Aim
To make sure we can continue to educate our learners, and support the emotional wellbeing, of our learners, families, and staff, whilst always taking into account the safety of all. To achieve this, we will apply a common-sense approach to the government advice.
We will:
- be clear about our approach
- clearly communicate and consult with families, staff, and other key stakeholders to seek to ease their concerns
- try our best to mitigate risks to make sure everyone is safe
We will follow Government and Public Health England advice to protect everyone’s wellbeing and safety and we will continue to work closely with Sandwell and Dudley local authorities to make sure we have a consistent and measured approach to the support of children and families.
Three scenarios for opening/closure
We plan for 3 scenarios:
- Full opening
- Partial opening
- Lockdown for the area, or for the academy
Full Opening
School/Nursery is open to all year groups as normal and to staff needed to be on site to maintain services to these students. Some staff may be allowed to work from home to facilitate social distancing.
Partial Opening
School/Nursery open to specific year groups and staff needed to maintain the services to these students. Some staff will work from home.
Lockdown
Schools closed to all except children of key workers, vulnerable children and staff needed to maintain the services to these students. The majority of staff will work from home.
How we are protecting staff and learners when they are in school
Our school have set up a number of measures that can be implemented to protect staff and learners when they are in school, these include but are not limited to:
- One way systems within the site (where possible)
- Grouping learners into bubbles
- Staggered timetables including break and lunch (particularly for larger Secondaries)
- Rigorous cleaning routines within each site
- Easy access to hand sanitisers
- Appropriate signage across each site
We have a clear set of expectations for learners, families, visitors and our schools that we expect everyone in our Trust to follow to minimise the spread of COVID-19 within and around our schools.
