Please see below an update from the Headteacher in relation to the last half term and upcoming events.

Headteacher’s update 29.10.21

We are reviewing our relationship and sex education (RSE) curriculum and policy, so we can be sure that our RSE provision is appropriate for our pupils.

We would like to give all parents and carers the opportunity to provide input and feedback into our RSE policy and curriculum.  We are, therefore, running a focus group event in our Assembly Hall on Tuesday 9th November at 5.pm. for one hour.  If you would like to participate in the event please e-mail us at info@cfbs.islington.sch.uk, or call the office on 02072533741.

If you are unable to attend this event, but would like a discussion on this topic, please contact the school through the routes above.

The RSE Policy can be found here:

Relationships and Sex Education Policy

The Central Futures team invites our parent/carer community to join us for a Virtual Careers Coffee Morning to discuss any and all questions you may have around your child’s future career prospects. Our Central Futures careers programme is committed to ensuring that all of our young people have the opportunity to develop the qualifications, skills and experiences to be successful in the career pathway of their choice. A key part of this is ensuring our parent/carer community also have the knowledge and understanding of how best to support their child in preparing for that future, which is why we will be dedicating an hour to answering your questions.

We will hold three virtual sessions for the parents/carers of students who are in key transition years. Please use the links below to register your interest in attending these events:

• Year 13 Tuesday 9^th November, at 11:30am: Register here
• Year 8 Tuesday 16^th November, at 11:30am: Register here
• Year 7 Wednesday 17^th November, at 11:30am: Register here
• Year 12 Tuesday 23^rd November, at 11:30am: Register here
• Year 9 Tuesday 30^th November, at 11:30am: Register here
• Year 10 Tuesday 7^th December, at 11:30am: Register here
• Year 11 Wednesday 8^th December, at 11:30am: Register here

If you have any questions ahead of these events, please do not hesitate to contact Ms Browne at brownec@cfbs.islington.sch.uk.

Please find below the dates for NSET days this academic year as well as term dates for the academic year 2022-2023.

TERM DATES 2022-2023

Autumn Term

Thursday 1 September 2022 – Friday 16 December 2022

• Half term: Monday 24 October – Friday 28 October 2022

Tuesday 30th August – Friday 2nd September – Year 7 Induction Week

Monday 5th September – All Year Groups return to school

Spring Term

Tuesday 3 January 2023 – Friday 31 March 2023

• Half term: Monday 13 February – Friday 17 February 2023
• School holiday: Monday 3 April 2023 – Friday 14 April

Summer Term

Monday 17 April 2023 – Friday 21 July 2023

• Half term: Monday 29 May – Friday 2 June 2023
• May Bank holiday: Monday 1 May 2023

Please see below:

- a reminder of the Covid-19 vaccinations and a letter from Vaccination UK that was sent to the parents and carers earlier this month.

- a copy of a letter from the Education Secretary and Health Secretary and a link to an online version of this letter.

- notification of another batch of lateral flow device home test kits being distributed to students in school.

1. Covid-19 vaccinations

Covid-19 vaccinations for students aged 12-15 will take place in school on Friday 22^nd October. The vaccinations will be delivered by a team from Vaccination UK. Only students whose parents completed an online consent form (details in the attached letter) will be vaccinated on the day.

A letter from the Vaccination UK containing information about the Covid-19 vaccination and a link to an online consent form can be found here

COVID – Invitation letter for parents of children aged 12 to 15 years of age Islington

This is a reminder to the parents and carers who would like their son to be vaccinated to complete the online consent form.

2. Letter from the Education Secretary and Health Secretary

A link to a website where the letter was published is here:

https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2021/10/11/a-joint-letter-to-parents-of-secondary-school-and-college-students-in-england-on-covid-19-testing-and-vaccines-from-the-secretaries-of-state-for-education-and-for-health-and-social-care/?utm_source=11%20October%202021%20C19&utm_medium=Daily%20Email%20C19&utm_campaign=DfE%20C19?utm_source=11%20October%202021%20C19&utm_medium=Daily%20Email%20C19&utm_campaign=DfE%20C19

The content of the letter and answers to frequently asked questions have been copied below.

Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi and Health Secretary Sajid Javid have written a joint letter to parents of secondary school and college students to thank them for all their efforts in keeping education safe for all during the pandemic and talk about the importance of vaccinations and regular testing.

We know that children and young people have been hugely affected by the pandemic, both in terms of their education and their ability to socialise and participate in activities that benefit them outside of formal education.

We want to thank you as parents and guardians of secondary school and college students for your support over the last eighteen months. We know this time has been difficult for many of you, as well as for the young people you care for.

As students return to the classroom, we would ask for your continued support to make sure your children are able to stay in face-to-face learning, by encouraging them to:

• test themselves for COVID-19 twice a week, and more frequently if they are specifically asked to do so. This way, we can find individuals who have the virus but are not showing symptoms, and stop them from passing it on to others.
• come forward for the COVID-19 vaccine. This is one of the best things young people can do to protect themselves and those around them.

