Dear Parents
COVID-19 – Further information on changes to school life to improve the safety for all students
Ahead of the students’ return to school which commences for different Year Groups from Monday, 7th September 2020, (see previous correspondence & website for details). I wanted to provide an update to aspects of school life that have changed in order to further improve the safety for your child.
A copy of the existing risk assessment which outlined the different steps that were put in place for the return of Years 10 and 12 prior to the summer holiday, is currently available on our website. We continue to update this and will next week present the updated version to the school Trustees for scrutiny and approval. Prior to the publication of the updated risk assessment, I thought it would be prudent to draw your attention to some aspects of the plan that will require the cooperation and attention of you and your child. Please could I ask you to discuss and reiterate these points with your child, as it will be essential that all members of the school community cooperate with these steps to keep the risks associated with school re-opening to a minimum.
- “Bubbles” – this is a term that has been introduced during the COVID lockdown and seems to have a variety of definitions across different areas of society, even from school to school. Several measures have been put in place to try and keep different “Year Group bubbles” apart whilst at school, e.g. staggered arrival and departure times, separate times for each Year Group to access the canteen. However, despite these steps and others (such as one- way systems, and allocated areas in which each Year Group have their break time) responsibility for maintaining a safe distance from other Year Groups will require the full cooperation of each student to have maximum impact. We will reiterate this with students in their return to school briefings but would ask you to impress this upon your child, in your individual discussions as a family.
- Start and finish times. Linking to the point on bubbles above, you will be aware via earlier correspondence of the steps that we have taken to stagger the start, departure, break and lunch times for each Year Group. Please can I ask you to impress upon your child how important it is that they adhere to these times. Arriving at the correct entrance / exit at the allocated times will help to keep each Year Group separated.
- Distancing from adults in the school. Cooperation between adults and students in the school has always been essential but perhaps never more than now. As far as possible, I would ask students to maintain a safe distance from each of the adults that they work with. To assist with this, a “teacher zone” has been marked out at the front of each classroom, and at some strategic points around the school. Students should not enter these taped off areas. Staff will obviously need to move outside of these areas during lessons and as they move around the school, hence the need for the cooperation of all students in maintaining safe distancing.
- Equipment for school. All students should also now consider their own hand sanitizer and refillable drinks bottle as part of their everyday school equipment. Hand sanitizer stations are available within every classroom, but it will greatly assist swift admittance to each class, if students are not dependent upon using these shared dispensers. Teachers will not be permitted to give out spare equipment, such as pens, nor will students be able to borrow uniform, such as ties. It is therefore essential that every student is fully equipped every day.
- Travelling to and from school. I would ask you to review your child’s journey to school. With public transport continuing to limit the number of passengers that are admitted to some buses, I would encourage as many students as possible to walk or cycle to school. Transport for London have asked schools to circulate the attached guidance for your consideration. If you are considering driving your child to school, I would ask you to arrange a drop off and collection point 200 – 400m away from the school entrance to avoid congestion and delay.
Following their staggered departure from school we request that students make their way home immediately. There is little point in students maintaining good social distancing whilst in school, only then to congregate with different year groups at local shops or parks.
- Face coverings. The issue of face coverings has been in the news during recent days, and I suspect that the guidance provided to schools and parents with regard to face masks in schools will potentially change several times before we reopen! However, our position at present is that students and staff will be permitted to wear a face covering if they feel it necessary to do so. There is no stipulated design of mask, but I would ask that any words or images displayed on the masks are appropriate for school. Additionally, it is important that if your child wears a face mask on public transport on their way to school, this must be removed and stored away before they enter the school gate. If they wish to then wear a face mask at school, this must be a new clean mask separate to that worn on public transport. It is essential that they sanitise their hands between removing the first and applying the second mask. You will understand that this system is entirely dependent upon students adhering to the guidance without supervision.
- Coronavirus symptoms. I believe we are all are all familiar with the Government guidelines on the reducing the spread of the virus by ensuring that if anyone has any of the symptoms that they immediately self-isolate, stay at home and apply for a test. For ease of reference, I have included the links to the Government guidance on each, within the text above.
- Hand hygiene. Similarly, I hope we are aware of how to wash our hands, and the fact that this needs to be done regularly and thoroughly, but this remains the single most effective way of preventing the spread of the disease. Each Form Tutor will impress upon each student the importance of this practice, but I would ask you to invest a few minutes ensuring your child is aware of how they are expected to wash their hands by watching the attached video produced by the Government.
- Movement around school. Although at times it may be frustrating for students, as it will not necessarily be the quickest route to their destination, I would ask you to impress upon your child the need for them to adhere to the one-way systems around the school. This will greatly reduce the number of students that they come into contact with and therefore help safeguard the whole school.
- Using the canteen. If your child is collecting or purchasing food at the canteen, they can either continue to use the biometric reader or give their Surname and Year Group, so the canteen staff can access the account. The biometric reader will be wiped after each student, to ensure it is sanitised between each use. Our tests show that the biometric reader is a much quicker method and will enable us to progress students through the canteen swiftly. We understand that some students may prefer to avoid any contact with the communal reader; they just need to be ready to provide their Surname and Year Group clearly upon collection of their food.
- Parental visits to school. Finally, I would ask all parents to refrain from entering the school building. We will endeavour to conduct all parent contact via phone or an online meeting. Parental attendance at school should be by appointment only at this current time.
Can I thank you for your ongoing support and cooperation during this challenging time. Once these changes have been included into the updated risk assessment and approved by the school’s Trustees, I will publish the full document for your reference on the school website as before. I hope this interim summary helps to address some of the questions and concerns that you may have. If you do have any further specific questions do please send these to my PA, Mrs Gina Deen at
Yours faithfully
Phil Grundy
Principal
