Our school buildings may be closed but our pupils’ learning continues
A message from the Heritage Directors
When visitors describe their first impressions of Heritage, they almost always refer to the warmth of welcome which they receive from staff and pupils alike and to the exciting, purposeful buzz of school life. However, with the school site currently being closed due to the coronavirus, our community is dispersed and our education has become ‘remote’. Does Heritage then stop being Heritage? Not for a moment.
Although it has been an enormous challenge to lead our school through the recent weeks, it has also been a valuable reminder of everything that makes our school great. Pupils, parents and staff have adapted, worked hard and been creative and resilient as we continue to offer the best education that conditions allow. We are all missing the routines, interactions and opportunities that each normal school day brings, but we are all still united by our common ethos, values and aspirations. As well as an academic education, we continue to offer pastoral care and lots of ideas for recreation and fun to keep everyone happy and healthy.
In a school with a history now over 20 years’ continuous education, it is re-assuring to see our ability to adapt and use technology to overcome our current challenges. Most importantly, however, it is the people who make Heritage so special. We will all keep doing our own small part so that our great community can flourish for many years to come.
My very best wishes to all pupils, staff and parents at this difficult time.
Admissions enquiries
If you are a prospective family looking for a school for your child, our Admissions Office is open and members of our Admissions Team are available to talk to you.
Please click here for further information on our Admissions process, along with details of how you can talk to a member of our Admissions Team.
Pastoral support
Given the unprecedented events of the last few weeks, it is important to recognise that levels of anxiety are perhaps considerably higher than usual and to acknowledge the potential impact of this on our children’s and indeed our own emotional well-being.
During Term Time, Senior School Tutors will touch base with their tutees on a daily basis and they will have a weekly Tutor Period where they will have the opportunity to chat more informally with their tutors and fellow tutees – sharing stories as they usually would during this time. In the Junior School, class teachers will work closely with each set of parents to assist with the challenges of remote teaching and learning for children and families. Should a teacher become concerned about a pupil’s engagement in online learning or their well-being, they will make contact with parents
Remote learning
Now that the school is temporarily closed, Remote Learning has been implemented and the following plans have been put in place. The intended outcome is that the curriculum is at the forefront of the work and, as far as possible, student progress will not be negatively impacted.
As far as is practical, students will be expected to complete their work or attend their online classrooms, following the normal school day, for any period of time that they are at home during term time.
The School uses Google Classroom to allow classes, from Crawlers to Year 13, to continue their lessons. Google Classrooms allows video, chat and document sharing all in one place which keeps all files together for pupils.
We understand that work may be difficult to complete in these times. If this is the case, parents and/or pupils can inform their Class teacher or Tutor, for Senior Department, Junior Department or Infant Department, in the usual way so that we can be understanding. We wish to maintain our high standards, but we are sympathetic to the challenges faced by all at this time. We have reduced the amount of required work for submission to recognise the challenges of working online. If a pupil wishes to do more then extension work will be available.
Links to all the software apps we use, along with help guides, can be found here.
Parental support
Parental support will be important in ensuring that children follow the structure of the normal day, by monitoring their child’s access of the learning resources and completion of set work, and by helping pupils to engage with the wider resources available.
We would ask that they:
- Familiarise themselves with the Remote Learning Policy and ensure their child is also aware.
- Support all learning tasks as appropriate and monitor their child’s online activity.
- Communicate with teachers when a problem occurs during the tasks allocated.
- Provide the tools needed to complete online learning as far as possible e.g. computer or iPad, internet connection.
- Help to provide structure for their child by keeping to the school lessons times as much as possible.
- Communicate with the Class Teacher, Tutor and Head of Year if there is a concern with the health and well-being of the pupil.
- Check e-mail regularly to ensure all communication is read and responded to as needed.
Internet safety
Please refer to the School’s Online Safety Policy for guidance: E-Safety Policy
Further guidance from outside sources that are recommended include:
Senior Management Team
If you wish to contact any member of the Senior Management Team their role, responsibilities and email addresses can be found be