We know that students have missed a lot of time in school and college since the pandemic started, and that there is no substitute for face-to-face learning. Keeping students in the classroom in the coming months is therefore a Government priority, both for their immediate and longer-term wellbeing.

We know that some of you will be concerned about the health risks to the young people you care for. We want to reassure you that the evidence shows that young people remain at very low risk of serious illness from COVID-19.

However, we need to continue to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Young people who get ill will need to miss school or college, and may spread it to others. That is why we are encouraging you all to support your children to get vaccinated and to continue to test regularly. This will help to detect cases early, reduce spread, and keep students in education.

Vaccination

Vaccines are our best defence against COVID-19. They help protect young people, and benefit those around them. Vaccination makes people less likely to catch the virus and less likely to pass it on.

The COVID-19 vaccination programme for children aged 12-15 years has now started. Thousands of young people across the country have already taken the opportunity to receive their vaccine. If your child is 12-15 years old, a consent form and information leaflet from the NHS will be sent home allowing you to provide consent for your child to receive their vaccination at school

We remind you that 16- and 17-year-olds can book their vaccination through the National Booking Service or find a convenient walk-in site. Please do help your 16- and 17-year-olds to book a vaccination for yourself if you have not done so already, or if you have missed a second dose.

Testing

We ask that you support and encourage your children to test twice a week at home, every week, with Lateral Flow Device (LFD) tests. This will help us reduce the transmission of COVID-19 among our children. Please report and upload test results online, even if they are negative or void, as this allows us to understand the virus and take additional action when needed.

In addition to regular twice weekly testing:

• Children who receive a positive LFD result should isolate and book a PCR test to confirm their result.
• Children who are identified as a close contact by NHS Test and Trace should take a PCR test and continue to go to school while they wait for their result.
• In response to potential outbreaks, your school, college or local health team may advise additional testing. For example, if your child is identified as a close contact, they may be asked to take daily LFDs, while they wait for their PCR result. In this scenario, they should continue to attend school as long as their LFD results remain negative.

Additionally, please encourage your child to follow guidance on wearing face coverings in crowded spaces with people they don’t know well, for example on school transport.

We know that many of you will have questions or concerns about this, and we understand that. The NHS website (www.nhs.uk) is an excellent source of advice, which we hope will be able to answer many of your questions about testing or vaccination. If not, you can call the 119 service who should be able to help with questions on testing. When you get a vaccination consent form for your child, it will include details of how you can ask further questions of your local teams.

Thank you again for your support.

Here are some frequently answered questions for parents, from Dr Mary Ramsay, Head of Immunisation at the UK Health Security Agency

Why do young people aged 12 to 15 years need to get the vaccine?

Coronavirus (COVID-19) infection is typically mild in most young people, but it can be very unpleasant for some and one dose of the vaccine will provide good protection against severe illness and hospitalisation.

Vaccinating 12 to 15 year olds also helps reduce the need for young people to have time off school and reduces the risk of spread of COVID-19 within schools. The vaccine will protect young people from COVID-19 and reduce disruption to education, which is good for their welfare and mental health.

Why did the JCVI say young people didn’t need the vaccine?

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) looked at the direct health benefits of vaccines, and in the case of 12 to 15 year olds, they said that there was only a small advantage for young people in getting a dose of the vaccine.

The Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) took into account the extra health benefits from avoiding children missing education and concluded that there were public health grounds to recommend vaccinating 12 to 15 year olds. The UK CMOs’ advice sets out their reasoning here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-vaccination-of-children-and-young-people-aged-12-to-15-years-against-covid-19

My child has already had COVID-19 – should they still get the vaccine?

Yes, they should be vaccinated regardless of whether they have already had a COVID-19 infection because:

• research has not yet shown how long people who have had COVID-19 are protected from getting it again after they recover
• vaccination helps to boost your protection, even if you’ve already had COVID-19

Has the vaccine been given to 12 to 15 year olds in other countries?

Trials in thousands of children have shown that the vaccine works very well in this age group. The vaccine has since been given to millions of 12 to 15 year olds in a number of countries, including 8 million in the United States. Data from these countries show that the vaccine has a good safety record.

Key questions on the children and young people’s COVID-19 vaccination programme (continued)

Does the COVID-19 vaccine cause heart problems in young people?

Worldwide, there have been very rare cases of inflammation of the heart called myocarditis or pericarditis reported after COVID-19 vaccines. Most of these young people felt better following rest and simple treatments. These cases have been seen mostly in younger males and mainly occurred within a few days of the second dose; it is extremely rare after the first dose of the vaccine.

Is the vaccine safe for children with allergies or other medical conditions?

There are very few children or young people who cannot receive the vaccine. If in doubt, young people and their parents or carers should check with the school immunisation team or consult their GP or specialist clinician.

