Dear Parents & Carers

Happily, our colleague who had tested positive for coronavirus has recovered and is back safe and well. Looking both locally and nationally, there are increasing numbers of schools affected by positive cases, so it seems a good opportunity to remind everybody of the Covid measures we have in school, and ask you to ensure your child understands the rules and realises the importance of respecting them.

Echoing the government guidance of ‘hands, face, space’, we do expect students to sanitise their hands as they enter every classroom and before they eat. We have plenty of sanitiser in school but it is easier if students carry their own. We also expect students to wear facemasks when they are in the busy corridors, going to and from lessons. Masks can be removed in class or when they get to their break areas, and we do not enforce them outside, but please do make sure your child brings a mask with them each day.

The most important thing is space, which is also the most challenging in a busy school. Students are placed in seating plans which have all been submitted to me so that, in the event of a positive test of a student, we can very quickly identify close contacts and let them know to self-isolate and prevent further spread. One of our key defences is how the school is zoned. Reluctantly I must remind all students that they do not have the freedom of the site anymore, but must stick within their zones and break areas. When moving to a specialist classroom, they must use an outdoor route, even in the rain.

I’d also like to share a couple of changes which we will be introducing in school after half term.

• Firstly, we will be moving from a house system to a year group system. The zones and bubbles lend themselves very well to Heads of Year rather than Heads of House. In fact, most of the benefits of the house system have been rubbed out through the use of zones and bubbles, so we have taken the pragmatic step of making this adjustment.
• Secondly, we would like to bring back tutor times for Years 9, 10 and 12. (Year 13 is still under discussion.) This will give students a daily contact, offering support and making sure rules are followed and standards are kept.

We will give more details of these adjustments in the next couple of weeks and introduce you to your child’s Head of Year. In the meantime, please take the time to ensure your child understands why we have the ‘hands, face, space’ rules in place and encourage them to keep up the good work.

With best wishes

Andy Perry – Head Teacher

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