Dear parents,
COVID-19 Headteacher’s update – Friday 11th September
As you are aware, all pupils in Y7 stayed at home today as a precautionary measure. This was because late last night we were made aware that a pupil in Y7 had tested positive for COVID-19. Apologies that the message was put on our website so late, but we had to get confirmation before we formally notified parents.
Today pupils in Y7 were set work to do at home using our ‘Show my Homework’ (SMH) learning platform, while pupils in all other year groups continued to work safely at school. As part of our 2-day Y7 induction package all Y7 pupils were shown how to use SMH and MS Teams. If any Y7 pupil had difficulty using the SMH facility, please will you contact school and we will resolve the issue as soon as possible. As a school community I think it is sensible that we all understand that we need to be flexible and adapt at short notice as we live through this pandemic to ensure we all stay safe and pupils’ learning is disrupted as little as possible.
Next week we have scheduled refresher sessions for all pupils in Y8, Y9 and Y10 so they have a chance to recap on how to use Microsoft Teams and SMH.
As per government guidance I contacted Public Health England first thing this morning and reported our first COVID-19 positive test; they advised me to await further guidance from them and late this afternoon, a member of the North West Health Protection Team contacted me to give that guidance.
As a result, we have been advised that all pupils who have been in direct contact with the pupil who has tested positive in Y7 must now stay at home and self-isolate for 14 days. Please see the letter to all parents and advice that I have been asked to share with all parents using this link.
On Monday we will be sending a follow up letter with further information from the North West Health Protection Team to the parents of the pupils in Y7, Y8 and Y9 that reported having direct contact with the pupil who tested positive inside or outside of school. If your child is affected then a member of school staff will have contacted you today and your child was sent home from school as a precaution.
All other pupils in Year 7 and pupils in all other year groups should return to school on Monday as normal.
Thank you for your patience and understanding at this difficult time and we will endeavour to keep you informed as well as we possibly can as we live through this pandemic and adjust to a new 'normal'. Please also take a good look at the ‘Pupil Absence Guidance’ we have put on our school website today.
In the meantime, please ensure your children always stay safe by following government guidelines.
Mr Bowers,
Headteacher