March 2021

In March 2021, schools and colleges in England reopened with asymptomatic Covid-19 testing in place. The return of all students was a priority in the Government’s roadmap for the easing of restrictions and recovery from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Click below to read a letter from Lewisham Council outlining what they and schools are doing to keep Lewisham safe, with important information about testing for those with or without coronavirus symptoms and vaccinations in Lewisham.

Lateral Flow Testing (LFT)

Students are now being provided with test kits so that they can continue with regular testing at home twice a week. They must follow the detailed instructions provided on how to take the test and report the results to NHS Test and Trace.

Results must also be reported to the school each time via Medical Tracker. Medical Tracker is the school’s first aid reporting system and ensures that students’ details are stored in one central place. This also allows parents/carers to keep track of their children’s results.

Click here for instructions on how to submit LFT results using Medical Tracker.

From 1 March 2021, if you’re a member of a household, childcare bubble or support bubble of staff or a pupil you can get a twice-weekly test:

• through your employer if they offer testing to employees
• at a local test site
• by collecting a home test kit from a test site
• by ordering a home test kit online

Take a test at a rapid lateral flow test site

You can take a rapid lateral flow test at a local site. Testing at these sites is assisted, which means you will swab yourself under the supervision of a trained operator.

You may need to book an appointment. Find your nearest rapid lateral flow test site.

Collect test kits

You can collect two packs of home test kits at a local collection point. Each pack contains seven tests.

Anyone 18 or over can collect. Most collection points are open from 1.30pm to 7.00pm. You can check online if the location is open or busy before you go. You do not need to make an appointment.

Do not visit a collection point outside opening hours, as it may be used to test people with coronavirus symptoms outside these times. Find your nearest home test kit collection point.

Order home test kits online

If you cannot get tested at your workplace, or are unable to go to a test site or collect test kits, you can order a home test kit online. Do not order online if you can get a test through other methods. This frees up home delivery for those who need it most. Order rapid lateral flow home test kits

What twice-weekly testing involves

You will be asked to:

• take a test twice a week (every 3 or 4 days apart)
• report every result to NHS Test and Trace on the same day you take the test

Report your test result online or by calling 119.

If anyone tests positive or gets coronavirus symptoms, they should tell the school and:

• self-isolate immediately
• get a PCR test to confirm the result
• follow the stay at home guidance for households with possible coronavirus infection

A negative result means the test did not find signs of coronavirus. But this does not guarantee you do not have coronavirus, so you should keep following all coronavirus advice including:

• regular handwashing
• social distancing
• wearing a face covering where recommended

Safety at School

We will continue to have in place systems to ensure everyone’s safety at all times. Please view the video below to understand more about how we are keeping our school community Covid-safe.

Bubbles

In order to minimise social mixing between different groups of students, we have divided the school into ‘bubbles’ – each Year Group is an individual bubble. Students within a bubble can mix together, but mixing between bubbles will not be permitted. To facilitate this the following measures will continue to be implemented.

1. Staggered arrival and dismissal times at a specified access point for each bubble:

• Year 7: Front Gate Mayow Road – 8:20am
• Year 8: Back Gate Bampton Road – 8:20am
• Year 9: Late Gate Dacres Road – 8:20am
• Year 10: Back Gate Bampton Road – 8:30am
• Year 11: Front Gate Bampton Road – 8:30am

2. Dividing the school into zones, with each bubble being taught in their zone and not moving to other zones:

• Year 7, 8 and 9 will be taught in their tutor groups in one classroom.
• Year 10 and 11 will be taught in streams for English, Maths and Science in one classroom. There will be limited movement within their zone to be taught option subjects.

3. On the whole students will not move, but teachers will move to them, thus reducing mixing of students.

4. There will be staggered break and lunchtimes with each bubble being allocated a specific area of the school for their sole use.

Arrival and Dismissal

This will be at a specified entrance to the site, and at a specified time (times will be staggered for different bubbles). Students will assemble, socially distanced from each other (floor markings will facilitate this). Students will be escorted to and from this entrance by a member of staff.

Travel to and from School

It is strongly advised that students avoid public transport as much as possible. We suggest walking or cycling to school if at all possible, even if this is a little more inconvenient than the usual way of getting to school. Students cycling to school will need to obtain a bike pass from their Head of Year.

Face Coverings

We will now expect all students (except those with medical exemptions) to wear a face covering in all classrooms, as well as internal social spaces in school. This is following government guidance issued on 22 February 2021. This requirement will be reviewed at Easter.

Classrooms

Students will have all of their lessons in a well-ventilated room(s), approaching and leaving it via one staircase. Teachers will move to the classroom. There will be no movement of students around the room during lessons. Each classroom will have hand sanitiser, gloves and tissues (as well as lidded bins for their safe disposal). Each bubble will use specified toilets when in school, which will be for their use only. Following the finish of school on each day, classrooms and toilets will be deep-cleaned before use the following day.

Equipment

Students must bring their own writing equipment to school each day, to be used only by them. There will be no sharing of this between students.

Social times

There will be a 20-minute morning break and a 50-minute lunch time. Each class will be escorted to a specified area of the school for these, where they will stay together with individuals maintaining social distance of at least 1 metre. These times will be closely supervised by members of staff. There will be large distances between bubbles and there will be no interaction between members of different bubbles. Any attempt to move between bubbles will be treated extremely seriously.

Water

All water fountains on site have been turned off for health and safety reasons. This means that, each day they are in school, students will need to bring their own water bottle for their exclusive use, and not to share it with others.

Remote Learning

There will be no online live lessons during the week commencing 8 March 2021 as staff prepare for the return of face-to-face teaching. It is still possible that individual students, teaching groups or whole year groups could be sent home to self-isolate when school re-opens from 8 March 2021. For full details of what to expect from remote education when students are required to remain at home, please click here.

Lewisham EP Connect

07377 913538 and 07377 976518

An easy access phone service has been set up for school staff, parents and carers to link with the Lewisham Educational Psychology Team to discuss any concerns about education, learning at home and emotional wellbeing during the current period of school closures.

The phoneline is open during term time on Mondays from 2-5pm and Thursdays from 9.30am-12.30pm. STEPS will complete a phone consultation request form with the caller’s details and this will then be emailed to the educational psychologist on call. It is a ringback service and the EP will aim to call back within that morning or afternoon.

The phoneline will continue up until the Easter Holidays, when it will be reviewed. Click here for further information.

National Advice: Symptoms

The most common symptoms of coronavirus (Covid-19) are recent onset of:

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

For most people, coronavirus (Covid-19) will be a mild illness. If your child or anyone in the household does develop symptoms, you can seek advice from NHS 111 at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/symptoms or by phoning 111.