COVID -19 Response
Keeping you up-to-date
COVID Symptoms
Please do not send your child to school if they are displaying symptoms. This is the golden rule. At school we should only be handling the tiny number of children who may suddenly display symptoms.
NHS guidance says symptoms are:
- 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've noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal
Recognising Coronavirus Symptoms
If they do display these then please isolate the entire household as is specified by the government and get a test.
If we send a child home with symptoms we will be informing Public Health England. We will only permit them back on site with a negative test result.
If a child claims to be displaying the symptoms suddenly during the school day (which is highly unlikely, but possible) then they will be assessed by the school medical staff.
If a child coughs in class that does not mean they will automatically be sent to the medical room. If a child does not have a high temperature or is not genuinely coughing regularly for more than an hour, they will be returned to class and at risk of a truancy detention.
Useful Q & A's
Face Masks
Kingsmead will provide a uniform face mask for compulsory use in the corridors and dining areas.
We did this to ensure that children were less likely to use a mask that had been used from outside, but also to make sure that we were not getting into conversations about appropriate masks or having to provide children with a mask on a daily basis when the forgot them. We provided one for every child and this cost the school money at a time when there is no extra government funding for the COVID situation. If a student comes to school without their mask they will automatically be given a detention and their school account will be charged for a new one. I am sorry to make it a negative, but they need to take responsibility for their uniform and we cannot afford to hand out any more for free.
Travelling to School
Unless it is impossible, please walk or cycle to school. We understand that families may want to drop their children and pick up. However, please bear in mind that we local community and surrounding roads will be overwhelmed if hundreds and hundreds of vehicles are trying to access the same entry and exit points. Also, it may well mean a very long wait for you! I cannot recommend taking the bus, but I also cannot forbid it. If students really must use them, they must wear a mask that is not their school uniform mask. I am regularly maddened by seeing our students taking the bus two stops along major roads that are perfectly safe to walk along, so please remind them that it is important not to use public transport unless absolutely necessary.
Arrival at School
Students need to arrive by the normal time of 0825. This is incredibly important, otherwise we will find it impossible to run the entry in the buildings properly and the beginning of Lesson 1 will be disrupted daily. It is up to the student and their family to make that happen please as we cannot be understanding about it. Safety and being able to move students carefully is too important for us to be relaxed about.
Students in the following year groups need to use the following entrances.
Year 7-8 Year Cinema gate from Southbury Road
9, 10, 11 Field gate, accessed from the rear of Southbury Leisure Centre and Enfield Playing Fields.
Sixth Form Cinema vehicle gate (accessed via the car park)
Uniform, Equipment and Behaviour
- This will be as close to normal as possible but with some small adjustments. Most children will have had a one to one conversation before their return to site.
- Normal and complete school uniform is expected.
- The only exception to this is if a child has PE on that day. They must then come to school in their PE kit.
- Children should bring their basic equipment and take it home with them. They will not bring anything more home.
- We remain committed to keeping children safe from being targeted for their mobile phones and from restricting
- distractions to their education. Mobile phones will be confiscated if brought on site.
- Specific expectations about the day to day will be made clear to children on their arrival.
- The consequence system and detentions will remain in place.
PLEASE NOTE: Basic equipment can no longer be purchased from the school library. You will need to provide your child’s basic equipment and it must include a gluestick, protractor, compasses and scientific calculator. We cannot distribute these around classes.
Uniform PE Kit
Many of the students are wearing PE Kit as their uniform for several days of the week. This is because it is impossible for us to give students a hygienic and spaced way of changing during the day.
Please ensure that they are wearing:
- School shorts/skirt or plain black jogging bottoms (no logos)
- Black trainers with as little colour as possible and no large logos.
- Plain black socks.
Line Ups
Children will be lining up in the morning, between lessons, after break and after lunch. This will allow controlled and sensible entry into the buildings. There will be hand sanitiser on the way into every classroom and teachers will supervise and ensure its use on arrival.
Practical Arrangements of the Day
The school day will look slightly different for different year groups to ensure that only approximately half the school is out of the classroom at any given moment.
Half the school having break while the other half have a later registration and then the two swapping over. Half the school having lunch while the other half have Lesson 4 and then vice versa. Each year group having a set outside space and a set part of the dining areas for grab and go food.At the end of the school day, half of the school will leave earlier than the other half.
Break and Lunchtime
At the moment we are unable to safely provide internal spaces at lunch and break time, so they must bring a black uniform coat. If the weather looks poor, please make sure they bring an umbrella and/or black/grey waterproof.
Water fountains have been replaced with ‘no touch’ bottle fillers, so children are welcome to bring a water bottle.
Food at Lunch and Break time
Children will be provided with cards that mean they do not need to pay for anything in the Dining Halls through touching anything. There will be no sitting down, but we will be providing proper meals in disposable boxes. Cutlery will be single use. All the boxes and cutlery are compostable.
Toilet Breaks
Please remind your children that we have very limited access to the toilets during lesson times and they must plan their use of the loo in the morning, at break and at lunchtime. Every trip in lessons has to be supervised door to door and we cannot guarantee that anyone will be picked up with any speed given the other demands on staffing. Not only is coming out of lessons a loss of learning, but students should take responsibility for this and use the toilets at an appropriate time. They should not be asking the teacher to leave the lesson unless it is truly urgent.
Library
We are very sad that our library will not be useable by everyone at break time and lunchtime. As someone who used to be in my own school library every day, I made sure back in 2017 that is was remodelled into a proper silent library and quiet space so that children could come to sit, read, think and discover. We will recreate that space as soon as we are able.
Books, Homework and MS Teams
Children will leave their books at school and in the classroom they use them in. Teachers will be able to look at them to plan for their revise/revisit/deepen lessons, but there will not be lots of deep marking in them.
Homework is now being set on Microsoft Teams, which we used throughout lockdown. If you are having any problems with the username and password for the application, please contact your LDY. If students are having a consistent problem with their homework, their LDY can refer them to study clubs run by our Inclusion team. They run until 4.30pm and it is where children can get help. Unfortunately, we cannot staff this for any large numbers of students so - at the moment - it is reserved for those who need it the most.
