Return to school arrangements Spring Term 2021

Arrangements for our return to the Spring Term 2021:

Dear parent/carer

I am sure you will have seen the most recent announcements by the Government about the staggered start to the beginning of the spring term and the potential rollout of coronavirus testing for secondary schools and colleges. We are still working to fully understand the implications of this but have outlined the most important elements below.

To minimise transmission of the virus following the return of pupils after Christmas, the Government has confirmed that all secondary schools and colleges in England will need to make some changes to the start of term and that the majority of students will remain at home for the first week back.

The school will therefore operate as follows;

4^th January 2021           this is a planned staff training day therefore no students will attend school and no work will be set.

5^th January 2021           Year 11 students will be in school as normal (except students who are self-isolating or are unwell)

Years 7-10 students will remain at home accessing online learning.

11^th January 2021         All students will be back in school – They will be having lessons as  normal.

Online Learning: What to Expect

• Timetabled lessons as per your child’s normal timetable (we return on a week 1)
• Lessons will be live and will include some interactive elements
• Attendance is compulsory ( a register will be taken and non-attendance will be chased)
• There will be a daily, compulsory tutor time for students with their mentor
• Students will be able to turn their cameras on, but this is a recommendation rather than an expectation
• Lessons will be via Google Meets and will be in accordance with the Live Lesson Protocols. A reminder of these protocols can be found below.
• Expectations for behaviour will be the same as if in school; if students do not meet teachers’ expectations then they will be given a formal reminder to change their behaviour. Positive and negative behaviour will be logged onto Progresso as normal.

Please complete THIS FORM to record your child/ren’s ability to access online learning or to register for schooling provision from 5^th January if your child has an EHCP or you are a key worker.  Please complete this no later than 28^th December to allow us time to work out staffing requirements.  Students from key worker families should only attend if it is absolutely essential.  They will need to bring in headphones and will be supervised whilst they complete their online lessons. There will be no face to face teaching of these students.

Coronavirus testing

As of today, we have not yet received the full details regarding coronavirus testing in schools from the Government which is expected next week. Therefore, we are unable to provide you with any additional information at this time. We are expecting to be able to communicate with you further on this in the first week of January.  Please do not contact us about the testing process before this time.

Please check your emails from Parentmail during the weekend of the 2 and 3 of January for any potential information updates. The school team will endeavour to keep you informed of any changes as we begin to receive full guidance from the Government.

Please can I take this opportunity to wish you all a happy and healthy Christmas break.

Ms V Poulter

Principal

Parent/Carer protocols:

1. Please, if at all possible, organise your child to be in a quiet room / area for the meeting to reduce background noise and allow them to focus.
2. Consider the background where your child is sitting, ideally ensure it is plain and blank. It should not include any personal information (e.g. photos).
3. We ask that children are wearing appropriate clothing for these sessions.
4. When the lesson is over, children will be asked to leave the lesson. Please do so promptly.
5. There should never be a situation where a lesson takes place on a 1 to 1 basis with one teacher and student without another adult present
6. Face to face sessions are for students and teachers only. All parent/teacher communication should be via the usual process.
7. Parents may not record, share or comment on public forums about individual teachers.

Student protocols:

1. All students must ensure that they are wearing suitable clothing (e.g. not pyjamas)
2. We ask that all students engage in sessions to the best of their ability!
3. Students must adhere to the schools usual behavioural expectations.
4. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure they attend all scheduled sessions on time.
5. They must sign in using their school google account
6. All student cameras must be turned off and only turned on when the teacher requests
7. No sessions are to be recorded or photographed by students in any way
8. Students should mute their microphone until asked to speak
9. The chat function should only be used to ask and answer questions not just to chat to other students

School procedures:

1. The lesson will be scheduled using a school registered account and Google Classrooms
2. School will arrange the date and times of the lesson according to the timetable, these will be shared by the person leading the session and line managers should be added to lessons.
3. Class teachers will use the ‘mute’ function at times during the meeting to allow everyone to hear / be heard
4. Students should use the chat function to show they want to ask a question.
5. The lesson will be a maximum of 45 minutes long.
6. If the member of staff has any concerns regarding safeguarding or behaviour, they may contact the parent after the lesson to discuss their concerns. They will also inform the Designated Safeguarding Lead and record concerns on MyConcern.
7. If the member of staff has any concerns regarding behaviour, they will remind the child how to behave. If the behaviour continues, the teacher may decide to end the session. The member of staff will then speak with the parents to discuss the behaviours as well as update the relevant Achievement Lead.

These protocols have been designed to keep everyone safe