Dear Parents & Carers,
I am writing to you following my email of 1st March to provide you with further information regarding your child’s return to school. There is also an accompanying joint letter from Gerard Jones and Katrina Stephens (Oldham LA and Oldham Public Health respectively).
Firstly, I would like to thank you for the excellent response to the Covid testing consent forms which were sent out last week. I am also very grateful that many of you gave permission for your child to attend school yesterday and today to take part in the first round of testing. We expect that by the end of today nearly 1000 students will have had their first lateral flow test: this high number of completed tests will greatly help our plans for a smooth return to face-to-face learning next week.
From Monday 8th March, students will be returning to school to resume face-to-face education. Due to the additional organisational burden of administering the second and third Covid test for large numbers of students, we have had to arrange a phased return to school during that week.
The phased arrangements for year groups to return to school from 8th March are shown in the table below. Please note that on the days that a year group is required to be in school, all students in that cohort must attend, not just those who have given consent to participate in Covid testing.
| Date | Year Group(s) in School | Test Count |
| Monday 8th March | 11 & 9 only | #2 |
| Tuesday 9th March | 10 & 7 only | #2 |
| Wednesday 10th March | 8 only | #2 |
| Thursday 11th March | 11 & 9 only | #3 |
| Friday 12th March | 10 & 7 only | #3 |
When returning to school during that week, the arrangements for students will continue with the structure put in place in September: –
- Full school uniform to be worn at all times unless a student has a PE lesson
- On the days that a student has a PE lesson, they must only wear the approved school PE kit and their blazer
- Year groups will enter school via their individual entrances from 8.30am onwards
- The school day begins at 8.35am with a ‘Welcome and Wellbeing’ period (students arriving later than 8.40am will receive a late mark)
- The arrangements for the timings of lessons and social time will remain the same
- Café Mojo will be open each day and can be accessed by children at break and lunchtimes
- The school day will end at 2.50pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday
- The school day will end at 1.50pm on Wednesday
During this first ‘phased’ week back in school, students will experience face-to-face lessons (following their normal timetable) as well as online assemblies. Students taking part in testing will be taken out of lessons in small groups to visit the school’s testing centre. We are very mindful that some students will be anxious about their return to school and we will ensure that we offer appropriate support on an individual and whole-cohort basis.
On the days that year groups are not required to be in school, we will continue to provide a remote curriculum of five lessons per day to be accessed and completed at home.
All students will attend school full-time from Monday 15th March onwards. (Year 8 testing #3 will be carried out on Monday 15th).
Face Coverings
Following clarification and updated guidance from the DfE, I can confirm that the school’s policy on the wearing of face coverings from 8th March onwards is as follows:
- In indoor areas where social distancing measures cannot be routinely enforced, such as in corridors and Café Mojo, all staff and students will be required to wear face coverings
- Students who have an agreed exemption to the wearing of face coverings will not be required to follow this instruction
- This area of the policy has been in place since September 2020 and remains unchanged
- In classrooms, students will be strongly recommended to wear face coverings but this instruction is not mandatory
We are very much looking forward to welcoming your child back to full time education and are hopeful for a return to ‘normal’ conditions as soon as possible. If you have any questions relating to the content of this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Click here for the letter from Oldham LA and Oldham Public Health
Yours faithfully,
Mr J Cregg
Headteacher
