Letter regarding School Uniform at Calderhead High School during the Recovery Phase
I hope this letter finds you and your family safe and well.
As you know North Lanarkshire Council have now started to share information regarding the plans to return to school in August. I am sure you can appreciate, there are a lot of decisions to be made to ensure all necessary health and safety requirements are met. This remains the key driver in all decisions.
Our staff have returned to school to prepare classrooms and the school environment for the new way of working. We are making sure all seats are 2m apart which will mean that pupils will need to be taught in smaller groups.
During the recovery period the priority is to minimise the risk of transmission of COVID 19. As a result of this Academy Uniform were unable to provide their usual in school expert Blazer fitting and ordering service. We have consulted a small group of pupils and the Parent Council and have concluded that the fairest approach is not to wear a Blazer in August. Once restrictions have been lifted we will hold Blazer fitting sessions as soon as practically possible. This should ensure that the Blazers will last each pupil a reasonable length of time.
To prevent viral transmission pupils are encouraged to wear fresh clothes each day. We are expecting them to wear a white school shirt, school tie tucked into a plain black v-neck jumper or cardigan, black school trousers/skirt and black shoes or plain black trainers. On the days that pupils have PE first thing in the morning they should wear their PE kit to school, including House T-shirt and then change into school uniform afterwards.
Our young people may have to spend more time in the playground, waiting to come into the building, during intervals or lunchtime, so should bring a waterproof jacket with them on rainy days. As soon as we come out of recovery we will immediately revert back to full uniform which will include a blazer. As you are all aware our standards of dress at Calderhead are high and we are keen to ensure we maintain these standards through this time.
Please be reassured staff at Calderhead are working very hard to make sure we have a safe environment for all staff and pupils in August. We appreciate this is an anxious time for parents but please trust that we are doing our very best to ensure we provide what is best for all in our school community.
We will issue further information as soon as we have more to share. Please keep an eye on our website/School App/Twitter for updates.
Thank you for your ongoing support.
John Robertson, Head Teacher
More information on returning to school is also available in the attached letter from Derek Brown, Executive Director for Education and Families, and Frequently Asked Questions for Parents from North Lanarkshire Council (click on images; document will open in new page).
