News and Views
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Head's Bulletin June 2021
Sun 27 Jun 2021Following our email last week about updated guidance from Liverpool City Council and our local public health about face masks and also reducing end of term activities, we are emailing to update you about the decisions we have made at school about modifying some of our arrangements in keeping with the spirit of the guidance. It is worth pointing out here that the nature of the guidance has changed in recent weeks and a lot more emphasis is put on schools deciding which risks they feel they can reasonably mitigate and which are too difficult to manage sensibly or whether in fact the activity is not particularly socially helpful. However, all events and activities are under regular review and I apologise in advance if we have to cancel or further modify an event either because of significant increase of local transmission or because we have had positive cases at school.
Parents Evenings:
We are going ahead with these as previously advertised. Tuesday 29th June for Lower and Middle School parents evenings from 4.00pm to 8.00pm, and Wednesday 14th July for Upper School. For Middle School, we ask that only one parent attends and please try not to bring your children with you if at all possible, though we recognise this is difficult for the early evening slots. If children do need to come to the Middle School evening, they MUST stay with you at all times. There is a separate letter for the Lower School parents evening. Both parents and staff will be wearing masks for these appointments and are asked to maintain distancing.
Community Picnic: 1st July
Unfortunately we have had to cancel this event as easing of restrictions have been delayed and national regulations only allow gatherings of up to 30 outdoors. We are very sorry indeed to cancel this opportunity for socialising as we have all really missed seeing each other. We will work towards planning another similar event in the new academic year.
The School Play: Little Women
We have also had to modify the number of performances and the audience seating for this event. It will now only be open to parents and close family of cast and crew over two nights, which are Thursday 8th and Friday 9th July, with limited seating and full Covid measures in place. Additionally, however, we are very pleased to have negotiated a paid-for digital license which will enable all our community to view a filmed version of the production on our school website over one weekend in the school holiday. We will let you know exactly which weekend this will be.
Unfortunately, parents are not allowed to film any of the live performances, or download a copy of the website video due to copyright restrictions.
However, we do trust that this arrangement will go some way towards lessening the disappointment of not being able to come to in-person performances. Years 6 to 11 pupils and their teachers will watch their own matinee performance on Wednesday 7th July in the afternoon, but as the production is 3 hours in length, we are not extending this to younger years, though of course anyone can watch the filmed version on the website (on the specified weekend only) as already mentioned.
At this juncture, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the production team, headed up by Mr. Farrington, for bringing this event to fruition in a very challenging year, and also to express my appreciation to all our staff for being so thoughtful and accommodating in supporting this event. The play has brought a real focus for our Upper School pupils at a time when so much of their social and extra curricular experiences have been diminished. The pupils themselves have worked very hard and I know that they have really appreciated the opportunity to immerse themselves in the world of ‘Little Women’. And of course as ever, the costume department have produced the most extraordinary creations for the cast to enjoy wearing and for viewers to admire. Everyone involved in producing costumes, helping with logistics and constructing the magnificent set has given their time generously and freely and we are most grateful for their commitment to our pupils and community.
We have of course accrued some costs which we would normally partially recover through sales of tickets. However, this will not be possible this year, so if any parents or friends would like to make a specific financial contribution to this event, we will be taking up a collection on the evenings of the performance or you can give by bank transfer towards covering licensing fees, professional lighting hire, and production costs. Finally, just to let you know that we will be writing separately to parents of cast and crew to allocate them seating on the evenings of the performance, and we will also let everyone know when the filmed production will be available for viewing online.
Please do continue to pray for us at school. We are planning to continue with all the trips planned as things stand at the moment. However, I am sure you are aware that community infection rates are increasing significantly in Liverpool day by day. Please continue to do twice weekly testing and be very vigilant about symptoms. If anyone in your household tests positive, the whole household must isolate for 10 days and inform us at school by email info@cfschool.org.uk -
Local Covid Considerations
Sun 20 Jun 2021Some of you will be aware that a request was published in the Liverpool Echo on Friday, 18th June, from Steve Reddy, Director of Children’s Services for Liverpool City Council and Matt Ashton, Director of Public Health Liverpool, for schools to increase their measures to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus. In their letter to parents and carers, they have requested the re-introduction of facemasks for adults and secondary pupils in communal areas and classrooms where two metre distancing cannot be maintained. They also say that activities such as transition, assemblies, proms and performances may need to be modified.
In reaching a decision about our response, we have considered the significant increase in cases of the Delta variant locally and the age groups that are most impacted. We have also considered the local authorities’ request in the light of the DfE’s guidance, updated on 18th June, that when considering measures, schools should continue to balance educational drawbacks with benefits in managing transmission. Having taken a range of factors into account, including the high level of double-vaccination among staff, we will advise pupils and staff of this updated recommendation to wear face coverings where it is not possible to maintain a two metre distance from each other but in line with the law, we will not be insisting that all pupils or staff do so, especially those who are exempt on physical or mental health grounds. Where parents or staff consider that there is a significant counter-balancing educational or mental health drawback, we will allow a measure of discretion.
