At Pewsey Vale School, we believe that the school environment is the best place for students to learn and develop and we have worked hard to put in place significant protective measures to protect students and staff to make it safe to re-open as outlined below:

As per the Government guidance, 28th August. We have placed a number of measures in place at school to keep children and staff safe, but to focus intently on learning and plugging gaps from missed time at school. As a school, we will ask you to help us by engaging with the following Government stipulations:

1. a requirement that people who are ill stay at home

2. robust hand and respiratory hygiene

3. enhanced cleaning arrangements

4. active engagement with NHS Test and Trace

5. formal consideration of how to reduce contacts and maximise distancing between those in school wherever possible and minimise potential for contamination so far as is reasonably practicable

We require all students who are ill and showing signs of Covid-19 to stay at home. We can arrange for a test to be sent to you, but it will be quicker to book in at your local test centre. As soon as your son/daughter has a negative result, they can return to school. The nearest test site to school is in the Bee Hive Park and ride in Salisbury.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/nhs-test-and-trace-how-it-works#people-who-develop-symptoms-of-coronavirus

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance

https://www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test

School’s guidance:

Schools must ensure they understand the NHS Test and Trace process and how to contact their local Public Health England health protection team. Schools must ensure that staff members and parents/carers understand that they will need to be ready and willing to:

• 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 if they develop them in school. All children can be tested, including children under 5, but children aged 11 and under will need to be helped by their parents/carers if using a home testing kit

• 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

• self-isolate 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)

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. Essential workers, which includes anyone involved in education or childcare, have priority access to testing.

The government will ensure that it is as easy as possible to get a test through a wide range of routes that are locally accessible, fast and convenient. We will release more details on new testing avenues as and when they become available and will work with schools so they understand what the quickest and easiest way is to get a test. By the autumn term, all schools will be provided with a small number of home testing kits that they can give directly to parents/carers collecting a child who has developed symptoms at school, or staff who have developed symptoms at school, where they think providing one will significantly increase the likelihood of them getting tested. Advice will be provided alongside these kits.

Schools should ask parents and staff to inform them immediately of the results of a test:

• if someone tests negative, if they feel well and no longer have symptoms similar to coronavirus (COVID-19), they can stop self-isolating. They could still have another virus, such as a cold or flu – in which case it is still best to avoid contact with other people until they are better. Other members of their household can stop self-isolating.

• 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. Other members of their household should continue self-isolating for the full 14 days.

1. We will encourage your children to wash their hands during breaks and lunchtimes, as well as when they arrive at school and before they leave. Each classroom will have hand sanitiser at the door. We will require all students to clean their hands with hand sanitiser when entering a new learning space. Please discuss this expectation at home, so that your son/daughter is aware of this before they re-join us in September.

2. We will have robust cleaning arrangements in school. In between lessons all learning spaces will be disinfected. Students and teachers will take responsibility for this. Equipment in practical lessons will be cleaned or left for 72 hours until it can be used again. We of course have the Fogger, which we will use regularly to thoroughly clean all areas of the building when empty.

3. As a staff, we are required to engage with NHS Track and Trace. If your son/daughter has Covid-19 symptoms, we will be obliged to give your details to Public Health England. They will contact you and take more details for the NHS system.

4. We are reducing contact between groups by limiting the number of class groups for each student to two, and placing the year groups into bubbles. More information below!

Getting to us – Transport

The Government guidance makes a clear distinction between public transport and private school transport.

Children must not board home to school transport if they, or a member of their household, has symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19).

Dedicated school transport:

• As students are not mixing with the general public, they are not required to social distance on their journeys to and from school. It is advisory that students wear face masks on their journey, although currently this is not mandatory. This may well change.

• It is advisable that students sanitise their hands before they enter the bus and again when they get off the bus

• Certain seats on the bus will be out of commission

Public transport:

• Students are required to social distance from members of the public when on a public bus service

• A face covering is mandatory for all students over the age of 11

• https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-safer-travel-guidance-for-passengers

Coming to school in a family car:

Please can we ask that drop offs are quick and that adults remain in the car. We have a car park opposite the main reception where you can park briefly to safely drop off your children. We understand that parents will want to walk their children into school, but given the complexities of cross contamination, we ask that you do not do this unless absolutely necessary.

