Dear Parents and Carers
We seem to be ending this year in a similar way to last; with a sense of unease about what January may bring and uncertainty over what should or shouldn’t happen over Christmas. However, as far as I am concerned we are looking back at a far more successful term. This time last year your child may have been sent home to self-isolate on several occasions due to contacts, there were no contingency plans over exams and we had contact traced so many cases in school we thought we may have our own “Myton variant” named; it’s all publicity after all. Even when the students were in school the learning was disrupted by the necessity of zones and bubbles. This year, although there have been crunch times, the cases we have had in school have been spread out and therefore relatively few kids have been off at any one time. With the exception of the reintroduction of masks, we have been free of restrictions, particularly those which disrupt learning. I also sense a genuine resistance to any talk of school closures, so compared with last year, I am certainly more optimistic.
That isn’t to say we can’t take steps to help ourselves. As you know, we are doing mass testing on 4 January and I strongly urge you to ensure your child(ren) attend and get tested so we can start the term as Covid free as possible. Students have also been given kits to continue testing at home during the break, please ensure that they do so.
In terms of the latest DfE guidance, the only addition has been that 12-15-year olds who were jabbed on site will receive their second vaccination at school 12 weeks after the first, which for us should be the second half of January. For those students sorting their own, there are vaccination centres popping up all over the County and they are easily found online.
A sincere thanks to all our parents and students for working with us this year as we endeavour to deliver the curriculum and minimise disruption. The working relationship the school has with parents has been paramount in helping your kids battle through; the January lockdown, the mass testing in March, the teacher assessed grades process in the Spring and the summer of disruption caused by the Delta variant. It has certainly been another year of building resilience to new challenges and I am sure we will all be stronger because of it.
Have a lovely Christmas break and a very happy New Year. I look forward to seeing all our students, as planned, in January.
Best wishes
Andy Perry – Head Teacher
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