Coronavirus (COVID-19) – updates from the Headteacher

As I write this, I am reflecting upon a meeting that I have had on Zoom with the other Headteachers from the Bexley secondary schools.  It is very easy to get back into the routines and workings of such gatherings.  And so, in the light of recent announcements, we turn our gaze back to here.  We know what we want to achieve but we are also mindful of the potential risks there are when we take the plunge – once started there isn’t much going back so we have to be sure-footed in what we plan but also when.  There is more and more guidance being introduced into the public forum for scrutiny.  Much of it helpful, some of it conflicting, most of it encouraging but against a backdrop that suggests we still have to take more of the risk out it.  We have made many plans – some still on the drawing board, some almost ready to be tabled but all will need to consider the safety of both students and staff before any suggestion of implementation.  Given that social distancing remains a priority and ironically you need face coverings in an enclosed environment yet not in a classroom, our classrooms at most will house no more than 20 students at a time (and that’s a few at best) and given the 2 metre gap between means that we will, at some point welcome back Years 10 and 12 but certainly not as a whole, probably in halves or even quarters and not necessarily straightaway.   As for Years 7-9, we will continue to provide work through a variety of online approaches.

I do hope that you are all healthy, staying safe and that your well-being is of a positive mindset.  We all need to pull together and support each other.  We are all very grateful to our NHS and key workers who are caring for us and who are facilitating our ability to get through, now in our eighth week.

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