8th March 2021
Return to school
Dear Parent/Carer,
I hope you and your family are well. We are delighted to inform you that we are now able to confirm the date that your child can return to school. The dates were shared with you in last Friday’s letter from the Local Authority’s Director of Education; the letter contained a lot more detail and can be found here https://pontcomp.co.uk/2021/03/05/letter-from-la-regarding-return-to-school/.
The purpose of this additional letter is to inform you of the specific arrangements in the context of our school. Please excuse any repetition from last week’s letter.
Return dates and wellbeing sessions:
- Year 11: all return to school on Monday 15th March
- Year 10: all return to school on Thursday 18th March
- Year 7, 8 and 9: all return to school on Tuesday 13th April
Additionally, Years 7, 8 and 9 will be offered an opportunity to attend for one day between 22nd March and 26th March for a wellbeing check-in session. Online learning will continue for Year 7, 8 and 9 pupils that do not attend the wellbeing check-in day. Teaching staff will continue to provide lessons for the pupils that will be learning from home and will not be available for face-to-face teaching of the pupils that attend school for the wellbeing check-in day. To book a place for a wellbeing check-in day you will need to complete a booking form but please read the detail within the form prior to booking. The form can be found here: booking form.
Covid-19 Safeguarding Measures
Generally, the safeguarding measures that were in place before Christmas will continue with a few changes. The changes below align with the most recent Welsh Government operational guidance for Covid-19 safeguarding. Please can you explain the changes to your child prior to returning to school:
1, Pupils will no longer have to wear masks once they are in their outside zone (each year group have their own outside zones).
2, Pupils must wear masks in classrooms, as it will not be possible to socially distance.
3, Masks must be three-layered, and pupils will be provided with three good quality masks, on their return to school, that can be washed up to 50 times. Each mask will have its own zip locked bag to mitigate against contaminants gathering on the mask.
4, The Welsh Government have announced the offer of regular asymptomatic lateral flow tests for all pupils in Year 10 and 11. The lateral flow home testing kits will allow pupils to test themselves twice a week. Pupils will be able to collect their test kits from school and test themselves at home. The responsibility for managing the taking and reporting of the tests is with parents/carers and young people. If you chose to undertake the tests then it is really important that any positive results are reported and self-isolation requirements are met. We also hope they will provide some added reassurance that any positive cases will be identified early. More information on the specific detail of the processes are currently being finalised by Welsh Government and will be shared by schools as soon as possible.
We will be updating our Covid-19 safeguarding risk assessment as we receive further information from the Welsh Government and the Local Authority. The updated risk assessment will be shared on the school website.
Year 11 assessment arrangements
Last Friday 5th March Year 11 parents/carers received more detail regarding their GCSE assessments for summer 2021, the letter can be found here https://pontcomp.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/letter-to-learners-040321-min.pdf
We were informed that all Year 11 pupils will now receive their GCSE Centre Designated Grades in June. This earlier than expected date means that we will now be reviewing the assessment dates for Year 11 and will inform pupils and parents when assessment dates are finalised. Revision support will be put in place and communicated accordingly.
Naturally, we will keep you updated if there are any changes. Please ask for help if your child needs additional support with their home learning. As ever, we shall do our very best to work through any problems together. As a body of staff, we look forward to welcoming your child back to school and hope it will be an enjoyable and sustainable return.
Yours sincerely,
Mr. G. Rees
Headteacher
