5 February 2020

Asian Week

Thanks to Mr Bunter, staff and all the students involved in another very successful Asian week.  There were some really interesting and engaging curriculum events put on by staff and, as you can see from the report in this newsletter, students were fully engaged in a wide range of activities.

Outcome of Surrey’s Disapplication Request to the Secretary of State

Parents may be interested to know that the Local Authorities’ application to transfer 0.5% from the schools block to the high needs block in 2020/21 has been rejected by the Secretary of State.   As a result, a further £3.3m will be distributed within the mainstream schools funding formula (rather than being used to help manage the deficit on the High Needs Block).  This is a departure from recent years when, against the strong wish of Surrey Head Teachers, such a move has been approved.  This decision means a little more much-needed money will be allocated to all Surrey schools and for Collingwood this amounts to approximately £40,000.  Good news!

Novel Coronavirus

I want to reassure you that the College is following the advice of Public Health England (PHE) and the Local Authority to ensure the health of our whole community, including students and staff.   Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCov) is a new strain of Coronavirus first identified in Wuhan City, China.  The Department of Health and Social Care and Public Health England are carefully monitoring the Coronavirus situation and have published information and advice for the public.  As the situation is rapidly developing, please check the online advice for the latest and most up-to-date information:

 https://www.gov.uk/guidance/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-information-for-the-public

and the PHE blog for further information:

 https://publichealthmatters.blog.gov.uk/2020/01/23/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-what-you-need-to-know/

The Department for Education has asked all Head Teachers to share the information below with all parents and carers.

Department for Education

Advice for parents/guardians

You should not be unduly worried about the possibility of your children catching the Coronavirus.

There is no reason why your children should not continue to attend their early years, school or further education setting as normal.

We recognise that some families or children may be planning to travel to China during the forthcoming half term period. If so, please refer to the FCO’s latest travel advice via the link above.

What action you can take

A UK wide campaign has been launched to provide clear advice on how to slow the spread of Coronavirus.

Please help to support the campaign which promotes basic hygiene practices, such as regularly washing hands and always sneezing into a tissue, to stem the spread of viruses.