Dear Parents and Carers
As we settle into the rhythm of the new academic year, I am delighted to share some key highlights, reflections, and upcoming events across our school community.
The highlight of my week has been seeing the immediate response to our partnership with the Digital Poverty Alliance and Currys. Following our launch of the Tech4Families programme, several parents have already requested gifted laptops for their children!
Ensuring every student has access to a dedicated device at home is essential for independent learning, coursework, and revision. If your child does not currently have access to a dedicated laptop at home for schoolwork, you can apply directly via the online application form at digitalpovertyalliance.org/tech4communities or digitalpovertyalliance.org/tech4families. Paper forms are also available from the main school office if required.
Something I have been thinking about deeply this week is curriculum intent—how we design learning so that every young person receives an ambitious, high-quality education that prepares them not just for examinations, but for life.
We believe that parents and carers are vital partners in learning. To help you support conversations at home, we have published our refreshed curriculum vision, subject intents, and curriculum journeys on our school website. These guides celebrate the breadth and ambition of our curriculum, outlining exactly what students will study in each subject across every year group.
I encourage all parents and carers to explore our refreshed curriculum page here: carisbrooke.iow.sch.uk/page/?title=Curriculum&pid=76.
We have been delighted to receive expressions of interest from parents regarding the Parent Governor role. It is inspiring to see such strong commitment from our community to work as "one great team" in shaping the strategic direction of our school. If we receive sufficient interest before the closing deadline, we will hold a formal ballot to allow all parents to cast their vote. We will share further details regarding candidate statements and the voting process in due course.
Evaluating our impact honestly and listening carefully to our families is at the heart of our school improvement journey.
To help us establish a clear baseline and understand your child's experience at the start of this academic year, we will be launching our Start-of-Term Parent Surveys next Tuesday afternoon via email and the school app. The survey takes just 3 to 4 minutes to complete and includes both core baseline questions and bespoke sections tailored to your child's specific year group. Please take a few moments to share your feedback when it arrives next week.
To bring our curriculum vision to life, the values-driven 'Relational Core' statement of each subject is formally integrated into the opening paragraph of its subject intent. This ensures that every teacher, co-planner, and middle leader is grounded in our unique relational ethos before mapping weekly disciplinary skills and national exam requirements. You can find a PDF of the Curriculum Journey's here: https://www.carisbrooke.iow.sch.uk/_site/data/files/users/teaching-and-learning/curriculum-journeys/0A9CFBB2B2D1FFEBC21E846774171264.pdf
Warmest regards,
Natalie Sheppard
Headteacher, Carisbrooke College
