Issue 1117: 27th March 2026

Following the letter I emailed to you yesterday, from the Director of Public Health for Essex, please be assured that there are currently no confirmed cases of meningitis in Essex linked to the Kent outbreak, and the Local Authority report that the risk to our area is considered low.

Meningitis is rare but can become serious very quickly. The Local Authority is asking all parents to remain vigilant and be aware of key symptoms, including fever, headache, vomiting, stiff neck, sensitivity to light, drowsiness, and a non-fading rash.

If you are concerned, please seek advice via NHS 111, or in urgent cases call 999 or attend A&E. Ensuring your child is up to date with vaccinations remains an important protective measure.

I would like to remind you that in order to meet the Government’s requirements to make schools “mobile phone free environments” we will, upon our return from the Easter break, be requiring all main-school pupils, who bring their phones into school, to put them in their lockers before the start of the school day.

As I have explained, all lockers will be covered by our CCTV cameras to ensure security.  If there are any problems with your child’s locker then please, in the first instance, do contact Pupil Services via pupilservices@sweynepark.com who will be very happy to assist.

Thank you for your ongoing support with this.

As Ms Jameson begins her maternity leave, I am grateful to Mr Garrod for stepping into her role temporarily to provide support to our 10 pupils.

We are all sending Ms Jameson our very best wishes as she awaits her new arrival and know that Mr Garrod will be an excellent addition to the Year 10 Team.

It has certainly been an incredibly busy Spring Term and I cannot quite believe that once we all return from the Easter break our Year 11 pupils and Year 13 students will be in the final stages to preparing for their formal exams.  With this in mind, please do continue to support them in their revision programme which must include regular breaks and time to do things they enjoy.

In addition, our Year 10 pupils and Year 12 students will begin their mock examinations as soon as they begin the Summer Term. I would like to take the opportunity to wish them all the very best.

Once the mock exams are completed, Year 10 will, on 27^th April, begin their two weeks of work experience from which I know they will all gain a huge amount.