Dear S4,5,6 Pupils and Families,
This is a brief update since Mr Irving spoke with you at assembly Tuesday morning. The First Minister confirmed the plan for S4,5,6 Practical coursework plans to continue.
The message remains clear, if work can be completed at home and we can use our extensive digital solutions through iPad, Teams, One Note, email – then we should do this.
If we have no other option, for example there is a need for specialist equipment that is only available ‘in school’, then we will begin to invite small groups in to complete vital coursework as of next week.
This work is not formal assessments, it is ‘coursework’ which needs to be completed as part of the qualification. Assessment based work will fully resume once we have a full return as per the SQA latest advice.
With this in mind, this only impacts a small number of Pupils and Staff, as the majority of what we do can be done online, though far from ideal, online / home learning continues to be our primary mode of delivery whilst in a national lockdown position.
The Govt have announced that ‘all’ S4,5,6 who come in for practical coursework must maintain a 2m distance from each other for this practical work. Before this was not the case but it has been recognised that 2m distance is required for the S4,5,6 age group also, given the current infection rate position. Hand san use and face coverings naturally remain fully in place.
We are working with the departments involved and Mr Stewart will provide an update by tomorrow (Fri) with the plans we have so far, these will develop as we progress through the weeks.
Home Testing kits – this is only for those people who are coming into the building for S4,5,6 practical coursework. There will be letters issued to Pupils and Families by tomorrow (Fri) which we will share. There will also be consent forms that need to be signed (under 16’s S4 need a Parent / Family signature). Those S4,5,6 pupils that ‘need’ to be in will collect their kits when they come in for their practical work. Home tests should be carried out twice per week if you are attending school for practical work. School staff will talk you through this in more detail at the time.
I hope this provides a sense of an update for now, this work and planning is ongoing as we speak. We will be in touch tomorrow (Fri) with further updates to the practical work plans for the small numbers that are invited to attend.
As ever, please stay well connected with your classes and Teacher on teams and via email for further information as the situation develops.
Thank you for your continued maturity through these challenging times.
Leith Academy
