Dear Parents and Carers
I hope you’ve enjoyed Christmas and the new year with your families. Wishing you a happy and hopefully much brighter 2021.
You will be aware that the situation regarding COVID is complex and ever-changing. We were pleased that no further positive cases were reported in the first week of the holiday and therefore we did not need to ask any pupils or staff to self-isolate.
However, the situation nationwide is concerning, particularly with the new COVID variant seemingly spreading at a greater rate. Dorset has moved into Tier 3 and so restrictions here are not as severe as in other areas of the country.
At present we still anticipate opening on Tuesday for all our pupils. However, teaching unions are calling on the government to close schools in order to slow the spread of the virus. This may have an impact on the number of staff we have available to work and therefore how widely we can open the school. I’m hoping that the picture will be clearer tomorrow and will provide a further update then.
Over the holiday we have been working on the requirement for mass testing of Secondary pupils and staff in schools but this has not been possible to implement whilst the school has been closed. We will be working on this tomorrow and will again update you when more information is available.
To be able to carry out mass testing effectively we need a team of people who are trained. If any of you are able to volunteer to support us with this please let us know, especially if you have medical or care experience.
I will update you as soon as we have further information.
Best wishes
Seán Kretz
