Announcement

Re-opening Guidance September 2020

September 2020
Reopening Guidance - updated

Hand hygiene

  • ‘Coronavirus is an easy virus to kill when it is on skin’ with soap and running water or hand sanitiser. Everyone in the school community must wash their hands or use hand sanitiser regularly

  • Hand sanitiser units are located throughout the school. They are inside the entrance to every building and several are located inside the school gates so that students and staff can sanitise their hands immediately on arrival in the morning

  • We have also installed some outdoor sinks to increase the capacity for hand washing around the school site

  • There will be sanitiser in every classroom

  • Students are also expected to carry their own sanitiser so that they can clean their hands as regularly as possible
  • Students will be expected to sanitise their hands at the start of each lesson and this will be built into our lesson routines

  • All students must wash their hands or use hand sanitiser before entering the dining room

    ‘Catch it, bin it, kill it’

  • The ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ approach will be in operation across the school and will be reinforced regularly

  • All classrooms will have tissues and parents are also asked to provide their child with their own pack

  • All classrooms now have lidded bins for the safe disposal of tissues

  • Currently Public Health England does not recommend the use of face coverings in schools but this is being kept under review. Therefore face coverings will not be required but any member of staff and any student who wishes to wear one may do so. Visors are also available for staff should they wish to use one. PPE is available as needed (see government guidance)

    Cleaning

  • Cleaning will be ‘generally enhanced’ across the school site. There will be more regular cleaning than normal. Frequently touched surfaces will also be cleaned more often than normal

  • We have increased the number of cleaners who work during the school day and after school to facilitate this

  • All toilets in the school will be cleaned regularly

  • Sanitising wipes will be available in every classroom and ‘frequently touched surfaces’ will be ‘cleaned more often than normal’. We recognise that some students may be anxious about returning to school and should they wish to bring their own wipes they may do so

Minimising contact between individuals and maintaining social distancing wherever possible

‘Schools must do everything possible to minimise contact and mixing while delivering a broad and balanced curriculum.’

  • Due to the pattern of use of school transport, a staggered start and end to the school day at CGS is not possible

  • However, our students do not all arrive at school together, with buses arriving at different times between approximately 8.15am and 8.40am
  • Students must not congregate before or after school. There will be an area designated for use by each year group before lessons start and students must first sanitise their hands when they get to school (there are multiple sanitising units inside the school gates) and then make their way directly to the appropriate designated area where they should remain until the bell rings

  • Wherever possible a one-way system will be in operation around the site and students will be expected to move around the site sensibly, maintaining distance where they can

  • There will be clear expectations about where, how and when students enter and exit each classroom with emergency exits being used wherever possible so that contact between those entering and exiting a room is minimised

  • In order to ensure consistency of grouping and minimise contact, vertical tutoring is suspended from September 2020

  • All Year 7, 8 and 9 students will remain in their teaching group during tutor time

  • In Years 10 and 11 students will be in a tutor group with those in their science group as this is

    the group in which they spend most time during the week

  • In the Sixth Form, tutor groups will be based around academic classes to minimise contact

  • All lessons will take place in normal subject rooms

  • Break and lunch times will be staggered to minimise contact

  • Each year group will be allocated a time to use the dining room

  • Each year group will also be allocated a social space at break and lunchtime and must remain in this area to minimise contact

  • With the exception of the first day back, assemblies will be virtual for at least the first few weeks of term

  • Staff will be asked to be vigilant and to maintain a presence around the site in order to assist with orderly entrances and exits to classrooms and buildings

  • Years 7, 8 and 9 will be released from the last lesson of the day 5 minutes before the rest of the school to ease congestion at this busy time and to minimise contact

  • All students must have their own personal stationery and equipment – there can be no borrowing of the equipment or stationery of another student

  • In line with government guidance staff should aim to maintain a 2 m distance from each other and from students as far as possible and should aim to stay at the front of the class

  • Wherever possible, classrooms will have seating arranged to allow students to sit side-by-side and facing forward

  • Classroom clutter must be kept to a minimum

  • ‘Classroom-based resources such as books can be used and shared within a group but must be cleaned if used between groups’

  • ‘Sports, art and science equipment should be cleaned frequently and meticulously and always between groups or rotated to allow them to be left unused and out of reach for 48 hours between different groups’

  • Students should minimise the equipment they bring into school only bringing what they need for that day

  • Students should keep the bags with them at all times and must not leave them around the school site

Separate guidance will be provided to all members of the school community in September on engaging with the NHS Test and Trace process and on the school’s approach to managing confirmed cases of coronavirus amongst the school community. Government guidance will be followed at all times.

2 School operations

Transport

  • Bucks home to school transport services and Berkhamsted buses will return to normal operation with additional safety measures in place. These measures must be followed at all times

  • Students and staff should avoid the use of public transport as far as possible

  • Any student or member of staff who has to use use public transport must follow government guidance

  • Students are encouraged to walk or cycle to school if possible

Attendance

‘It is vital for all children to return to school to minimise as far as possible the longer-term impact of the pandemic on children’s education, wellbeing and wider development.’

