/  Parents  /  COVID Compliant adjustments
21 August 2020

Covid compliance

In order to ensure that Sir John Hunt can open as a Covid-19 compliant establishment the senior leadership team have been working with a number of partners to ensure the college meets Department of Education and Local Authority requirements. The college has had its Covid-19 Risk Assessment signed off by the Governing Body, Local Authority and its partners to enable us to put in place safeguards to mitigate the potential risks that the Covid-19 pandemic raises.

Numerous changes have been made over the last few months both structurally and procedurally to ensure that Sir John hunt is as safe as possible for our students and staff to return in September, an overview of these changes can be found below:

Curriculum:
  • As students have been out of College for so long we wish for all students to return to their normal curriculum offer as much as possible
  • All students will follow their normal timetable
  • All students will be taught in their normal classrooms wherever possible
  • Modifications will be made to all classrooms to maximise the space available to maintain as much distance between students as possible
  • Adaptations will be made to the curriculum and environment of practical subjects to ensure they can be taught safely

Movement around the College/break and lunch times: 

  • A strict one-way system will be put in place, supplemented by a new bell system, to minimise contact between individuals as students move around the College and to reduce overcrowding in corridors
  • Arrangements will be in place during break and lunch times to maximise potential for social distancing by allocating separate indoor and outdoor areas to each year group

Arrangements for Parents and Carers:

  • All parents and carers must ensure that they keep their children at home if they, or anyone in the household show any sign of flu-like symptoms which include new and persistent cough or a high temperature, or has a loss of, or change in, their normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia)
  • If you have been instructed to quarantine following a trip abroad, we expect this quarantine period to be completed before and any student affected returns to College
  • All parents and carers must ensure that they follow the Government's advice regarding the use of public transport if their children need to use it to get to and from College which states that face coverings are required at all times on public transport
  • Please ensure that you make the necessary arrangements (including checking bus timetables if applicable) to ensure that your child arrives in time for the new College start time of 8.30am.
  • Students can access the College site through any of the site entrances
  • Woodview reception (off Lancaster Gardens) will be the new student entrance (the SJH reception will be an entrance for visitors only)
  • Students may arrive at College from 8.00am but will not be able to access the building until 8.25am
  • Students must depart from College immediately at the end of the day
  • Students must wear their full College uniform (we recommend that you clean their uniform as regularly as possible, preferably every day)
  • To reduce the number of times students need to get changed, they must wear their PE kit to College on days in which they have a practical PE lesson (students must bring their uniform in their bags so that they can get changed after their practical PE lesson)
  • Students must only bring essential items in their bags to College:
  • A packed lunch (there will be no food or drinks available to be purchased in College, those eligible for free school meals see below)
  • Enough water (or soft drinks) for the day (water fountains will be out of use)
  • A College pencil case containing the required basic equipment (we will issue these to students on their first day so do not send students to school with their own equipment on the first day)
  • A coat/jacket preferably waterproof (students will be outside wherever possible during break and lunch times)
  • We will not permit non-essential items to be brought into College for the foreseeable future. Please ensure footballs/toys/games etc are not brought into College.
  • We will provide a packed lunch to those students who receive free school meals but parents and carers must pre-order their meals through ParentPay every Friday each week for the following week
  • We will not be issuing lunch passes to students for the foreseeable future. All students in Years 7-11 will remain on site all day. Students in Years 12 and 13 will be permitted to go off site at lunchtime only.
  • DfE guidelines state that students are not expected to wear PPE during the school day, therefore we are not going to allow them to be worn in the classroom, however we will allow students and staff to wear face coverings in indoor communal areas if they choose to do so. If your child is travelling by Public Transport, they must store their face mask in a sealed bag while on the College site.
  • We will have a zero-tolerance policy on any students failing to comply with our health, safety and hygiene arrangements. Any student contravening our instructions in this regard will be sent home and receive a Fixed Term Exclusion.
  • We are currently discouraging parents and carers from visiting the site. Communication between the College and Parents/Carers will be over the phone or by email wherever possible. Parents/Carers may drop off or collect items from our SJH main reception if necessary. Face to face meetings may be arranged if essential.

