Secondary schools have been asked to provide face-to-face time for Years 10 and 12 from the 15 June. So, how are schools planning for that provision?

We asked three schools to reveal their plans. 

‘We will essentially be operating five separate schools on any given day’

Chris Edwards, headteacher at Brighton Hill Community School in Basingstoke

Having surveyed our Year 10 parents/carers when the initial decision was made to bring them back to school for some face-to-face support, it became clear that more than 85 per cent of those who answered the survey would be willing to send their child in, under controlled conditions. 

We took this as a positive message: the vast majority of parents/carers trust us to keep their children safe, even during a pandemic of this scale.  

This was as daunting as it was reassuring, though, as it led to the inevitable pressure of being able to come up with a safety plan that would ensure their continued faith in us as a school leadership team.

Here at Brighton Hill Community School, through the use of a unique “bubble” system, devised by the process-rich mind of my deputy, we will essentially be operating five separate schools on any given day, each of which will have absolutely no reason to cross paths. 

We will also be operating a staggered start system, with similar allowances being made for breaks and lunch, once again to ensure minimal crossover of students.

When our Year 10 students return, they will do so in small groups of six to eight. They will stay in these groups for the remainder of the summer term to minimise the number of opportunities for any potential cases of the virus to be shared. 

They will be in school for two hours in the first week for a hopes, fears and expectations discussion, giving them an opportunity to outline what they would like to see happen in the remainder of their very strange 10th year of formal education.

The following three weeks will see these small groups work with a member of the English, maths or science teams for one day each on a rotational basis. Staff will spend the whole day with the same group of students, before rotating the following week to work with a new group, to ensure coverage. 

The start of these day-long sessions will incorporate the opportunity for each student to have a 20-minute subject-based catch up with a subject expert, with enough time afforded towards the end of the day for the teacher to deliver a session to address any misconceptions and fill in any gaps identified. 

After the initial three weeks of core subjects, we will start a second phase to ensure coverage of option subjects.

We have copious amounts of hand sanitiser available, as well as additional sanitiser stations for all entrances, with sanitising wipes being available in all areas to ensure any hotspots can be wiped and disinfected when necessary. Every area will be cleaned at the end of every school day to ensure it is germ free for the next day’s use.

In addition to an incredibly detailed risk assessment, my assistant head has been working on a new behaviour and safeguarding document to share with staff and students, outlining how we will manage any behaviour issues during this phase.  

In the current climate, where saliva can be considered a deadly weapon, this was far from straightforward. One thing that is clearer now more than ever is that any inappropriate behaviour must be dealt with in the strongest possible terms to ensure the safety of all.

With regards to staff expectations, apart from some volunteers, only members of the senior leadership team will work more than one day per week. This is to keep staff as shielded from risk as possible, but also to allow staff to continue providing childcare at home rather than sending their own children back to schools or childcare settings when they are not ready. 

We hope that anyone in this category will be able to ensure childcare within the household to allow them to join us for our face-to-face commitments. I will certainly not force anyone to return to the school building for their one day per week. If, after reading our plans and risk assessment, teachers fear that the risk is still too great for them or their family, they will be removed from the rota. I will not take any action against anyone who simply cannot commit. 

Trust is a great value that has served us well during this pandemic so far, and it will continue to serve us well as we march through the adversity. 

This is one of the reasons we have not asked for medical evidence of clinical vulnerabilities for those whose health has already precluded them from work during these times.  

‘I am extremely excited and interested to see how this new style of teaching will work’

Sam Edwards, a head of drama in a secondary school in Berkshire

On 15 June, my school will open its doors to Year 10 and Year 12, while continuing to support the children of key workers. We are happy to prepare our pupils for next year, as well as support their social and mental wellbeing.

Students will be allocated a gate of the school to enter and exit, reducing numbers through our usual single gate to support social distancing. Students will be instructed to wait outside the classroom until invited by the teacher. We have ordered guards, masks and gloves to protect all staff in every classroom, and we have made a large batch order of sanitiser and wipes.

We will keep doors open with door stops throughout school to allow fresh air to flow through classrooms and reduce surface area interactions, and students will be asked to use sanitiser and wipe down their workspaces using disinfectant wipes before and after the lesson. In toilets, we are operating a one-in, one-out system to support social distancing.

The school day will run between 9am and 3.30pm and it will be divided into four periods. Each period will be an hour of one subject, with a class size of 15. When the students have completed their timetabled subjects for the day - which could be one or all four of the periods - they will continue their learning at home through live lessons or remote learning.

Our aim is for there to be an average of 60 students spread across the site during one period and 240 students on site during the school day.

For option subjects, there will be a one-hour face-to-face lesson per week on site, then three remote lessons off site. Subjects such as PE and dance will focus on theory-based knowledge. Core subjects such as English, maths and science will run one to two live lessons a week and four to six remote lessons due to staffing.

I believe my school has done everything possible to follow the government’s guidelines and make sure that all staff and students feel safe. I am extremely excited and interested to see how this new style of teaching will work in the next few months.

‘We are all worried about how the missed learning will impact our classes’

Adam Riches, a senior leader for teaching and learning, specialist leader in education and head of English

Opening up the school in the midst of a pandemic with social distancing measures isn’t something that anybody has had extensive training on, so schools have to deal with the pressures in the best ways they can.

For us, clear communication and building a sense of shared efficacy is paramount if reopening is to go smoothly. To relieve pressure on everybody, we need clarity.

Logistically, preparing the site for reopening is a real challenge. Considerations need to be made for every detail, including how often handles will be touched and how to decontaminate used surfaces in time to avoid the spread of germs.

Covid-19 will severely impact the normality of school life. Staggered starts, specific hand-washing areas and routed floor markers are just the start of measures that need to be put in place.

It’s also very theoretical. We are all thinking this through in such detail and taking every precaution necessary...but so much of it comes down to whether the students will engage with the changes.

Returning to school is a worry for all teachers. The worries may differ, but there is a lot of apprehension around what the new normal will look like.

Teachers are working on the front line (as we have been throughout this pandemic), but the reopening to more groups than the vulnerable and children of key workers creates additional subliminal fear of the virus.

Even for those who don’t worry about catching it or becoming ill, there may still be some apprehension about having been out of the classroom for so long.

We are all worried about how the missed learning will impact our classes - that is something we know we will need to overcome in the coming months.