Additional information

It is important to understand that social distancing is not possible in school when there are 1500+ people on site. To help minimise the risks we will be splitting the students into year group bubbles (with the Sixth Form operating as one bubble for logistical reasons). Within bubbles the students will operate freely, being advised to maintain a distance wherever possible. Staff will naturally be working with multiple year groups; they will be asked to maintain a distance where possible without significantly compromising the education of the students. I’m sure you’ll agree that this is the area that will be most challenging for staff and students to navigate; please talk to your child about the importance of maintaining at least a 1m distance from their peers as well as the staff at all times, including on their journey to and from school.

We would advise students to walk or cycle to school wherever possible. If they must use public transport, then please ensure they follow the government guidance to wear a face covering (this is mandatory for anyone over the age of 11 years). D&P coaches are running as normal and have contacted parents with details of the measures they are taking.

Observing good personal hygiene and making time for increased hand washing and sanitising is vital in reducing the spread of infection within our community. There will continue to be an increased emphasis on good hygiene and hand washing in school. There will be hand sanitiser in every classroom, and everyone will be expected to use it on entry. Practical subjects will require more frequent hand sanitising where the sharing of equipment is unavoidable. There will also be hand sanitiser up around school in the corridors so that students can use it frequently but particularly when entering the school buildings. We would encourage all students to have their own hand sanitiser so that they can use it during lessons if they feel it necessary without causing any disruption.

The government guidance on the use of face coverings in secondary schools was updated on 26 August. It is still clear that the use of face coverings is not recommended as necessary in an education setting because a system of control provides additional mitigating measures.

At Salesian these measures include:

• a one-way system during transition between lessons
• year group “bubbles” with separate social spaces
• staggered break and end of the day
• forward facing tables in classrooms (where possible)
• hand sanitiser at every entrance and in every classroom to be used on entrance/exit
• encouraging regular hand washing
• enhanced cleaning routines

As of Wed 9 September the following rules will apply:

• Students travelling to and from school on public transport or the D&P coaches should wear face coverings throughout their journey.
• Students will be allowed to wear a face covering anywhere on site should they feel it necessary.
• Students must remove their face covering without question if asked to do so by a member of staff (this will only ever be done where social distancing can be maintained).
• Any face covering worn by students must be the ‘mask’ type; scarves and snoods will not be allowed. They should be plain in colour (blue, black, white, grey or beige).

We have a very limited supply of face masks and in general we will not be in a position to provide one for your child. If your child wishes to wear a face covering, it is your responsibility to provide it for them and ensure they have it with them in school each day.

As per the guidance the “Safe wearing of face coverings requires cleaning of hands before and after touching – including to remove or put them on – and the safe storage of them in individual, sealable plastic bags between use. Where a face covering becomes damp, it should not be worn and the face covering should be replaced carefully “. Although we will discuss this with students it will be their responsibility to ensure any face covering they choose to wear is done so safely – staff will not be expected to supervise them in carrying out their responsibilities safely in this respect. If your child is intending on wearing a face covering to, from or in school, please ensure that they know how to put on, remove, store and dispose of it safely.This short video talks through the importance of wearing it correctly. Your child will not be able to wear their face covering all day and will therefore need to have a suitable storage container with them (eg. plastic bag, tupper wear box). They will not be able to dispose of the face coverings in school and should instead take them home.

As per the guidance, if the local area is placed under additional lockdown measures, the wearing of face coverings in communal areas such as corridors will become compulsory. If this happens we will inform all parents and students.

The school cannot take responsibility for students wearing face coverings incorrectly or not wearing them on public transport / the D&P coaches. Please ensure your child understands the importance of wearing one and how to wear it correctly so that they can take responsibility for it themselves –this short video talks through the importance of wearing it correctly.

The arrival time at school is naturally staggered and therefore we have made the decision to keep the start of the day as 8.50am for all students. Any students arriving in school before 8.40am will have to go to their allocated indoor area and wait until 8.40am when they will be able to move to their tutor rooms. Details of the allocated indoor areas are below:

Year 7 – Sports Hall Foyer

Year 8 – Canteen

Year 9 – Hub

Year 10 – Main Hall

Year 11 – Year 11 Cloakroom

In order to spread the flow of students leaving school we are implementing three measures:

• Installing a new gate on the back field to allow the students to exit directly onto the public footpath; this will give students a choice of two exits (this gate will not be open at the start of the day);
• All students will be expected to leave the site at the end of the day except if they are asked to stay for a specific reason and are supervised by a member of staff;
• Staggered end times; please make a note of the time your child will finish school each day:
  • 3.15pm – Year 7 & 8
  • 3.20pm – Year 9 & 10
  • 3.25pm – Year 11, 12 & 13

Lockers will only be available to access during break time and lunch time. They should be used to store PE kit only. There will be no access between lessons.

