Staggered re-opening of school in January
I thought it important to update you following the announcements from Gavin Williamson and Boris Johnson yesterday, about the opening of schools in January 2021.
We welcome the request to revert to online learning for the majority of our students for the next two weeks. Since before the beginning of the Christmas break we have been concerned about the rapidly increasing rate of infection in our surrounding area and our ability to keep everyone safe in our school setting. This change in approach by the Government has given us a sense of relief. In summary, there will be a staggered start, and the following will apply:
Please read the full letter here:
Week beginning Tuesday 5th January
We will be open only for the children of critical key workers and vulnerable children on both the primary and secondary site.
We appreciate that some of you will not be able to continue the very important work that you do to protect our community if we are closed. Therefore, if you belong to one of these categories may I ask you to consider your decision very carefully. If you have the capacity to care for your child/ren at home, please keep them at home.
If you have no other option but to send your child/ren to school please would you e-mail office@sydneyrussellschool.com to notify us of your intent. You will be required to complete an information form and should they be in year 7 to 11, a consent form for them to have a lateral flow Covid test. This test is crucial for detecting asymptomatic cases and for keeping us all safe. The school will operate normal working hours, 8:40 to 3pm
Remote learning will also begin for all of our primary children and Years 11 and 13.
Primary children will work with Purple Mash and must log on by 9am. Secondary students will be expected to log on to Teams at 08:40 where they will be registered by their class teacher or form tutor. A normal timetable will be followed, albeit remotely.
In the course of the week year 11 and 13 students will receive an appointment to attend school and complete a lateral flow test. Parental consent is needed for this test for all students under the age of 16. To help speed up this process I would be grateful if you would complete the consent form in advance using the link below. This test is crucial in keeping us all safe
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/DC7QG8N
If your child is Free School Meals and you wish to receive the weekly school meal pack please e-mail us at office@sydneyrussellschool.com or ring us on January 4th when the school reopens to inform us of your intention and allow us to prepare accordingly.
Week beginning Monday 11th January
Year 11 and 13 return to school and resume face to face lessons
Remote learning continues for primary children.
Remote learning will start for Years 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12 . Students are expected to log onto Teams for registration at 08:40 and then follow their normal timetable.
In the course of the week each student from years 9 and 10 will receive an appointment to attend school to complete a lateral flow test. Parental consent is needed for this test. To help speed up this process I would grateful if you would complete the consent form in advance using the link below. This test is crucial in keeping us all safe.
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/DC7QG8N
Week beginning Monday 18th January
Monday 18th January all primary children and years 10 and 12 return to school and resume face to face lessons.
Tuesday 19th January year 9 returns to school and resumes face to face lessons.
Wednesday 20th January years 8 returns to school and resumes face to face lessons. Year 7 returns on Thursday 21st January. On both these dates they will be expected to complete a Covid lateral flow test, crucial in detecting asymptomatic cases. Completing this test is vital if we are all to stay safe. Parental consent is needed for this test. To help speed up this process I would be grateful if you would complete the consent form in advance using the link below.
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/DC7QG8N
The school is working closely with the local authority and Public Health England to make sure that the school is as safe as possible. The introduction of the lateral flow test for all is an important tool in ensuring our safety.
We will also be able to offer serial lateral testing for all students year 7 and above and staff who may have been in contact with a positive case to reduce the spread of the virus through detecting individuals who are positive but may not be showing symptoms.
I apologise for having to contact you on New Year’s Eve and for the inevitable messages that will follow over the next few days. Please be assured that I will do all that is possible to minimise the disruption to your child’s education and, most importantly, to keep everybody in our school community as safe as possible over the coming weeks. Further information will be available when term restarts, but until then, I wish you all a happy and healthy new year.
With thanks
Janis Davies
Principal
