As the lockdown continues to be eased, we are now ready to partially reopen to selected Yr10 students and Yr 12s on 15 June. The parents of the year 10 students who are being invited in, in this first wave, have already been contacted. I shall be writing to you separately, early next week with more detailed information on how school will operate. We are preparing a one-way system through the main building, hand washing stations and very visual signage to remind everyone how to stay safe. In addition I have attached the Risk assessment to this email for everyone to see. Staff and governors have seen this document and made amendments and suggestions. If you have any comments or further suggestions please do let me know. As we know a Risk assessment attempts to minimise the risks in the current situation, it doesn’t remove them and there are still risks associated with reopening the site. However, I am confident that we have covered all bases and will be strictly enforcing social distancing and sensible behaviour , any breaches will result in students being returned to online home based learning.
For all other students, the government has made it clear, at this point, that we will NOT open for Years 7-9 until September. As ever this may change and I will keep you updated. You may also have heard about summer schools/camps being offered in August. As far we are aware, North Yorkshire is looking at this and how feasible it would be. We may be a host site – but no further details are available at the moment.
I have also ordered some additional laptops and 4G routers, from the Department of Education, this week. There are restrictions on how many we can apply for and which students are eligible. Once we know how many devices we have been allocated, we will look very carefully at how they are distributed.
Unfortunately our caters, Dolce are facing the prospect of having to furlough their staff. We are very grateful for all their support so far, but understand that they need to make commercial decisions in light of the crisis. Therefore from 15 June, those of you who have been receiving the weekly food boxes will be sent Co-Op vouchers instead. I appreciate this is not ideal for some. The national voucher scheme has been plagued with problems and families are just not receiving them in time- they are time limited. Therefore the local Co-op scheme seemed a better solution. However, I shall be in touch with all free school meal families, separately to iron out any issues- if we have to make up boxes ourselves and continue deliveries, then we will.
Finally, I can now reveal our updated uniform. Firstly, we have added some optional items to the PE uniform, including Skorts ( lycra shorts with skirt on top), sports running leggings, and slim leg track pants which have been very popular in other schools. They are plain and will be added to our page on Uniform Direct. I have made the decision to change the school jumper from the existing sweatshirt type to a more formal V necked navy blue wool mix jumper. The jumper has a more up to date ‘greyed out’ school logo and is the start of a phased transformation of our uniform. We are proposing to buy the first jumper for all of our current students in Years 7-10, to avoid an additional cost to parents. Unfortunately the turnaround for ordering is very tight! This link is to a google questionnaire for you to select sizes. https://forms.gle/JejcFFdnjQLHoZi49
We will also be purchasing a range of sizes, so will have enough in school for everyone.
The academic year 2020-21 will be a transitional one for uniform. The new striped blouse and open necked shirts will become our uniform from Septmber 2021 and our new Yr 7s this year will be wearing this version. To ease the burden on families, I have taken the decision to allow the old pale blue shirts this year – to be worn with the school tie, and new V necked jumper. Ties will not be part of the new uniform. Attached are some photos.
Uniform Direct recommend that parents order online as early as possible
- Telephone advice is available regarding sizing if required
- A prepaid label is provided on request if incorrect size ordered, or your child has a growth spurt before the start of school.
- Free delivery on all orders over £25
- All returned items are steamed and isolated prior to resale
- Uniform direct website : https://www.uniform-direct.com/
Thank you as ever for your patience. Stay safe and well.
