Staggered arrivals and shorter days as Shropshire secondary schools welcome back students
Secondary schools and colleges today welcomed back more pupils to the classroom with a raft of social distancing measures in place.
Groups of Year 10s and some Year 12s were due to return in staggered sessions in a bid to give extra support to those sitting GCSE and A Level exams next summer.
But amid the ongoing Coronavirus crisis, schools across Shropshire, and Telford & Wrekin have introduced unprecedented measures to create safe learning areas.
Heads across the county have been telling a similar story of one-way entry and exit systems being put in place and praising dedicated staff for pulling out the stops in line to meet national guidelines on time.
In a letter to parents Thomas Telford School head Sir Kevin Satchwell said: “I write to inform you that the governors have decided along with other secondary academies in the Thomas Telford Multi Academy Trust that we should plan for the partial return of Year 10 and Year 12 students from Monday June 15.
“This means that there will be opportunity for students – to return to school initially one day per week. The partial return is due to conditions advised by Government where we are to allow up to 25 per cent of Year 10 and 12 at any one time to attend school.
Shorter school days
“The day will be slightly shorter with staggered arrival between 9.15am and 9.30am and departure between 2.15 pm and 2.30pm. This assists us with managing social distancing. Lunch will be provided as normal, but students are expected to have breakfast before departing for school.
“The school is making all the necessary arrangements to comply with Covid-19 guidance before we welcome some students back. It will involve making physical changes to the learning environments.”
He added that no more than 13 students will be transported per coach.
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And staff and students must remain two metres apart at all times, one chair should be left in between students in and on coaches there should be one student to two seats.
At Wrekin College, in Wellington, doors will open to 18 of the 70 Year 10s on Wednesday.
Among the changes will be spaced footprints on paths to be used as a distance guide.
Wrekin’s headteacher Tim Firth said: “We have decided to prioritised the Year 10s. there will be no Year 12s in. The Year 10s will be back on Wednesday this week and on a couple of days next week.
“The idea is to focus on the core subjects of Maths and English. That’s not to say that we haven’t been working on those areas because we have been teaching online for the past 11 weeks.
“No-one has missed any lessons. There is a social reason too to helping them to get back to some sort of normality and for the young people to get to see each other and to get prepared for coming back in September.
“Our measures include all the staff being drilled on how to get around the school, what to do at lunch, we’ve introducing footprinting, and put down taping. On the way in we will be taking temperature checks.
"We’ll be holding a special assembly in our 500-seater auditorium, but there’ll only be about 20 of us in there.”
In Mid Wales pupils will return to school on June 29 and that the summer term will be extended by a week.
Director of school leaders’ union NAHT Cymru Laura Doel said: “Of the options proposed by Welsh government, a return to school on 29 June extending the summer term by a week and redistributing into the autumn term is our members’ preferred plan.
"There are some concerns around the practicalities that still need to be addressed. But school leaders are keen to support learners and get them back into school safely."
Shropshire Council said more children as a percentage of the total in the county have been attending than nationally during lockdown.
It said children could be told to wear face coverings on school transport in September if the required distance cannot be maintained, but social distancing measures will need to be eased before all can return.
