Dear Parents and Carers
It has been a very successful phased return to school over the past two weeks. I am delighted with how nearly all pupils have settled quickly back into the rhythm of school. They have been clearly delighted to see and be with their friends, and have been very keen to settle back to face to face learning with their teachers and staff.
We are looking forward to welcoming all pupils back to school full time from Monday 12 April 2021 (Week A). We will continue to operate the school day and site as now with staggered break times, mini school sites, contact bubbles for TTP purposes, etc. Your child will now be very familiar with these arrangements.
Welsh Government have released updated Operational Guidance for schools, and we will update our risk assessment again in line with this guidance. As you will be aware, our mitigations now include face coverings worn in all areas of the school by staff and pupils, including in classrooms, where social distancing cannot be maintained. All pupils have been issued with new washable face coverings over the past two weeks in school to use throughout the summer term. Pupils should wear a clean face covering to school each day. Lateral Flow Tests are another important recent addition and are available for all staff and all pupils in Y10-13 for twice weekly self-testing at home.
Lunch bags will be provided by our CCBC run school canteen for eFSM pupils on Monday 12 April. The canteen will reopen for pre ordered food from Tuesday 13 April. If pupils wish to order using cash or cheque rather than via the link on the school website, they will be able to do so on Monday 12 April for the remainder of that week. Pupils can continue to bring snacks and water to school for their break times.
CCBC school buses and taxis will operate as normal after Easter. Please remind your child that, if they do catch a school bus, they must only travel on their designated bus both to and from school. This is vitally important for TTP purposes. Please note though that I continue to urge children to walk, cycle, scoot, or have a lift from a member of their household if at all possible.
All pupils should attend school in their full uniform. As in the autumn term, on the days when your child has a PE lesson, they should attend school in their PE kit.
I have been impressed with the feedback I have received from staff across our school about the positive attitude, effort, maturity and engagement of so many of our pupils on their return. Following the Easter break, I will be in contact again with parents of pupils in KS4 and KS5 with further information and updates with regard to GCSE, AS and A level processes for this summer. It is important that all pupils in these examination year groups have full attendance after Easter, particularly between 12 April and 28 May 2021, as this is when these pupils will complete adapted past papers. These adapted past papers will form a key part of the evidence used by the school to determine grades across all qualifications this summer. That said, it is vitally important that a pupil does not attend school if they are unwell with Covid symptoms or if they have been asked to self-isolate due to contact with a positive case. However important these adapted past papers are, nothing is more important than the health and safety of our community. If a child or a whole year group has to self-isolate during this time, please be assured that we are developing contingency plans to support remote learning in such circumstances.
We are very much looking forward to welcoming all children back to our school site on Monday 12 April 2021. On behalf of the staff of our school, I wish you and your family a happy and peaceful Easter break.
Yours sincerely
Miss Collins
Headteacher
