Letters from the Headteacher

Dear Parents and Carers

I am sure that you will have seen the latest announcements in the media from the Government based on the World Health Organisation’s statement regarding the use of face coverings in schools to help to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Links to relevant websites are added at the end of this message.

We will be following the advice of the Government and we ask that students and staff;

Government advice is that face coverings are not needed outside or when students are working in their ‘bubble’. The advice is to remove face coverings at these times but we are aware that some students and staff will feel more comfortable if they can continue to wear their face coverings and so we have allowed this. There are some students who will be exempt from wearing a face covering for certain medical reasons known to school.

Please note that face coverings will need to be plain in design, there are some on sale that are unsuitable for the school environment. Staff will go through the safe ways to wear, remove and store a face covering, as is included in the guidance below.

Hand hygiene is still repeated as an extremely important measure to beat the virus and we have placed hand sanitizer on walls near entrances for students to use, as well as the dedicated toilets for hand washing as stated in the recent email.

We have also created a Recovery Curriculum for students to address a number of sensitive issues which have arisen as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. This will cover the first few weeks of the school year. At the same time, we will also have a Review Cycle through all timetabled lessons to ensure that students develop confidence with work covered whilst the school has been closed to most students. We believe these steps will help students have a positive start to the school year.

Please help us to keep our school community safe by providing your child with a suitable face covering. 

Yours faithfully

Alex George

Interim Headteacher

Government advice on the use of face coverings in schoolhttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/face-coverings-in-education/face-coverings-in-education

Government advice on face coverings, including how to wear one safely

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/face-coverings-when-to-wear-one-and-how-to-make-your-own/face-coverings-when-to-wear-one-and-how-to-make-your-own#how-to-wear-a-face-covering

A useful leaflet from Exeter NHS about face coverings

https://www.rdehospital.nhs.uk/documents/patients/wearing-a-face-mask-or-face-covering-during-covid-19-leaflet.pdf