Dear parent/carer,
It was wonderful to see the overwhelming majority of students back in school last week and to have the privilege to formally welcome our Year 7 students as new and valued members of the Haslingden High School family. They have collectively made a fantastic start to the new academic year, listening carefully to a whole host of instructions, making sense of lots of information and doing it all with a smile on their faces. Our new Year 12 cohort have also demonstrated the attitude and values we would expect and we are confident that their positive return bodes well for their next 2 years in the Sixth Form.
This positive start has been mirrored across all year groups and we are delighted with the way in which students have responded to their return from their summer holidays. During the year group assemblies this week and last, we have and will be talking about our commitment to them as students and the broad range of opportunities available. In turn, we will be highlighting how they can also offer their commitment, both to their learning and to the school community. We have discussed the school’s respect agenda as well as our school aims and hope that this has demonstrated how our collective efforts can secure their future success.
Whilst our return has been a very promising one, it has presented the same challenges in relation to the volume and location of traffic before and after school. In particular, I am asking for your support with regards to picking up, dropping off and parking around the school site. We are a large school community with over 170 staff, 1600 students and approximately 4000 parents. Inevitably, our combined movement both before and after school is going to cause some logistical problems, with the most pressing of these relating to traffic on Greens Lane. This is a very narrow road that will not allow two lanes of traffic to move along it and as a result at peak times it can cause significant disruption for you as drivers, for local residents and most importantly, it can cause some concerns for students’ safety.
I would like to politely ask that all parents avoid using Greens Lane as much as is possible. We understand that there will be exceptions, whether through mobility issues, short term arrangements for specific students or for a meeting in school, however, we would like to ask parents to explore other options. Parents have and continue to creatively develop solutions and have found ways to pick up at an agreed area away from school. We really do appreciate this as it helps to ease congestion, as well as helping all members of the school community to stay safe.
Please could you discuss these specific arrangements with your child and where possible, agree on a suitable alternative to Greens Lane. If all parents or family members could also be mindful of access for local residents, some of which require 24 hour access for medical purposes, that would be greatly appreciated.
The safety of our students must continue to remain our primary concern and I would ask that you also remind your son/daughter to use the puffin crossing or the school patrol crossing officer near Broadway Primary school if they need to cross over the road on Broadway. We will also remind students in school.
It would also be extremely helpful to use this opportunity to ask for you to impress upon your child the importance of a punctual start to the school day. We expect students to arrive at school for 8.35am, giving them the time to arrive at form for an 8.40am start. We are continuing to place significant emphasis on making every minute of every lesson count, particularly with the disruption the last two years has inevitably presented. Thank you in advance for your support in this matter.
Finally, please can I politely remind all parents of the protocols regarding covid related symptoms. If your child has any of the symptoms outlined here, they must not come to school and should instead, isolate and book a PCR test. Please could you contact the attendance team in the usual manner if this is the case so that we are aware of any transmission implications within the school community and can ensure colleagues are aware in relation to the setting of remote learning via Edulink. The government have published the covid measures that educational establishments must follow and we are continuing to adhere to these within school.
I hope the new academic year has been positive for you as a parent and as ever, we welcome your thoughts and feedback to support us in our continued focus on ‘Achievement for All’. If you have any comment or query, please do not hesitate to contact us at school@haslingdenhigh.com
Best wishes
Russell Clarke, Headteacher