You can view our lunch menu and order your school meals for next week by visiting this site: https://www.bmdsfood.org.uk
You need to order by Sunday 9pm.
The Government have now published guidance on how schools will approach planning and carrying out the processes of assessing and awarding of grades this summer. Please see this visual map for reference:
I write to you having put in place the detailed arrangements for students to return to school from 8 March, following the Prime Minister’s announcement on 22 February.
From March 8 the school will be open for all students. This is because the prevalence of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) has fallen to sufficiently low levels to allow the safe opening of schools and because schools have now strongly developed capacity to use Lateral Flow Testing to identify asymptomatic cases as students return to school, which along with the wider Test and Trace system, means that we can quickly identify and contain any isolated infections which may occur.
In preparing to open the school we have further updated our detailed risk assessment to identify how we can lower risks to students and staff in all areas, so that the school is a safe environment for all. In this letter we set out a summary of the steps we have taken. There are a number of further new practical arrangements which will impact on students and parents, so we ask that you read this letter carefully and keep a copy to refer to. A copy is also available on the school website.
First week of return
In order to welcome all students back to school and to ensure that we can fulfil our commitment to make Lateral Flow Testing available to all of our students as they return we will need to stagger the return over the first week
Monday 8th March Years 11, 12 and 13
Tuesday 9th March Years 7 and 10
Wednesday 10th March Years 8 and 9
Travel to school
Wherever possible, students should be encouraged to walk or cycle to school. For those who live close enough to do so, this represents the best way of travelling into school.
As we understand the situation, Kent Local Authority will be reactivating school bus services and their published information for those making use of public transport and in particular those using buses, coaches and taxis remains unchanged, which can be found here: https://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/schools/school-transport/using-school-transport-during-the-pandemic
Arrival and departure times
We will be maintaining the adjustments to arrival and departure times which were put in place in September to ensure that we do not have too many people around the school entrance or walking down the drive at the same time.
We would ask that wherever possible you arrange for your child to come to school as close to the given time as possible. Thank you for your support in this. The school day will begin for all students at 8:45
| Arrival time | End of school day | Route into and out of school | |
| Year 7 | 8:30am | 3:25pm | Front Drive |
| Year 8 | 8:30am | 3:25pm | Back Drive |
| Year 9 | 8:30am | 3:30pm | Back Drive |
| Year 10 | 8:45am | 3:30pm | Front Drive |
| Year 11 | 8:45am | 3:35pm | Front Drive |
| Year 12 | 8:45am | 3:35pm | Back Drive |
| Year 13 | 8:45am | 3:35pm | Back Drive |
Hygiene measures while at school
The most important things we can all do while at school remain focused on hygiene. Certainly, our experience of managing the safety of the school in terms 1 and 2 suggests that our efforts here contributed strongly in keeping us safe.
A common way infection is transmitted is by people getting it on their hands and then touching their face. In order to deal with this risk, we will be asking everyone at school, students and adults alike, to wash or sanitise their hands at frequent points during the school day.
Secondly, we will continue to ensure that all hard surfaces, especially those touched by different people, such as door handles and toilet facilities, are kept clean during the school day. Students are now well used to seeing this activity happening.
Thirdly, we will need to be very careful about any coughing or sneezing, as germs can easily be spread in this way. As we explain below, students with a cough should not be sent to school. However, if a student coughs or sneezes during the day we will need them to use a clean tissue and to dispose of it in the bins provided immediately afterwards. It would be very helpful if parents and carers can reinforce this message. Please ensure your child has tissues in their pockets when coming to school.
Finally, the most recent guidance for secondary schools about face coverings, published on 22 February, sets out the expectation that in secondary schools until Easter should expect students and adults to wear face coverings at all times, including whilst in the classroom. They may be removed when children are outside at break and lunchtime. The exemption from wearing a face covering for those covered by the relevant Government guidance continues to apply https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/face-coverings-when-to-wear-one-and-how-to-make-your-own/face-coverings-when-to-wear-one-and-how-to-make-your-own . We ask that all students come to school with a suitable mask or face covering which should wherever possible be of a plain colour.
I hope that both parents and students will understand that working with the school regarding this additional measure will help to give some in our school community greater assurance of their safety. Students may remove their face coverings once they are in their designated outdoor zones at break and lunchtimes.
