Newsletters

Dear parents and carers,

We hope you all had an enjoyable half-term holiday and the students are back to school refreshed and rejuvenated. The clocks went back last Sunday and the prospect of darker evenings and colder weather reminds us to take extra care when travelling to and from school – if your child makes the journey by bicycle, please encourage them to check their lights regularly and wear reflective clothing.

Now that we have completed a term, we can look back and reflect on just how well the school’s values of Kindness, Positivity and Belonging are being demonstrated by our students. 

We see small acts of kindness every day – from the way students have welcomed new teachers to the school, helping them find their way around, through to queueing up calmly and showing respect to one another and the staff serving them in the canteens. To show kindness to the wider community, our sixth form broke their record for the most money raised for Breast Cancer charities, with a bake sale and sponge the teacher.

I had the pleasure of hearing a selection of students speak with positivity at the end of last term. Several student panels were asked to talk about their experiences here at John of Gaunt and it was so lovely to hear them share their enthusiasm. The PGL trip in year 7, the support of the pastoral team and extracurricular opportunities such as music ensembles and sports clubs were particular highlights! It has also been great to see students having such a positive attitude to their work, demonstrating clear pride in their presentation and acting on teacher feedback by completing ‘GEM’ work to master the skills they have been learning in term one. 

The sense of belonging that we want every child to feel at John of Gaunt has been fostered not just through the day-to-day of school life, but also through taking part in residential trips, representing the school at open evenings, involvement in the school show or competing in school team fixtures, hiking in the countryside for Ten Tors and camping in very soggy weather for DofE. We encourage all students to see what enrichment opportunities are on offer this term – from sports clubs to the Christmas carol concert – and have a go!

Food & Nutrition

Key Stage 3 have been working hard, learning all about nutrition and the eat well guide. Why do we need our 5 a day? How can we keep our minds and bodies healthy through food? Nutrients have one or more of three basic functions: they provide energy, contribute to body structure, and/or regulate chemical processes in the body. These basic functions allow us to detect and respond to environmental surroundings, move, excrete wastes, breathe, grow, and reproduce. In practicals, they have been making pasta salads, apple cakes and lasagne. See some lovely examples below!

Year 10 will be making pasta for a GEM test and year 11 have started their first part of marked course work, experimenting with biscuit making.

Did you know, whilst it's true that there are around 350 different types, it's a little known fact that each shape and style is best suited to specific types of Italian cuisine.- Each region has many types of different shapes and sizes.

Try this healthy and delicious pasta recipe to sneak some veg into your child's or your own diet.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/pasta-tomato-hidden-veg-sauce

Year 13 helped year 12 leave their hand prints in our Meredith Callaghan MFL room.

A room for our top linguistics!

Each year our sixth formers leave their marks there to be remembered.

Duke of Edinburgh Expedition

Participants recently completed their final expedition.

The weather initially was very wet but later in the evening it stopped and allowed the students to cook some fantastic 3-course meals and plan their routes for the following day.

After a cold night's sleep and a rather early start the next day, they headed off following their routes. All made good time and completed their expeditions.

Well done all.

Financial support for your family and school 

Parents can claim ‘Pupil Premium’ support for children (referred to as Free School Meals FSM) if you are in receipt of any of the following benefits: 

• Income Support 
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance 
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance 
• Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 
• The guaranteed element of Pension Credit 
• Child Tax Credit (provided you’re also not entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190) 
• Working Tax Credit run-on - paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit 
• Universal Credit - if applying on or after 1 April 2018 your household income must be less than £7,400 a year (after tax & not including any benefits you get) 

This entitles your child to free school meals, beyond EYFS and KS1, where this provision is universal, as well as a wide range of additional support for your child (academic, cost of the school day support and wellbeing).  

Information for parents about access and benefits of claiming FSM can be found at: Free school meals - Wiltshire Council 

If your child is eligible for free school meals, they’ll also qualify for the Holiday Activity and Food Programme. Food vouchers may also be available through the Household Support Fund. 

Please email aclark@jogschool.org for support if you have any questions about your entitlement or application.

Chat Apps

Welcome to the third instalment of our digital safety newsletter, where we explore the world of technology and how we can work with you as parents and carers, to ensure the safety of our children in the digital world.

In today's digital age, one of the most common uses of technology and mobile devices for our teenagers, is to connect with friends and family. It's really important that you, as parents, feel comfortable with their online communications.

In a world where young people sometimes feel invincible, it's essential to remind them to be mindful of sharing personal information with strangers. This includes details like their name, location, email, phone number, and school name.

Chat Apps:

Chat apps are platforms that allow users to exchange messages, photos, videos, and documents, as well as create group chats. Some apps even allow users to message people they don't know. We recommend ensuring that your child's settings only allow messages from people they know. It's crucial to guide them in rejecting and blocking requests from unknown individuals.

Safety Settings In Chat Apps:

Children using chat apps may unwittingly be added to group chats with people they don’t know, potentially exposing them to unsettling or negative content. Many chat apps provide privacy settings to restrict who can contact your child. We suggest reviewing these settings so that you can decide what's most suitable for your child. If an app lacks options for such restrictions, it might be wise for your child not to use it.

Understanding End-to End Encryption

You may have heard of end-to-end encryption, a feature that enhances message privacy by ensuring that only the sender and recipient can view the messages. Companies operating these messaging services cannot access these messages, and they remain inaccessible to law enforcement and hackers. While this makes communication more secure, it also means messages can't be monitored for illegal activity.

