Year 6 open evenings – information for parents and carers
Shropshire Council’s education team has today (Wednesday 9 September) sent the below letter to parents and carers of year 6 pupils.
Dear parents and carers of Year 6 pupils
We know that applying for and moving to a secondary school is a significant event for all Year 6 pupils. Traditionally, schools across Shropshire have opened their doors during the autumn term to allow pupils and parents to see the wonderful work that takes place within each school and to support children and parents to make important decisions about the next school on their educational journey. However, the current pandemic has meant that schools have had to consider whether this is the right thing to do this year.
The safety of our young people is paramount and having large groups of pupils and parents attending open evenings increases the risk of transmitting COVID-19.
Therefore, Shropshire mainstream secondary schools have all agreed that open evenings or open week tours will not take place in the way that they have in previous years.
This does not mean that schools are not putting on events. Schools will use their websites to showcase what they do and will add resources to help Year 6 pupils and their parents to get an insight into each school. These resources could take a variety of format: virtual tours; headteacher speeches; videos of the school in action, and perhaps even a drone video or two. We encourage you to visit each school’s website to find out what each school is offering.
Parents can find detailed information about applying for secondary school on Shropshire Council’s website (www.shropshire.gov.uk/school-admissions/) which includes a link to the Parents’ Guide to Education which contains details of all of the secondary school websites.
One question we are often asked is whether we can move the application deadlines. As these are set by central government, Shropshire Council is not able to change these dates.
For those pupils with an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) the transition to secondary school can be particularly challenging and we recognise the need to liaise with families to support decision making at this important time. Shropshire Council is working with schools and parent carers to consider how best to achieve this in a way that takes full account of the safety of all whilst providing the information needed to make good decisions. Parents/carers of pupils with an EHCP will receive an additional letter in the near future outlining what support is available to help them in applying for a secondary school.
