17th July 2020
Details of September Opening of Dr Thomlinson CofE Middle School School
Dear Parent/Carer of Sept 2020 Yr 6, Yr 7 & Yr 8 Children,
As this unprecedented school year comes to a close, I would like to communicate with you the plans for the opening of our school to all students in September. The DfE has produced this guidance for all schools to follow to ensure that the health and safety of the students and staff of the school remains the highest priority. Whilst we understand that everyone wants everything to return to normal, we may have to adjust to a ‘new normal’ until we are confident that the virus poses no risk or a vaccine is widely available. In this letter I will set out what this ‘new normal’ will look like in September and the rationale behind some of these decisions.
Please take some time to read through this with your child before returning to school in September. The DfE have also put together this guidance for parents and carers to read about students returning to school in September.
Start of the Year 2020 / 2021
To ensure we have a controlled and well managed start to the school term with all students coming into the school, we are implementing a staggered start to the term.
We are very conscious that our new Year 5 will not have had a physical transition this year and we would like them to have the best possible start to Dr Thomlinson CofE Middle School so they feel comfortable in their new surroundings. Therefore, only Year 5 students will start back to school on Wednesday 2nd September. All other Year groups will then start on Thursday 3rd September.
- Wednesday 2nd September – Year 5 only
- Thursday 3rd September – All other Year groups
The new normal at school will look significantly different to what school was like before COVID-19, therefore, we will spend some time discussing the new expectations and routines with the students on their first day back in school.
Your child’s attendance to school is under the same guidance as before lockdown, therefore, the expectation is that all children who do not have a shielding letter regarding a health condition, will return to school. If there are children who do have a shielding letter we ask that a copy of this is sent to the school.
Please note that in September school will not be closing at 1pm on a Friday as has been the case during lockdown. School will finish as normal at 3:25pm every Friday, as every other day.
Personal hygiene measures
We will continue to ensure that all students have the opportunity to ensure the highest standards of hand and respiratory hygiene throughout the school day. There are hand sanitising stations across all entrances and exits in the school, on every corridor and in every classroom. Tissues and bins with lids to dispose of any used tissues are also in every classroom. Students will be reminded to clean hands during every lesson, and on entering and leaving a room, and to adopt the “Catch it, bin it, kill it” approach to coughing or sneezing. Students will sit in the same seat for the majority of their lessons in the same classroom thus minimising contact with other students’ belongings. Where practically possible, students will sit facing the front of the classroom. Students will only move rooms if they are having a practical lesson in a dedicated room for that subject, and practical room and all equipment in that room will be cleaned before another year group uses it.
Bubbles / student groupings
The social distancing measures in schools have been reduced, so students will now be in their normal form class, with each year group being classified as a ‘bubble’. However, school staff must maintain a 2 metre social distance rule wherever possible.
Students will be in Year group bubbles and will be allowed to interact with other students outside of their class group, but in their year group. This enables subject specialists to deliver to students across a year group where setting in subjects occurs, and for students to use specialist facilities such as our Science lab.
Students will have breaks and lunches with their Year groups and will be allocated an area to remain in for their breaks and lunches also.
Equipment / Uniform
Students are now able to take equipment to and from school. Therefore it is essential that students have the following equipment with them on a daily basis as schools are not able to lend equipment amongst students due to the increased risk of transmission.
Required equipment
- Water Bottle
- a pack of tissues
- Reading book
- Black handwriting pen
- Pencil
- Ruler
- Sharpener
- Rubber
- School Planner (given on the first day back)
- Optional: green/blue pens, glue stick, coloured pencils, scientific calculator (KS3 only), protractor, compass
The guidance states that the following items are also allowed – “lunch boxes, hats, coats, books, stationery and mobile phones. Bags are allowed. “
Phones – We do ask students who have mobile phones with them that they are switched off, and stored in their bag when they are on the school grounds. Any student found with their phone switched on regardless if it is on silent or vibrate, will have this confiscated. Upon confiscation, the phone will be wiped clean and stored in an envelope until it is collected by the student at the end of the day. Typically, we ask parents / carers to collect these but as we are reducing the number of visitors to school we are amending this approach whilst operating under this guidance.
