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Covid measures in place at school

Dear Parent/Carer

As the number of Covid cases in Birmingham increases, I am writing to remind you of the Covid measures we have in place. Please take the time to read through this letter with your child and remind them of the expectations. We really want to keep our students in school and by following the measures in place, we can reduce the risk of the virus spreading in the Academy, and the number of bubbles required to isolate.

Students start and end times of the day remain staggered as follows:

Year 7Year 8Year 9Year 10
Main gateStart time: 09.20Break time11.10-11.25Lunch time: 13.00-13.30Finish time: 15.10Separate Boys’ PE and Girls’ PE GroupsSeparate toilets from other year groups, sanitized between breaks/ lunch  Main gateStart time: 8.30Break time10.25-10.40Lunch time: 12.10-12.40Finish time: 14.20Separate Boys’ PE and Girls’ PE GroupsSeparate toilets from other year groups, sanitized between breaks/ lunch  Back gateStart time: 09.20Break time11.10-11.25Lunch time: 13.00-13.30Finish time: 15.10Separate Boys’ PE and Girls’ PE GroupsSeparate toilets from other year groups, sanitized between breaks/ lunchBack gateStart time: 8.30Break time10.25-10.40Lunch time: 12.10-12.40Finish time: 14.20Separate Boys’ PE and Girls’ PE GroupsStudents move to specialist classrooms for Art & option groupsSeparate toilets from other year groups, sanitized between breaks/ lunch  

Please plan your child’s journey to arrive at the Academy for their start time. Students should avoid congregating before and after school, particularly with students that are not within their bubble.

Year 7, 8 and 9 remain in class bubbles for their lessons and a year group bubble at break and lunch time.

Year 10 remain in a class bubble for most of their lessons and move to their options subjects. They are in a year group bubble at break and lunchtime.

Students’ break and lunch times are outside in an allocated year group zone; a reminder that students should bring a coat and umbrella.  Students are reminded to socially distance in social time. 

Students are asked to sanitize their hands-on entry to the site.  If students prefer to bring their own hand sanitizer, this should be small enough to fit inside their blazer pocket. Students that are exempt from the use of sanitizer must wash their hands regularly in soap and water; please advise us if your child is unable to use sanitizer so that an exemption card can be issued.

All adults in the Academy (unless exempt) continue to wear face coverings in corridors and communal areas, but in line with the government guidance, they are not required in classrooms.

Students are encouraged to carry a clean tissue in their blazer, so that if they cough or sneeze, they can ‘catch it, bin it and kill it’.

Students are also encouraged to wear a mask whilst moving around the academy and in class if they so wish

The named symptoms for Covid remain:

  •  a high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
  • a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
  • a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you have noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal

if your child displays any of these symptoms, it is essential that your household isolates and a PCR test is booked.  Anyone with symptoms will be eligible for testing and this can be arranged via https://www.nhs.uk/ask-for-a-coronavirus-test or by calling 119. By isolating immediately, we can minimize the number of bubbles that are sent home to isolate.

If your child receives a positive PCR test please email: enquiry@erdington.fmat.co.uk

Lateral flow testing is an essential tool for minimizing the spread of Covid in the school.  If you consented to lateral flow testing, please make sure this is completed two times each week.    It is important that results of the tests are reported online straight away, even if your child’s result is negative or void. This can be done at www.gov.uk/report-covid19-result. Results can also be reported via telephone by calling 119 (free from mobiles and landlines). Lines are open every day, 7am to 11pm.

I appreciate that all of this information has been shared previously, but given the Academy has been notified of four positive cases in June, it seemed appropriate to issue a reminder of procedures and expectations.  If students adhere to guidance, we can minimize the spread of the virus and reduce the number of students required to isolate.   Your support in reminding your child of the importance of these measures is appreciated.

Thank you for your ongoing support of the Academy and its staff throughout these unusual times.

Yours sincerely

S.Mallett

Head of Academy

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