POSITION STATEMENT

STEP 4 in the Road Map out of Covid-19 Restrictions

Our academies and their communities have seen great challenges, as in the wider community, this year, as a result of the pandemic.

As we progress through the winter and see the removal of key restrictions via Step 4 on the government’s road map, we will continue to monitor the position locally with Staffordshire County Council and NHS. We have step-up and step-down contingency plans in place and at all times will be prioritising the safety of all of our community as well as embracing a return to the kind of education and experiences that our staff and students deserve in order for them to thrive in our academies. We will continue to review and update our Risk Assessments in relation to managing COVID-19.

Until advised otherwise by the government we will continue to encourage staff and students to take twice weekly Lateral Flow Device (LFD) tests at home – we have plenty of kits to provide staff and students with these.

We will still be asking everyone to maintain good hand washing and the use of hand sanitizer. We will be promoting good respiratory hygiene by asking everyone to follow ‘Catch-it, Bin-it, Kill-it’ protocols and our classrooms will be provided with tissues and special bins for these to be disposed in. We will be maintaining good ventilation and regular cleaning of high touch areas through the day. There may be periods where we follow advice to suggest the wearing of face coverings, especially in heavy traffic areas of our academies. We hope not to return to creating closed bubbles to distance different year groups but may have to consider this if advised to do so by our local NHS advisors.

Our academies will no longer be asked to Track and Trace this will be undertaken by the NHS.

We do ask that if you are planning to travel abroad during any holiday periods that you check carefully all restrictions and adhere to quarantine measures as required. We really do not want our students or staff missing any days during term time.

Rules on isolation have also changed. Students identified as having been in close contact with a confirmed case will not have to self-isolate but may be asked to take a PCR test to confirm the need not to isolate. Guidance is changing on this and we will update our community as we have further advice. Staff who have had both vaccinations will also not need to isolate under the same expectations as those set out above. Staff who have not had both vaccinations will still need to isolate.

Please be assured that we follow all guidance from DfE and NHS very carefully to make our academies as safe as possible. Should there be an outbreak in one of our academies or local area we shall continue to work closely with Staffordshire Public Health Team and may have to step back up to some restrictions for a time, but we will do this only if absolutely necessary, for the shortest period of time needed and with the smallest amount of people needed and always at the direction on guidance of our local Public Health Team.

We will keep all members of our community updated with information on managing the pandemic and its wider implications, such as examination arrangements, as we have firm guidance and information to share.