This explains phase one of our school’s reopening for Year 10 and 12 after the Covid-19 closure. It is very important that you read this information, and respond via the short form by Tuesday 9 June.
As you may be aware, the government has asked secondary schools to provide some face to face input for Year 10 and Year 12 students before the summer.
We will be inviting Year 10 students, one quarter of the year group at a time, into school for a four day block. We will be inviting Year 12 students, one quarter of the year group at a time, for three sessions. We have written to all the students in these year groups to let you know which days you have been allocated.
This is not yet a return to ‘normal’ school life, but an opportunity to support students’ education and wellbeing, alongside continuing home learning.
We’re setting out our plans here for how Phase One of our reopening will work, and the access and safety measures we have in place. A shared commitment from both school, families and students is needed in order to keep us all safe. In making our plans, we carried out a full and thorough risk assessment and have followed the DfE guidance, along with carefully listening to staff and parents’ concerns and suggestions. Over 650 parents and carers responded to our consultation. We thank you for your input, and we appreciate your patience in waiting for this information.
Students have been out of school now for 11 weeks. We know that, along with concerns about the Covid-19 risks, as parents and carers you are probably worried about the impact of missing school on your child’s education and wellbeing. The provision for students is designed to review where they are right now, and introduce some additional material.
This is not business as usual. But, as a school, we feel we can manage this stage effectively, keeping our school community safe and the education provision worthwhile. We hope that once you have read the information provided, you will share our confidence.
Not all students will feel able to return yet, particularly those who are shielding. This is why it is particularly important to us that you respond as soon as possible via the form at the end of this post, so that we have accurate numbers to work with.
Our phase 1 Plan for Year 10
Students in Year 10 will each be invited into school for one Monday-Thursday block, within the period between 15 June - 10 July. As per government guidelines for social distancing, no more than one quarter of the year group will be in school at any one time.
Students will be in groups of no more than 7 known as ‘bubbles’, based on their option choices and their core groupings. Throughout the week students will remain in their bubble at all times, with no movement between bubbles.
Students will not be expected to wear a school uniform. They will have a short 15 minutes break during the sessions and should bring in a snack and drink from home but no other equipment will be required.
Students will follow a set timetable for their time in school. These will be personalised to the students and will cover the core elements of our curriculum as well as their English Baccalaureate subjects (History, Geography, Computer Science, French, German and Spanish). Pastoral sessions will support students on their return to the classroom, which will be a very different experience than they are used to.
For optional subjects, which are generally more practical in nature, we will be providing online resources which students can access from home to support their learning.
School will be open for access from 8.30am, however groups have been staggered to support arrival and departure times.
School will be closed on each Friday for a deep clean in preparation for our next group of students who will start the following Monday.
All students will be provided with an individual pack of resources for the week, and at the end of the week will be given a range of resources to support their home learning.
You will receive a letter with details of the week (Monday - Thursday) that has been allocated to your child. This will include their start and finish times as well as the room they will be working in for the week. If you child has been allocated an early finish on the Thursday, please indicate on the form if you wish them to remain in school until we close at 1:30pm.
Please note that students may not have their usual subject teacher and will be working with students from other classes than their usual ones.
Our Phase 1 Plan for Year 12
Students in Year 12 will each be invited into school for three sessions (9:30am - 1:00pm) across the five weeks remaining in this term. As per government guidelines for social distancing, no more than one quarter of the year group will be in school at any one time.
Students will be in groups of no more than 11 based on their option choices and will work within the sixth form area during their sessions.
Students will have a short 15 minutes break during the sessions and should bring in a snack and drink from home but no other equipment will be required.
Students will follow a set timetable for their time in school. These will be personalised to the students and will enable them to attend valuable input sessions from their subject teachers. It is important that where students can attend they do as these sessions will be valuable to support their continuing education while school is closed for normal teaching.
All students will be provided with an individual pack of resources to support their home learning, these have been selected by their subject teacher so they can continue with their work independently over the Summer break.
Safety and Access Measures
The school will follow strict cleaning and safety guidance throughout the period of opening. The school, students and families all have an important role to play in keeping each other safe. We have put together a home-school agreement giving clear guidance on expectations from students, staff and parents. Please follow the links below and read these carefully,
Access and travel to school
We not only need to keep students safe inside our building, but on their journey to and from school, so our access route is also carefully managed.
Students should enter the school drive via the top entrance (by the STEP Centre / former Media block). Only staff cars, buses and service taxis will be allowed on the school drive, so those dropping off by car should do so on St Peters Avenue.
All students must queue and enter via the Ryburn Sixth entrance, where a socially distanced entry route is marked out. Please ensure on days of wet weather they have suitable protection.
Current guidance also advises against using public transport, so where possible, we hope students can travel on foot, by bike or by car. School transport will have a drastically reduced capacity in order to comply with government guidelines. If you would need to use school buses for your journey, please indicate this on the form linked below. Please note that not every service may run.
YOUR RESPONSE IS REQUIRED
We ask all Year 10 and 12 parents / carers to please complete the short form by midnight on Tuesday 9 June to let us know whether or not your son/daughter will be coming into school. This is really important to give us accurate numbers.
We understand that not all students will be able to come into school, for example those who are shielding. As part of the statutory requirement for recording attendance schools also have to collect information on absence, so if your child is absent due to medical reasons (eg. they are shielding or someone in the household is shielding) then we would be grateful if you could indicate so on the form. Subject leads will be sharing information from these sessions online to support students who are unable to attend school.
This is not a return to school ‘as usual’, and it will look and feel very different. As well as being crucial for all our safety, we think it will help students to be aware in advance of what to expect in school. This is a lot of information to take in, and we appreciate you taking the time to read it carefully and share it with your child.
We hope we have answered most of your questions about our plans and safety measures, as well as what would happen in case of student or staff illness. If you have any additional questions please contact Mrs Evans.