Updated plans

Friday, March 5, 2021

Dear families,

As promised last week, I wanted to write to you with some of the finer details of what to expect over the next couple of weeks. As you know it is not a case of simply coming back to school and we want all students and families to be prepared and ready for what they need to do. As predicted, the guidance and detail have changed in quite a few areas, but I hope the information below is definitive and not changed again before next week!

As expected, most families have consented to their child being tested for COVID 19 and some have not. It is important that the different information for both groups is understood below. The deadline for registering for testing is Thursday 4th March and we will not be able to accept any requests completed after this.  I have put any new information, that was not in my letter last week, in bold for ease of locating this. The only other things in purple I have included are those frequently asked questions over the last 5 days.

I have included the timetable for you once again below. In terms of the different activities on the timetable, the different titles of the days mean the following things:

Home:  Work set on Google Classroom for students to complete solely at home. No students in school from that year group that day except those in the Key Worker and Vulnerable categories, who have been in school during lockdown.

Test 1 then home:  Students will book a test time and come in to complete their first test in school. As soon as their test is complete, students will leave site and return home once again. You will only hear from us if your child tests positive for COVID-19, if they test negative we will not contact you to save on valuable admin time in school. If students are not having a test they should not come in on this day and should only return for their ‘lessons’. 

Lessons:  All students in that year group in school and in timetabled lesson as normal. Full attendance expected from the whole year.

Test 2 then lessons:  Students will come out of their normal timetabled lessons, at a designated time, to complete their second in-school test so there is no need to book this one. Once compete they will return to lessons. Again, only positive cases will be notified so ‘no news is good news’.

Test 3 then lessons:  Students will come out of their normal timetabled lessons, at a designated time, to complete their third in-school test so there is no need to book this one . Once compete they will return to lessons. Again, only positive cases will be notified so ‘no news is good news’.

Timetable

Other points to note:

·         Students do not need to wear school uniform when they are coming in to school to do their 1st test. They will only likely be here for 10-15 minutes and uniform is not required.

·         When students come in to school for their first test they should not come in to the school building or reception. They will be sign-posted to walk around the left hand side of the building to the old 1610 car park and entrance. When they come in to 16/10/Sports Hall they will then be registered and informed of the process. 

·         Students should try to arrive as close to their testing time as possible and should not come on site until the time of their test. This is to ensure that we run smoothly to time and do not have students hanging around, as we want to minimise the number of people on site as much as we can.

·         The test process is likely to only take 10-15 minutes and students will leave site immediately afterwards. They will not be able to wait on site for other students to finish. 

·         When registering for their first test, they will also be given a card with the time of their test on. The time of their first test will also be the time of their second & third tests on their relevant days. They must keep this card to allow them to leave lessons at the correct time for their second and third tests, so please ask them to put it in their blazer/pencil case/school bag when they get home. 

·         Most mornings next week we will have an extended Academic Mentoring session. The start of period 1 will be delayed until 9am from Tuesday to Thursday to allow us to have more time with students to ensure that we are meeting all of their pastoral needs. This will include an assembly from me on returning to school and also so reflections on the challenges and successes we have experienced across the last 12 months, and the resilience that we can all take from this situation. As with everything we do in schools, what we talk about reflects life and the positives and negatives that this brings. Sometimes these conversations are hard and challenging but we feel that the more that we speak openly with students, the more that we can support them. If your child will find it difficult to do this then please contact their AM by email, in advance, to explain this and we can make alternative arrangements. 

·         School transport will return from Tuesday 9th March for those that use it. 

Also, as we come back I wanted to remind you of the COVID guidance in place:

·         We will retain all previous measures in place in the school last term, including but not limited to: start/finish times, breaks and lunches, one way system and the use of face coverings.

·         Students all have a hand sanitiser and they should use this regularly in school, as well as washing their hands in the bathrooms.

·         Desks, chairs and changing spaces in PE will all be wiped down in between lessons.

·         We will continue to deep clean all necessary areas of the school on a regular basis.

·         If a student, or anyone in their household, has symptoms then they must not come in to school and must stay at home. They should get a test and only come in to school if the outcome is negative (please send us a screen shot of this). Please advise us of this by email or by calling the school and speaking to the Attendance Officer. 

·         We are hoping not to have any cases within school but if we do our protocol will be identical to that which we used last term. We will text and email the relevant parents asking for permission for them leave school and go home to isolate.

As always thank you for your ongoing support for your child(ren) and the school. The last 12 months have been incredibly tricky to navigate for everyone is many different ways and I hope that you have felt that we have tried to support you and your families as much as possible. We look forward to teaching in school next week and not through the medium of Google Classroom!

Best wishes

Gregg Morrison

Principal

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