Dear Parent/Carer,
Further to today’s announcement, I can confirm that pupils in S4-S6 studying the following subjects will be invited to attend school on a rotational basis from Monday 22nd February. Please note, we will communicate specific dates to individual pupils and parents/carers by no later than Friday morning.
Our daily capacity for S4-S6 pupils is 52 pupils per day. This excludes those in S1-S6 already accessing our in-school provision for children of Key Workers and those regarded as vulnerable.
- Art and Design
- Music
- Music Technology
- Computing Science
- Design and Manufacture
- Creative Industries
- Practical Woodworking
- Graphic Communication
- NPA Digital Media
PE and Modern Languages will not be included at this time. General tier four restrictions prevent assessment of practical PE activities. Talking assessments in Modern Languages are not scheduled to take place until late March. For the purposes of SQA assessment, no other subjects qualify for in school provision.
We anticipate that school transport will run in all areas. Given the size of our catchment area, and the need to complete a range of practical SQA assessment work, pupils should attend for the full school day, but only on those days which we will share via individual correspondence. We cannot operate a half day model. Catering facilities will be available.
Pupils must always adhere to 2m social distancing and unless exempt, should always wear a face mask when in school or using school transport. All pupils will be reminded of relevant health and safety protocols upon their return to school.
If pupils are invited to attend and elect not to do so, we need to know of this decision as soon as possible. Not taking up a place prevents another learner from attending and may result in transport provision where not necessary.
Logically, if a teacher is working in school all day with a group of S4-S6 learners, they cannot simultaneously be available to their other S1-S6 classes online. Please be assured of fact that staff will do all they can to direct pupils working online to appropriate content during times when their class teacher is working with others in school. I appreciate that this is a frustration, but it stands to reason that a member of staff cannot do both at the same time. Staff will notify all classes in advance of the days when they will be unavailable online.
Those pupils in S4-S6 to have registered for the COVID testing programme will be issued with guidance and a set of test kits on their first day back in school. If a pupil in S4-S6 has registered but is not due to attend at this time, they will not receive a test kit until they return to school. All pupils who would like to participate in the S4-S6 testing programme and are yet to register should submit consent forms as soon as possible.
For all pupils in S1-S3, and for those in S4-S6 not studying the subjects listed above or not scheduled to be in school on a given day, online learning will continue. It is currently anticipated that a further announcement on when all other pupils can return will be made in two weeks’ time (Tuesday 2nd March). However, the announcement stated that any further return is unlikely before Monday 15th March.
The statement made today also references the fact that further clarity will follow in terms of SQA Assessment. Once we can confirm any changes we will do so.
Kind Regards
Mr Kane
