Year 8

Welcoming Back Year 8 Students in September

As we come towards the end of the academic year, I wanted to thank all parents, students and staff for how the school community has worked together over the past few months. It has probably been the greatest challenge that any of us have faced as teachers and I am very proud of how we have all responded to the situation. I am particularly pleased that we have managed to provide a strong online curriculum for students, and I would like to thank parents for all the encouragement they have given them during the lockdown to continue with their learning.

The very good news is that school will be returning from 9^th September 2020. This means that every year group will be able to attend, every day. This is vital for childrens’ education and wellbeing and is something that we know will be welcomed across the school community.

Following the publication of the Department for Education’s (DFE) guidance for reopening schools, we are now finalising our risk assessment so that we can reopen for everyone in line with the government’s and scientists’ advice. Key to this will be ensuring that everyone in school follows excellent hygiene practices and that we are careful about the number of different people that students come into contact with at school.

This will mean a number of important changes to how the school runs next term. In particular:

· We will be having a phased return to school, in order to support and guide students through the new arrangements in place. Y8 students will be expected to attend on Thursday 10^th September for an induction day, and then return to us on Monday 14^th September with all other year groups;

· Year groups will be separated within the school so that students have access to a minimal number of classrooms and use of communal areas is strictly controlled, whilst still being able to make use of specialist teaching spaces where appropriate;

· All areas of the school will receive more frequent cleaning and there will be hand sanitiser available throughout the school. We will continue to encourage students to wash their hands regularly and promote the ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ approach for any sneezes or coughs;

· Sport and Physical Education will only take place as theory lessons and will incorporate a newly developed curriculum looking at health and mental well-being of students;

· Pupils should bring their own items of equipment to school (eg pens, pencils, etc) as sharing of items will not be allowed;

· Extra-curricular clubs and activities will operate but within year groups wherever possible;

· A broad and balanced curriculum for Y8;

· A change in the Academy day and timings as such to reduce the movement of staff and students to a minimum.

· Arrivals, break times, lunchtimes and end of school will be staggered to minimise the interaction between year groups along with different entry points into the main building;

The following expectations are in place for year 8 students:

Arrival Time: 8:15am

Entry point: Car Park Entrance

By making these changes, we will be able to follow the scientific guidance to ensure students are safe within the school. Students will be able to travel to and from school as normal but we would request that, wherever possible, they travel with students in their year group bubble and practise social distancing. If they are travelling on public transport, current guidance dictates that they will be required to wear a mask.

We know that all students will require some degree of catch up after the disruption of the past few months. It is therefore essential that every student attends every day from the beginning of term so that we can quickly return to normal curriculum content.

Attendance will be required at school and will be monitored as it has been in the past. Unauthorised absence will be treated as such and followed up accordingly.

We know that students thrive best when they have routine, consistency and stability around them. We will therefore be doing everything we can to ensure that, wherever possible, school life is as close to what they are used to as possible. Thus, all the academy’s existing policies and expectations on issues such as behaviour, uniform and attendance will be in place as normal with updates as required to reflect adherence to safety and hygiene measures.

The government’s scientists have also set out what will happen if any student or member of staff displays symptoms of COVID-19. Firstly, it is essential that everyone – students, parents and staff – continues to follow the NHS guidance and that they do not come into school if they are experiencing any symptoms. Thus, we would ask every parent to keep any child displaying symptoms of COVID-19 at home and immediately inform the school. Likewise, if any member of your household tests positive for COVID-19, please keep your child at home and inform us as soon as possible.

If a student becomes unwell at school with a high fever, new continuous cough or has a loss of, or change in, their normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia), they will be sent home. We will arrange for them to be looked after safely, separately from others, until they can be collected. They will be expected to self-isolate for at least 7 days and arrange to have a COVID-19 test.

Should we experience a confirmed case of COVID-19 within our school community, we will work closely with our local health protection team to ensure the situation is managed quickly and effectively. Using NHS Test and Trace data, they will advise us on what next steps – if any – we will need to take as a school. We will be putting in place stringent control measures as per the DfE’s guidance in order to minimise the need for larger groups of children to self-isolate should there be a positive case within school.

In the event of any large number of students having to self-isolate or in the event of a local lockdown that means we are required to close the school, we will immediately revert to the online learning that has been working well this term. We very much hope that we do not need to return to any form of lockdown but, if we do, we are confident that we will be able to continue with all students’ learning from home. Once again, the support of parents in ensuring children access these resources will be vital.

Finally, we know that some students will feel apprehensive about returning to school after such a long time away. This is completely understandable and is something that we expect will be more widespread than one might think. We will therefore be taking particular steps to ensure that our pastoral support for each student allows for this and provides time and space for any worries or concerns to be addressed so that each student is able to enjoy being back at school.

Thank you for your patience and understanding over the past few months. Everyone at the academy is looking forward to welcoming our students back. We know that there is a great deal to do and that the year ahead may still be subject to some interruptions. But we are entirely focused on making sure that in every lesson, every day, every student continues to learn and thrive.

For more information or if you have any questions then please email reopening@johnsmeatonacademy.org.uk and a member of the senior leadership team will respond.