Daily update 21st April 2020 – I hope that everyone is well and had a first good day back into routines yesterday. I have two teenagers at home myself, so I do appreciate the struggle some of you will have had in getting them up and moving!

Wellbeing
As we go into the lockdown extension, many organisations are producing help and support for the well-being of young people and families. Below are a range of links to resources which might be useful to you and your family. We would recommend that you have a review yourself before looking at things with your child as appropriate. We are receiving links on an almost daily basis, so this resource list will be added to. The up to date version of this will also be available on our website in the Parents/NK at Home section.

Challenge Tasks
We have updated the challenge tasks with 5 new tasks for students to do on their own or with families or online with friends. We will set new challenges each week and they will go out via this update as well as being on teams and available on our website in the Parents/NK at home section.

Update on trips and visits
Obviously during this lockdown period, all trips and visits due to take place during terms 5 and 6 are having to be reviewed. We have deferred the Ecuador tip, due to go in July/August, to next year and all parents and students involved in this visit have been contacted about this. We are in regular contact with Camps International, who have been very helpful and responsive to our communications. We have also been in touch with our insurers about this visit.

The other visit due to go in term 6 is the Year 8 visit to Germany. A number of parents have made enquiries about this visit already and we appreciate that many of you have concerns and questions about this. In these unprecedented times, call volume is high to these travel companies and the insurance companies and it has been very difficult to get hold of the right people in order to discuss this with both the company and our insurers. We will continue to persevere with this and let you know as soon as we can what our options with regard to this specific trip are. Any questions about any visits should be directed to Mr Athersych in the first instance on lee.athersych@nkacademy.co.uk and we thank you for your patience and understanding.

PPE equipment
You might have seen on Facebook yesterday the pictures of our staff team making visors in school. The team is now assembled and production is in full swing. We have also started making gowns, with a team of staff working on machines at home to produce these. We have had a number of requests from NHS and care workers for this equipment already and we will try to fulfil the orders as quickly as we can. Mr Smith and Mrs Allen are coordinating this team effort so any requests have been passed to them.

As always, we are here if you need us. Please contact us through enquiries@nkacademy.co.uk wherever possible or on 01522 881010.

With very best wishes,

Jo Tunnicliffe
Headteacher