Hello everyone and I hope you have a had a restful break and are ready for a new term at school.
As you will all be aware the country is once more in the grip of a very contagious new variety of the Covid virus.
This new strain is very prevalent in the North West and infections are at an all time high. The return to school is seen as a potential breeding ground for a massive increase in the rate of infections and the subsequent fallout of sustained absence.
We want to keep our school open at all times but this will only be possible with the support and willingness of all our stakeholders to work closely with the guidance from the Government, the NHS and trade unions.
On return to school all students will be asked to wear a face mask. Those students with an exemption must provide evidence of the exemption to safely be placed with other students and staff in school.
We will be testing all students with a supervised LFT to ensure that everyone in our school is negative for covid.
There will be a further LFT on Thursday and within this window we will be asking all students to wear their masks in class and inside the building.
It only takes one positive person to spread the infection and with this particular strain 1 in 3 persons infected show no symptoms therefore feeling well is not a reasonable excuse for non-compliance.
If the school loses several teachers to covid we will be looking at school closures and this is a situation no one wants therefore it is imperative that everyone steps up and does their part to keep the school open and more importantly keep everyone safe from infection.
Going forwards it is my intention to offer students the opportunity to take LFT twice a week on Monday and Thursdays to ensure they remain covid negative, if we are sure that everyone is negative then we can dispense with the need to wear masks in school, although the option to wear a mask is always there for those that wish to do so.
Students who are not wearing masks and refuse to take LFT will be educated in school but will remain in their own bubble for the safety of others.
This will remain the case until the government advise that the level of infection has dropped back to levels where normality can ensue.
I do appreciate that no one likes wearing masks or taking LFT but if you have been unfortunate enough to have been ill with covid or have a vulnerable relative who could be seriously impacted by covid then you will understand just how important it is that we do everything that we can to minimise risk.
As the leader of this school I have a clear responsibility for the safety and well being of all our community, if you feel that the way in which I am approaching the issue is unreasonable then please do not hesitate to contact me as I am more than happy to discuss my actions with you.
Kind regards
Andrew Murray