At the end of each day:

Students will leave school via their bubble exit.
If their bus is there ready, they are required to board the bus and not to congregate outside of school

If the bus is still in transit, students are asked to wait in their bubble areas (Lower school, Main Hall. Upper school, canteen) As soon as the bus arrives, they will be told by duty staff and asked to board

Students who walk/cycle to school should leave site promptly at the end of the day to return home. Students will not be permitted to stand on the pavements and wait
Students waiting to be collected by family members should do so in their designated bubble areas

Face Coverings:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/face-coverings-in-education/face-coverings-in-education

The Government has updated their advice on face coverings in educational setting. The link to this is above. In summary, the main points are: 

Schools may require students in Year 7 and upwards to wear a face covering in communal areas; such as corridors and larger spaces such as the canteen when purchasing food. Face coverings are not required when eating or drinking 

The Government advice states that: 

“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.”

School requirement from September 5^th 2020:

• For all students to have a suitable face covering that they can wear in communal areas
  • When waiting or walking to and from transport 
  • Main Hall or Canteen in the morning before registration 
  • When walking in between lessons along the one-way system 
  • When purchasing or collecting food from The Canteen 
  • When making their way to a meeting with a member of staff or walking to isolation
• For students to keep their face covering in a sealed plastic bag or box between use 
• For students to put their face covering into a bin if it becomes damp. 
  • Please prepare for this in wet weather – they cannot be worn once damp as this increases the risk of infection 
  • We will have a spare supply at school for emergencies 

Exemptions: 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/face-coverings-when-to-wear-one-and-how-to-make-your-own/face-coverings-when-to-wear-one-and-how-to-make-your-own

There are members of our school who will be exempt from wearing a face covering. 
We will give them a special lanyard to wear to avoid unnecessary questions about this when moving around the school building. 

If you feel that your son/daughter is exempt, please send a letter into school on their first day in September and we will make the necessary arrangements. 

What will school be like? 

Times of the School Day:

Lower School

Lower school students in Years 7-9 will enter the school via the normal student entrance near the Main Hall. They will be asked to congregate in three separate areas within the Main Hall. The hall is big enough for student bubbles to be separate. We will ask students to distance themselves even within the group at 1m+. Students will not be allowed to go to any local shop between getting off school transport and attending school.

Students will have their normal tutor/home room:

Upper School

Upper school students in Years 10 and 11 will enter the school via the green gate near the leisure centre and to enter school via the canteen. They will be asked to congregate in the canteen or outside near the MUGA. We will ask students to distance themselves even within the group at 1m+. Students will not be allowed to go to any local shop between getting off school transport and attending school.

Students will have their normal tutor/home room:

Students will walk to their tutor/home room from the canteen via a one-way system. They should not stop and chat, or interact in any way with students from other year groups.

When they arrive in their tutor room, they will be asked to sanitise their hands. School will be providing hand sanitiser in every learning space, but you may wish for you son/daughter to carry their own.

Tutor Activity Cycle

Tutors will take on the role of a mentor supporting their tutees both academically and pastorally.

Lessons:
The government guidance tells us that:
The key principles that underpin our advice on curriculum planning are:

• education is not optional: all pupils receive a high-quality education that promotes their development and prepares them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.

• the curriculum remains broad and ambitious: all pupils continue to be taught a wide range of subjects, maintaining their choices for further study and employment.

Pewsey Vale School is a small school and we have always endeavoured to deliver a personalised and balanced curriculum to all of our students. Throughout the CV19 lockdown we have remained committed to this and have provided our students with a range of support; both pastorally and educationally.

However, we do not underestimate the potential damage that has been caused by our students not been able to access their normal curriculum and lesson delivery. In addition, we accept that the measures we are now going to put in place will potentially be required for the coming year (if not longer).

Therefore, we intend to run our school curriculum as normal as possible. The rationale being that as a small school, our Key Stages (Yrs 7-9 & Yrs 10-11) are smaller than most secondary schools’ year groups. In the government’s document ‘Guidance for full opening: schools’ it recognises that by grouping students in small bubbles causes a compromise for the delivery of the curriculum at secondary level. It also categorises students passing each other in corridors as low risk.