For the forthcoming events to be held in the hall, including the Y8 Celebration event on 21st June, we are putting in place a significant range of mitigating measures, including a ceiling on the number of people attending events that is well below that required by government guidance, close stewarding of the movement of people in the hall and during toilet breaks, seating arrangements that ensure social distancing, good ventilation and enhanced cleaning procedures in the hall and toilet areas. We are also asking those attending these events as part of the audience or as stewards to wear a face covering unless they have an exemption.
We believe that these measures will considerably reduce the risk of virus transmission and social contact that could result in isolation orders, whilst still enabling the young people to benefit from activities and events that will boost their overall mental, physical and spiritual wellbeing. We are aware that there are a range of views within the community about how the needs and interests of different groups and individuals should be balanced but we trust that we can maintain mutual respect and consideration for one another at this challenging time. We will also be monitoring the situation closely and may need to adapt our response as circumstances change.
If you wish to discuss this further, please email the office at info@cfschool.org.uk, marking it for my attention. -
Head's Bulletin June 2021
Wed 09 Jun 2021I trust that families are enjoying a great half term together with the added bonus of lovely weather and I would particularly like to thank the whole school community for their ongoing support over these past weeks. We are grateful that we have not had any pupils or staff off with Covid-19 or needing to isolate as a result of close contacts. Please continue twice weekly testing over the holidays (staff and years 7-11) and let us know by email if your children have symptoms or test positive. This is going to be an ongoing requirement as restrictions ease and will be especially important if numbers of positive cases increase in the community.
School reopens for pupils on Wednesday 9th June, after INSET days on Monday 7th and Tuesday 8th June.
In this bulletin, I would like to highlight a number of items of information for your consideration:- Uniform: we still have a lot of children who are wearing PE shoes to school. Please make sure that all children from years 7-11 are in school shoes by the beginning of next half term unless they have a medical reason for wearing PE shoes.
- Safe travel to and from school: for those who use buses and trains, please be advised that the city council safeguarding team have recently informed us that some young people have been approached inappropriately by adults in the Kensington and Newsham Park areas. Please make sure that your child takes well-used and popular routes for walking or travelling home and that they are well rehearsed about what to do if they are unsure about someone approaching them.
- School Parking: you will remember that we emailed you a couple of weeks ago to let you know about some roadworks which will be starting at the top of Overbury Street for up to 12 weeks. We are very pleased that pedestrian crossings are going to be installed here which will make things much safer for us all in the long term. However, in the short term, the roadworks will cause delay and disruption. Please allow extra time to arrive at school in the mornings and to collect your children in the afternoons. Please do not park on Overbury Street by school. We are not allowed to leave cars unattended even for a quick pick up.
- After School pick up: we would like to remind parents about two issues that regularly occur at collection time in the afternoon. The first is prompt collection as there is a direct impact on teacher time at the end of the day if children are not collected promptly. The second is that we do not allow children, including toddlers, to play on the grass hill to the side of the building. There is a real risk of fall and injury and the children themselves know not to play on the hill during school break times. We would really appreciate parents making sure all their children are supervised at the end of the day and do not play on the grassy hill.
- School trips: we are planning a range of school trips for all classes over the final half term of the academic year. We are very aware that children have missed out on these kinds of enrichment activities and have tried to plan trips that will address important areas of curriculum and will also have an element of fun and adventure. You will hear separately from class teachers or trip organisers about these in due course. Please send money into school promptly, ideally in an envelope marked with the child’s name and trip. We are still trying to minimise parents coming into the school, so please send these in with your children to be passed to the form teacher, or use our bank details to transfer money for bigger amounts. These details will be made available on individual trips letters.
- School Events: we are planning for in-person parents' evenings next half term. The Lower School and Middle School parents' evening will take place on Tuesday 29th June, and the Upper School parents' evening for Years 9 & 10 on Wednesday 14th July. We are also having our Year 8 Celebration Evening on Monday 21st June, and our Reception Welcome Afternoon on Wednesday 7th July. Please note that our first parent event is the Year 3 Transition for parents on Wednesday 16th June at 2pm in the school hall. All these events are permitted at the moment according to Covid guidance, which we will continue to observe in terms of maintaining distance, hand washing and ventilation, although these restrictions may have been relaxed by the time the meetings take place.
In addition, we would really value your prayers and understanding during the two weeks to 18th June, as I undertake the important task of internal quality assuring the GCSE Teacher Assessed Grades in my role as Head of Upper School and Exams Officer. This is a hugely time-consuming task, which now falls to schools rather than exam boards, and has to be done to a high standard, prior to external Quality Assurance in the second half of June.
Finally, there are two main events which we are working and planning towards at the end of the School year, as mentioned previously. The first is a family picnic on Thursday 1st July straight after school; this is however weather dependent. The second is our long-awaited school play ‘Little Women’ over four evenings from Tuesday 6th July to Friday 9th July. At the moment we are planning audience seating for socially distanced family groups and therefore our ticket capacity is quite reduced. We will be in touch shortly after half term with more details. If restrictions are relaxed we may be able to release more tickets.
As you can see, the next half term is looking very busy, so do pray for strength, health and stamina for us all and that we will know God's protection and blessing.