  • School attendance is mandatory again from the beginning of the autumn term

  • Our normal attendance procedures will recommence in September

  • Students should be in school unless a statutory reason applies (leave of absence has been granted, sickness, religious observance etc)

  • Where a student cannot attend school because they are complying with clinical and/or public health advice we will aim to provide them with access to remote learning

  • The school will put in place support for students who are anxious about returning to school

    School workforce

    ‘Following the reduction in the prevalence of coronavirus and relaxation of shielding measures from the 1st of August we expect that most staff will attend school...where a role may be conducive to homeworking for example, some administrative roles, school leaders should consider what is feasible and appropriate'
  • Any member of staff with a concern about their return to work should discuss these with their line manager. The school will respond to support these needs in line with the government guidance

  • Support for staff is available through our line management structure and is also available through the Education Support Partnership which provides a free helpline for school staff

  • Due to the changes to break and lunchtime we will need to ask staff to be proactive in helping to ensure the safety and well-being of students at these times. The staff rota will be drawn up to reflect this

  • Staff briefing will take place in the hall to allow for distancing to be maintained

  • Staff workload and well-being will be regularly reviewed and all views are welcomed at any point in relation to measures which may impact positively on this

  • A one-way system is in operation in the staffroom and must be followed at all times

  • Where the staff common room is used distancing rules should be followed

  • When accessing their staffroom tray, staff should give due consideration to distancing guidelines

  • Peripatetic teachers will resume lessons in school. They will be required to follow all the procedures we are putting in place to manage and minimise risk and must maintain social distancing

     

Safeguarding

  • Our Child Protection Policy will be reviewed to ensure it reflects the situation as it will be in September 2020. It will be kept under regular review

Catering

  • From September 2020 there will be a new catering contract in place. One new caterer, ABM, will take over provision of food across the school

  • The dining room will operate from September 3rd

  • Use of the dining room will be restricted with each year group allocated a specific time and break and lunchtime; both of which will be staggered. This will minimise contact between different year groups

Estates

  • All necessary processes and checks will be undertaken to ensure the school is safe to open.
  • We will take all measures to ensure good ventilation. Windows will be open and doors propped open as far as possible and where it is safe to do so

School uniform

  • Full school uniform will be expected for all students in Years 7 to 11 from September and Sixth Form students are expected to adhere to the Sixth Form dress code
  • Students who have PE during period 1 or period 2 may come to school in their PE kit to minimise the number of students needing to use the PE changing rooms. They must change into their uniform after their PE lesson. Students who have a PE lesson period 5 will be able to go home in their PE kit

Extracurricular activities

  • There will be reduced extracurricular provision in the first instance with any club, society, PE practice or other activity running only with approval

Curriculum, behaviour and pastoral support

  • The key principles in the government guidance are that ‘education is not optional’ and that ‘the curriculum remains broad and ambitious’. Where remote education is needed ‘it is high quality and aligns as closely as possible with in-school provision’

  • All students will follow the full curriculum at all key stages

  • Departments will review their curriculum offer to take account of the period of time spent learning at home in the summer of 2020 and will ensure that any gaps in learning are addressed

  • Some practical activities may need to be restricted

  • Government guidance says that ‘singing, wind and brass playing should not take place in large groups such as school choirs and ensembles’

  • Singing, chanting or shouting ‘may carry an additional risk of infection’ and should therefore be avoided

Remote home learning

‘Where a class group or small number of students need to self-isolate or there is a local lockdown requiring students to remain at home, schools are expected to offer immediate remote education’

  • As required by the guidance, we will develop a remote home learning procedure to reflect this by the end of September

Physical activity

  • Students will be kept in consistent groups for PE lessons

  • As far as possible PE lessons will take place outdoors or in large indoor spaces

Student well-being and support

  • Our pastoral team is aware of the need to provide focused support for students who may need it when we return to school in September

Behaviour expectations

  • Our behaviour policy will have an addendum to make clear our behaviour expectations and support which will be in place from September. This will be made available to all students and parents

Continuity planning for outbreaks

  • In the event of an outbreak of coronavirus or a local lockdown we will take advice from the PHE health protection team. We are required to have a contingency plan for this eventuality and this must be in place by the end of September

  • Details of our contingency planning will be available next term

Timing of the school day at CGS from September 2020

  • Lessons 1, 2 and 3 will take place at the normal time (8.45am. 9.50am and 11.35pm respectively) for all students

  • Students in Years 10, 11 and 13 will follow the normal pattern of the school day

  • The normal timings of the school day for Years 7, 8, 9 and 12 will be modified as outlined below, in order to ensure a staggered break, tutor time and lunch time

  • For Years 7, 8, 9 and 12, break will be at the end of period 2, from 10.50-11.10am. Tutor time will follow break, ending at 11.35am following which they will go straight to lesson 3

  • At the end of period 3, students in Years 7, 8, 9 and 12 will have their lunch time. This will be from 12.40-1.40pm. These year groups will go to period 4 after lunch i.e at 1.40pm. For them, periods 4 and 5 will be consecutive

  • Years 7, 8 and 9 will be released at 3.35pm to avoid congestion at the end of the day

  • During social times students will not be able to access IT rooms

  • On arrival at a classroom for a lesson, students should enter the room immediately to minimise contact with other students in corridors

  • Where possible all desks in each classroom will face the front

  • All staff must have a seating plan for every class including the Sixth Form and tutor time which must be adhered to at all times

  • Students in the Sixth Form will not be allowed to leave the site at lunchtime unless they have finished their lessons for the day and are going home

  • Students in Years 12 and 13 must be in school by 8:45am and must attend tutor time. When their lessons are finished for the day they will be allowed to go home. They must go home and will not be allowed to return to the school site that day

School events

  • There will be no open evenings next term. We will hold a virtual open evening for both 11+ and Sixth Form entry

  • There will be no large gatherings for parents. Information evenings at the start of the year will be virtual as will parents’ evenings. Details will follow in the Autumn term

  • Detentions will be run in year groups to minimise contact

AM August 2020

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