We are very much looking forward to welcoming all of our pupils back to school after the summer holiday and, especially so, after the long period of lockdown too.

We have been impressed by the way in which so many of our pupils have engaged with the tasks their teachers have set in Show My Homework and in their lessons in Microsoft Teams. However, we also recognise that there will be some gaps in their knowledge and understanding. Therefore, we acknowledge our pupils will have different starting points in the autumn and we are planning for an initial period of recovery, consolidation and acceleration.

This will be the focus for our in-service training day on Tuesday 1 September 2020. This will be followed by an additional planning day for staff only on Wednesday 2 September 2020.

I confirm pupils in Years 7 and 11 will return to school on Thursday 3 September. This will enable us to schedule induction activities for pupils in Year 7 and ensure a sharply focused start for pupils in Year 11. Pupils in all year groups will return to school on Friday 4 September. Those in Years 8, 9 and 10, will have a short re-introduction to school where we will set out our expectations, before following their scheduled lessons.

We are currently working on our timetable and plans for the new school year as we are making some adjustments in response to the latest guidance we have received from the government.  These will ensure we can continue to deliver the breadth of our curriculum and keep everyone safe.

We appreciate you will have questions about our provision and your children's return to school. However, we continue to receive updates from the government and we may need to make further changes to our plans. Therefore, we will be sharing more information specific to each year group with you in the week beginning Monday 24 August 2020. We aim to provide pupils with their timetables in Show My Homework before they return to school in September.

I advise you that to help us create ‘bubbles’, we will be accommodating pupils in specific ‘home bases’ for each year group. These will enable us to reduce contacts and minimise mixing. The most significant difference will be that for the majority of their lessons, pupils will stay in their year group ‘home bases’ and their teachers will move to them. Where appropriate, pupils will be taught in some of our specialist classrooms.

We will temporarily be changing the structure of our school day. This will enable us to stagger the beginning and end of the day, breaks and lunch times. Pupils in Year 7 will start the day with their tutor at 8:45 with registration and their day will end at 15:10. School for pupils in all other year groups will be registered in their first lesson which will begin at 9:00 prompt. Their day will end at 15:25 following a short period of tutor time. During the day, pupils will have a 15 minute break and 30 minute lunch time.  During these times pupils will be expected to stay in the designated year group zones, both inside and outside the school building, and to remain socially distanced.

We have undertaken a comprehensive risk assessment. Consequently, we will be putting a system of wider controls in place to help prevent infection. This includes an enhanced cleaning schedule. We will expect all pupils to follow our clear hand and respiratory hygiene rules, maintain appropriate social distancing and contribute positively to our ’wipe down’ routines at the end of each lesson.

It is very important that we all support and take care of each other. By working together cooperatively, we all should be able to achieve more than we first think possible.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Chiquita Henson
Headteacher