A Message from our Headteacher – School reopening 8th March. School closed for all face to face teaching and learning on Friday 5th March.

Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope you are all well, have had a good half term break and are looking forward to starting to emerge from this 3^rd lockdown; let’s hope that this is the final time.  We are certainly looking forward to having all the pupils back in school and being a more cohesive community, albeit continuing with all the safety measures we had in place since the autumn term.

We have spent time this week reviewing the latest guidance that has been published about schools re-opening fully on 8 March.  As many of you will be aware we have continued to remain open for keyworker and vulnerable children throughout.  We have continued to follow the guidance published and updated the risk assessment on each occasion having remained fully compliant with all the relevant procedures and processes.  We are once again fully prepared and will have all safety measures in place to receive your young people back to school on Monday 8 March. (the risk assessment can be viewed on the website).

To ensure our re-opening can happen smoothly we will be closed to all pupils for face to face teaching and learning on Friday 5 March.  A full day’s curriculum will be provided for all pupils on Google Classroom with one online face to face class meeting, which will be organised by your class teacher.

This will allow us to reinstate the classrooms as they were in the Autumn Term to ensure the maximum possible social distancing and will enable everyone to return on Monday 8 March without the need for a phased return.

For parents of those pupils currently attending, I do hope you understand the need for us to do this and thank you all for your continued support. 

Please re-visit the updated information sent out at the end of the summer term 2020 which gives you clear guidance on how school will feel and look and the procedures your young person will need to follow.  This information can be found here:

There are just a few other details which you also need to be aware of:

• Face masks – These need to be worn on school transport and in both communal and teaching areas of the school if at all possible but we fully understand that some pupils may find this difficult. 

• Personal belongings – Please do not send any extra items into school that are not necessary, in particular soft toys and PE kits.  Pupils’ pencil cases will remain in school once they have arrived in school.  Please also feel free to encourage your young person to bring in a reading book from home if applicable and this will remain in school until completed.

• Start and End of Day – If you are a parent/carer bringing your child to school your young person’s drop off and pick up time will be sent to you via email or text in the coming week.  If you are planning to park off site and walk into school, please maintain a two metre distance from others at all times, wear a face covering, and a member of staff will come out to you to accompany your young person into school.  If you are driving your child onto the school site, please drive around the roundabout outside the front of the school, pull up and remain in your car at your allotted time and a member of staff will come to you to allow your young person to get out of the car and go into school.  We would prefer, where possible, for parents to drive onto site in order to have as few as people as possible at the front of the school building. 

• Osborne College – you will be pleased to hear that the ventilation has been vastly improved within the college and the building has new windows installed.  As of the Monday 8March Osborne College students will return to their own building.

• OsKings – All pupils who currently attend the OsKings provision will return to the Kings site from the Monday 8 March.

• Testing– please be aware that we are currently carrying out lateral flow testing of staff who volunteer to be tested on a two-weekly basis.  This will continue up to the 8 March, where we will then move over to staff carrying out home testing twice a week for those who choose to do so.  We have taken the decision not to test pupils as in most cases they may find this difficult to administer themselves.  However, we are on the waiting list to carry out saliva testing as soon as we are able and the laboratory has the capacity to do the testing.  We will of course let you know as soon as we are able to start this.

• Vaccinations – I am delighted to inform you that because it is extremely difficult for the staff to maintain a 2 metre distance, 98% of the staff working at the school have had their first dose of one of the covid vaccinations.  As you know the vaccination is not currently licensed to be administered to children, however if your young person is 18 or over they are now entitled to a vaccination, so please do contact your GP to arrange this if you choose to.  Can I also mention that as the parent or main carer for your young person, whatever your age, you are also eligible to get a vaccination, so again please contact your GP to request this.

• School Transport – If your young person has a place on School Transport their transport will be fully operational and if there are any changes to drop off and pick up times these will be communicated to you via the transport department or the transport provider

It is likely that we will remain operating in school under these conditions for the rest of this academic year, however as restrictions start to ease we will also review what we are doing and will adjust and bring in more movement around school.  The earliest that we might make any changes will be the start of the summer term.

I do hope that you and your young person are looking forward to returning to school and I hope that you are reassured of the safety measures we have in place.  I am aware that some of you will have separate arrangements depending on your child’s individual needs, so please continue to work with the members of staff that are implementing this for you.  I look forward to seeing all the young people on Monday 8 March but please do not hesitate in contacting me if you have any queries.

Yours sincerely

Sonia White, Headteacher