Our Ref: 2020/083/And/Eac
27 August 2020
Dear Parent/Carer
I write to you with an update following this week’s announcement from Government and the recent guidance from the World Health Organisation on face coverings. I had previously suggested that the wearing of a face covering be a choice for each family, however, following guidance and mounting evidence, as a Trust we have made the decision that it will be compulsory for students and staff to wear a face covering from Tuesday 1st September in the following areas:
- Corridors
- Toilets
- Restaurant when not eating
- Any other indoor areas, outside of the classroom, where distancing is not possible
The wearing of a face covering inside the classroom will remain optional. There will of course be medical exemptions and an acknowledgement of specific needs which we will risk assess on an individual basis. As I am sure you will understand, our primary concern is to keep all of our students and staff as safe as we possibly can, which is why as a group of schools, we have made this decision.
With regards to entering the Academy site, following consultation and feedback from families, the Academy has made the decision to retract the requirement for year groups to use specific gate entrances onto the Academy site. Instead, the Woodland Road Student Entrance (near Cornell) and Sheepcote Lane Student Entrance will be open to all students. However, we remind students that the following is imperative for your safety:
- Arrive at your allocated timeslot; please do not arrive early or late
- Go directly and promptly to your bubble building entry point
- Do not interact with other year group students/bubbles
At the end of the day, promptly and directly leave site
To confirm, the timings of our Academy day in the new academic year will be as follows:
Year..Start …..End .. Entry/Exit Point
7 ….. 08.400…15.10… A Corridor Fire Exit
8 ……09.00… 15.30 . .B Corridor Fire Exit
9 ……08.30 ….15.00… C Corridor Fire Exit
10 …..08.50 …15.20….Front Reception
11 …..09.10…..16.00….Front Reception
The Academy have also produced a short return video, which offers some guidance on the expectations and safety procedures that have been introduced, in order to keep us all safe: https://youtu.be/Ulww9BLY63U. We strongly encourage all students to watch this video before they return to the Academy.
Finally, a reminder, we have made the decision to have a phased beginning to the new academic year to ensure our protocols are robust and to enable our systems and support structures to gradually increase to full capacity by Thursday 3rd September. The start dates for each year group are as follows:
Start Date……….. ……….. … ….Start ………/…End
Y7 …Thurs 27th August ………08.40………..15.10
Y11…Fri 28th August …………..09.10………16.00
Y10 ..Tues 1st September………08.50…… .15.20
Y9…. Wed 2nd September … 08.30 …….15.00
Y8 ….Thur 3rd September ……09.00……..15.30
We look forward to welcoming all our students back and working together, to have another fantastic and successful year.
Yours sincerely
Mr A Deen
Principal