Dear Parents/Carers
We hope that your child has already started to settle in well at Samuel Ward and that they are enjoying secondary school life. We have been amazed by how well the year group taken all the new systems and procedures in their stride.
We are writing to invite you to meet your child’s form tutor via video conferencing to discuss their transition and raise any concerns you might have. This is the same system we will use for the Year 7 Parents’ Evenings – details below. While we brought in this system when the pandemic made face to face meetings unsafe, parents have made it clear to us how much they prefer the convenience of this approach.
Meet the Tutor evening will be held on Tuesday 12th September. Tutors will be available between 4pm and 7pm for pre-booked appointments. We appreciate this is short notice, but we know how important it to allay any worries and resolve minor issues right at the start of the year. This week we will share a document which provides the key dates for all year groups for the full academic year.
The academy uses an online appointment booking system for the evening and for Parents’ Evenings. This allows you to choose your own appointment times and you will receive an email confirming your appointments.
Please note that the system closes at 12 noon on Tuesday 12th September. Should you wish to make any changes after this please contact the academy.
To access the appointments booking system, please use the following link:
https://samuelwardacademy.parentseveningsystem.co.uk
or go onto the school website under ‘Parents’ ‘Booking System’. To log in to the system you will need your email address and your child’s date of birth.
The system will recognise the log-in details of the 1st priority contact you have provided. If you experience any issues logging in, please contact the school.
The video conferencing is accessed directly from your appointments. You can use a smartphone – recommended by the company who run the system- or a computer with webcam and microphone with a compatible internet browser*. If using a computer please check that the webcam will permit the system to access it. We recommend having a smartphone to hand just in case there is a permissions issue with your machine.
On the day of your appointments please log in to the booking system. When you are within 60 minutes of your appointment you will see a notification. Clicking on the “join video appointments” button will take you to your appointment. When an appointment is scheduled you can click on the “start appointment” button to attend.
*A full guide, including a video and pictures of what your screen should look like and which browsers are supported, can be found here:
If you are unable to attend but would like to discuss anything with your child’s tutor, please do not hesitate to contact them. Staff email addresses can be found on the school website.
The Year 7 Parents Evening on Thursday 21st March will provide the opportunity to meet your child’s subject teachers and to discuss your child’s academic progress in detail.
Yours faithfully
Dr K Geall
Head of School