4th September, 2020

Coronavirus Update

What’s the current situation?

The school will open to Year 7 students on Wednesday 9th September.

We will be following the Return to school plan which is published on our website: 

https://www.little-lever.bolton.sch.uk/return/getting-september-ready/

  • A special ‘Return to school page’ has been set up on the school’s website to provide more information to parents and carers. (click the link above to view this). This now has updated information on face coverings, teaching PE, Music, Drama and Technology, school transport and classroom expectations.
  • A video clip and ‘Induction section’ is included on the Return to school page which shows the start date for each year group and the time they need to arrive in school.
  • Please click the link below for a detailed break down of what remote learning will look like for each Year group through the induction period. On here you will also find video guidance of how to interpret your child’s new 2-week timetable.  https://www.little-lever.bolton.sch.uk/home/remote-learning-strategy/
  • We have published your child’s new 2-week timetable on the Parent Portal for parents and carers to access. https://parentportal.little-lever.bolton.sch.uk/login/  You will need your username and login details to access this.  These have already been sent out to all parents and carers.  If you don’t have your username or password please contact us on 01204 333300 or email us at info@little-lever.bolton.sch.uk and we will be happy to help.
  • We would like to thank all those parents and carers who sent their questions and concerns to us. It has really helped shape the Return to School plan and we have created an updated FAQ section on the Return to school page which hopefully addresses many of these questions/concerns.
  • We will be adding video guidance to demonstrate the arrival and departure procedures for students
  • We will keep parents informed with any changes to government guidance and will adjust the return to school plans accordingly if we need to.

Face Coverings

Government guidance on face coverings has changed recently.  In conjunction with local health protection teams, taking into account current infection rates in Bolton it will be necessary for all students and staff to wear a face covering when they are on corridors or in the canteen and/or conservatory.  These are areas that are communal and students will potentially pass other students outside of their Year group bubble.  While the guidance states that this is still relatively low risk we are taking the advice of medical professionals who have clearly stated that wearing a face covering in these areas will help reduce the spread of the virus.

We would strongly recommend that parents and carers purchase a washable face covering as opposed to a disposable face covering.  The school will provide face coverings for students who do not bring one but these will be disposable.  Disposable face masks are not meant for long term use and therefore will need to be disposed of at some point.  This will be difficult to manage on the school site as we would need to dispose of each covering safely.

Students do not need to wear a face covering in lessons or when they are outside. 

If students want to wear a face covering in these areas we will not challenge this.  We will take a common sense approach and work with our young people and families to ensure they feel safe and comfortable.  However, if face coverings are used inappropriately or pose a health and safety concern in these areas students will be asked to remove them.

Reminder of Coronavirus Symptoms

The most important symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are recent onset of any of the following:

• a new continuous cough
• a high temperature
• a loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia).

If you have any of the symptoms above you should self-isolate at home

The individual with symptoms must self isolate for a period of 7 days.  The household must self isolate for 10 days. (Click the link above for official government guidance on self isolation)

Testing

If you’re in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland and have any of the symptoms of coronavirus, you can ask for a test through the NHS website

If you’re an essential worker in England, Scotland or Northern Ireland, you can apply for priority testing through GOV.UK by following the guidance for essential workers

 

You can also get tested through this route if you have symptoms of coronavirus and live with an essential worker.

See the list of essential workers by clicking this link.

These tests for essential workers are prioritised over the tests available for the wider public through the NHS.

In England, you can get tested if you’re a social care worker or resident in a care home whether you have symptoms or not. See the guidance below on testing for care home residents and workers

For more details on Testing please visit the website below:

gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-getting-tested

There has been a lot mentioned in the press recently about the current infection rates in Bolton. We are monitoring this closely and I understand parents /carers may be apprehensive about schools re-opening in September. This was one of many reasons we decided to adopt our phased and extended induction back in to school for our students. We hope this approach allows us to safely welcome students back into school over the first few weeks in September and at the same time give us the flexibility to respond to any changes in the local and national guidelines. The Director for Public Health in Bolton has written to all parents and carers about the return to school and the measures that have been put in place. We have included this letter on the Parent Portal for you to view.

We have really missed seeing all our students in school and we look forward to welcoming our new Year 7 cohort to Little Lever in September. We want all our students to return to school but we want to do this safely and cautiously. Even though this may take us longer we hope that this approach really benefits our students in the long run and allows them to make good progress academically and emotionally throughout the year.

It was great to see our Year 11 leavers return to collect their GCSE results. As expected our Year 11 students achieved another record breaking set of results which continues the rapid improvements we are seeing our students make at Little Lever. We were one of the most improved schools in the country in 2019 and the achievements of our Year 11 leavers in 2020 showed a similar rate of improvement again!!! Students are achieving outcomes that are significantly above the national averages in all areas at Little Lever and we are proud and pleased that we can help our students realise what they are truly capable of. They really did achieve some phenomenal GCSE outcomes and we wish them all the very best in whatever path they have chosen and I hope they always continue to achieve things they never thought they could for the rest of their lives!

Despite an uncertain future I would urge you all to have faith in our community and know that as a school we are here to help you as much as we possibly can. Keep going, believe in yourselves and know that you are not alone! The Little Lever community has come together to provide support and guidance to each other in a time of extreme difficulty and we will continue to play our part in supporting the families we serve!

Thank you for your continued support.
Please take care!

Mr Mckeon

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