Broadly speaking the timetable remains unchanged. There will be staggered break times to ensure that there are no more than two main school year groups on break at any one time. Details of the timings will be made available to the students on the first day in September.

Most of the classrooms will be arranged so that all students are facing forwards.

The guidelines do not allow us to come together as a whole school community to celebrate assemblies or Masses. For this reason, whole school assembly will be projected into tutor rooms every Monday. Year assemblies will not happen in the first three weeks, we will then reassess and decide how to proceed.

We are implementing a one-way system throughout the school to ease the flow of traffic and minimise the risks associated with passing in a confined space. There will be lots of signs up around school and staff will be on duty to enforce it during lesson change-over. Evidence suggests that a strict one-way system is one of the best ways to minimise the risk of transmission as everyone is travelling in the same direction. Full details will be shared with students on their first day September and staff will help all students to navigate it.

It is very important to re-establish routines and get the students focused and ready to learn; the school uniform plays an important part in that ‘readiness’. We expect all students to wear full, correct school uniform each day. The uniform guidelines can be found herehttps://salesian.surrey.sch.uk/parents-carers/school-uniform/. Please make sure that your daughters skirt is on/below the knee; that there are no extreme haircuts or colours; and that all jewellery, wristbands and nail varnish etc. is removed – we don’t want to have to send any students home on day one for incorrect uniform.

Having reviewed the processes we initially put in place to minimise risks for staff and students in the changing rooms it was apparent that too much lesson time was being lost to changing and cleaning. For this reason as of Wednesday 16 Septemberall Year 7, 8 and 9students will be required to wear their PE kit to school on the days when they have PE lessons (regardless of whether their lesson is period 1 or period 3). Students will be required to wear their SJB PE kit and school blazer for the whole day. If they want to wear tracksuit bottoms over the top of their shorts/skort then they must beplain navy blue – please note that these are in addition to their shorts/skort as they will need to be removed at the start of their PE lesson. This will be a requirement on days when they are timetabled for both double and single PE lessons. The students will remain in their PE kit after their PE lesson and return home in their PE kit. This new arrangement will allow us to avoid using the changing rooms completely for these groups and maximise the amount of ‘active’ PE time.Year 10 and 11students should only come to school in their PE kit if they have PE period 1.

It is really important that all students come to school every day equipped for learning as we will not be in a position to lend equipment to students in the way we usually do.

Please ensure your child has the following equipment with them every day:

• Black / blue pen
• Pencil
• Rubber
• Ruler
• Pencil Sharpener
• Highlighter
• Glue stick
• Scientific Calculator
• PE kit (required on timetabled days)

We would strongly recommend that your child brings a packed lunch with them and enough water to last the day. The canteen/café/snack shack will be serving a limited menu of ‘grab-and-go’ food only during break and lunch time. There will be no food available before or after school. Any children in receipt of Free School Meals will be able to pick up a packed lunch from the canteen each day.

Break time will be staggered within period 2 so that there are less children ‘free’ at any one time. Each year group will be allocated three areas that they can use during break and lunch time; an indoor area, an outdoor area and a section on the field to play football. We will inform students of these areas on their first day in September. There will be restricted access to the canteen/café/snack shack although all year groups will have some access each day.

Whilst PE clubs are on hold all other class based activities such as homework club will continue in socially distanced groups.

It is common practice for students to be given break and/or lunch time detentions by staff for minor behavioural issues such as lateness, incorrect equipment, talking out of turn etc. Teachers will aim to hold the detention the ‘next day’ unless your child indicates that they are happy to do it on the ‘same day’. If your child always arrives on time with the correct equipment and uniform and behaves well then this won’t be an issue.

Parents will only be able to come on site by prior arrangement with a member of staff. If you have any concerns about your child, then please contact their Head of Year in the first instance.