Dear Parents/Carers,
Following the government announcement on Monday night, we are delighted that all students can start to return to school for face-to-face teaching from Monday 8th March. We had been awaiting confirmation of this for several weeks and we are really pleased that this decision has been made.
We know how hard students and staff have been working on remote learning over the past 7 weeks and we are incredibly proud of the way our students have engaged with their live lessons. However, this is not a replacement for face-to-face teaching.
Alongside the announcement that students can return to school, there was further crucial detail regarding testing of students prior to their return to the classroom.
The government has been clear that students would need to undertake a COVID 19 Lateral Flow test, which returns a negative result, before they can return to the classroom. From our experience in using this kind of testing, the results take approximately 30 minutes to show a positive or negative result. A further two tests (with a gap of 3-5 days in between each test) will follow. The Government have then stated that students will be issued with Lateral Flow Test Kits to undertake further regular testing at home.
Whilst we want all students to return for face to face teaching as soon as is practically possible, the requirement to have a negative COVID 19 test prior to return to the classroom presents some logistical challenges. As a result, unless the Government changes their advice, the return dates for students will be staggered over the course of the week commencing 8th March.
We are currently working on plans to be able to test students in line with the latest Government guidance, balanced with the need to ensure they can resume face to face teaching as soon as is possible. You will however appreciate that testing up to 1350 students on three separate occasions, whilst being socially distanced, requires careful planning and organisation. I will write to you next week with specific details of when and how your child will return to school.
There is no clear guidance at this point as to whether students can be tested prior to the 8th March as schools remain closed to the majority of students until this date. We are seeking clarification on whether this will be possible.
We already have our test site up and running and have been regularly testing staff and those students who have been in school. This strategy has offered additional reassurance and has been successful in detecting asymptomatic cases. We have already had an overwhelmingly positive response to the completion of consent forms for the testing but if you have not yet consented, please do so using the link that we have sent via email and SMS/MyED message (if you have not received a consent form link please let us know). Thank you to all those of you who have already completed the form.
The other new requirement from the Government announcement was in relation to face coverings. Students will now be required to wear face coverings in lessons as well as in public areas of the school, up until Easter in the first instance. This will allow the Government to collect and review the national transmission data after four weeks of schools reopening fully, before deciding on how face coverings are to be worn in the future.
When I write to you next week, I will explain in detail the return to school process and a reminder of key points relating to the control measures we have in place to reduce the risk of transmission.
Finally, if anyone feels you have the capacity to volunteer to help with our testing programme then please get in touch via admin@clcc.college as a bigger testing team means we can test more students in a shorter space of time leading to a quicker return to normal lessons for our students.
Thank you in advance for your patience as we work through the next few days.