Prevention:

  • We will minimise contact with individuals who are unwell by ensuring that those who have coronavirus (COVID-19) symptoms, or who have someone in their household who does, do not attend College
o          If anyone in the school becomes unwell with a new and persistent cough or a high                                    temperature (we have and will use hand held thermometers for the detection of high                               temperatures), or has a loss of, or change in, their normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia),                     they will be sent home and advised to follow ‘stay at home: guidance for households with                        possible or confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) infection’, which sets out that they should self-                 isolate for at least 10 days and should arrange to have a test to see if they have coronavirus                   (COVID-19).
o         Other members of their household (including any siblings) must self-isolate for 14 days                              from when the symptomatic person first had symptoms. 
  • We will ensure students and staff clean hands thoroughly more often than usual and ensure good respiratory hygiene by promoting the ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ approach:
o         Provide guidance to students on the importance and expectation of regularly washing and                     sanitising their hands
o         Remind staff of the importance and expectation of regularly washing and sanitising their                          hands
  • We will introduce enhanced cleaning, including cleaning frequently touched surfaces often, using standard products such as detergents and Milton
o          The entire College is currently being deep cleaned
o          The College will be cleaned fully every day, as normal practice
o          We will have a team of dedicated cleaners on duty all day every day cleaning all frequently                    touched areas of the College (for example door handles, railings and other commonly used                    areas)
o          All toilets will be cleaned every hour during the day
o          Lidded ins will be emptied regularly during the day and these will be used for antibacterial                     wipes/tissues etc
o          Hand sanitiser dispensers will be installed in every classroom and refilled regularly
o          There will be strict entry and exit routines for staff and students to ensure that all                                       teaching spaces are clean and wiped down after use
o          We will ensure the building is well ventilated by having all windows, skylights and doors                           (where possible) open all day from 7.00am
o          Misting Machines are being purchased to be used to add an additional level of antibacterial                   cleaning to commonly used areas, large spaces and changing rooms.
  • We will minimise contact between individuals and maintain social distancing wherever possible
o          Students to arrive from 8.00am and depart from 3.00pm through three site entrances to                         alleviate overcrowding on arrival
o           Students to remain in year group-based teaching groups
o          Strict one-way system in place supplemented by an improved bell system to minimise contact               between individuals as students move around the College
o          Modifications to be made to all classrooms to reduce the risk of transmission of Covid 19
o          Adaptations to be made to the curriculum and environment of practical subjects to reduce                     the risk of transmission of Covid 19
o          Year groups to have designated areas for Roll Call, Break and Lunch (dry and wet weather):
o          New bell system will be in operation when we reopen:
  •       8.25am warning bell for Roll Call
  •       8.30am Roll Call
  •       9.00am Period 1
  •       9.50am Period 2
  •       10.40am Break
  •       10.55am warning bell for Period 3
  •       11.00am Period 3
  •       11.50am Period 4
  •       12.40pm Lunch
  •       1.15pm warning bell for Period 5
  •       1.20pm Period 5
  •       2.10pm Period 6
  •       3.00pm End of day/Period 7
  •       4.00pm End of Period 7
  • Where necessary, we will ensure that staff wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE)
o         Stock of PPE purchased
o         PPE training to be provided to relevant members of staff
o         PPE to available to staff dealing with any medical issue
  • Where necessary, primarily to support the provision of first aid, we will ensure that staff wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE)
o         Stock of PPE purchased
o         PPE training to be provided to relevant members of staff
o         PPE to available to staff dealing with any medical issue
  • To engage with the NHS Test and Trace process, the school will contact our local Public Health England Protection Team, with staff members and parents/carers understanding that they will need to be ready and willing to:
o         book a test if they or their child are displaying symptoms. Staff and pupils must not come into                the school if they have symptoms, and must be sent home to self-isolate for 10 days if they                      develop them in school. The rest of individuals household will need to self-isolate for 14 days.
o         provide details of anyone they or their child have been in close contact with if they were to                   test positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) or if asked by NHS Test and Trace. We will use our                     class charts system to provide these details for students when on the school site.
o        self-isolate for 14 days if they have been in close contact with someone who tests positive for                coronavirus (COVID-19), or if anyone in their household develops symptoms of coronavirus                    (COVID-19)