Not coming to school if symptomatic
We are asking parents to be very vigilant for any signs of infection in their children, and should they occur, not to send the child to school. The symptoms to look out for are a new continuous cough, a temperature or a loss of sense of taste or smell. Should any of these occur, you must keep your child at home and inform the school that they have these symptoms on [email protected], just as you would for any normal absence. Testing will be available for any children or family members who develop these symptoms, and we can tell you how to access the test if you contact us.
If children develop any of these symptoms while in school, we will need to send them home immediately. We will need your support as parents or carers to manage this. A student who develops symptoms which could be COVID-19 will immediately be taken away from other children and supervised safely until they can be collected. At that point we will tell you how you can quickly get your child tested for COVID-19.
What will happen if someone tests positive
In the relatively unlikely event that someone, either student or teacher, tests positive for COVID-19, we will immediately contact our local NHS Public Health Team. We will give them, and the Test and Trace service, the information they need to identify the risks that others may have become infected, and we will follow their instructions immediately about containing that risk. In some cases, this could mean asking students or adults with whom the person has come into contact to stay at home for a period of time to make sure the infection does not spread any further.
Reducing contacts
In school we will continue to take the measures that have been in place since September to ensure that if we did get a case of COVID-19 we would be able to contain it without it impacting on a large number of people.
For students in year 7 and 8 we will be teaching the curriculum in such a way as to keep them in their tutor groups for almost all of their subjects. This means that they will continue to have the majority of their lessons in the Rochester building.
At break time and lunch time arrangements remain in place so that students will only be allowed to socialise with others from their own year group.
There will be indoor and outdoor zones for all year groups, however we will encourage students to be in the fresh air as often as possible, so your child must have a suitable weatherproof coat with them each day.
School uniform
All students are required to wear full school uniform or Sixth Form Dress code on return in March.
The public consultation jointly undertaken by the Department for Education and Ofqual regarding how qualifications will be awarded this year closed on 29 January and we understand that detailed plans about arrangements for qualifications will be published shortly. It is clear however that we can expect qualifications to be awarded on the basis of teacher assessments and that students will be expected to carry on studying their courses to the normal end point when they would have been examined in June.
As you would expect, we are already considering about how best to ensure we are ready to play our part in the process. We believe that students will need to undertake some internal trial exams in order for us to generate the sort of rigorous evidence that we will need to make informed decisions. Such trial exams will also enable us to gauge gaps in what students know which could be addressed prior to any externally generated assessment which the DfE/Ofqual consultation proposes. They will also contribute to the evidence base used to support decision making about recommended grades. However, we are clear that students in years 11 and 13 should not return to school in March to directly undertake such trial exams. We are determined that first of all they have a good opportunity to engage with their teachers and consolidate the study that has taken place remotely.
At present we are planning for a fortnight of assessment starting on Friday 19 March for both years 11 and 13. We will write further to parents confirming the school’s approach once more information is in the public domain.
Arrangements for lateral flow testing
Thank you to all who have already returned the consent forms for lateral flow testing (LFD). Please check your e-mails if you have not already replied as a reminder was sent earlier today. We have a well-established test centre in school that has been in operation since January and we are pleased to be able to expand this provision to offer an additional layer of protection for all students alongside all of the measures described above.
Students will be tested 3 times in total over a period of 9 days and will be given a time slot to be tested for the first time on the day they return to school. The test is quick and easy and involves students taking a swab of their tonsils and nose. This will be supervised by trained staff. We will be registering the students prior to the test using the bulk registration process. Test results will be e-mailed by the NHS to your child’s school email address. As we process the tests in school, we will be aware of the results of each test within 30 minutes. If your child tests positive we will contact you directly. If you do not hear from us, you can assume that your child’s test result was negative.
Following the testing in school, students will be issued with test kits to complete at home. We will write again with more details about this.
We very much hope that this letter gives you the assurance that we have again planned the return to school very carefully. We have followed the guidance we have received closely, and taken every step to reduce risk for all. We are confident that we are ready to reopen for all students in March and look forward very much to welcoming them back. Please do not hesitate to contact us if there is anything about which you are unsure.
We are delighted that Bennett Memorial Diocesan School has been designated as the Teaching School Hub to work across West and East Kent. This designation from the Department for Education provides the school and its network the opportunity to build further on its work as a Teaching School and at the centre of the Outstanding initial teacher training provider Teach Kent and Sussex.