Chats can be end-to-end encrypted, whether they're one-on-one or in group chats. For instance, WhatsApp automatically employs this security feature. Nonetheless, it's essential to focus on how your child utilises each app, considering whether it's encrypted or not, and having open discussions about their online activities and safety.

Randomised Chat Forms and Apps

Various websites and apps randomly connect users to one another, enabling text, image, video sharing, and live-streaming. While these platforms are often designed for adults, the absence of robust age verification checks can give young users access. This raises the risk of exposure to inappropriate or explicit content and unwanted contact from adults. Examples of such apps include Monkey and Omegle.

Disappearing Messages

Many chat apps now feature disappearing messages, which can create risks for young users. Messages that vanish after being viewed might lead young people to believe it's safe to share risky content, although recipients can still capture screenshots or recordings before the content disappears. Such messages can also complicate the reporting of inappropriate contact or content, making it harder for enforcement agencies to collect evidence of child exploitation or abuse, including grooming. Young individuals may feel less apprehensive about peer-on-peer abuse and bullying due to this feature. Disappearing messages can be found on various apps, such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook's secret conversations. It's essential to educate your child about what they share and ensure they know to come to you or another trusted adult if they encounter upsetting or concerning messages. Familiarising your child with the reporting and blocking features on the apps they use is equally valuable.

Gaming Chat

Many gamers use chat apps to connect while playing or exchange gaming tips. These chat apps operate independently of gaming platforms, like PlayStation. They can also be used for purposes beyond gaming, so it's crucial to discuss with your child the content they may encounter or be asked to share. Discord, a popular app amongst gamers, has a parent's guide with three key recommendations to enhance safety:

• Select a secure, strong password.
• Set your preferences for who can send you direct messages and friend requests.
• Block inappropriate content.

Educate Your Child About Online Sharing

It's essential for children and young people to be aware of what they share online and who might see it. Encourage them to consider what they would be comfortable sharing in the offline world. Just as they wouldn't give their phone number to a stranger on the street, they should avoid sharing it with someone they've only met online. Remind them not to share:

• Personal information such as emails, names, phone numbers, locations, and school names.
•  Photos of themselves.
• Photos of their bodies, including nudes or explicit content.
• Stress the importance of being cautious, as information shared online may end up in the hands of individuals beyond their control.

As a school, we are committed to working with parents to keep children safe online. If you have any questions relating to staying safe online, please contact Helen Kerr, Deputy Head and Designated Safeguarding Lead or John Roberts, Director of Learning for Computing and Business and strategic lead for the use of ICT in school.

Chat Apps and Online Safety – Summary

Parental involvement is crucial in ensuring children's safety in the digital world of Chat Apps and we would like to emphasize caution in sharing personal information online.

Safety Settings in Chat Apps

1. We suggest you encourage setting controls on their accounts to allow messaging only from known contacts.
2. Discuss with and guide children to reject and block unknown requests.
3. Some apps might not be advisable for use if the Apps they use lack proper restrictions. Assess which ones are being used with your child.

End-to-End Encryption

1. Is a great way to help keep messages private. Whatsapp applies this security feature, ensuring hackers cannot access private messages.
2. However, this means that chats can't be monitored for illegal activity.
3. We suggest you discuss the encryption feature in each app your child uses.

Randomized Chat Forms and Apps

1. These are Apps that connect users randomly which pose risks due to lack of age verification.
2. This can result in potential exposure to inappropriate content and contact from adults.
3. You should guide children away from using these apps.

Disappearing Messages

1. Messages that vanish after being viewed pose risks. Snapchat and many other apps now have this setting available.
2. Messages that vanish after being viewed might lead young people to believe it's safe to share risky content, although recipients can still capture screenshots or recordings before the content disappears.
3. Such messages can also complicate the reporting of inappropriate contact or content, making it harder for enforcement agencies to collect evidence of child exploitation or abuse, including grooming.
4. Develop a dialogue and educate children about safe sharing and encourage reporting concerns.

Gaming Chat

1. Gamers often use separate chat apps.
2. You should discuss potential content and set up security measures for gaming-related apps.
3. Encourage awareness about sharing sensitive information online.
4. Stress the importance of caution and avoiding sharing personal details or explicit content.

BEAT THE STREET 

CONGRATULATIONS to all of our students and families in Year 7 who participated in ‘Beat the Street’. As you can see from below, we came 1^st and had the most average points for Parish Schools. 

Well done for getting out and about in your local areas with friends and families and engaging in physical activity. It is a great, fun and interactive way to get moving and do something all together! It is so important we look after our mental and physical well-being and there is no better way than doing that whilst having fun. 

If you were one of those students who contributed to our win, please come and let us know in the year office. We'd like to celebrate with you!

Miss Lewis & Miss Martin

Signposting

NSPCC Helpline: 0808 800 5000 or by emailing help@nspcc.org.uk. NSPCC | The UK children's charity | NSPCC

Fearless: A dedicated youth website for non-judgemental information and anonymous reporting for 11-17yr olds. Give information about crime 100% anonymously | Fearless | Crimestoppers (crimestoppers-uk.org)

Crimestoppers: The adult version of Fearless for non-judgmental information and anonymous reporting. Independent UK charity taking crime information anonymously | Crimestoppers (crimestoppers-uk.org)

Check It Out: Is a collection of videos and resources for young people from primary to secondary, covering everything from bullying, mental health, county lines and grooming. Introduction (wiltshire-pcc.gov.uk)