The school is partially re-opening for selected students, whilst maintaining our comprehensive online curriculum for all other students. In the first instance the school will be open for some Year 10 and Year 12 students. Those who are unable to comply with the COVID-19 Conduct Contract and those who have medical conditions which classify them under the government guidelines as ‘Highest Risk’ should remain at home until advised otherwise. This applies also to those who have somebody in their household who is classified as ‘Highest Risk’. There are other complex reasons why a parent/carer may wish to keep their child at home and continue to access online learning only, such as the children of black and ethnic minority families who have been identified as higher risk to COVID-19. Please let us know if this is the case.
In these instances, work will continue to be set on Show My Homework and on Teams for the students to complete at home. Our primary concern at this time is the health of the students, staff and their families. In order to keep everybody safe and reduce the likelihood of infection, a set of non-negotiable expectations that are additional to the usual code of conduct and positive behaviour management policy has been put in place and must observed by all members of the school community. This is a worrying time for us all and we hope that this contract will help to alleviate some of the concerns regarding students returning to school.
Parents and carers must not send their children to school with any symptoms of illness, however mild, including fever, diarrhoea, nausea, sore throat, cough, loss of smell/taste, rashes etc. The school reserves the right to refuse entry to any student where there are legitimate concerns regarding the health of a student. It will be the parent’s responsibility to collect the child within a 30-minute period where the child becomes unwell or appears unwell.
We expect every person in school to behave in a respectful and co-operative way which fully supports the principles of this COVID-19 Conduct Contract. There will be a zero-tolerance approach to deliberate or willful breaches of this contract. Where a child refuses to comply with the COVID-19 Conduct Contract, following contact from the Key Stage office, parents/carers must collect the child within a 30-minute period. This is non-negotiable and is in place to protect the wellbeing and health of our school community.
Please be aware that all staff members including providers of school transport will have a copy of this contract and as such it is in operation at all times, from leaving home to arriving back home if travelling by bus.
In order to return to school, students must agree to abide by all the parameters below. If students are unable to agree to each separate statement in this contract, then students should not return to school until social distancing measures are relaxed by the government or the school asks students to return.
Our contract is to be found on below and at the of this letter are appendices which offer further useful and important information.
It is important to emphasize for the parents/carers of year 7, 8 and 9 students in particular, that maintaining our online curriculum is of the highest priority. It is for this reason that the schedule we have designed is very light touch, with only 35-45 year 10 students and 6-18 year 12 students, which with our Key Workers and vulnerable children will amount to on average, around 60 students each day. There will be 6 or 7 from around 70 teachers in school, leaving the overwhelming majority of teachers available for online learning. They will be assisted by a small team of support staff to ensure social distancing is maintained.
We must also make clear for the parents/carers of year 10 and 12 students that we will not be able to offer lessons with all regular class teachers. Larger groups will be split into sub-groups to ensure social distancing, so other subject specialists will support to ensure that students have effective guidance and support. We will inevitably have members of staff who have one or more vulnerable people in their household who are shielding and will not be able to come into school. Where possible we will use technology to include them in the lesson. In exceptional circumstances there may be some subjects we are simply not able to offer, and those will continue with online learning.
In addition, as students are being allowed to use PPE if they wish to do so, they may find that some staff, to whom the same principles apply, also choose to use PPE in their lessons. Where there are students with hearing impairments who need to lip read, this will be taken into consideration.
Our plans will continue to evolve and develop, and we will write to students again when we have more information. However, in advance of this, we wanted to reassure students that an immense amount of thought and care is going into determining when and how our students return to school, and that the safety of students, staff and their households remains our top concern.
Risk Assessments drawn form this information will be uploaded to our COVID-19 microsite in the coming days, and every student will receive an individualised schedule for their lessons for the half-term by the end of this week.
In the meantime, we would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for the immense efforts in supporting students continue their studies at home.