I would like to thank everyone who has helped us all get through to the end of Term 1. It has been a very different return to school and we are far from back to normal. However, I continue to be impressed by the resilience of our staff and pupils. I am very grateful to them for their cooperation with the preventative measures we have had to put in place. We will continue to keep these under review and we may make further changes as the academic year progresses.

I remind our pupils that when they return to school on Monday 2 November they will still need to follow our COVID-safe routines.

We have been very fortunate not to have had a confirmed case of COVID at the school so far, but we are not complacent. We have been liaising with and learning from other schools, as well as listening to the advice from Public Health England and Gloucestershire County Council. Consequently, we have drawn up our own COVID Response Plan.

We are monitoring school attendance closely and should a pupil have a positive COVID-19 test result, we ask that parents notify us at the earliest opportunity (during October half term please email enquiries@deerparkschool.net) so that we can take appropriate steps and action our plan.

Our first response will be to send out a short questionnaire to parents who have advised us that their child has had positive a COVID-19 test to help collate the information we will need before we contact them by telephone. This will enable us to act faster and more efficiently and we thank you for your cooperation in anticipation, as this will inform our decision making and assist use in any track and trace we will need to do.

In the event of a confirmed case of COVID-19 at Deer Park we will:

• Notify Public Health England and Gloucestershire County Council;
• Undertake a ‘rapid risk assessment’ with Public Health England;
• Contact the parents of any pupil who has been tested positive to check on length of symptoms and last known movements in school or with peers;
• Identify any ‘close contacts’ and potentially affected pupils/year group(s) and staff and advise parents accordingly;
• Initiate any wider track and trace as appropriate;
• Make a decision with Public Health England as to who we send home and for how long – this is likely to be whole year group in the first instance for at least two days while we proceed with track and trace. Depending on the number of close contacts (pupils and staff), we may then bring pupils back who have not been in direct ‘close contact’ or confirm arrangements for the whole cohort as this may be more sustainable in terms of remote learning. We may also distinguish between tutor groups and teaching sets (eg Year 7) and half year groups (eg Year 9) if possible.
• Communicate with parents via email, our e-newsletter and school website;
• Follow our remote learning plan and reschedule the timetables to facilitate remote learning at home for any large groups of pupils required to self-isolate for up to 14 days;
• Monitor the situation closely and continue to liaise with Public Health England and update our correspondence and website accordingly.
   

Our aim has been to maintain the rhythm and momentum of learning. We want all of our pupils to do well and be successful and this won’t happen without some effort and hard graft on their part. Therefore, it is important that pupils observe our school standards and focus on their learning at all times at home and in school.

Click here to read our SCHOOL STANDARDS

We are all learning to live with uncertainty and we do not know what the future holds. We are committed to ensuring our pupils are prepared for any eventuality and we expect them to engage constructively, participate enthusiastically and respond positively to the efforts our staff are making to ensure they can all make the progress expected of them. This will ensure that they can make smooth transitions into the next phase of their education.

We hope the half term break gives everyone the opportunity to rest and recharge before returning to school on Monday 2 November 2020.