Dear Parents and Carers
I hope you and your family are well. Thank you for your continued support and understanding as we collectively handle the challenges posed by Covid-19.
You will no doubt have seen the Prime Minister’s announcement on Monday that schools will start to reopen from Monday 8th March with testing in place for all students who have consent. The Government has given secondary schools discretion as to how to phase the return to school over that week and our plan is to invite year groups in each day for testing (where consent has been provided). Our provision for critical workers and vulnerable students will continue during the week commencing 8th March. All students will return full-time on the 15th March with year 11 and year 13 returning on Friday 12th March.
We will be writing early next week with designated year group testing days (for the week commencing 8th March). Students will only be required to come in if they have testing consent – they will arrive, get tested and go home and continue to access their remote learning at home.
We are looking forward to having all students back in our school and want to assure you that, as has been the case throughout the coronavirus crisis, we will ensure the school is as safe as it possibly can be. Your child’s health, and the health of all our students and staff, is the most important factor always for us.
There are a number of specific points about the full return to school that I wanted to set out in this letter, which I hope are helpful.
RETURNING/LOGISTICS
We will be operating under similar Covid guidance as the autumn term; students will remain in their year group bubbles in their designated zone and not enter any other year group zones. They will enter and exit the school site through the same allocated gates and they will follow the same timetable as the autumn term with separate breaks and lunches for each year group with an earlier finish each day for year 7 (Monday: 4pm, Tuesday-Thursday: 3 pm, Friday: 1.05 pm).
Ventilation and hand washing/sanitising are still key. Windows and doors in classrooms will remain open.
During the week commencing 8th March, on their allocated testing day, students will enter the site through their designated gate and make their way to the sports hall. On Friday 12th March, years 11 and 13 will return to the site for their normal timetabled lesson. All other year groups will return on Monday 15th March.
To summarise:
TESTING
The Department for Education has asked school leaders to offer three lateral flow tests to students on their return to school. The key here is ‘offer’ and that means that having the test is voluntary and will only happen if a parent gives written consent.
The reason we are being asked to carry out testing is that, particularly in young people, a person can be carrying COVID-19, without showing any symptoms of it, but they can be infecting other people without knowing. If we can identify the students who are asymptomatic then this will improve the safety of everyone at school, but also anyone else the student may come into contact with, parents, grandparents, friends and other relations.
As an Academy, we are really pleased with the way the students who have been with us during lockdown have approached testing. We have now carried out over 400 tests of students and staff and have only had one positive test result. This shows how careful our school and wider community are being with regard to lockdown rules and should be seen as a real positive to the whole community.
With regard to testing, the aim of the first week of full opening (week of 8th March) will be to ensure that we can test every student, who has given consent, for the first time. We will then add the second and third tests over the following weeks.
Parents will receive a brief letter and a consent form from school next week informing them of the day their year group will receive their first test. I would urge you to complete the consent form fully, sign it and send it in with your son or daughter on the appropriate day. Your son/daughter will be guided through taking the test by our experienced team and you will be informed of whether it is a positive or negative test via the text number/email address you provide on the consent form, within an hour of the test being taken.
Further to the testing in school, the plans for the rest of the term are as follows:
We will have a dedicated test page on our website shortly, where you will find information about taking the test, what happens if the result is negative or positive etc. If you cannot find answers to your questions, please email [email protected] and we will do all we can to assist.
If you would like to help us out by volunteering for one of the roles involved in testing, the training is very straightforward and we have a great team who will guide you through the practical induction. We could really do with a couple more volunteers to ensure we can cover all the testing necessary. Please contact us at [email protected] if you are interested.
In summary, the testing is voluntary, meaning that we will ask you to consent to your child being tested, and will hope that you will give that consent. But we will not chase you or your child to have a test either now or in the future.
MASKS
The Department for Education has said the use of face coverings in schools is now recommended in more settings. The guidance states that face coverings must be worn by all students when moving around the school and strongly recommends that they are worn in the classroom – unless two-metre social distancing can be maintained. This policy will be reviewed over the Easter holidays so will be in place until at least the end of this term and applies to students, staff, and visitors (including parents), unless they are exempt from wearing one.
It is very important that when wearing a face covering at school your child understands the correct way to wear, handle and store them. If they are handled incorrectly it may inadvertently increase the risk of transmission, I would also encourage you to read the following Government guidance:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/face-coverings-when-to-wear-one-and-how-to-make-your-own/
Your child should already have an appropriate face covering for other settings such as shops and we request that you send your child to school each day with a mask. We would ask that these face coverings are multiple-use, are as plain as possible and without any offensive or aggressive words or images on them. If you are unable to access one, please do contact the school directly so that we can provide the necessary support. If there is a medical reason where a student is unable to wear a mask, please email [email protected].
SIXTH FORM
For the time being, we will be introducing some additional flexibility to the sixth form timetable. This is to reduce the number of students using communal areas, such as the sixth form common room during periods of the day when they do not have a timetabled lesson.
Each day, students will be permitted to arrive just before their first timetabled lesson, rather than at 8.35am (students who have a lesson starting at 9:00am will still need to arrive by 8:35am to attend form time with their progress tutor). In addition, students will be allowed to leave the site at the end of their final taught lesson of the day.
Students who have a private study period in between timetabled lessons will be required to stay on-site and work independently in one of the designated sixth form study areas.
Our expectation is that students are at home and studying during normal academy hours if they are taking the opportunity to arrive later or leave earlier. Timetable flexibility will be removed for any student who fails to meet deadlines, or is deemed to not be completing a sufficient amount of private study at home.
These arrangements will be reviewed again at Easter.
REMOTE LEARNING
As per the Department for Education guidance, throughout our phased return to the Academy commencing 8th March, we will continue to provide remote education for all students. This provision will continue to be meaningful, and will meet the core teaching offer in line with their timetables. The lessons may be live lessons, recorded teaching or independent learning which will continue to be set via the Satchel One platform.
Remote learning for all will end on Friday 12th March, with the exception for years 11 and 13 who will have face to face teaching when they return on Friday 12th March. If students need to isolate as we move forward, we will provide access to learning materials so they can complete their learning at home during the time of isolation.
After being off school for so long, it is only natural that your children will be worried about returning to school, we want to support you through this difficult journey. Staff at Forge will be on hand to guide and reassure all students and families during this transition.
I want to reassure you that we have all of the necessary safety measures in place and will continue to communicate essential key messages, as collaborative partnerships are key to ensuring all of our children return to education in the safest way possible.
Young Minds have a dedicated ‘Parents Helpline’ where experts share their tips for supporting a child in the transition back to school life.
https://youngminds.org.uk/blog/supporting-a-child-returning-to-school-after-lockdown/
The Free School Meal voucher system will end on 5th March, we will be providing a five-day hamper for Free School Meal students for the week commencing 8th March – we will be in touch directly regarding the logistics of this. From Monday 15th March, Free School Meals will be served at school directly to students.
The Government’s announcement indicates we are tentatively returning to normal. However, I wanted to reiterate how alert we are to the continued risk of Covid-19. We will continue to adhere to stringent health and safety measures now, and when fully open. Your support in helping us be as safe as possible is much appreciated and will help ensure we stay open to all students, and keep your child, our staff, and you, safe.
I hope this letter is helpful and reassuring, but please let me know if you have any questions.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Lisa Mason
Principal
Ormiston Forge Academy
A face-covering should:
When wearing a face-covering you should:
When removing a face-covering: