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Return to full opening - March 2021

We are very much looking forward to having almost all of our students back on site for face to face learning from next week (8th March 2021). The return to full time attendance is mandatory for all students except those who are Clinically Extremely Vulnerable and remain on the Shielding Patients List (SPL) or where students are self- isolating due to contact with a suspected or confirmed case of COVID.

Your child must not come into School or College if they are unwell and exhibiting any of the symptoms of COVID 19. You should arrange for a PCR test through the NHS App and you and your household should isolate until the results of the test are known. Please notify MH if your child becomes symptomatic and needs to self-isolate.

Clinically Vulnerable Students

If your child is on the Shielding Patients List, please send a copy of the letter from the NHS, which confirms this and the requirement for them to shield, directly to Susie Simpson, Health Care Manager on simpsons@moorhouseschool.co.uk. Moor House is required to hold a copy of this letter on file. Thank you to those parents and carers who have already provided us with a copy of their NHS letter. We will be in touch with parents and carers of these students directly to discuss our remote learning offer from Monday 8th March 2021.

Lateral Flow Testing

Thank you to parents and carers who have already sent back the consent forms for lateral flow testing. Testing remains voluntary and no student will be tested without parental consent. I would like to encourage all parents and carers to take up the offer of testing as it is one of the ways in which we can help to keep both students and staff safe on their return to Moor House by identifying students who may be carriers of COVID while not having any symptoms. All students at Moor House will be offered three tests between Monday 8/03 and Tuesday 16/03. Thereafter we will be supplying home testing kits for all students. Parents and carers will then be able to support their children to do this testing at home.

Approximately half the students across School & College, who have been learning onsite regularly have been tested twice a week since early January. The testing centre operates efficiently and results of the tests are known within about 30 minutes.

We are asking parents and carers of those students, in years 7 and above, who have not been learning onsite regularly to bring their child to Moor House on Friday 5th March for a test. It is appreciated that this will not be possible for all, as some families live a significant distance from Moor House, but I would appeal to parents and carers to bring their child on site for advance testing if at all possible. There will be no live lessons for School or College students on Friday, except for college students who are attending partner college remote sessions. All work will be uploaded and can be accessed at a time convenient to parents and carers, this will allow students to come onsite to be tested without missing live lessons. Where this is not possible due to partner college lessons, or travel distance students will be tested on Monday.

On Friday, we ask that school students come on site between 9.00- 11.00am and college students arrive between 11.30-1.30pm. Parents and carers can wait in their vehicles while the test is taken and then take their children home again immediately afterwards. We will contact parents and carers only if the test result is positive. If it is negative then students can return to Moor House on Monday as usual. We are aware that some students may be concerned about having the test and we will make sure that they are supported by members of staff while they are onsite. A member of the therapy team will be available to provide support for students who might find the testing challenging.

Residential students in both school and college who normally return on a Sunday evening, will be tested on their return on Sunday. Residential students who normally return on a Sunday evening, can return from 6.00pm on Sunday 7th March 2021.

The reason that we are offering the advance testing is so that we can get as many students back into onsite learning from the beginning of the day on Monday. Students who have not been routinely tested before Monday, because they have been learning from home, will be tested and kept separate from their peers until the results of the test is known. If your child is tested on Monday and the test result is positive, we will contact you and ask you to collect your child and take him or her home to self- isolate with the rest of your household. Please click on the following link to let us know whether you will be able to bring your child onsite for testing on Friday. Please complete this by 10am on Thursday morning (04.03.21) to aid our planning.

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=Emfxp6skH0-GTI2sKWzra4wxn4JnpGJChSVtHCOTRapUQUlaOFRGNVBRSjk0NkI3MllKVVg0OTJPNy4u

Face Coverings

In line with government guidance, all students in years 7 and above will be required to wear face coverings both in communal areas of the School & college and in the classroom setting as social distancing of 2m will not be possible. Students will also have to wear face coverings when in 1:1 therapy and literacy sessions.

