14 July 2009

Dear parents / carers

As the final term of the year draws to a close, I write with important information.
Please make sure you read this letter through carefully.

Felixstowe Learning Trust

I am very pleased to announce that the governing body of
Deben High School voted to become part of the Felixstowe
Learning Trust at a meeting on 18 June 2009. The Trust
implementation process is now underway and the Trust
will officially launch on 1 September 2009. Deben will
become a Foundation status school at that time.

I am pleased to be able to include a message from Jon

OConnor (Felixstowe Learning Trust Project Manager)
below:

A message from Felixstowe Learning Trust

Deben and Orwell Schools are both founding members of Felixstowe Learning
Trust (FLT). This new partnership will start working this September to
support the work of raising standards and increasing learning opportunities
for your children and the local community.

Our first job has been to submit a proposal to manage the new Felixstowe
school due to open in 2013. This is part of a competition arranged by
Suffolk County Council. The County Council Cabinet will decide who manages
this new school in September: this is a major development which may well affect
your younger children and other family members or friends of yours.

You can find out more about the competition by attending a meeting arranged by
Suffolk County Council on the evening of July 22nd at the Elizabeth Orwell Hotel.
Details will also be in the local press.

If you would like to find out more about FLT, please visit our website:
www.felixstowelearning.org.uk

With best wishes

Jon O'Connor - FLT Project Manager

BSF Competition Public Meeting

As mentioned in Jon OConnors message above, we have been asked to publicise
the BSF Public Meeting which will take place on the evening of Wednesday 22
July at the Elizabeth Orwell Hotel.

At the meeting there will be presentations from the four main bids and a chance for
you to ask questions related to the proposals for the future of secondary education
in Felixstowe.

End of Summer Term / Start of Autumn Term Arrangements

School will finish at 2.30pm on Friday 17 July 2009.
Students return to school by 8.30am on Monday 7 September 2009.
New School Day Timings
Remember that the new school day times begin on 7 September 2009. As a
reminder, the times are as follows:
8.20am School opens
8.30am Period 1 begins
10.10am Tutorial / mentoring / assemblies
10.35am Break
10.55am Period 2
12.35pm Lunch
1.15pm Period 3
2.50pm End of school
3pm Extra curricular activities / meetings

School Uniform
Many thanks to the huge number of parents / carers who have communicated to
me their support of the new uniform the school is adopting in September. I am
pleased that we can work together to develop pride and aspirations in our young
people.

There are a number of issues that you need to be alerted to here:

Many parents / carers of current Year 10 students have asked for
clarification about whether their son / daughter does have to wear the blazer.
As I made very clear in my letter of 12 May 2009, they do. All students will be
expected to wear the school blazer and tie;
Apologies to parents / carers about any misunderstanding from my
Deben News article from June 2009, where I said Suffolk County Council
clothing grants are available. The Council have since said that this is only in
extremely dire circumstances. I do not believe this to be clear on their website
and will be asking for them to sort that out. In the meantime however, if you
are having difficulties getting together the money to buy a new blazer
because of your financial circumstances, then please contact Mrs S Flint
(Business Manager) at school for information about our Hardship Fund;
The prefect ties are being specially made and will not unfortunately be
available before the end of term. To ensure that all students are able to
return to school on Monday 7 September in the correct uniform, parents /
carers of prefect students will be able to come into school on Thursday 3 or
Friday 4 September between 10am-11am and 1pm-3pm, to purchase their
prefect tie. The school are subsidising the cost to enable parents/carers of
prefects to purchase it for the same price as a normal school tie which is
4.00.
Branded uniform items are on sale now at Coes in Felixstowe and
Ipswich and are also available online at www.coes.co.uk/. Appropriate shoes,
shirts and trousers can be purchased from a wide variety of stores.
Coes store opening times are:
Felixstowe (2, Hamilton Road): Monday-Saturday 9am-5.30pm (closed all
day Wednesday). Tel: 01394 282414
Ipswich (20-28 Norwich Road): Tuesday-Saturday 9am-6pm (closed all
day Monday). Tel: 01473 256061

Our previous school uniform supplier PMG Schoolwear (formerly National

Schoolwear Centres) is offering all Deben High School black jumpers (with the
school logo on) for the special offer price of 5.00 (all sizes) whilst stocks last!
PMG Schoolwear, 40 Westgate Street, Ipswich IP1 3ED
Tel: 01473 212050
Opening hours 9am-5pm Monday to Saturday.

A black V-neck long-sleeved jumper is an optional item of the school uniform and
must be worn with not in place of - the blazer.
Finally on the issue of uniform, I want to make sure that it is clear that we will be
enforcing the new uniform in September. I know that parents / carers are
understandably concerned that you will put in a lot of effort at home and this will
not be followed up at school. I can assure you that this will not be the case.