I have seen fake stories on social media about the vaccine

You may have come across false or misleading information about the virus or the vaccine. It is important that you get your information from trusted sources such as:

The children’s programme information

The parents’ guide is on the link below with the guidance for schools: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccination-resources-for-schools

Here is the leaflet for the children and parents: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccination-resources-for-children-and-young-people

Further information can be found here: www.nhs.uk/covid-vaccine-children.

3. Lateral flow device home test kits

Another batch of lateral flow device home test kits will be distributed to the students over the next few days.

All students are encouraged to test twice a week to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Students identified as a contact of a positive Covid-19 case by NHS Test and Trace should take a PCR test. They can attend school as normal while awaiting their PCR test results.

Students with coronavirus symptoms should not attend school, they should self-isolate immediately and take a PCR test as soon as possible.

We hosted a Year 10 Curriculum Evening yesterday for parents, carers and students.

• Presentation from the evening can be found here:

Year 10 Curriculum Evening 2021

• Extra-curricular activities programme can be found here:

Extra-Curricular-Activities-Timetable-2021-22

Last night, we held a Year 11 Curriculum Evening for parents, carers and students.

Presentation from the evening can be found here:

Year 11 Curriculum Evening 2021

Extra-curricular activities programme can be found here:

Extra-Curricular-Activities-Timetable-2021-22

We hosted a Year 7 Curriculum Evening on Monday 13th September in the school Assembly Hall.

• Presentation from the evening can be found here:

Year 7 Curriculum Evening presentation

• Year 7 Curriculum Booklet can be found here:

Year 7 Curriculum Booklet 2021

• Extra-curricular activities programme can be found here

Extra-Curricular Activities Timetable 2021-22

We will be hosting several open events for prospective students and parents in September and October. As a result of ongoing Covid-19 situation, we can accommodate only a limited number of visitors at each event. Consequently, students and parents who wish to visit the school are kindly asked to book a place through our online tour booking system: HERE. We ask this to ensure the comfort and safety of our visitors as well as members of our school community.

We will offer up to three tickets per family and the tickets will be for a specific time slot. Tours will be conducted in small groups and we ask that all visitors wear a face covering for the duration of the visit, unless exempt.

We will be holding the following open events:

Open Evening – Thursday 23^rd September:

• Tour 1 will start at 5.45pm
• Tour 2 will start at 7pm

To book a place at an Open Evening please visit: HERE

Visitors need to bring their tickets (paper or electronic copy) with them. Unfortunately, we will not be able to accommodate visitors who do not have a booking.

Open Mornings – all will start at 9.30am and finish by 10.30am:

• Wednesday 29^th September
• Thursday 30^th September
• Wednesday 6^th October
• Thursday 7^th October

To book a place at an Open Morning please visit HERE

Visitors need to bring their tickets (paper or electronic copy) with them. Unfortunately, we will not be able to accommodate visitors who do not have a booking.

We will also offer Saturday school tours for those parents and students who are unable to attend during the week. These will be conducted in small groups and guided by members of staff. There will be no activities involving students on Saturday tours.

The Saturday tours will take place on Saturday 9^th October at the following times:

• 9.00am
• 10.15am
• 11.30am

To book a place on a Saturday tour please visit: HERE

Visitors need to bring their tickets (paper or electronic copy) with them. Unfortunately, we will not be able to accommodate visitors who do not have a booking.

Places for all of the above events need to be booked. We kindly ask that parents who have booked a place but are no longer able to attend let us know as soon as possible so that we can offer their place to another family.

We are delighted to be able to host our open events and we look forward to meeting prospective students and their parents soon.

BANDING TEST

All students applying for a place at Central Foundation Boys’ School are required to sit a banding test. Students are placed in one of four ability bands following a standardised assessment to ensure a balanced and mixed ability intake.

Parents of students who wish to apply for a place at the school do not need to book a place for a banding test. The school will contact parents and provide them with a date and time of the banding test session allocated to their son.

The dates of the banding test for the academic year 2022-23 are:

• Saturday 20th November – 8.30am, 10am, 11.30am
• Saturday 27th November – 8.30am, 10am, 11.30am
• Saturday 4th December – 8.30am, 10am, 11.30am
• Saturday 11th December – 8.30am, 10am, 11.30am

Students applying for a place need to attend only one of the above sessions.

Central Foundation students are celebrating an excellent set of GCSE results.

The achievements of our students have been set against unprecedented disruptions and uncertainties over the last two years. It has been impressive to witness the response of the students to the situation in terms of their determination to continue to strive for creating the best futures for themselves.

Overall, CFBS’ results have stayed consistently high at all levels. 82% of all students achieved a grade 4 or better in both English and maths whilst 71% achieved at least a grade 5 in these subjects. 45% of all grades were awarded at a grade 7 or better whilst, 56% of all students gained at least 3 grade 7s.

We are proud of all of our Year 11 students who, as a result of their hard work and commitment, have achieved excellent outcomes. We wish them all the very best as they continue their educational journey.