Dear Parent and Carer
I hope that you and your loved ones are safe and well.
Thank you for responding to the parent / carer questionnaire informing the school whether you intend to send your child in for the ‘Check in, catch up, prepare’ sessions in school. The deadline for this is tomorrow morning please. The information that you share with us is vital in helping us to finalise our plans for the safe return to school. Of the nearly 600 responses we have had so far, almost 70% have confirmed that their child will return to school.
Following the Welsh Government announcement last week that all schools would begin a phased reopening from Monday 29 June, guidance has now been published by Welsh Government outlining their expectations. This, along with the information that you are providing to us in the parent /carer questionnaire, is shaping our plan for a safe return.
The Welsh Government have suggested that all children should have three sessions in school over the four weeks in much smaller classes. It is our intention to have classes of 10 pupils to ensure social distancing at all times. It is therefore likely that Y10 and Y12 students will be in school four times, with Y7, Y8 and Y9 pupils in school on three occasions with wellbeing sessions and lessons provided for all children. This limited ‘in school time’ for the last four weeks of the summer term will be supported with learning to complete at home, getting children and staff ready for a similar experience in September.
It is important to note that the school experience from 29 June will not be as it was before. I will prepare a detailed Frequently Asked Questions document for you next week covering, amongst other things, our social distancing measures, hand hygiene, school transport and school meals from CCBC, teaching and learning, uniform, cleaning and changes to school buildings. Our key priority in all of our planning is the safety of our pupils and staff and our plans are progressing well. We had a virtual staff meeting earlier this week and staff are very much looking forward to welcoming our pupils back to school before the summer break. Although it will be a very different structure from a ‘normal’ school day, there will still be lessons, there will still be support, and there will be friendship and laughter!
Some things to consider please
- If at all possible, please make alternative travel plans to CCBC school buses. I strongly urge pupils to walk or cycle to school if possible, or to be dropped off at school by their parents rather than use school buses for these four weeks.
- Please do not purchase new school uniform items for this four week period. Although we have not finalised our school uniform expectations for the remainder of the summer, these will be flexible and I do not wish families to go to any extra expense at this time.
- The school canteen will not be open in this four week period and children will need to bring their own drinks, snacks and packed lunches to school. Free school meal deliveries will continue throughout this period, and CCBC inform us that these deliveries will be adapted to ensure that children can make a packed lunch as well as have a hot meal in the evening at home.
Next week we will begin organising the pupils into groups for the four weeks, and we will let you know the dates and times of their sessions in school by Monday 22 June at the latest. We are intending to invite children from the same household in to school on the same day to ensure safety in school as well as safety at home.
I will be back in touch by the end of next week at the latest with the full detail of our plans, explaining the measures we will have in place to help keep everyone on site safe. We will also prepare a video of the school showing the changes made to the site and to classrooms to share with you and your child before the school reopens.
Thank you for your continued support and kindness. Please take care and stay safe.
With thanks
Miss Collins
Headteacher
