The school has taken great care to put in place additional measures to prevent infection and avoid anyone catching Coronavirus. We have

• Carried out comprehensive risk assessments;
• Introduced robust hand and respiratory hygiene measures;
• Enhanced our cleaning routines;
• Introduced measures to support social distancing in school and improve ventilation;
• Reorganised our school day and changed our timetable.

It is important that we all take responsibility for looking after each other and everyone follows the guidance. You can help us by:

• Adhering to our school standards at all times;
• Following all instructions and responding positively when asked or reminded by a member of staff to do something. These will be aimed at keeping you, other pupils and your teachers safe;
• Washing your hands at the external sinks provided when you arrive at school every morning and before and after your morning break and lunch time;
• Using the hand sanitiser appropriately in your classrooms and when asked to do so by a teacher;
• Keeping at least 2m away from adults in school and at least 1m away from other pupils outside the classroom;
• Staying in your year group bubble and remaining in the same seat whenever possible;
• Respecting the one-way system in use in some areas on the ground floor of the Main School building;
• Ensuring you ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ by coughing or sneezing into a tissue (or your elbow if necessary) and disposing immediately of used tissues in the correct bin;
• Using the designated bins in each classroom to dispose of used tissues and disinfectant wipes. Do not place these items in recycling bins as they need to be disposed of securely.

You are expected to wear your normal school uniform correctly. Check our Uniform Dos and Don'ts here.

You should wear your navy blue V-necked school jumpers - classroom windows and doors will be left open to ensure all learning spaces are well ventilated. 

You will need to bring your normal PE kit into school with you when required for lessons. There will be limited use of the changing rooms and you may get changed in large areas with pupils of your own gender.

The guidance around face coverings in schools is under discussion. At present, face coverings are not mandatory in schools, but if you want to wear a face covering in school here at Deer Park you are welcome to do so as long as it is appropriate and not offensive. You will need to provide your own face covering if you wish to wear one and it is your responsibility to look after it and wear it correctly. BBC News: How should I wear a face covering? 

You must make sure you know how to put it on and remove it to minimise the risk of transmission. Used disposable face coverings should be disposed of in the designated pedal bins in classrooms and not in general waste. Used washable face coverings should be kept in a plastic bag and taken home for washing.

If you travel to and/or from school by bus you will need to wear a face covering - see below.

We are not planning to routinely check your temperature when you are in school. If you feel unwell during the school day, you should go to our Welfare Officer who will check your temperature.

Do not come into school if you have a high temperature or fever.

We are staggering the start of the school day:

• Year 7 pupils should arrive for an 8:45am start
• Year 8-11 pupils should arrive for a 9:00am start.

You are expected to arrive promptly and ideally not more than 15 minutes before your school day starts. 

Parents can drop you off at the rear of the school.  However, all pupils, including those of you who arrive on foot, by bike or by bus, should make your way to your home bases following external routes and without entering or crossing other year group ‘bubbles’. 

We appreciate that if you travel by bus you may arrive a little earlier than your peers. If you arrive early you should go directly to your year group’s home base.

If you travel to school by bus you are expected to follow the procedures set out by Gloucestershire County Council for public transport - read more.  The general guidance on bus travel is that you should wear a face covering and sit with pupils from your own year group ‘bubble’.

When you first arrive in school you must wash your hands using one of the new external sinks that have been located around the school site.

You will also be asked to sanitise your hands in the classroom and to wipe down your work area and any equipment you will be using.

The majority of your lessons will be taught within your home base. Teachers will come to you and will agree seating plans. There will be reduced movement around the school.  You may need to change rooms within your home base for some subjects, or you may need to go to specialist rooms such as those in Design, for example.

Please move around the school quietly and responsibly. You will need to follow the planned routes to avoid crossing other year group bubbles.

If you are in Year 7 your school day will start at 8:45am with registration in your tutor group and your lessons will begin at 9:00am.

If you are in Years 8-11 your day start at 9:00am with your first lesson and will end with tutor time.

