Dear parent,

 

We have now finalised our plans to invite year 10 pupils into school for some face-to-face contact with their teachers.

I have deliberated long and hard about how best to do this, with safety paramount and following government guidelines.

Some schools are targeting pupils who have struggled with remote learning at home and need additional support with the work. However, I feel that this disadvantages students who are working hard at home but would still benefit from time with teachers in school.

As such, I have decided to work on the principle that all pupils in year 10 would benefit from some time in school and to ensure parity and fairness have decided not to target identified groups, but instead ensure everyone has the opportunity to attend teaching sessions each week.

 

From the 15^th June, we have 5 weeks before the summer break. Our plan is to allocate subjects to specific weeks, so week beginning 15^th June is maths, 22^nd June is English and so on.

Each pupil in year 10 will have one 2 hour session per week with their teacher for that subject. In this way we can stick to the government guidelines of no more than ¼ of the year group in at a time and in classes of fewer than 12 pupils so that social distancing can be applied in classrooms.

 

Pupils need to be in the same ‘bubbles’ each week, so they will stick to the same day and time for the 5 weeks.  So if for instance, your child is allocated a Monday session for maths, they will then be in each Monday for the next five weeks.

Sessions will run from 9.45am to 12 or 10.45 to 1pm and your child will be allocated a time and room for their session.

 

We are doing everything possible to prioritise safety throughout this time and further information will be given to pupils ahead of them coming into school. Strict regulations will be in place to ensure we keep everyone as safe as possible.

Despite this, it is not realistic to expect that we can guarantee social distancing at all times. There will be times during arrival and departure, where pupils will not be supervised by staff. As such, I would like you to keep this in mind when you are making the decision as to whether your child should attend school or not.

If you have anyone with extreme vulnerabilities in your household, my advice would be not to send your child to school.

The sessions in school will allow pupils to clarify any misconceptions, support their home learning, learn new concepts and receive work to be completed over the coming weeks. I think they will offer a valuable input for pupils in relation to their education; however, it is your choice as to whether you send them to school or not. There will be no judgements made regarding non-attendance and no absence follow up with the local authority.

 

Students attending school should wear school uniform and bring their books for the lesson as well as pens and equipment, these will not be loaned by teachers or passed between pupils in order to avoid contamination.

 

You and your child will receive an email later this week/early next week, notifying them of their day and time to attend, as well as Covid-19 safety regulations when in school.

 

As always, all my best wishes to you and your family and please get in touch with any queries.

 

 

Kind regards,

Sam Gorse