As the Kent Teaching School Hub, we are looking forward to working with our partners to build further on the provision of evidence-based teacher training and development for each professional stage. Teachers play a critical role in the success of our pupils, and it is absolutely right that we are committed to offering them excellent training and development, building shared professional expertise based on evidence. The new Teaching School Hubs have an important role to play in this critical work.
During the school closure due to the developments in the Covid-19 pandemic, parents should be aware of the following support networks available to them in this period. We understand that this could be a worrying and stressful time for families and we would like to make sure that families continue to feel supported by their networks in school and also know how to access support from outside agencies whilst we are closed.
Year 11
Dear Bennett Parent,
I am writing to you following the government’s announcement regarding this next lockdown period and the indication that GCSE examinations will not go ahead in the usual way this summer. We do understand that both students and parents may have some questions and perhaps some worries about how students will be assessed at the end of this Key Stage. We are waiting for further guidance from the government about how students will be assessed in relation to the GCSE examination courses. We will share that information with you when we are in a position to provide further details.
In the meantime, we will be continuing to provide a remote education for all Bennett students, making sure that the GCSE curriculum is fully covered. In this context we will not be proceeding with the trial examinations that were scheduled for next week. It is likely however, that we will need to systematically assess students’ knowledge and understanding of their courses when they return from lockdown, so their efforts in revising will bear fruit. For now, students should be engaging with their on-line learning as a key priority. We know how positively impactful this is on students’ sense of well-being and purpose. With good coverage of the curriculum students will be supported to master the subject knowledge which is the foundation for progression to Sixth Form courses.
As we receive more details about arrangements for assessment we will share this with you and how these assessments will support and inform progression to the Bennett Sixth Form. It remains our intention to provide advice and guidance to each Y11 student about their Sixth Form curriculum and we will write with more details about that in the coming weeks.
Yours sincerely,
Mrs Rebecca Malone
Assistant Headteacher
Year 13
Dear Bennett Parent,
I am writing to you following the government’s announcement regarding this next lockdown period and the indication that A level examinations will not go ahead in the usual way this summer. We do understand that both students and parents may have some questions and perhaps some worries about how students will be assessed at the end of Sixth Form. We are waiting for further guidance from the government about how students will be assessed in relation to the A level examination courses. We will share that information with you when we are in a position to provide further details.
In the meantime, we will be continuing to provide a remote education for all Bennett students, making sure that the A level and Diploma curriculum is fully covered. In this context we will not be proceeding with the trial examinations that were scheduled for next week. It is likely however, that we will need to systematically assess students’ knowledge and understanding of their courses when they return from lockdown, so their efforts in revising will bear fruit. For now, students should be engaging with their on-line learning as a key priority. We know how positively impactful this is on students’ sense of well-being and purpose. With good coverage of the curriculum students will be supported to master the subject knowledge which is the foundation for progression to university and other school leaver routes.
As we receive more details about arrangements for assessment we will share this with you and how these assessments will support and inform the UCAS process.
Yours sincerely,
Mrs Rebecca Malone
Director of Sixth Form
Remote Teaching / Teams
Find out more information about how Remote Teaching works at Bennett Memorial by clicking here.
Office365
Bennett Memorial Diocesan School is able to offer students a Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus subscription at no cost via the Microsoft Student Advantage program. This program allows us to provide current students with the latest version of Microsoft Office at school and at home. You can find out more by clicking here.
Foldr
Foldr allows you to access your school files from any desktop, laptop, tablet or phone in school, at home … in fact anywhere.
You can access it here: https://foldr.bennett.kent.sch.uk
You can view a user guide here.
A sincere thank you to the Bennett Music Team for all their work in providing for us a truly special Carol Service at King Charles the Martyr Church in the final week of the Autumn Term. Special thanks go to Dr Christopher Parker for orchestrating the music, to Rev Rachael Knapp for conducting the service and to the vicar and staff of King Charles the Martyr for allowing us to use such a fitting venue. Thank you also to each and every participant as a singer, organist or reader at that event.
Furthermore, many Bennett musicians shared videos of their own performances from home which were compiled into a virtual concert on the penultimate day of term. There were some stunning performances and a number of musicians whose potential is really expanding and growing. Our thanks to all of them and to Mr Crane and the Bennett music staff.