All pupils will have 5 lessons a day.  These are of varied length to help us accommodate staggered breaks and lunch times which will be shorter in length than they used to be.  However, we have also temporarily allowed 5 minutes movement time between lessons where appropriate.

A summary of the timetable structure for each year group is set out below:

Year 7

Year 8

Year 9

Year 10

Year 11

At present we cannot hold large gatherings in school so we will not be having formal assemblies. However, to help us convey key messages and provide time for reflection we may introduce briefings via MS Teams during your tutor time.

To remain COVID safe, we need to reduce the number of pupils moving around the school at any one time or in any one area. Like other schools across the country we have had to stagger the school day.

In your break or lunch time you will be able to go to your designated eating or social space with the rest of your year group. You will be able to meet up with others in your year group ‘bubble’.

Unfortunately, you cannot play ball games outside of PE lessons, because we are unable to control the risk of transmission. However, we will keep this under review and we will advise you when we are able to reintroduce ball games.

The PLC and Coaching Centre are also temporarily closed at break and lunch time.

Each year group has been allocated an eating area. The Canteen will be offering a selection of hot and cold food in both the Main Hall and Atrium. Owing to the changes we have had to make, there will initially be less choice than we are used to seeing on the menu.

Please remember all transactions are cashless and you will need to ensure you have enough money on your smart card to cover the cost of any purchases you wish to make.

If you are in Year 7, your school day will end at 3:10pm. If you are being collected or you are walking or cycling home you will be able to leave the school site.

If you are in Year 7 and go home by bus, you should wait in your home base until 3.20pm when you will need to go to the Main Hall to wait with other pupils for your bus.

If you are in Year 7 and have a lift home on your own or with other pupils, you should go to the back car park at the end of your school day and wait to be picked up. Remember you should remain socially distanced from other pupils unless they are in your year group or travel to and from school with you.

If you are in Years 8-11, you should leave your home base by the designated exit calmly at 3:25pm. You should avoid crossing or joining other year group ‘bubbles’.  

If you are in Years 8-11 and go home by bus, you will need to go to the Main Hall where staff will supervise you and manage departures.

This is a new system and we ask for your cooperation. We will keep this under review.

Your teacher will teach from the front of the room and you will need to listen more and make notes. Teachers will endeavour to make lessons as interactive as possible. There will be opportunities to ask and answer questions but there will be less paired activity or group work.

Teachers will move less around the room, but they may need to step out of their area should they need to intervene if something inappropriate is happening in the classroom that puts someone at risk.

All classrooms have been arranged so that all pupils can face the front. Please make sure you follow the guidance you are given and avoid turning to talk to the pupils next to you or behind you.

All classroom windows and doors will be open to ensure all learning spaces are well ventilated.

You will need to respect the social distancing measures and keep 2m away from your teacher.

There will be a seating plan for each lesson and whenever possible you should stay in the same seat. This will enable our teaching assistants to provide personalised support to those pupils who require it.

You will be asked to wipe down your own work area and any equipment you have used.

You should make sure you have everything you need for a day in school. You should come equipped with your own calculator, pens, pencils and rulers as well as your exercise books and textbooks for each lesson.

You will not be able to borrow equipment from other pupils and you should not share equipment with other pupils.

Please do not bring anything into school each day which is not absolutely essential for your learning. To reduce the risk of cross contamination, footballs and other play equipment that is brought into school by pupils will be confiscated and returned to you after 3 days in quarantine. We will keep this under review.

We are reviewing the use of lockers as they are currently distributed around the school. You should ensure you have everything you require with you on each school day and we will advise you when you will be able to start using your lockers.

You should report anything you have lost to your Tutor or Year Leader. Hopefully all of your equipment and items of school uniform will be named. This will make it easier for us to return it to you.

Any lost property will be handed in to Reception where it will be quarantined for 3 days. If it is named it will be returned to you, but if it is unnamed it will remain in store and you should check to see if it has been handed in.

