Thank you to parents and carers for your patience as we digest the pages and pages of guidance around school return. A school without children is just a set of buildings. We are delighted that we will be opening up the school for all of our students. We honestly cannot wait to have you back. As a school we recognise that a return will again be daunting for our community. Nobody should be overwhelmed. We are here to support you. We will be scheduling in wellbeing meetings as we did as part of our return from the last lockdown (the timetable for return is below). This allows us to be able to have bespoke conversations with all students, address personally and quickly your queries and questions as a parent/ carer, a touch base with our staff, and for this return – a chance to understand the testing process.

You will have heard an awful lot about testing and masks in the media. We have asked all parents/ carers to complete the following link https://forms.gle/4cdQaNqkbLSRJYej7 to allow us to pre-register students for tests if these are consented for, but also to register those families/ carers who will not be giving permission for their child to be tested. Testing is not mandatory and we will not be pressuring or disadvantaging any members of the community who are not comfortable in engaging with these suggested processes.

Masks: We know that when our full school returns, we will be unable to guarantee all interactions will be socially distanced. For this reason, and in line with guidance, students are encouraged to wear masks in all areas of the school, including classrooms. Masks are not compulsory, but for the safety of other members of the school community, with new variants evolving, they are highly recommended for all staff & students at our school. We are requesting that all students therefore wear an appropriate face covering in all internal areas, including classrooms at all times. Masks are not required when students are outside if they are able to maintain socially distance measures.  There will be a number of students who will be medically exempt from wearing a mask. If this is the case, please use the planner to provide a note. We want all to be safe and face coverings are a measure to mitigate the spread of disease.

Testing: As part of the government guidance to reopen schools, secondary schools have been requested to undertake 3 lateral flow tests for students prior to returning to school.  There needs to be a minimum 3-day gap between tests. The programme for return is below. Please note, if you are not consenting to testing, your child will need to remain being taught online until the allocated day of return for their year group. Individual information for wellbeing appointments for students is being shared on the Show My Homework portal.

Timetable for student return

There will be more information on Show My Homework  including relevant timings, but we are really looking forward to having you back. Please see the images below to understand what the school has undertaken to prepare for return. We can't wait to see you!