Welcome Back to a New School Year
3rd September 2021
Dear Parents and Carers
Welcome back to a new school year
We hope you and your families had a restful summer break, and enjoyed a little of the greater freedoms afforded by the loosening of national Covid restrictions.
We are looking forward to having all of our students back in to lessons, starting from Monday 6th September. You will have heard from us already about the specific time-slot for your child/ren to attend school for their Covid 19 lateral flow tests, either on Friday 3rd September or Monday 6th September. By Tuesday morning, all year groups will be in school full time. We wanted to share a little more information about the start of term, including but not limited to the measures in place to limit the spread of infection in school.
| Covid 19 | Since July 2021, the measures expected by the DFE to control the spread of Covid 19 are: 1. Ensuring good hygiene for everyone 2. Maintaining appropriate cleaning regimes 3. Keeping occupied spaces well ventilated 4. Following the public health advice on testing, self-isolation and managing confirmed cases of Covid 19 |
| Face masks | Students, staff and visitors are no longer required to wear face masks, in lessons or corridors. Of course, any member of the school community that would prefer to wear a face covering is welcome to do so. |
| Testing | Students of secondary school age and all staff should continue to conduct twice-weekly Covid tests, using the provided lateral flow test kits, and to report the results to the NHS via the NHS test-and-trace website. |
| Managing positive tests | If a student or staff member tests positive for Covid 19 using a lateral flow device, they must not come to school. They should seek a PCR test via a local testing site or ordered online for home delivery. If your child tests positive, please do not send them to school but contact us via telephone to report the case. |
| Showing symptoms | If your child is showing symptoms of Covid 19 (high temperature, change or loss of sense of taste/smell, new persistent cough) then please do not send them to school but seek a PCR test via a local test site, and let the school know via the usual student absence number. |
| Close contacts | Since 16.08.21, the requirement to self-isolate if you have been in close contact with a person who subsequently tested positive for Covid 19 has been lifted from those adults that have received both doses of the vaccine, and all under-18s. Therefore, no student should be absent from school as a “close contact”. |
| Continuity of learning | If your child is absent due to their own Covid 19 illness, but is feeling well enough to work from home, their class work will be set via the SIMS parent and student apps and should be completed during the school day. This will ensure they do not fall behind their classmates, and will make their return to lessons smoother and less stressful. |
| Attendance | Attendance at school is compulsory, and all parents/carers have a duty to ensure their child/ren attends well. We respectfully remind you that holiday during term time is not permitted. Please contact us via the usual telephone numbers, if your child is unwell and unable to attend. |
| The school day | We are no longer staggering the start and end of the school day. All students must be on site by 8:35am, for the start of the first lesson at 8:40am. All students should enter via the main reception and not through the playground gates. School ends at: · Years 7 to 10 – 3:00pm every day · Year 11 – 3:00pm on Monday, and 3:50pm Tuesday-Friday Students will be allowed to enter the school building from 8:20am. We will be re-starting a before-school club, by invitation only, in due course. Students are welcome to remain on site until 4:00pm, in order to complete their I.S., in either the LRC, IT suite, canteen or green steps areas. No student should be on site after 4:00pm unless they are attending an organised club. |
| Uniform | We will be enforcing our school uniform rules from the first day back, so please ensure your child is properly dressed and equipped for their return. In particular, please note that we insist on correct school shoes (not trainers, even black leather ones) and do not allow piercings other than one pair of small studs in the earlobe only. If your child has had their nose/tongue pierced over the summer, please remind them that they must take it out before they return to school.
If you have not been able to provide the full school uniform for your child, please contact their tutor and college leader in the first instance. We do have a supply of uniform that we are able to lend. We can also discuss the financial support on offer for families. |
| Break and lunch | We are no longer required to keep the year group ‘bubbles’ apart at break and lunch time. Your child will be able to collect food from any of the multiple serveries around the site. Their tutor will explain more on their return. Ball games are allowed on the MUGA only, for all year groups. |
| Lockers | We will be reallocating lockers over the coming weeks, with the intention of being able to use them before the end of this half term. Please help us speed up this process by reminding your child to return their old locker key to reception. |
| Learning families | We are delighted to be able to return to our customary ‘vertical’ learning families, meaning students will be in a group together with students from years 7 to 10 in their College. Students will be informed of their learning family on their first day back on 6th or 7th September. |
| P.E. kit | Please ensure your child has their full PE kit on their return to school. Details are available on the school’s website. The PE team will also discuss kit expectations with their classes on their return. If your child is injured, please make sure they bring their PE kit to school regardless. Please write a note for the PE teacher, describing the nature of the injury so that the lesson can be adapted accordingly. |
| Parents’ evenings | Details of parents’ evenings will be shared in due course. We expect to return to a more usual, face-to-face meeting on the school site with all subject teachers present. |
Thank you for your continued support of the school. We are looking forward to a fantastic year ahead, including the welcome return of shows and performances, trips and visits. Our Open Evening this year is on Thursday 16th September, so do encourage friends and neighbours with children in Year 6 to come and have a look around.
Yours faithfully
Tony Searle
Principal