Our job is to try to deliver and high quality, broad and balanced curriculum whilst also trying to reduce the amount of contact bubbles have with each other.

Bells

• There will be two bells in operation at the end of each lesson.

  • Bell one, signifies pack up and preparation to move
  • Bell two, signifies the time to move along the one-way system to the next classroom. It is important that as a school, we all move at the same time. Students are expected to go to their next classroom without delay and to enter the room and sit in their specified seat. Seating plans are recorded centrally to aid with Track and Trace. Seating plans, therefore, cannot be changed

• Students will follow their normal timetable and will engage with a full and diverse curriculum; access to a full curriculum is most important to us to engage with learning and to re-integrate learners back into school life

• In the lower school, students will be taught for all lessons in the same teaching group

  • Year 7 – Tutor Groups
  • Years 8-9 – English set group

• In the upper school students are taught in their normal GCSE classes to ensure that the entire curriculum is taught properly by subject specialists

• Students will then leave their tutor room and follow the one-way system to their scheduled lesson on their timetable. They will not be allowed to

  stop along the way. This may mean they have a long walk to get to a classroom downstairs, but this is the safest way to avoid bumping into others in the corridor. It is incredibly important that students behave sensibly during lesson changeovers. Any silly behaviour will not be tolerated for the safety of others. Please discuss the serious nature of this with your son/daughter before their attend school in September

• The one-way system will take students outside more than normal. Please ensure your son/daughter has a coat and appropriate footwear in poor weather conditions

• Students will be given class work books as normal on their first lesson. They will be expected to take these home for any home learning set, otherwise to leave them in their designated class room

• Students need access to their own equipment that cannot be shared with others. Basic equipment required is: black pen, pencil, ruler, eraser, highlighter, coloured pencils. If you are unable to provide this equipment, please contact kpr@pewsey-vale.wilts.sch.uk Students are expected to have a full set of equipment with them for all lessons, they should take care to ensure they do not lose it

• On days where students have PE lessons, they are required to attend school in PE kit (ideally school PE kit, or PE appropriate kit until October 5th) There will be no changing facilities open for PE lessons. It is important that clothing choices are sensible for all weathers as PE lessons are likely to take place outside in the open air

• Other practical lessons such as Arts and Technology will also be taught as normal. Students may be asked to disinfect any equipment they have used – for example, to spray down a keyboard with disinfectant in the Music Room before they leave.

• All classrooms will be required to have windows and doors open for ventilation – please ensure your son/daughter is warm enough over the changing weather. We will not be able to close them fully.

Breaks and Lunchtimes

• Students will be encouraged to go outside during morning break and again at lunchtime.

• Each year group will be given a designated space for social times

• At breaks/lunchtime, lower school students will purchase/collect their lunch from their designated area in the main canteen. Students can congregate and eat their lunch in the Main Hall and on the MUGA but will remain in year groups

• At breaks/lunchtime, upper school students will purchase/collect their lunch from their designated area, in the main canteen in a separate serving area. Students will access this area via the entrance opposite the MUGA. Students can congregate and eat their lunch in the canteen, on the grass

  outside Room 12 or on the grass outside The Food Room but will remain in year groups

• Each year group will be given a time to purchase/collect their lunch from their designated area. This will rotate daily. The rota can be found on their tutor board

• Students who are entitled to Free School Meals should order their lunch with the tutor in morning registration

• Students are encouraged to bring a packed lunch from home as often as possibleUniform

Uniform

For the first month of school, we are not expecting students to attend with uniform. We understand there have been issues with obtaining uniform, so we are relaxing the rules to allow time for this to be resolved.
The need for washing clothing daily is no longer a government requirement, but is still a sensible suggestion to eliminate cross contamination between fibres and surfaces.

Please ensure that clothing choices are sensible for both a learning environment and also changes in weather. As stated previously, windows will be open in all classrooms, as well as doors for ventilation. It is important that students are warm enough in cooler weather. Any inappropriate clothing choices will be referred to Senior Leaders, this may result in your son/daughter being isolated for the day to complete their work.

All students will be expected to attend school in full school uniform and full PE kit from Monday 5th October onwards

https://pewseyvale.org/school-life/school-uniform/