Letter From The Headmaster
It has been an interesting week: the country has gone into a second lockdown, the DfE have again updated their guidance for schools, we have learnt quite a lot about the way the United States conducts presidential elections and, in the meantime.…we’ve had a very good first week back at school after Half Term.
Whilst I do have views on American politics I will keep them to myself and want to concentrate here on staff and pupil wellbeing, the updated DfE guidance from 5 November and the effect that lockdown will have on Princethorpe College.
The guidance does of course, continue to stress the importance of all our control measures which I re-emphasised in my letter to all parents on 29 October, which have not changed: good handwashing, social distancing, good ventilation in rooms and making sure we do not come into school when unwell. It is nice to see the DfE guidance on face masks has now fallen into line with what we are already doing!
Wellbeing – pupils, staff and families
We are all, I am sure, very aware of the extra strains that we are all undergoing both in school and at home. To help us to proactively manage wellbeing we have recently conducted a survey for pupils – details of which I fed back at our whole school assembly on Monday. We are in the process of conducting a staff wellbeing survey and will be asking all parents to complete their own wellbeing survey next week.
Pupil Health
Unlike clinically extremely vulnerable staff, who now must not now come into school, the most recent guidance from the DfE states:
All pupils, including those who are clinically extremely vulnerable, can continue to attend school at all Local COVID Alert Levels unless they are one of the very small number of pupils or students under paediatric care (such as recent transplant or very immunosuppressed children) and have been advised specifically by their GP or clinician not to attend school.
There has been some debate nationally about extra-curricular activities so it was good to see that the very latest updated DfE guidelines include the following section:
Co-curricular Activities
Schools should consider the provision of pastoral and extra-curricular activities to all pupils designed to:
· support the rebuilding of friendships and social engagement
· address and equip pupils to respond to issues linked to coronavirus (COVID-19)
· support pupils with approaches to improving their physical and mental wellbeing
During the lockdown, all our weekly co-curricular programmes, both before, during and after school will continue, however, there will now be no weekend activities until after Wednesday 2 December at the earliest. We will, of course, keep all our procedures and activities under constant review during this latest lockdown period.
With continued thanks for all you are doing to support you children and the school.
Best wishes
Ed Hester