I attach with this letter a poster for parents / carers to use to help ensure that their
sons / daughters are leaving home appropriately attired. All staff will ensure that
this is enforced throughout the day.

We will be taking any uniform issues very seriously and non-compliance could
result in a sanction for those who are not following the rules. I would urge parents /
carers to ensure that their son / daughter is not put in this position in September
and ensure they are properly kitted out. If you feel this going to be a problem and
have not already done so, please contact the school before the end of term.

Parents Open Forum

As I strive to make the school more accessible to parents / carers, I am setting up a
three opportunities for parents / carers to come to our new Open Forum. There will
be no agenda this can be set by whoever turns up. So if you have a burning issue
that you want to discuss or have questions about the school, then come along!
Refreshments will be provided.

These will take place between 8.30 - 9.30am on the following dates:
Thursday 17 September 2009
Thursday 28 September 2009
Thursday 15 October 2009

If they prove to be popular, then we will arrange more dates.

Swine Flu Update

Suffolk County Council have asked all Headteachers to update parents on the
threat of swine flu. Many of the arrangements have changed since the initial letter I
sent out to you on 11 May 2009. The new arrangements are outlined below by Dr
Brian Keeble, Consultant in Public Health Medicine:

I am writing at the request of the Local Authority to provide an update on the

management of swine flu in schools and early years settings.

As you know, this new flu virus was first found in Mexico in April and from there
has spread to many countries in the world. So far, in Suffolk, we have been much
luckier than some parts of the UK in that we have had relatively few cases. We
are, however, now starting to see some cases in schools and, because this flu
virus seems to pass fairly easily from child to child, we may well see more in the
run up to the end of the summer term.

When the swine flu virus was first found in the UK, the policy was to close schools
if a case was discovered in a pupil and to offer antiviral drugs to other children in
the school. This made sound sense at the time, as doctors were not sure how
severe this virus would be and we wanted to stop it spreading in the UK.

Two months later, we now know a lot more about the virus and, in particular, we
know that it only causes a relatively mild illness in the vast majority of people
who get it. These findings have led to a reassessment of the policy regarding
school closure and it is now highly unlikely that public health doctors would
advise the closure of a school if a pupil or member of staff was found to have
swine flu. It is also very unlikely that other pupils would be offered antiviral drugs
to try to prevent them getting swine flu even if they were in the same class as
someone who had swine flu.
It is, however, still important that children who are ill with swine flu are kept
away from school for a period of 7 days from the date that they develop
 symptoms.

In addition, parents should keep an eye on children who have had contact with a
swine flu case at school, for a period of 7 days from the last contact. The
symptoms to look out for are a high fever [temperature above 38 0C] with a
mixture of other flu like symptoms such as headache, aching muscles, cough,
runny nose, sore throat and sneezing. Swine flu is very unlikely to develop after
this 7 day incubation period and symptoms are most likely to start after 2 to 4
days.

Parents are advised to contact their doctor if their child does develop such
symptoms after coming into contact with someone who has swine flu. There is,
however, no need to keep a child away from school if they have not developed
any symptoms, even if they have been in contact with a known case.

Dr Brian Keeble
Consultant in Public Health Medicine

Additional information from the Health Protection Agency

If a child is diagnosed by the GP as suffering from swine flu you can be

assured that he/she is receiving the appropriate medical care and is
recovering at home.

The Health Protection Agency, the local NHS primary care trust and local
authority are aware of the likelihood of swine flu cases in schools and early
years settings and have advised that, when a case is identified, no other
actions are necessary and we will remain open as usual. We are working
closely with the bodies in order to keep updated on the most recent
developments.

If you or your child develops symptoms of flu-like illness the advice of the
Health Protection Agency is to stay at home and contact your GP or NHS
Direct on 0845 4647. They will then advise you accordingly. Please do let us
know if your child is being treated for these symptoms.
Good basic hygiene can help to reduce transmission of all viruses, including
swine flu. This includes:
1. Covering your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing,
2. Using a tissue when possible and disposing of tissues promptly and
carefully.
3. Washing your hands frequently with soap and water to reduce the spread
of the virus from your hands to your face or to other people.
4. Cleaning hard surfaces (such as door handles) frequently using a normal
cleaning product.
5. Making sure your children follow this advice.

We will be taking hygiene precautions within the school.

For more information on swine flu call the national information line on 0800 1
513 513. Alternatively, visit the Health Protection Agency website at
www.hpa.org.uk.

Have a fantastic summer, and I look forward to seeing all students looking smart in
their new school uniform on the first day back in September!

Yours faithfully,

Mr Cawley
Headteacher