SCHOOL REOPENING FAQ’s
When will the school be reopening?
The school will be opening for years 7 and 12 on Wednesday 2nd September and for all other years on Thursday 3rd September.
Will the school day change?
The school day will still run from 8.50am to 3.30pm but there will be slightly staggered beginnings and endings to the day to ensure that year groups enter and exit the building without mixing with other groups. The school will be using its digital tannoy system to inform students when they should leave classrooms and go to lessons, break or lunchtime. Break and lunchtime will also be split to ensure that students are kept apart.
Will students be kept in ‘bubbles’?
Yes, students will be kept in year groups bubbles in all internal spaces. This will mean that contact between students will be limited to those in their year group. In external spaces, at lunch and break time, students should maintain 1 metre social distance.
Will there be new rules?
Yes, as well as existing rules there will be a simple set of safety rules for students to follow (see rules attached). It is crucial that these rules are followed, and we will ask parents and carers to support us in discussing these rules with their children.
Will normal school uniform be in place?
Yes, school uniform will be in place as normal and we expect students to arrive on the first day in full school uniform and with the appropriate equipment. Students will be outside at lunch and breaktime, so a light raincoat or small umbrella would be sensible.
Will the curriculum change?
The school curriculum will remain broad and all subjects will be taught. There will be some amendments to practical subjects and there will be less group work. There will not be extra-curricular activities in the first instance and clubs and after school sport activities will not begin straight away in September; we expect that this will change as the school year moves on.
Will students be covering their faces?
Government advice is that face covering should be worn by adults and students when moving around the school, such as in corridors and communal areas where social distancing is difficult to maintain. This will mean that students should wear face coverings on corridors during lesson changeovers, break, lunch and the beginning and end of the school day. Students will also be required to wear face coverings when queueing for food in the canteen and using the school changing rooms. When removing their face covering students should place it in a clean plastic bag and keep it in their school bags. Students should use reusable, washable face coverings.
It will not be necessary to wear face coverings in the classroom, where protective measures already mean the risks are lower, and where they can inhibit learning. There is also no requirement to wear face coverings when outside the school building.
What hygiene measures will the school use?
The school will place hand sanitiser units in all internal spaces and classrooms. Students will be asked to sanitise their hands every time they enter and exit a space. The school will promote good respiratory hygiene by promoting the ‘catch it, kill it, bin it’ approach and each classroom will have clean tissues and bins. The school will also be cleaned before, after and throughout the school day, meaning that as one group of students leave a space the space will be cleaned. Specialist equipment will be thoroughly cleaned between use.
What will happen if a child shows Covid Symptoms?
If a child shows Covid symptoms they will be isolated, and parents or carers will be asked to pick them up from school and get the child tested. If the child tests negative, then they can come back to school when they are feeling better.
What happens if the school has a confirmed case of Covid 19?
If someone tests positive, they are instructed to follow the ‘stay at home: guidance for households with possible or confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) infection’ self-isolating for at least 10 days from the onset of their symptoms and will only be allowed to return to school when they do not have symptoms including; a high temperature, cough or loss of sense of smell/taste. They will be advised that other members of their household must continue self-isolating for the full 14 days.
Based on the advice from the health protection team, school will send home those people who have been in close contact with the person who has tested positive, advising them to self-isolate for 14 days since they were last in close contact with that person when they were infectious.
I think my child has had contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, but we have not been notified and advised to self-isolate. What should I do?Contacts who need to self-isolate will be notified and advised accordingly by the NHS Test and Trace service. If you have not been notified, this means you do not need to self-isolate.
If you are concerned that you may have symptoms of coronavirus, or you live with someone who has symptoms of coronavirus, follow the Stay at Home: guidance for households with possible or confirmed COVID-19.
My child’s sibling has been told to self isolate because someone in their primary school has tested positive for Covid-19. Does my other child also need to self-isolate at home for 14 days?
If you are a contact of a person who has tested positive for COVID-19, but you do not have symptoms, other people living with you do not need to self-isolate and should follow the general guidance.
If you do develop symptoms of COVID-19, you should arrange to have a test to see if you have COVID-19 – visit NHS.UK to arrange or contact NHS 119 via telephone if you do not have internet access. If you live with other people, they will need to begin self-isolation at home while you wait for your test result. Follow the Stay at Home: Guidance for households with possible or confirmed COVID-19.
Self-isolating at home for the 14-day period will help protect your family, friends and the NHS. Self-isolating at home in this way can also protect the most vulnerable in society, by reducing the chance of a second wave of COVID-19 in the wider community.
What should I do if I live with someone who develops COVID-19 symptoms?
If someone you live with develops symptoms, they will need to self-isolate at home along with all the other people who live with them; this will include you.
They will need to arrange to have a test to see if they have COVID-19 – visit NHS.UK to arrange or contact NHS 119 via telephone if you do not have internet access.
They and the people who live with them should follow Stay at Home: Guidance for households with possible or confirmed COVID-19.
What should I do if my child develops COVID-19 symptoms during the 14 days of self-isolation at home?
For most people, COVID-19 will be a mild illness. However, if you develop symptoms stay isolating at home and arrange to have a test to see if you have COVID-19 – visit NHS.UK to arrange or contact NHS 119 via telephone if you do not have internet access.
As soon as you start having symptoms, you and anyone in your household should follow the Stay at Home: Guidance for households with possible or confirmed COVID-19.
If your test is negative, then still complete the full 14 days of self-isolation, as you could still develop COVID-19. You should continue to follow the advice provided in this guidance.
What should I do if I develop symptoms of COVID-19 AFTER my 14 days of self-isolation at home?
If after 14 days of self-isolation you develop symptoms of COVID-19, self-isolate again and arrange to have a test to see if you have COVID-19 – visit NHS.UK to arrange or contact NHS 119 via telephone if you do not have internet access.
Follow Stay at Home: guidance for households with possible or confirmed COVID-19. If you live with other people, they will also need to self-isolate while awaiting your test results.
If your result is positive, self-isolate for 10 days. Other household members will need to self-isolate again for 14 days.
Behaviour and Safety Rules
- All normal school attendance, behaviour, detention and uniform rules apply
- There is a strict “first time, every time” policy
- Everyone must use hand sanitisers on entry to and exit from all classrooms and shared spaces
- The motto is “coughs and sneezes cause diseases so catch it, bin it, kill it”
- The one-way system is to be strictly adhered to
- Movement around the school must be swift and purposeful and you will keep left.
- Unnecessary touching of surfaces should be avoided
- Physical contact is not permitted
- No borrowing or lending of equipment
- No sharing of food or drink
- Students should stay on the yard at lunch and break unless they are called to the canteen or they need to visit the toilet
- Students are not permitted to go looking for staff, if staff need to speak to students, they will collect them
- Toilets can only be used at break and lunchtimes unless there is a medical pass issued
- The tannoy will be used as the main form of communication in school. Students will be told via tannoy when they can leave the building, enter the building or move to their next lesson