Dear Parent and Carers,

I hope that you and your family have had a good half term. On a personal level, my children enjoyed the break from remote learning and home-school – I am sure that yours did too. Having said that, it was good to have the structure of the school day back in place today and I was pleased to see such high engagement from The Minster School students throughout today’s remote learning sessions.

What is exciting is the announcement that schools will soon reopen to all students. The school buildings are not the same without the atmosphere provided by your children and we are looking forward to welcoming them back. As I write this, Boris Johnson has just addressed the House of Commons and shared details of what the reopening of schools may look like. The Department of Education has also, within the last hour, published its complete guidance for the reopening of schools. Over the coming hours we will digest that information and prepare for reopening. The key points that have been identified so far are:

• Students can return to onsite learning in the week commencing 8^th March 2021. This may be staggered over the week to allow for Covid-19 testing on site.
• Secondary students (who have consented) will undergo four Covid-19 tests in the first two weeks – three at school and one at home.
• Covid-19 testing will continue (for those that have consented) at home twice a week.
• Secondary students will be required to wear face coverings inside school buildings, including in classrooms, where social distancing cannot be maintained.

Once we can confirm the start day for your child’s year group, we will communicate this. We need to devise the logistics of testing students before their onsite teaching can commence. I hope to communicate this to you on Monday 1^st March. If I can do this sooner, then I will as I know that you will want to know this information as soon as possible. Next week I will also communicate further details regarding the measures and expectations that will be in place to minimise the transmission of the virus and to ensure a productive learning environment.

Many thanks for your patience.

Ben Chaloner – Head Teacher.