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Confirmed Single Case in Year 11
Confirmed single case of COVID-19 in Year 11
On Friday 6 November 2020 we were made aware that a pupil in Year 11 had tested positive for COVID-19. She was last in school on Tuesday 3 November.
We know that members of our school community will find this concerning but we are continuing to monitor the situation and are working closely with the Department of Education, Public Health England and Gloucestershire County Council.
Please be reassured that for most people, coronavirus (COVID-19) will be a mild illness. If your child develops symptoms of COVID-19, they must not come to school and should remain at home for at least 10 days from the date when their symptoms appeared. Anyone with symptoms will be eligible for testing and you can seek advice from the nhs.uk website.
Following our consultation with Public Health England and Gloucestershire County Council, we have been advised to ask all pupils in Year 11 to work and learn remotely from Monday 9 November to Tuesday 17 November inclusive. This is 14 days from when the pupil who tested positive was last in school.
We are currently revising our Year 11 timetable and more information about this will be on our website by Monday 9 November 2020. It will provide instructions and clearly indicate when live lessons in MS Teams will take place.
The school will remain open as normal to all pupils in Years 7, 8, 9 and 10. We are monitoring the situation regarding COVID-19 and its impact locally closely. We will continue to review the provision we can make subject to the availability of teachers and any further confirmed cases of COVID-19 within our learning community.
Please read our letter to all parents which includes details of what you should do if your child develops symptoms.
CLICK HERE to read about our decision to ask Year 11 to learn remotely
In making our decision to ask pupils in Year 11 to learn remotely for the next 7 school days, we have carefully considered:
- The number of close contacts (pupils) identified through track and trace. Owing the different combination of classes in Year 11 as a result of pupils’ options, this exceeded 30% of the year group. A close contact is defined as Contact within 1 metre, which would include:
- Face-to-face conversation or contact within 1 metre for 1 minute
- Contact within 1 metre for 1 minute or longer without face-to-face contact
- Contact within 2 metres of someone who has tested positive for more than 15 minutes;
- The number of close contacts (staff) alongside current known staff absences as a result of track and trace outside of the school and our ability to cover all lessons across our timetable. This already exceeds 8 the minimum number of teachers required to teach each year group each hour of the school day;
- The quality of the provision we can make for our learners in Year 11 if some pupils are in and some are out and the impact the fragmentation of classes and cover might have on teaching and learning. We cannot ask our teachers to double their workload by teaching the pupils in school and those at home at the same time;
- The robustness of our remote learning plan. We have planned for this eventuality and our experience of using blended learning in MS Teams and on Show my homework during the previous lockdown enabled the majority of our pupils to stay connected, keep up with their learning and make progress. Therefore, we feel we are able to offer a continuous and sustainable provision for all pupils in Year 11 in the short term.
- The wider restrictions imposed by the current national period of lockdown. Our pupils working and learning remotely can only be at home and should, therefore, commit to learning online during this short period of self-isolation. We expect all pupils to continue to engage with and participate in the activities planned for them by their teachers.
This has not been an easy decision as we know how important school attendance and face to face contact with teachers are, especially in Year 11. However, we are determined to maintain the rhythm and momentum of learning and I trust we can all continue to work together to achieve positive outcomes.
Chiquita Henson, Headteacher
To help reduce the risk of you and anyone you live with getting ill with COVID-19:
- Wash your hands with soap and water often – do this for at least 20 seconds
- Use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available
- Wash your hands as soon as you get home
- Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze
- Put used tissues in the bin immediately and wash your hands afterwards.
- Read more on www.nhs.uk/coronavirus.
Year 11 Parent: "Please feedback our appreciation for all that Deer Park has done to teach, manage and prepare during Covid. When I speak to parents from other schools locally and nationally, Deer Park is way ahead of the game."