Finally, we must thank the Bennett Music Academy’s visiting music teachers too whose work each week with students has helped them improve and get to the high standards which they have arrived at.
Bennett Memorial Diocesan School is able to offer students a Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus subscription at no cost via the Microsoft Student Advantage program. This program allows us to provide current students with the latest version of Microsoft Office at school and at home.
What is a Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus subscription?
A Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus subscription is a rental licence for the complete suite of Office applications including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Access, Publisher, and Outlook.
PLEASE NOTE: By taking advantage of this benefit you accept responsibility for the installation, configuration and support of the software offered. Bennett Memorial Diocesan School is unable to offer technical support on personal home computers.
Upon leaving Bennett Memorial Diocesan School (or this offer ending) you will need to purchase a suitable licence from a Microsoft retailer in order to continue using the software offered.
How to get it:
Students need to be currently on-roll at Bennett Memorial Diocesan School.
- Access is integrated to student @bennett.kent.sch.uk e-mail addresses
- Students – Login to your @bennett.kent.sch.uk email account using your school username and password
- Click the gear icon in the top-right corner
- On the right-hand side, under Your App Settings, click Office 365
- On the Office 365 Settings page click Software – Install Software
- Choose your language from the drop-down menu and then click Install
- Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation and start using the software
NOTE: You must uninstall previous versions before running this installation.
How many machines/devices can I run this subscription on?
Each subscription license allows you to run Office on up to five machines – Mac or PC. You can also run Office Mobile for Android or Office Mobile for iPhone on up to 5 mobile devices.
How do I deactivate an installation on either a PC or a Mac?
If you’ve already installed the latest version of Office with Office 365 on five computers that you use and you want to install Office on a sixth computer, you can do that by first deactivating an installation on one of your current computers.
Go to Software > Office. Click Deactivate next to the computer you want to deactivate the installation from.
Is this a full version Office and available for offline use?
Yes, this is full Office on the PC, Mac, iPhone, and Android platform and all are available for offline use.
Do students have to sign into Office 365 to use any of these applications with Office 365 ProPlus?
Yes, a valid Office 365 ProPlus license tied to a valid Office 365 login for students is required to enable any of the four Office 365 ProPlus features.
How long can a student leverage Office 365 ProPlus?
Students can leverage this program until they leave Bennett Memorial Diocesan School. At that point, we must disable their Office 365 ProPlus license.
The achievement of students at Bennett Memorial Diocesan School this year follows the well-established track record for success that this outstanding Church of England school has sustained over many years. Indeed, this cohort of year 11 students have done something extraordinary in that they have achieved an outstanding set of GCSE results in the face of the considerable disruption caused by Covid-19. These Bennett students, faced by the uncertainty of how their qualifications would be awarded, continued to work with exceptional commitment right through lockdown to the point at the end of May when examinations were meant to have begun. Their outstanding results are richly deserved and the students should rightly feel proud of them since they are the fruit of the same hard work and determination which we have seen year after year at Bennett.
Headteacher Jon Sparke commented: “This has been an exceptionally challenging set of circumstances and we are tremendously proud of all of our students who continued working right through lockdown.”
“The students absolutely deserve congratulations for what are a brilliant set of results. The outcomes show, once again, that the progress made by Bennett students at GCSE is superb and would stack up positively amongst the strongest nationally, just as previous cohorts have. The strength of these results, awarded in an exceptional way this year, was pre-figured by the success these students achieved last year in their GCSE in Religious Studies where almost half of all entries achieved a grade 7 or above and close to 9 out of ten achieved a strong pass.”
“At Bennett we offer a traditional curriculum of high value subjects which taken together represents a genuine challenge, so these excellent results provide the strong foundations for the next stages of academic study. Amongst these outcomes are some exceptional individual stories of students coming from disadvantaged backgrounds and overcoming considerable adversity.”
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank their teachers and other staff who have taught and supported students throughout their courses, and also parents who play a key role in supporting and encouraging students throughout their school lives.”
“Alongside achieving outstanding academic outcomes at Bennett, we set great store on the development of character. The resilience shown by these students has been very impressive. This character development has been underscored by these students’ engagement in the rich co-curricular programme offered at the school, with for example over 200 of these students completing the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award.”
We wish all Bennett students well in their next steps and, of course, look forward to seeing the vast majority further in the coming academic year as they return to study A levels following these excellent GCSE results.