Principal's Letter, 4 November 2020

I hope families were able to enjoy the half term break in spite of the inclement weather most days; we have been pleased to welcome our students back to the second half of the autumn term.

You will no doubt have watched the Downing Street press conference on Saturday evening that the Prime Minister gave alongside Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance and Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty, to announce a four-week national lockdown in England from Thursday 5th November until 2nd December.

In his statement the Prime Minister announced schools will be kept open to prioritise children and young people’s education and wellbeing. This means most procedures in school will continue as they did before half term.

However, following the government announcement for a further national lockdown and whilst we are doing everything we can to make our academy safe for everyone, there are still further precautions that we can take to reduce the risk of spread of infection. Therefore, I would like to draw your attention to the following which will come into effect from tomorrow:

Face Coverings
From tomorrow, everyone (staff and students) will be required to wear a face covering in common areas moving around the school. This includes corridors, toilet/washbasin areas and indoor social time spaces.

Eating in indoor lunch zone
Students may remove their masks when eating as they would do in restaurants but it is essential they clean their hands before touching their face, food and drink. Once finished eating, students must wear their masks while staying indoors. Students are, of course, welcome to go to the outdoor bubble areas unless it is raining.

Lessons
If they wish to, students may wear a mask in lessons but that is optional. At the end of each lesson, students must clear their area and equipment. If leaving the classroom, they must then put on their face covering before leaving their desk.

Hygiene and Cleanliness
It is vital that students do not wear the same mask for a long period of time and advisable to have multiple masks with them where possible each day and to keep them in plastic bags in their school bag. If masks are washable, we would advise cleaning them each night ready for the next day. If your child wears disposable masks, it is vital that they are disposed of in bins. Once your child has removed their mask they should wash or clean their hands with sanitiser.

Enrichment Clubs
Unfortunately all after school enrichment clubs are going to be postponed during lockdown. Students should ensure they leave site at 2:40pm and go directly home.

All Period 6 lessons (2.40pm-3.40pm) in Years 7 – 11 will still continue; education is really important and every lesson counts.

The above measures affecting the school day have been shared with students during tutor time today. Tutors also explained the national restrictions to students, which I am sure you as parents will have also done. The summary of what we shared is as follows:

We can exercise or visit outdoor public places with the people you live with, your support bubble, or 1 person from another household.

Outdoor public places include parks, beaches, countryside, public gardens (whether or not you pay to enter them), allotments and playgrounds.

We cannot meet in a private garden.

We are not allowed to meet others indoors including family and friends unless they are in your support bubble. A support bubble is where a household with one adult joins with another household.

I would also like to reiterate that visits to the academy are by pre-arranged appointment only and visitors who come on to site are requested to wear face masks/coverings. Social distancing must continue to be adhered to at all times whilst on site.

These are difficult times we are living in and I know that this second lockdown will cause much anxiety for some families, but at least this time schools can remain open. Please be assured that we will continue to do all that we can to keep everyone safe by following these rigid health and safety procedures. May I take this opportunity to thank all of our families for supporting all the procedures we have in place, to thank our students who are being so resilient and finally our staff who are working tirelessly to provide the best education they can for all students in these continuing challenging circumstances. I will, of course, keep you updated over the coming weeks.

Mr P Slaughter, Principal

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