No. We expect all pupils to adhere to our school standards. We have reviewed these and feel they still underpin our relationships with each other and reflect the preventative measures we have put in place. The principles of respect, kindness and determination are still central to our ethos and ensuring we are all able to work and learn alongside each other:

• We welcome everyone to our school community;
• We respect and cooperate with each other;
• We value difference; we celebrate others’ talents and achievements;
• We are kind to each other and we prevent bullying in all its forms;
• We take pride in our uniform and look after our school;
• We apply our best efforts in all we do; we work hard;
• We are determined and challenge ourselves to achieve more than we first thought possible;
• We grasp all opportunities for learning so we can achieve our best.

Your Year Leader will be based in your designated area of the school and you will have the opportunity to see your Tutor once a day.

All staff will be on hand to provide support. We are planning a recovery curriculum and we will be working with other agencies to support your emotional wellbeing.

We expect you to behave well and focus on your learning. We recognise we will all need to get used to the new routines and you will be reminded to step back if you get too close to someone or to face the front, for example, if you turn to talk to someone next to you.

If you behave inappropriately, disrupt others, ignore the preventative measures and put other members of our school community at risk there will be sanctions. These will be in line with our Behaviour for Success Policy. You may be asked to stop what you are doing, given a warning, removed from the classroom or parked in another teaching space.

If you persist in behaving inappropriately you may be detained or you will be referred to your Year Leader who may isolate you in our Inclusion Centre.

Please help us keep everyone safe by behaving sensibly at all times.

If you feel unwell during the day and have any symptoms of COVID-19 (high temperature, dry cough, loss of taste and smell) please go to the Welfare Office immediately. Do not take anyone else with you. We will call your parents if we feel it is necessary.

If you, or any member of your family at home, have any symptoms of COVID-19 (high temperature, dry cough, loss of taste and smell) you should not come into school. Your parent/carer should arrange for you to have a test at the earliest opportunity. If the test is positive you should remain at home for 10 days, or if a member of your family has a positive test result, you should remain at home and self-isolate for 14 days. Please tell your parents and ask them to advise the school.

If you need to self-isolate, we recommend you follow your normal school timetable each day and complete activities and tasks set by your teachers. This information will be made available to you in MS Teams and Show My Homework. We are currently working on our remote learning plan. However, now that all pupils are expected to be back in school, this will be different to the provision that was made for you during the national lockdown. You will be expected to take responsibility for your own learning.

As a school we may have to introduce a partial lockdown if we have a number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in one or more of our year group ‘bubbles’ or if we have a significant number of staff who are required to self-isolate for 14 days because they have had symptoms of coronavirus or a positive test result themselves or because they are a close contact of someone who has a confirmed case of coronavirus (COVID-19).

Teachers and other staff who are self-isolating will be expected to work remotely. To ensure continuity in their learning, this may mean teachers delivering lessons to your classes in school through MS Teams.

A partial lockdown means that we will collapse some classes or temporarily close the school to one or more of our year groups for a designated period of time to help control the transmission. This decision will be taken in consultation with our local Public Health Protection Team.

In the event of partial lockdown, we will offer pupils in the affected year groups access to live lessons in MS Teams.

You will also will be able to:

• Access lesson materials, such as any powerpoint presentations used by your teacher, resources and assignments in MS Teams;
• Complete any tasks or assignments set for you and your peers in MS Teams and Show My Homework.

All pupils will be expected to take responsibility for their own learning and manage their time accordingly. Your engagement will be closely monitored and any concerns will be followed up.

We are aware that if a local area sees a spike in infection rates that is resulting in localised community spread, the appropriate authorities will decide which measures to implement to help contain the spread. The Department for Education will be involved in decisions at a local and national level affecting a geographical area, and will support appropriate authorities and individual settings to follow the health advice. This may require us to temporarily close the school.

In the event of a local or national lockdown, Cirencester Deer Park School will remain open only for vulnerable pupils and the children of critical workers. However, we will provide remote education for all of our other pupils.