We are aware that some students may be exempt from wearing a face covering and we will be understanding of this.

Students should have at least two face coverings / masks available to them each day as masks / face coverings should be changed if they become damp.  This is more likely if they are being worn for extended periods of time. We will provide named plastic bags for students to store these in. We have a small stock of disposable facemasks available should any student forget their mask/ face covering.

Parents and carers are strongly encouraged to provide three -layer masks for their children. While we cannot recommend or endorse any particular brand, these are readily available from online retailers such as Amazon- just search for three-layer masks. Reusable masks/ face coverings are much more environmentally friendly. Parents of residential students should send back sufficient supply of masks/ face coverings to cover a three-day period (6- 8 masks). We are able to launder the masks onsite for residential students. Please make sure that masks / face coverings are clearly labelled with your child’s name.

Start and Finish Times from Monday 8th March

Residential students

School:

  • Return from 8.00am on Monday
  • Please drop your child and their belongings off at the Tradesman’s entrance as usual
  • Children must return in time for the start of the school day for their bubble see below

College

  • Return from 8.00am on Monday
  • Please drop your child and their belongings off at Fleetwood way entrance as usual
  • Students must return in time for the start of the college day for their bubble see below

Day Students

Please take careful note of the start and finish times as there has been some change to timings to allow for staggered arrival and finish times.

Drop off and collection points remain the same as in the autumn term

Please make the necessary arrangements with your transport provider as soon as possible. Where School and College students share a taxi, there will be staff available to welcome the school children from 8.00am.

College

Bubble

Start Time

Finish Time

Purple (College)

08:00

15:40

School

Bubble

Start Time

Finish Time

Yellow

08:45

15:00

Orange (Years 7 & 8)

08:45

15:15

Red (Year 9)

08:30

15:15

Gold (KS4)

08:30

15:30

Keeping Safe on site

We will be talking to students about the measures that are in place to keep them safe on site on their first day back. This will happen in tutor sessions and will be supported by the class teams. In the school setting, students will have tutor time for the first hour of the day to allow them to settle and reconnect with each other.

Due to demands of the off-site curriculum and the way in which the college timetable works, college students will receive their ‘safety briefing’ online and this will be followed up by tutor time at the end of the day.

As in the autumn term, different bubbles in the School and College will operate in different zones of the building to keep bubbles as separate as possible. Break and lunch times will be staggered for the same reason.

Please limit the items that your child brings to School & College to a minimum. We will continue to provide stationery and equipment.

School Uniform

All school students should wear their uniforms from Monday 8/03. We will be keeping doors and windows open in the classrooms to improve ventilation, so please make sure that your child brings a fleece as it may be cooler than normal in the learning environment.

College students should wear additional layers of clothing as required to stay warm when learning both on and offsite.

Physical Education (PE) School Students only

We will be resuming PE from the week commencing 8/03/2021. We hope to recommence swimming before Easter, we will write to parents and carers to let them know when we can do this. For the first week, students should bring their PE kit for their PE lesson.

Partner College Learning - College students only

We have been advised that some lessons at West Kent and Hadlow Colleges will resume next week, however some lessons will remain remote until Easter. We are awaiting updated timetables from the colleges for the majority of our students. We will support college students to access their remote lessons at Moor House, so college students are able to return to full time education on site from Monday. If you have any questions that relate to your child’s course or timetable, please contact Mr Leung Davis or Mrs van Niekerk later this week and they will advise. Some parents and carers have asked if their child can remain at home to learn remotely if all their sessions on that day are remote at the partner college. We are looking into whether or not this is permissible in terms of the revised guidance and will update you as soon as we have confirmation.

Actions Required

  • Return the testing consent form if you have not already done so and wish for your child to be tested
  • If your child has been home learning, complete the survey about advance testing on Friday
  • Purchase three- layer masks / face coverings
  • Note any changes to start and finish times for your child from Monday 8/03 and make the necessary transport arrangements

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Assistant Headteacher responsible for your child’s phase.

Helen Middleton, Principal