Year 10 reopening

Wednesday 10th June

Dear parents/carers,

Following confirmation from the government that schools are to reopen in a safe way for students in year 10, we would like to share with you the details around the arrangements we have put in place in order to reopen which have been approved by the Paradigm Trust Board (please click here for detailed arrangements).  

In line with government guidance, there will only be 25% of year 10 students in school at any one time.  This means that year 10 students will be invited into school for 1 day per week (Monday to Thursday).  Students who wish to attend school for an additional day (Friday) to work independently with some teacher support, will be invited to do so through a simple booking system. There will be limited spaces on Fridays as we will only be permitted to accommodate 25% of year 10 students at a time.

Early this month we contacted all families with students in year 10 to find out if parents/carers would be comfortable for their child to return to school.  As was discussed, we are happy to welcome students back to school but are aware that some parents/carers will not want their child to return at this moment in time.  There is no pressure for your child to return. 

We have booked a place for all year 10 students, regardless of whether you have said that you would like your child to return or not.  This is so that students can come back to school when parents/carers are comfortable for their child to do so.  By the end of this week, we will inform you of the class (pod) that your child has been allocated to and which day of the week that they will be in school.

The school day will be as follows:

Period 10900 – 1020
Break1020 – 1030
Period 21030 – 1150
Break1150 – 1200
Period 31200 – 1320
Lunch1320 – 1400
Period 41400 – 1520

It is really important that students socially distance on their way to and from school so that we work together to keep down the risk of infection.  In line with the most recent government announcement, when walking to school, students should not be in groups of more than six and should keep 2m apart from each other at all times.  

We have organised the building, inside and out, to ensure that social distancing is possible at all times.  

Students will be placed within a ‘pod’ for all of their lessons consisting of no more than 12 students. Four different teachers will teach each pod per day; we are trying to keep this consistent week on week. During breaktime, students will be allocated an area outside which is marked out for social distancing. At lunchtime, students will be allocated a seat in a specific canteen area where they will eat their lunch, whether hot lunch or packed lunch. Each canteen area will then be dismissed outside.  We will be running a cashless system to pay for school meals – please click here for instructions to set this up.

Each pod has been allocated a classroom.  Some furniture has been removed from these rooms to allow for desks to be separated. We encourage students to bring their own equipment, however each student will be issued with their own pencil case and resources if required. Sharing equipment amongst students will not be permitted. Classrooms, and the rest of the school, will be cleaned routinely throughout the day.

We are only allowing one visitor into reception at any one time, if there is someone already in reception please wait outside until they leave. If at all possible, please do not come into school.  If you need to speak to a member of staff either phone or email; we must limit the number of people on site at all times, therefore face to face meetings will not happen unless we deem them urgent.  

Everyone who enters the school will need to wash/sanitise their hands and repeat throughout the day; sanitiser stations have been placed at entry points to the building.  Within the school building we have implemented a one-way system.  To help the students to move around the school, 2m markings have been taped out in corridors with arrows indicating which direction they are to walk.  Toilets will be monitored to ensure that social distancing can take place and they do not become too crowded.

We are confident that all students will follow the new rules which have been put in place to keep everyone safe.  Our behaviour system has been adapted to reflect the changes within school.  We will go through the new procedures (click here to view) with students so that everyone is clear about our expectations.

We will be following the normal curriculum as far as possible, with the distance learning on Google Classroom mirroring the lessons delivered in school where appropriate; distance learning will continue for those students who are not returning although we ask that work is completed online.  If families are struggling with devices to access Google Classroom please contact the school.  

We are aware that these are very challenging times and therefore we are doing everything we can to ensure that your child’s return to school, whenever that may be, is safe and your child is supported.   We will speak to all of the students on their first day back to explain the changes and to help them to transition back into school.  As we move forward it may become necessary to make some changes to what we are doing and how we are doing them.  We ask that you are patient and work with us, as you always do, if we do make any changes.

On Thursday 11th June at 4:30pm we will host a short online presentation when we will outline in more detail how the school day will work. Joining details will be emailed to all year 10 students or students can click here.

Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all of your support throughout these last few weeks.  We look forward to welcoming back year 10 next week.

Yours faithfully,

Helen Winn                   Abbie Thorrington
Principal                         Principal from 22nd June 2020

Last updated June 10, 2020