27 August 2020
To Parent(s) / Carer(s) / Students
of The Roseland Academy
Dear Parent(s) / Carer(s) / Students
I hope you have had a relaxing summer and students are looking forward to returning to school next week. We are really looking forward to welcoming back all of our students, and particularly our new Year 7 cohort, as it has been a long time since they have been in school and it will be great to get back into school life and daily routines.
I am writing to provide you with an update following my letter to you at the end of last term regarding the full reopening of The Roseland Academy (available on our website). Firstly, a reminder of the date changes – Year 7 will start school on Thursday 3 September and all other year groups will commence on Friday 4 September. This is to allow transition time for our Year 7 students as this was not possible last term due to the closure of schools. As you have seen, the expectation is that all students will attend school.
Since my last letter, facemasks have been widely discussed across the country in relation to the full opening of schools. The guidance that has come out from the Department for Education is not helpful as it is passing on the decision- making to individual schools. The Roseland has made the following decision on the wearing of facemasks. We expect all students and staff to have a facemask with them daily. Students must wear their mask on their journey to school if they are on a bus or in a car where two children in the same family are in different year group bubbles. We are not promoting car sharing at the moment, especially if students are in differing bubbles. We also expect students to wear their facemask in communal areas inside school, this is important when moving between lessons where different bubbles may pass each other although we have created a system in school to keep this to a minimum. We are not asking students to wear their facemasks in lessons or in our outside spaces. If the guidance changes, we will update you at that time. We have two areas where students can buy and eat their food so no two bubbles will be in contact. Therefore, facemasks do not need to be worn in the dining hall/eating areas. Please support us in this decision and ensure that your child has their facemask daily. It is also important that an appropriate facemask is worn in school and we request no logos, images or slogans.
As in my previous letter, all students must be in their full school uniform which is detailed on our website. On days where students are scheduled to have their PE lessons we ask that they wear their PE kit to school. The changing room facilities have been identified as a higher risk area at this time due to their size and ventilation. They could be used for small groups or teams to change but not year groups presently. Students can wear their school jumper over their PE kit to keep warm and appropriate tracksuit bottoms. As we are moving around the outside of school much more often than using inside corridors it would be beneficial for students to have a lightweight waterproof coat.
One of the most important parts of returning to school is around symptoms and testing for COVID-19. Below is a simple check sheet to follow if this happens.
Personal hygiene is exceptionally important when returning to school. The school has built bespoke exterior handwashing facilities for all students and staff. Handwashing before entering the building is necessary for everyone, including visitors. It is also important that everyone washes their hands regularly throughout the day. We recommend that all students have their own hand sanitiser but we all need to be aware of the issues of overusing hand sanitiser so we recommend soap and water whenever possible. All classrooms have sanitizer available to use and we have extra cleaning arranged for the school.
Finally, I want to reassure you about the extensive planning we have been doing to ensure that all students and staff are able to return to The Roseland and experience a safe and positive learning atmosphere. We have designed a timetable and curriculum that allows all students to experience a normal timetable including specialist lessons such as Science, the Arts and Technology. This has been a very complicated process but without doubt worthwhile. However, to ensure that this works we expect the highest levels of courtesy and behaviour upon our return to school. It will not be possible to run school detentions or internal isolation due to the issues around year group bubbles.
Therefore, poor behaviour that would usual lead to an internal exclusion is likely to be an external exclusion at home. Behaviour that would normally lead to a detention will be recorded in our tutor dashboards and tutors will communicate with you when a student is receiving these regularly. I ask that you talk with your child about these expectations. The Roseland Academy is a very strong community and I want all students to feel safe and supported. Those who wish to wear their facemask more often will be supported by all. Every individual has their place and that is valued. We need to work strongly together, to help each other and most importantly be kind. Please do read my initial letter as there are very important points in that letter about arriving at school and finishing at 3.05pm.
We are very much looking forward to seeing you next week.
Kind regards.
Yours sincerely
Chris Challis
Headteacher
A pdf copy of this letter can be downloaded here.
A pdf copy of the Parental Letter from July can be downloaded here.
