Dear Parents
COVID-19 – Some important adjustments that we wish to make to our procedures after the first week back to school
Can I firstly state what a privilege it has been to be able to welcome your children back to school this week. They have, without exception been cooperative and responsible in their approach to the inevitable challenges of coming to school during a pandemic. Their maturity in following one-way systems, arriving at staggered start times, adjusting to different lunch and break times, adhering to restrictions on which parts of the playground they can go on to at different times of the day and bringing their own hand sanitiser and wipes has been excellent.
The students have returned to school desperate to learn and thirsty for knowledge, and having reviewed the school at work during this first week there are some adjustments that we wish to make to our procedures. This will help to ensure that the school will continue to run smoothly, with teachers teaching and students learning without interruption from the virus.
To date we have made the wearing of face masks optional, several students and staff have chosen to wear masks at different times of the day. From Monday, 14th September 2020 we will change this arrangement and would ask that a face mask should be worn by all members of the school community as follows:
A face mask should be worn by all members of staff and students when:
- Moving around the school between lessons. Everyone will be expected to put a face mask on before leaving each classroom.
- During break and lunch times, when inside the building, including when waiting to purchase food in the canteen.
- During break and lunch times, when outside, if you are unable to maintain a 1m distance from those around you.
For clarity it will NOT be compulsory for students or staff to wear a face mask:
- During lessons.
- When eating and drinking.
- Whilst outside during break and lunch so long as a 1m distance can be maintained between others.
To date, we have not had any confirmed cases of the virus at the school, but in light of the changing national picture and new rules to help prevent the spread of the virus we have thought it prudent to implement this additional measure. Taking this step will help to reduce the number of students and teachers who might need to isolate should there be a confirmed case within our school community, thus ensuring continuity of teaching and learning for everyone else.
I acknowledge that writing to you on the Friday afternoon before implementing a new rule on Monday may pose a challenge for some. However, I would anticipate that almost all will be able to comply with these changes upon their return after the weekend. Staff will take time on Monday, 14th September 2020 to explain the new rules to students and to provide further clarification to ensure everything works smoothly. For this reason, the rule will be compulsory from Friday, 18th September 2020, however I anticipate in reality full compliance will be operational much earlier in the week.
It has been a pleasure to see how maturely students have responded to all that has been asked of them during this first week, however there are some points that I would ask you to reiterate to your child to help ensure the continued smooth running of the school:
- Students should not come into contact with one another and wherever possible, aim to maintain a metre between themselves and others.
- Always follow the one-way system. This has been very effective to date.
- Please have a waterproof coat or umbrella packed as part of their school equipment. To date it has been dry during the thirty minute break and lunch times. However, when it does rain, students and the staff supervising them, will all remain outside, except for extreme weather conditions, so an umbrella may come in handy at some point!
- Please ensure students bring their own re-useable drinks bottle. It is not permitted to drink directly from any of the taps or drinking fountains and single-use cups are no longer provided.
- If anyone at home has symptoms of the virus, please keep your child at home and immediately apply for a test for the symptomatic member of the family.
Taking all of these steps will continue to protect our school and enable all of the students to continue their learning, and all of the teachers to keep teaching!
Many thanks for your ongoing support during these challenging times.
Yours faithfully
Phil Grundy
Principal
