School Updates - Covid 19 - 4th September 2020 Update

4^th September 2020

Dear Parents

COVID-19 – Further details outlining safety precautions put in place for the students’ return

Ahead of the new term, I wanted to write to you again with some further details about the steps that have been put in place to ensure that the school is as COVID safe as possible, and ready for the students’ return.

Earlier this week the Trustees scrutinised and approved the school’s risk assessment and the additional control measures that have been implemented and that will become part of the school’s new routines from September 2020.  It has been a pleasure this morning to welcome back all of our staff, they are unanimous and unified in their desire to welcome your children back to school and look forward to helping them settle into a more normal routine.

As promised in my last correspondence, I wanted to draw your attention to the updated risk assessment that is now available for you to view on the website but also to summarise some of the key messages that we will be sharing with the students on their return.  It will greatly help the smooth running of the school, if you are able to discuss the following with them ahead of the new term.

• Each student should see it as part of their new school uniform to have their own small hand sanitiser and refillable drinks bottle with them at all times.
• Students in Years 7 – 11 will now have two separate breaks of 30 minutes during the day.  One will be allocated as a “lunch”, the other just as a “break”.
• The difference is significant because for Years 7-10 it will only be during their “lunch” time that they will have access to the canteen to collect or purchase their meals.  During “break” students in 7 – 10 will not be permitted into the canteen but will have an allocated area at the top of the playground, which includes some benches where they can eat their snacks that they have brought in from home. 
• Students in Year 11 will have access to the Youth Centre during both “break” and “lunch” but will be expected to stay in that area of the school.
• Students will have access to allocated toilet blocks at different points during the day:

Break time – P block. (Girls upstairs, Boys downstairs)

Lunch time – M block.

6^th Form – 6^th Form block.

Year 11 – Youth Centre.

On the rare occasions that students need to use the toilet during a lesson, they will receive a pass from their class teacher to use the nearest block and return to their learning, as swiftly as possible.

• 6^th Form students have their break and lunch combined into a 1 hour session, thus giving them time to leave the site to purchase lunch should they wish to do so.  The group study and servery will be open to them at this time as well.

My previous correspondence summarises many of the details of the updated risk assessment and rather than repeat points here I include a link to that letter.  I do however think it worth giving further information about the following key points:

• Face coverings.  At present we maintain our belief that the best approach to this issue is to support any colleague or student who wishes to wear a face mask.  We are not making it compulsory to either wear one, or to remove them on the school site.  We appreciate that individual families will have widely differing views about the advantages and the risks associated with either wearing or choosing not to wear a face mask.
• I wish to stress that whilst not stipulating a specific design of face mask, I would encourage colleagues and students alike to consider the environmental impact of wearing a disposable mask and would encourage the use of re-useable, washable masks.
• Similarly, I would want students to be clear that scarfs, snoods, balaclavas, or masks with inappropriate designs on, are all unsuitable for use in school and must not be used as a face covering.
• Around the school at key points and in every classroom, there are marked “staff zones”, these are indicated by a solid line of hazard tape. These areas mark where adults can stand, confident that they will be distanced from all of the students but also able to supervise or teach for a length of time.  Students should respect the need to sensibly distance themselves from all adults in the school, whilst still cooperating and responding to their instruction or direction.
• Each Year Group has their own separate time or gate to arrive and depart by.  Please impress upon your child how important it is that they arrive and depart within their allotted times.  Additionally, upon departure from school with their Year Group, that they make their way home swiftly.  Vacating the streets, shops, bus stops and train station as soon as possible in order to avoid congestion and crowding.
• We will spend time in lessons and during registration periods addressing with students the challenges of maintaining good mental health during this pandemic.  Indeed, staff today have participated in some bereavement training, as we are aware that tragically some of our school community have suffered such a loss as a result of COVID.  Should you have any particular concerns about how your son or daughter are managing the return to school at this time, please do contact the relevant member of our pastoral team and they will discuss how we can best support you and your child.
• In response to the pandemic we have increased our cleaning rota and have a team who now continually work around the school during the day.  They focus upon the toilets, handrails, door handles, push plates and hard surfaces.  Student keyboards and mice are cleaned each day but it is not possible to clean each station between each period.  Antibacterial wipes will be available for students to wipe down the workstation they are allocated prior to use, but I would suggest that if students had their own small pack of wipes for their personal use, this would greatly assist the swift and smoot start to lessons where they are using a keyboard.
• Students will continue to exchange exercise books with their teachers, and be expected to fix in various handouts and worksheets.  Students having their own glue sticks and scissors, will again greatly assist in ensuring this vital information can still be quickly and efficiently fixed into their books and avoid teachers having to distribute and clean such equipment.
• Staff will try to limit the exchange of paper and exercise books between themselves and the students, but this will still be necessary in order to provide students with feedback on their work.  Where this can be done digitally and in a timely fashion this will be done, however staff and students should take the sensible precaution of sanitising their hands and not touching their face on the occasions when exercise books are exchanged.
• When participating in PE, students will continue to get changed into and out of their PE kit for their activity.  There are additional hand sanitiser stations in the changing rooms, and their capacity capped, and reorganised so that students have suitable space facing away from others to change.  Thus, still being able to benefit from all the positive outcomes from physical activity.

I appreciate that this and previous correspondence has been packed full of new rules, regulations, systems and structures. Indeed, the updated risk assessment is available for you to view on the website.  This outlines in greater depth the safety steps that I have tried to summarise for you, that we have put into place ready for September.

We will utilise the briefing sessions that we have arranged with each Year Group to reiterate these points to the students on return.  However, I would maintain that the school’s core behaviours of “Respect, Responsibility and Resilience”, if displayed by all students will ensure that we are all ready to return to education in a safe manner.

My colleagues and I are genuinely looking forward to the return of the students.  Their future success and aspirations are what we must now invest our time and effort into, whilst being mindful of all the necessary safety measures that have been put in place.

Thank you for your ongoing support and patience! There will be further communication of how various school events such as Parents Evenings, Consultation Groups, Open Evenings, Extra-Curricular Clubs will take place with the restrictions that are placed upon us at present, in due course.  Have a good weekend, and I look forward to welcoming your child back to school at some point next week.

Yours faithfully

Phil Grundy

Principal