Post-Easter Covid-19 Arrangements

Thursday 7th April 2022

After our Easter break we enter a new phase in the pandemic.  This reflects, from a public health perspective, high levels of vaccine uptake and new treatments resulting in a significant reduction in serious illness.  This means that high levels of case numbers are less of an issue than they once were. There has been a ‘decoupling’ of case numbers and mitigations.   This includes the removal of the expectation that all staff and students take a LFD test twice weekly.  In general terms, for most people, economic, learning, and wellbeing harms are increasingly viewed as more ‘harmful’ than other outcomes of Covid-19.  This in no way minimises the losses we may have suffered over the last 2 years or current serious health outcomes facing some of our loved ones.

In terms of our school post-Easter this post summarises the key features, and practical measures we’ll take, to ensure safe and sustained in-person learning for all our staff and students when we return for the summer term on Monday 25th April.

A series of practical measures will be put in place from Monday 25^th April.  Please note that the following measures should be viewed as the essential list of things we will implement

• Vaccination uptake actively encouraged for all staff and eligible students
• Expectation that all students and staff wear face coverings in communal areas, but not classrooms,  during the school day (exemptions accepted);  teachers and students who choose to wear a face covering in class will be permitted and supported to do so
• In the morning, one entrance for BGEd students from the playground and one entrance for Senior Phase students at front of school, primarily to aid the distribution of face coverings
• Sanitisers/Spray/Wipes in every teaching space;  with an expectation that students and staff ‘wipe down’ their area at the beginning and end of each lesson
• Clear staff/student 1m distancing expectations,  including clearly identifiable ‘staff only’ areas in classrooms
• An open window policy to improve ventilation;  given the time of year staff will be expected to have their windows open as a default
• Maintenance of processes to monitor CO2 levels in line with Midlothian Council procedures;  our Health & Safety Working Group will monitor reports available from our Facilities Team
• Arrangements around Close Contacts and Self-isolation from 06/01/22 still apply;  for the latest advice click here
• Enhanced and visible cleaning routines,  including cleaning of ‘touch points’ such as door handles, bannisters etc

To support the implementation of the practical measures listed, expectations and routines will be communicated clearly and regularly to all members of our school community; staff, students, parents/carers and partners.

SQA 2022 Exam Diet

Please note that during the exam diet, Tuesday 26^th April to Wednesday 1^st June (inclusive), the following amendment to the above will be applied.  This is essentially to minimise as much as possible noise in the main building.   We will revert,  weather permitting, to a default position of students being outside at interval and lunchtime.  Students will still have access to our canteen and toilets during these breaks.

In addition, and not Covid-19 related, we will maintain our established use of PE Changing Rooms; S1 to S4 students are permitted to come to school dressed for PE on their timetabled ‘Core PE’ days; this means S1 to S4 in School Uniform 4 days out of 5 and S5/6 students in School Uniform every day;  this decision is an acknowledgement that no parent/carer can reasonably be expected to purchase school uniform at this time of year.  We’ll communicate further with parents/carers in the summer term with the expectation that students are fully dress code compliant every day from August.

Tweet  Share on Facebook