Cloakrooms will not be used by students for the foreseeable future as this is an additional space where students congregate in close proximity to each other. As the majority of lessons will be taught in the same classrooms, students will leave their belongings at their desk space throughout the day. As children will not need to bring PE kit to school, we ask that each day they only bring with them the items essential for that day. Doing so will mean that their bags will not take up much room in the classroom.
Uniform
Our school uniform remains the same as in previous years, however we are unable to provide an area for students to get changed for PE without increasing the risk of transmission of the virus. As students will not be changing for PE we ask that students not wear school shoes, but come in sport appropriate trainers every day (in case they forget to wear them on their PE day). Also on the days that students have PE they can come to school in leggings / jogging pants, but still wear school uniform on their top half (if they forget, they can still do PE in their school uniform). There is no longer an expectation during this period of time that uniforms are washed on a daily basis. I would like to take this opportunity to remind you of our school uniform policy which can be found on our website.
Staggered starts, finishes, lunches and breaks
The DfE guidance states, “…. schools should consider staggered starts or adjusting start and finish times to keep groups apart as they arrive and leave school.”
As a large proportion of our students arrive on buses, a staggered start time is not feasible, therefore we are adjusting our start and finish times slightly. We ask that students who walk or get a lift to school do not arrive before 8:45am, whereupon they will be directed straight to their supervised form room through different access points in school to avoid as much as possible the mixing of bubbles. At the end of the school day Year groups will be dismissed in a staggered fashion from 3:25pm from these same points.
We understand that students use school transport and may arrive at school before their start time or finish before their bus typically arrives. Upon arrival these students are to be encouraged to remain socially distanced from other students outside of their bubbles and to make their way to their allocated access point and wait until it is time to enter the school. At the end of the school day, students will be lining up socially distanced from other bubbles in the front yard until called for their bus – this will be outdoors, and so please ensure your child has a coat in case of inclement weather.
Please ensure your child is familiar with their access point to school on their first day back:
Yr 6 – access point – previous Year 5 door in front yard
Yr 7 – access point – normal school entry door near the boys toilet
Yr 8 – access point – Main Entrance of school
In order to minimise the risk of COVID-19 to all students and staff, we encourage all students to be mindful of social distancing outside of their school bubbles on their journey to and from school. Please can you discuss the importance of this with your child before September.
Breaks – Break time will be slightly extended, during which Year group bubbles will spend some time in their form rooms, and some time outside. When outside, each Year group bubble will be allocated a specific area of the grounds in which they can play, separate from other bubbles.
Lunch time – Year group bubbles will be eating lunches together, with cleaning taking place between each bubble. Mrs Muir – our school cook – will continue making her lovely hot food for those wishing to have a school dinner. Lunchtime has been extended to take this into account. When not eating, lunch-time will be as described in breaks above.
Extracurricular activities and enrichment
For the foreseeable future we are unable to offer any extracurricular, enrichment activities or educational visits due to the restrictions set in this guidance. We value this area as integral to every child’s learning and will offer any opportunities where possible to ensure we can offer this moving forward.
Remote learning work
Thank you to all parents / carers for their support with remote learning over this period of time. I have no doubt that this posed challenges for parents and carers whilst trying to juggle a work life balance. However, we recognise that many of our students have continued with their studies with a fantastic approach and I would like to thank you for this support.
E-safety
We would like to continue to support positive e-safety approaches at home during the Summer holiday. Please refer to this link for up to date advice and guidance.
Thankyou
Finally, I would like to once again thank you for all of your support throughout these times. It has been reassuring to receive your letters and emails of support which I have shared with staff, and I know staff have found these to be motivational during these days. I have no doubt that the staff at Dr Thomlinson’s will continue to look out for each individual student who attends here and will continue to develop them both academically and personally. I would like to thank them for their support and hard work also.
I look forward to seeing all the students in September ready and eager to enjoy school once again.
Best regards,
Liam Murtagh
Headteacher
