Dear Parents and Carers,
This bulletin contains important information about the start of term. Please read it carefully. Students who have had a positive test within the last 90 days should not take a test next week. They can just arrive to start school on the allotted day.
Testing
Before we welcome students back to school in September, we are required to ask them to take two lateral flow tests. We will ask students to come to school to take their first test, then go home and return to school for lessons, assuming the test is clear, the next day. The reason for that is that if we have to ask students to stay on site, socially distanced, for thirty minutes while we wait for the test results, we can only test a certain number of students a day. If they go home straight after the test, we can test much more quickly and ultimately get all students into lessons sooner.
Students do not need to wear uniform when they come in for their test.
If you have already given consent for your child to take a test here this year, we will continue to use that. If you have given consent but wish to withdraw it, you can do so by contacting Mrs Singleton at jsingleton@samuelward.co.uk ,
If your child in joining us for the first time in September, you will need to give consent by completing the form here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/QKR9F8D
You do not have to give consent for your child to be tested and if they don’t take a test, they will still be allowed to attend lessons as usual. However, participating in testing helps to keep everyone safe and their education uninterrupted.
We have tried to prioritise sensibly by focussing on the youngest students and those beginning exam years. We have also mixed ages because older children tend to complete tests more quickly, so doing two younger groups on the same day doesn’t work well. The order of testing and beginning lessons is as below.
|
Day |
First Test |
In Lessons |
|
Monday 6th Sep |
Year 7, Year 11, Year 13 |
|
|
Tuesday 7th Sep |
Year 8, Year 10, Year 12 |
Year 7, Year 11, Year 13 |
|
Wednesday 8th Sep |
Year 9 |
Year 7, Year 8, Year 10, Year 11, Year 12, Year 13 |
|
Thursday 9th Sep |
All years |
Each tutor group will have a specific time to come in for their first test. It would be very helpful if we could stick as closely as possible to those times. Those times are as follows.
|
Date |
Year Group |
Tutor |
Time |
|
Monday 6th Sept |
7 |
D1 |
8:55am |
|
D2 |
9:10am |
||
|
B1 |
9:25am |
||
|
B2 |
9:40am |
||
|
C1 |
9:55am |
||
|
C2 |
10:10am |
||
|
C3 |
10:25am |
||
|
Monday 6th Sept |
11 |
D1 |
11:10am |
|
D2 |
11:25am |
||
|
D3 |
11:40am |
||
|
B1 |
11:55am |
||
|
B2 |
12:10pm |
||
|
B3 |
12:25pm |
||
|
C1 |
12:40pm |
||
|
C2 |
12:55pm |
||
|
Monday 6th Sept |
13 |
Sa |
1:50pm |
|
Sb |
2:00pm |
||
|
Sc |
2:10pm |
||
|
Sd |
2:20pm |
||
|
Se |
2:30pm |
||
|
Sf |
2:40pm |
||
|
Tuesday 7th Sept |
8 |
D1 |
8:55am |
|
D2 |
9:10am |
||
|
B1 |
9:25am |
||
|
B2 |
9:40am |
||
|
C1 |
9:55am |
||
|
C2 |
10:10am |
||
|
C3 |
10:25am |
||
|
Tuesday 7th Sept |
10 |
D1 |
11:10am |
|
D2 |
11:25am |
||
|
D3 |
11:40am |
||
|
B1 |
11:55am |
||
|
B2 |
12:10pm |
||
|
B3 |
12:25pm |
||
|
C1 |
12:40pm |
||
|
C2 |
12:55pm |
||
|
Tuesday 7th Sept |
12 |
Sa |
1:50pm |
|
Sb |
2:00pm |
||
|
Sc |
2:10pm |
||
|
Sd |
2:20pm |
||
|
Se |
2:30pm |
||
|
Sf |
2:40pm |
||
|
Weds 8th Sept |
9 |
D1 |
8:55am |
|
D2 |
9:10am |
||
|
B1 |
9:25am |
||
|
B2 |
9:40am |
||
|
B3 |
9:55am |
||
|
C1 |
10:10am |
||
|
C2 |
10:25am |
||
|
C3 |
10:55am |
Hopefully you will be able to arrange transport for those days when your children are coming to school for a test then going home again. If this is going to be a problem for you, please contact Dr Geall at kgeall@samuelward.co.uk and we will see if we can help.
Other precautions
In addition to testing, we will be adjusting our covid precautions in the light of the updated government guidance. The approach to this term has not changed since I first laid it out in July.
- The main change is that we will no longer have to ask groups of children to isolate if one child tests positive. That is going to make a real difference to all of us.
- We will no longer ask children to buy and eat their lunch from a particular servery – they will be free to go where they like. We are going to continue with the arrangement that C-Block breakout is reserved for Year 11 because it has worked so well.
- We will no longer require student to wear masks in school but they may do so if they wish. The government have very quickly changed their minds on the wearing of masks on school transport, so we will continue to ask students to wear masks on school buses and mini-buses.
- We will no longer ask teachers to teach from the front of the room and avoid being within a metre of any student for a minute or more, though they may still wish to do so. Where individual members of staff or students are extremely clinically vulnerable, we will continue to offer personalised approaches to safety.
- We will continue to ask students to wear PE kit on PE days for at least the first half term, but it is my intention that in the fullness of time we will return to the normal system of changing for PE.
- We will start to hold face to face assemblies again.
- We will leave all of the sanitisers in place and continue to ask students to use them on entering any classroom.
We’re taking an optimistic but cautious approach and we’re ready to adjust it as necessary.
I look forward to seeing all of your children in school next week.
Yours sincerely,
Andy Hunter
Headteacher