Assessing the risk of coronavirus
It is imperative that the school does all that it can to keep staff and students as safe as possible in the face of coronavirus. Consequently, we have spent many hours evaluating the risks and planning a range of mitigating controls.
We have written a risk assessment, co-constructed by the Leadership Team, that is responsive to all new guidance that is released by the Government, ASCL, Ellis Whittam (our Health and Safety provider), the Estates manager from our multi-academy trust as well as our own evaluation of the effectiveness of the controls we have in place. This plan is always available to view by our staff and is reviewed at least weekly by the Leadership Team. The school’s governing body hold us to account for these plans.
Many of the controls have been shared with students and parents in a series of videos. These videos focus on the systems we have put in place, for example:
- How students can stay safe in their journey to school
- How students are kept safe between lessons by using outdoor ‘meeting areas’ and staggered lesson endings, reducing the likelihood of different bubbles mixing
- How different bubbles are kept apart at lunchtime
- How we are reducing the risks of transmission in lessons and in classrooms
These controls are complemented by a number of additional internal systems such as:
- employing a daytime cleaner focusing on frequently-touched surfaces such as door handles and bannisters
- staff using additional controls such as face coverings or visors where it proves more challenging to stay 2 metres from students
Whilst the aforementioned videos provided the bulk of the initial communication to parents and students, these are supplemented by updates in:
- the school’s weekly Newsletter
- daily student briefing notes delivered by period 1 teachers
- additional emails and ParentMail communications, where needed
The Department for Education has launched a helpline to answer questions about COVID-19 related to education. Staff, parents and young people can contact the helpline as follows:
Phone: 0800 046 8687
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Opening Hours: 8.00am until 6.00pm.