o       Anyone who displays symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) can and should get a test. Tests                    can be booked online through the NHS testing and tracing for coronavirus website, or ordered            by telephone via NHS 119 for those without access to the internet.
  • We will manage confirmed cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) amongst the school community engage with the NHS Test and Trace process
o       if someone tests positive, they should follow the ‘stay at home: guidance for households with                 possible or confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) infection’ and must continue to self-isolate for at             least 10 days from the onset of their symptoms and then return to school only if they do not                   have symptoms other than cough or loss of sense of smell/taste. This is because a cough or                   anosmia can last for several weeks once the infection has gone. The 10-day period starts from               the day when they first became ill. If they still have a high temperature, they should keep self-                 isolating until their temperature returns to normal.
o      Other members of their household should continue self-isolating for the full 14 days.
o       We will contact the local health protection team. This team will also contact schools directly if               they become aware that someone who has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) attended           the school – as identified by NHS Test and Trace.
o      The health protection team will carry out a rapid risk assessment to confirm who has been in                  close contact with the person during the period that they were infectious, and ensure they are               asked to self-isolate.
o      The health protection team will work with us to guide us through the actions we need to take. 
         Based on the advice from the health protection team, schools must send home those people                 who have been in close contact with the person who has tested positive, advising them to self-             isolate for 14 days since they were last in close contact with that person when they were                         infectious. Close contact means:
o                 direct close contacts - face to face contact with an infected individual for any length                                  of time, within 1 metre, including being coughed on, a face to face conversation, or                                    unprotected physical contact (skin-to-skin)
o                  proximity contacts - extended close contact (within 1 to 2 metres for more than 15                                      minutes) with an infected individual
o                  travelling in a small vehicle, like a car, with an infected person
o      The health protection team will provide definitive advice on who must be sent home. To support           them in doing so, we will keep a record of pupils and staff in each group, and any close contact             that takes places between children and staff in different groups, we do not need to ask pupils to           record everyone they have spent time with each day or ask staff to keep definitive records in a             way that is overly burdensome.
o       Household members of those contacts who are sent home do not need to self-isolate                               themselves  unless the child, young person or staff member who is self-isolating subsequently               develops symptoms. If someone in a class or group that has been asked to self-isolate develops             symptoms themselves within their 14-day isolation period they should follow ‘stay at home:                      guidance for households with possible or confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) infection’. They                   should get a test, and:
o      if the test delivers a negative result, they must remain in isolation for the remainder of the 14-day          isolation period. This is because they could still develop the coronavirus (COVID-19) within the              remaining days.
o     if the test result is positive, they should inform SJH immediately, and should isolate for at least 10         days from the onset of their symptoms (which could mean the self-isolation ends before or after            the original 14-day isolation period). Their household should self-isolate for at least 14 days from           when the symptomatic person first had symptoms, following ‘stay at home: guidance for                            households with possible or confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) infection’
  • We will contain any outbreak by following local health protection team advice
o        If we have two or more confirmed cases within 14 days, or an overall rise in sickness absence                  where coronavirus (COVID-19) is suspected, we may have an outbreak, and must continue to                work with our local health protection team who will be able to advise if additional action is                      required.
o        In some cases, health protection teams may recommend that a larger number of other pupils                 self-isolate at home as a precautionary measure – perhaps the whole site or year group. If                      schools are implementing controls from this list, addressing the risks they have identified and                therefore reducing transmission risks, whole school closure based on cases within the school                will not generally be necessary, and should not be considered except on the advice of health                 protection teams.
o        In consultation with the local Director of Public Health, where an outbreak in a school is                          confirmed, a mobile testing unit may be dispatched to test others who may have been in                          contact with the person who has tested positive. Testing will first focus on the person’s class,                  followed by their year group, then the whole school if necessary, in line with routine public                      health outbreak control practice.

