1^st March 2021

Return to school from Monday 8^th March 2021

Dear parents, carers and students,

Following the Prime Minister’s announcement on Monday, I am delighted to inform you that students will be returning to school on Monday 8^th March as part of a phased reopening.

It is vital that students arrive at the allocated time in order for us to safely manage the return to school.

Students in Year 11 along with Year 7 and 8 Sanctuary and Orion students, will be returning on Monday 8^th March at the following times:

Students in Years 9 and 10 will be returning on Tuesday 9^th March at these times:

Students in Years 7 and 8 will be returning at these times:

Students of critical workers and those who have been attending school during lockdown will continue to attend as usual on the 8^th March but normal lessons will resume.

Once students have had their first lateral flow test for Covid and once the results are known (within 20 – 30 minutes of taking the test); they will attend a welcome assembly and briefing from myself before attending lessons on their usual timetable once again.  Two further tests will take place for each year group over the 2-week period from 8^th until the 18^th March.  Testing kits will then be issued for these to be undertaken twice a week at home, up until the Easter break and further instructions and guidance will be issued on this.

Thank you to all those parents who provided consent for the Covid tests at the start of January.  If you have not done this, please complete the short form on the link below, to provide consent for this to take place.  It is voluntary but of course, the more people that take part in this, the safer our environment will be.  I would ask you to complete this by the end of Tuesday 2^nd March. The privacy notice can be found on the school website.

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=70bgJyRMHkq7OpF-8w3afjMloiDccOBLtHeBZZzaNABUMzM3WFVXTFhOVFZOM0k5UEcyOE1OUUY0Uy4u

TEACHER ASSESSED GRADES FOR YEAR 11 STUDENTS

As you will be aware, the Department for Education announced yesterday that students will be awarded teacher assessed grades for the summer examinations.  Grades will be awarded and determined by teachers, based on what they have covered, taking into account the disruption to learning over the last 12 months due to the pandemic.  We are incredibly proud of Chloe and Josiah in Year 11, who featured on the BBC programme Northwest Tonight, yesterday, giving their response to the announcement about summer exams.  Please click the following link to view this:

http://www.blaconhighschool.net/blacon-high-school-on-north-west-tonight/

HOME LEARNING – GOOGLE CLASSROOM

Students should continue to complete work at home in the meantime.  From Tuesday 2^nd March, there will be no live lessons during lesson 4 and 5 each afternoon, but work will be available for you to complete before your return.  Next Tuesday, there will also be an opportunity for you to join a live tutor session with your tutor, to discuss the return to school and to ask any questions that you may have. Please look out for details of this from your tutors and for the Google Classroom code.

As always, we will be here to support students and families as we all become accustomed to the routine of being back in school.

UNIFORM

Students are expected to be in full school uniform on their return.  We understand that some families are struggling to buy shoes at this time and will accept this term, all black trainers (including the sole) with no other colours or logos showing and hope that this will go some way in helping at this time.  If any area of the trainer has anything other than black, regardless of how small, they will not be accepted.  If anyone has any questions about this, please contact your Progress Leader before purchasing a trainer.  A reminder that blazers and ties should also be worn.  If the blazer is too small and you have been unable to purchase another, we ask that students bring them in their bags upon their return.  If anyone is struggling with uniform, please contact a member of the safeguarding team, who will be able to discuss how we can support you.

In the meantime, look out for further updates next week, keep working hard and stay safe.  We are still in a lockdown and it is important that everyone follows all of the rules, to keep you and your families safe.

FACE COVERINGS

The guidance has now been updated and students will be expected to wear face coverings throughout the day, in classrooms as well as circulation spaces where it is not possible for them to socially distance.  We ask for your support, as it is one of the key measures in place to reduce transmission, to keep everyone safe and to help us to remain open.  Students will need to bring a face covering in with them each day, as part of their school uniform and some will be available for students to buy at school, if required.

All of the staff are really looking forward to welcoming students back into school once more.

Yours sincerely,

Rachel Hudson

Headteacher