Dear Parents/Carers

Thanks once again for all your support this week and I hope everyone remains well. 

 

Face coverings and new guidance

With a new national lockdown, the Government has issued new guidance for schools. This now requires all secondary schools to enforce face coverings throughout school sites apart from when in lessons. We are really pleased that we were ahead of the curve on this issue and that, for several weeks now, both staff and students have shown very strong support for wearing coverings. I met with our Student Council just before half term and it was one of the measures we had put in place that the student representatives reported had made them feel much safer in school.

Thank you for your support on this. 

Exemptions are still allowed for medical issues and thanks for providing cards or notes for students who have medical issues that stop them covering their face. Can you please encourage your child to eat their snacks within collection points rather than while walking around the site so that we can keep face coverings on for as much of their time in school as possible?

 

Sending students into College when potentially exposed to the virus

Our first line of defence in stopping any transmission of the virus in school is to stop it entering our school community in the first place. Thank you to all those parents and carers who have been really proactive in keeping their child at home if there is a possibility they have been near someone who is showing symptoms and is therefore awaiting a test, or a definite link to someone who has tested positively. 

 

It is really important that you continue to do this to keep everyone safe. 

If someone within your household is showing symptoms, please do not send your child into school while you are waiting for the outcome of the test. We would much rather you err on the side of caution. If this happens to you, please contact the College and we will happily seek further guidance from Public Health England on the situation while your child is kept safely at home. We will also let your child's teachers know the situation so they can signpost work for your child to do at home so they don't fall behind.

 

Positive test

We have always said that should anyone test positive for Covid at the College then we would let you know. One of our students has tested positive today, however, they have been self-isolating due to a link to another positive Covid case within their family since before half term (over two weeks ago) and so pose no risk to our school community. Hopefully, this will serve as a timely reminder about how the virus is within our geographical area and the importance of keeping your child at home if you suspect they have been linked to someone showing symptoms or testing positive.

 

Thank you very much for your support with this to keep everyone safe.

Regards

Andrew Davis