Dear Parents and Carers

I hope this communication finds you and your family continuing to be well.

Before outlining some updates for you I just wanted to thank you once again for all your support. 

Overwhelmingly, despite all the Covid restrictions we have had to introduce, students have returned very positively and determined to make the most of their time with us and get the best education possible. 

Centre Assessed Grades - working hard now could be very important later in the year

This is particularly evident with the vast majority of our older students who understand that, should the country go into another lockdown, schools may once again have to produce Centre Assessed Grades. These Centre Assessed Grades are awarded on the basis of evidence from homework, tests, classwork and, in time, mock results. Centre Assessed Grades are based on a range of evidence and so it is really important that our Key Stage 4 and Post-16 students continue to work hard to get some good scores "in the bag" since this might be very important to their grades in the Summer.

Wet Weather plans

We do have a wet weather plan for the students for when the weather really starts to turn colder and wetter. This does involve moving students to larger indoor spaces where they can shelter, such as the Main Hall. However, since these areas are indoors, and students are likely to be talking face to face for an extended period of time with limited ventilation, appropriate face coverings will need to be worn at all times. If your child has an exemption, then can you please record this in the planner and/or an exemption card can be purchased online. Obviously, students will be able to continue to take their covering off when actually eating and replace it afterwards. 

Thank you for your support with this matter. 

Students that refuse to wear face coverings and are not exempt will be supervised elsewhere. 

An increasing risk

With infection rates over a seven-day period continuing to rise nationally and outbreaks at other schools and educational settings locally we believe that the risk of Covid is increasing. Therefore, we would urge you to please support our efforts to encourage students to wear face coverings around the site. Students will often put them on when reminded, however, it is impossible for us to be everywhere every day and so please check your child's covering to see if it has been used each evening. We understand students don't like to wear them but staff are wearing them along with a small minority of students so they won't be alone in helping to protect themselves, their family and their community.

Mandatory face coverings

Due to the increasing risks and because most students aren't wearing face coverings or aren't very good at maintaining their distance from each other we are now stating that face coverings MUST be used in the following areas

• Library
• Some lessons in smaller rooms
• When queuing for the canteen (including the Post-16 Cafe)
• When collecting food in the canteen (including the Post-16 Cafe)
• On buses to and from College - for students who persist in not wearing their face coverings on school transport we will refer students to Devon County Council who may consider removing students from school transport 
• Wet weather areas indoors (including Post-16)

Face coverings in these areas will become mandatory on Wednesday 28th September and after this point any students not wearing face coverings will be refused entry.

Throughout the day we are trying to keep year groups of students entirely separate from each other with staff cleaning each desk between lessons and staggered ends to the day. Unfortunately, this work is being undone when groups of students meet each other either in the Park or the Granary at the end of the day or other times. Concerns have been raised by several parents and carers about this and so could we please ask that students go straight home at the end of school and avoid mixing with other students in large groups as much as possible. Thank you for your help with this.

Dropping off at the school gate

Can I please ask that you don't drop your child right in front of the school gates. While students are entering and leaving the school at different times this has the potential to cause an obstruction to passing traffic and increase the risk of an accident.

PE kit 

We have been really pleased with how students have adapted to coming in in their PE kit. While most students are abiding by the rules about what to wear over their PE kit some students have forgotten the rules and so, by way of a quick reminder students can wear black tracksuit bottoms and an ECC PE training top or school jumper. Grey tracksuit bottoms or hoodies are not acceptable and will be confiscated until the end of the day. Thanks for your help with this.

School jumpers

Can you please ensure that students are also wearing their school jumper. We have noticed some students are wearing a coat instead of their jumper which is not allowed. This will be a particular problem as it gets colder since we will need to leave windows in classrooms open for ventilation and so even though the heating will be on, it will not be very effective. As it gets colder, students will, at the discretion of the teacher, be allowed to keep their coats on but only if they are wearing a jumper underneath and so all students, including Year 11, will need to make sure they have a jumper. 

Once again, I ask for your support in helping us to put these additional measures in place and please talk to your child about how to take a face covering off safely and how to store it when not in use. For students that forget their face covering we do have a small number available for students at the Key Stage offices.

Finally, I have been asked by NHS England to pass on an important letter from them about Covid-19 symptoms. The letter can be found on this link.

Thank you very much.

Regards​

Andrew Davis
Principal
Exmouth Community College