Message on behalf of Tony Theodoulou - Executive Director - 06.06.2021

FAO: All Schools / All Phases

MESSAGE SENT TO ALL SCHOOLS ON BEHALF OF TONY THEODOULOU – PLEASE FORWARD TO YOUR CHAIR OF GOVERNORS

Dear Headteacher/Principal,

I hope you are well as we head towards the end of term but I am aware that the changes to the guidance could cause additional challenges.

As you are likely to be aware the DfE has published a number of documents today, which include the new operational guidance for schools and a press release summarising these measures, and further documents for Special Schools such as Additional Operational guidance for Special Schools and  PPE use in Aerosol Generating Procedures  

A summary of some of the changes at Stage 4 of the Roadmap (19th July) are:

  • “At Step 4 and after the end of the summer term, it will no longer be necessary to keep children in consistent groups (‘bubbles’). This means bubbles will not need to be used for any summer provision (for example, summer schools) or in schools from the autumn term. If your school is still open at Step 4, you may wish to continue with these measures until the end of your summer term.”
  • Schools and settings will only need to do contact tracing up to 18th July 2021. From 19th July 2021 (Step 4), close contacts will be identified via NHS Test and Trace.
  • From 16 August 2021, children under the age of 18 years old will no longer be required to self-isolate if they are contacted by NHS Test and Trace as a close contact of a positive COVID-19 case.
  • From Step 4, face coverings will no longer be advised for pupils, students, staff and visitors either in classrooms or in communal areas. From Step 4, face coverings are also no longer recommended to be worn on dedicated transport to school or college.
  • Control measures should still remain in place: Ensure good hygiene for everyone, Maintain appropriate cleaning regimes, Keep occupied spaces well ventilated, Follow public health advice on testing, self-isolation and managing confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Please do read the full guidance for more details – it is shorter than previous guidance, and has other important points about, for example, the September restart.

The Local Authority met with the Teaching and Support Staff trade unions today and will be meeting with the Headteacher representatives on Friday to discuss the guidance.  I am aware that the majority of our schools are open in the week commencing 19th July 2021 and we will be discussing ways in which we can support you in that last week of term, together with plans for September. We will work with Public Health to provide you with additional guidance as needed. Please do feed into your Headteacher representatives if you have any specific areas of concern.

Thank you for your continued commitment to our families and for supporting children and staff both in school and remotely.

Kind regards,

Sarah Fryer on behalf of Tony Theoudoulou

Executive Director - People