Dear Parent /Carer
As you know schools will be welcoming back children from Monday 8th March. To ensure we can do this for all children, as soon as possible, we are asking for your support with the initial mass testing of all students during the week beginning Monday 1st March. With the country still being in a state of lockdown, schools are being given special dispensation to begin the testing prior to the 8th March. We have decided to take advantage of this so that students do not need to return on a phased return with some students being out of school for nearly a week longer than necessary
Following this update you will receive a letter with a day, date and time slot for your child to attend the school and instructions of what to do so that your child can take a lateral flow test for coronavirus at the school. Although we appreciate this could cause transport challenges we would ask for your support so that we can have all children attend school and be in lessons from Monday 8th March.
Taking the test is voluntary but we would encourage as many students as possible to take part in order to reduce the risk further for all members of the community. Students will come to school for their time slot with pre-authorised consent to take the test and then return home immediately having had their test. Parents can wait in the car park or outside the school building whilst students are taking the test.
Due to the additional challenges of running mass testing, key worker school, remote learning and planning a safe reopening there will be no live lessons from Monday 1st March until Friday 5th March. There will be a full quota of remote tasks for all students focused on ensuring students are at the right point in all their learning to return to face to face education on the 8th March. We appreciate that there may be challenges with getting children to school so if there are any issues please do not hesitate to contact a member of the school team and we will try and help to resolve the issue.
Students will be able to take a further two lateral flow tests in school before being given tests to self administer at home. We see the training opportunity of taking the test in school as key to supporting the safety of the wider school community in the longer term as we move out of lockdown. If any parents or carers would be happy to support the testing process in school over the next three weeks we would be delighted to accept any offers of help and support.
We are excited to be able to welcome all students back from Monday 8th March and are grateful for your support in the challenge to ensure we can reopen school to all children as soon as possible.
Kind regards
Ian Young
Principal