Catering Arrangements
  • A packed lunch (there will be no food or drinks available to be purchased in College, those eligible for free school meals see below)
  • We will provide a packed lunch to those students who receive free school meals but parents and carers must pre-order their meals through ParentPay every Friday each week for the following week
  • FSM packed lunches to be split into year group batches and distributed in designated areas
o        Year 7: Sports Hall/Playground
o         Year 8: Sports Hall/MUGAs
o         Year 9: Gym /large MUGA
o         Year 10: Performance Hall /Main playground
o         Year 11: Dining Room/Quad
o         Year 12/13: Sixth Form block

Medical Arrangements
  • Students or staff with injuries to be dealt with in medical room as normal whilst adhering to social distancing
  • Students or staff with Covid like symptoms (new and persistent cough or a high temperature (we have and will use hand held thermometers for the detection of high temperatures), or has a loss of, or change in, their normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia) illnesses to be sent home to follow the isolation guidance until they receive a negative test which must be confirmed and shared with SJH.
  • The college has set-up an isolated room for Covid related illness and parents/carers will be requested to collect their child immediately from this designated area.

Uniform/Equipment
  • Students must wear their full College uniform (we recommend that you clean their uniform as regularly as possible)
  • To reduce the number of times students need to get changed, they must wear their PE kit to College on days in which they have a practical PE lesson (students must bring their uniform in their bags so that they can get changed after their practical PE lesson)
  • Students must only bring essential items in their bags to College:
  • A packed lunch (there will be no food or drinks available to be purchased in College, those eligible for free school meals see below)
  • Enough water (or soft drinks) for the day (water fountains will be out of use)
  • A College pencil case containing the required basic equipment (we will issue these to students on their first day so do not send students to school with their own equipment on the first day)
  • A coat/jacket preferably waterproof (students will be outside wherever possible during break and lunch times)

Safe use of classrooms

We will ensure that classrooms can be safely used by all by having strict entry and exit routines that include strict hygiene procedures:
  • Hand sanitise on arrival/entry to College:
  • Years 7 and 8 hand sanitise on entry to Roll Call (Sports Hall)
  • Years 9, 10 and 11 hand sanitise on entry at Student Reception (Woodview)
  • Years 12 and 13 hand sanitise on entry to the Sixth Form block
  • Exit routine from lessons – our usual exit routine will be in place, but in addition:
  • Students provided with antibacterial wipes to wipe down their desk and chair
  • Students put antibacterial wipes in lidded bin on way out of classroom
  • Students hand sanitise on exit from every classroom
  • Additional hand sanitising on entry to Periods 3 and 5 (following break and lunch)
  • Social distancing will be maximised within rooms as much as possible adhering to DfE guidance
  • Regular cleaning of whiteboards/keyboards/touchscreens with isopropyl wipes

Practical subjects 

Risk assessments have been completed and adjustments made for practical subjects
  • Art
  • Catering
  • D&T
  • Music
  • PE
  • Step Up
  • Science
Toilets 

Routines for students’ use of toilets before school, break, lunch, after school and during lessons to be:
  • Maximum number of students in toilets = number of cubicles
  • Queue outside toilets at safe distance when maximum number of students in toilets
  • No waiting in toilets
  • No unnecessary time spent in toilets

Educational Visits/Extra Curricular provision/Events
  • There will be no educational visits during Term 1, this will be reviewed for Term 2
  • There will be no Extra Curricular provision during Term 1 except for Learning Club for Years 7 and 8, Learning Café for Years 9 and 10, and after school supported study for Years 12 and 13, this will be reviewed for Term 2
  • Arrangements for College events (e.g. Open Evening/Parents Evenings) will be reviewed prior to each event and communicated accordingly

Behaviour
  • Our Conduct for Learning Policy will be adjusted to take health, safety and hygiene expectations into account
  • We will have a zero tolerance policy on any students failing to comply with our health, safety, and hygiene arrangements. Any student contravening our instructions in this regard will be sent home and receive a Fixed Term Exclusion.

College COVID Adjustments Overview >

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