The school is fully open to all students from Monday 8 March. Below is some of our measures in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to ensure your child's time at school is as safe as possible:

Bubbles

All Year Groups are separated from each other and have their own designated corridor - this is their 'bubble'. Students remain in these corridors for all their lessons, apart from their vocational lessons which require a specialist area (such as PE, IT and Music). In this instance, these rooms are cleaned down before the lesson takes place to minize cross contamination.

Each year group has a different arrival/departure entrance to school:

Year Group	Entrance/Departure Gate	Bubble Corridor
Year 7	Berwick Gate	Art Block
Year 8	Elsa Gate	English Corridor
Year 9	KIER Gate	History Corridor
Year 10	Berwick Gate	MFL Corridor
Year 11	KIER  Gate	Maths Corridor
Sixth Form	Elsa Gate	Science Corridor

Each bubble have their own designated areas outside during break time, staff are there to ensure year groups do not mix outside their designated zone.

Lunch times are staggered to ensure that facilities such as the canteen are available to students without bubbles mixing. The canteen is thoroughly cleaned wipes before students use these facilities.

Social Distancing 

We have a strict social distancing policy in place around the school for both staff and students. We recognise with students that keeping a 2 metre distance is not always possible due to large class sizes or during the changeover of lesson. We have appropriate measures in place to help this; such as signage to remind students to keep left at all times and to wear masks. 

Hand Hygiene: Sanitisation

Upon entering through their designated entrance, students are given a drop of hand sanitiser by a member of staff to clean their hands before they enter the school. There are numerous hand sanitiser stations located around the school with signs to remind them to clean their hands throughout the day. There is also a 'cleaning station' located in every classroom containing antibacterial wipes, hand sanitiser and nappy bags to safely dispose of their cleaning equipment.

 

Face Coverings

Face Coverings are mandatory for all staff and students in communal areas - students are able to remove their face covering when sitting down to eat or drink. Masks are highly encouraged to be worn in the classroom during lessons. These measures are due to be reviewed on the 17th May - more info can be found here.

If your child is exempt from wearing a face covering, please let their Head of Year know.

 

Cleaning Arrangements

Frequently touched surfaces (such as doors and stair bannisters) are cleaned throughout the day and thorough cleaning takes place each evening in all classrooms and communal areas using COVID-19 virus killing products.

The school is well ventilated with doors and windows being kept open throughout the day. There is a balance between ventilation and heating to ensure the school is adequately warm during the winter months.

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 There is a DfE helpline to answer questions about COVID-19 related to education. Staff, parents and young people with questions about COVID-19 related to education can contact the helpline as follows:

Phone: 0800 046 8687
Email: DfE.coronavirushelpline@education.gov.uk
The opening hours are 8am to 6pm (Monday to Friday).