Provision. One of our main aims is to keep improving this figure and ensure that our learners are attending more often.

 

  • The new Key Stage 3 Hub and Sports MUGA at the Bridge Centre have provided greater opportunities and more focused support for our learners.

 

  • Due to the restrictions, we were unable to showcase our yearly Art Exhibition. However, all was not lost as Mrs Lindley produced a fabulous online version! Please take a look at:  https://youtu.be/pkZ2Usi5wnI or just go to our website and you’ll find it on the front page. Needless to say the quality of the work this year was staggering and we are so proud of what our Yr11s have achieved!

 

  • It has been the first year of our Little Bridge Primary site at Rugeley. Progress has been excellent and the nurturing ethos that has been developed means that the complex needs of our learners are consistently being met. Around 1/3 of learners who have been at Little Bridge have now progressed onto a specialised setting with another 1/3 returning to their mainstream school. The team here have been instrumental in providing the interim support the learners needed before making their next steps. We are really proud of this provision and are excited about making further progress over the coming years

 

  • We are also supporting many more learners from across Lichfield, Burntwood, Cannock, Rugeley and Stafford through our Outreach work. The work they do to help prevent exclusions in the mainstream schools is so important and is integral to our vision moving forward. We have also started to deliver bespoke behaviour and de-escalation training to our mainstream partners with the aim of improving awareness of strategies to deal with challenging behaviour.

 

  • Our presence and work with the Local Authority has also increased. We are an integral part of the new Special Education Hubs across Staffordshire and also sit on the Local Management Groups. This means we have had a greater voice in spreading the message and values that we all hold at The Bridge Short Stay School.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact us at the School if you have any questions. We welcome all types of feedback as we are always striving to improve. I wish you all a happy and relaxed summer and look forward to seeing you in September.

 

With kindest regards

 

Andrew Burton

Executive Headteacher

The Bridge Short Stay School