Nursery and Pre School Seniors Melville Avenue, South , CR2 7YN Old Palace Road, Croydon, CR0 1AX t: 020 8688 2027 t: 020 8688 2027 Preparatory Sixth Form Melville Avenue, , CR2 7YN Old Palace Road, Croydon, CR0 1AX t: 020 8688 2027 t: 020 8688 2027

Mrs Jane Burton, Head

[email protected] Dear Parents www.oldpalace.croydon.sch.uwww.oldpalace.croydon.sch.uk Re: Full Reopening of Senior School and Return for all Year Groups I am writing to confirm arrangements for the full reopening of the Senior School from Thursday 3 September when we will look forward to welcoming pupils back on site full time. As I am sure you are aware, now the prevalence of coronavirus has decreased and the NHS Test and Trace system is in place, it is the government’s plan for all pupils, in all year groups, to return to school full-time from the beginning of the autumn term. We have been following the most recent government guidance to help us to prepare for this, adapting our existing protective measures that have been in place since June thereby reducing the risk to the lowest reasonably practicable level. As part of planning for the full return of all pupils in the autumn term, we have fulfilled our legal requirement to revisit and update our risk assessments, which are located on our school website. As a reminder, Year 7-12 start on Thursday 3 September. Year 8 – 12 are welcome to arrive on site from 8am, while Year 7 are welcome to arrive from 8.40 for a 9am start. On Friday 4 September, Year 13 will attend School for form time and have meetings in the morning, going home at lunchtime. Year 6 will come to Senior School on the afternoon of Friday 4 September for an afternoon of induction and can be collected from their allocated gate listed below. Year 6 will start lessons on Monday 7 September.

Preparing before School Starts All staff will be trained in the processes and procedures we have put in place to keep all members of our community safe from Covid. We will ensure that training and information is provided to pupils as they return to school – including a video for them to watch at home before School starts which will explain how the school day will work for them. We will also take them through key points on their first day in School. We will also make sure that there are visual and verbal reminders of the key methods of staying safe: washing hands regularly for at least 20 Seconds, the ‘Catch it, Bin it, Kill it’ method and keeping socially distant. The School Day

Year Group Bubbles Each Year Group will be treated as a discrete ‘bubble’ and as such, during the normal School day, they will be kept as separate as possible from other year groups. Year groups have been allocated form rooms or common rooms for their exclusive use at break and lunchtime and, where possible, have also been allocated an area of outside space. In Years 6 & 7, pupils will be taught in their form groups for all lessons. The majority of their lessons will also be taught in their form rooms with movement being restricted to those lessons that need a specialist teaching space. continued...

Old Palace of School is part of the John , registered charity number 312612. continued...

In Years 8 & 9 pupils will be taught in their form groups for the majority of their subjects with exceptions being made for those in which they are already in a set. Again, the majority of their lessons will also be taught in their form rooms with movement being restricted to those lessons that need a specialist teaching space. As in Years 10, 11, 12 & 13 pupils are following individual GCSE or A Level programmes of study, they will have lessons with different groups of students within their own year groups. They will also be moving around the site and must therefore use the hand sanitiser provided by doors and wear their face coverings during transitions.

Movement around the school In order to ensure movement around the school site and passing in the corridor or playground is kept to a minimum, we have introduced one-way systems around particular areas of the School. Students who are moving to a lesson or going to lunch should follow the signage or the one-way systems. These are in operation in parts of the Cathedral, Jubilee and Main buildings. In the Shah building, students must stay on the indicated side of the stairs. Students will also need to wear face coverings when moving between lessons.

Arrival Procedures We will be using a range of entrances to keep student social distanced as they arrive at school. These gates will be opened at 8am and have a staff member on duty to ensure hands are sanitised on arrival and public transport face coverings removed. If a student arrives before their gate is open from Friday 4 September, they should go to the Shah building, where a staff member will be on duty from 7.30, and attend the before school provision. Parents are reminded that if they are dropping their child at school, that they should remain in the car or, if walking, say goodbye a good distance from the gate. Entry points and times are listed below: Year Group Entrance Gate Open Year 6 Church Road Gate 8am Year 7 Chestnut Gate 8am Year 8 Chestnut Gate 8am Year 9 Fire Exit on Old Palace Road 8am Year 10 Visitor’s Gate 8am Year 11 Jubilee Door & Visitor’s Gate 8am Year 12 Shah Building 7.30 Year 13 Shah Building 7.30

If a student arrives before their gate is open from Friday 4 September, they should go to the Shah building, where a staff member will be on duty from 7.30, and attend the before school provision. Year 6 Parents: Please note that the Church Road gate is behind the Shah building and not near the Visitor’s entrance. This entrance is clearly labelled as a Year 6 entry and collection point.

Late Arrivals If a student is late to School, regardless of their year group, they should come to the Visitor’s Gate and buzz reception to be let in. They will be asked to sanitise their hands and then registered, before proceeding to their classroom.

continued... Departure Procedures To allow a greater stagger at the end of the day, Years 9-13 will leave from their last lesson rather than return to afternoon registration. Details are listed below: Year Group Exit Gate Departure Time Year 6 Church Road Gate 15.45 Year 7 Chestnut Gate 15.45 Year 8 Visitor’s Gate 15.45 Year 9 Depart from Gate Nearest to Lesson 15.40 Year 10 Depart from Gate Nearest to Lesson 15.40 Year 11 Depart from Gate Nearest to Lesson 15.40 Year 12 Depart from Gate Nearest to Lesson 15.40 Year 13 Depart from Gate Nearest to Lesson 15.40

For Year 6 -8, while they are awaiting collection, they will stay in their playground until they are aware of parents arrival in order that the teacher on duty can help with social distancing. If a student is attending the after-school provision, a student should make their way to the Guard Room Traveling to and from School by Public Transport Although students are encouraged to walk or cycle to School, if they are using public transport, it is now compulsory for secondary age children to wear face covering. These face masks must be removed and placed in a plastic bag on arrival at School to prevent the risk of contamination,

Minibuses We will be resuming the minibus service and families using this service will have already been contacted by the School. Safety measures will include: • where possible, seating of pupils to reflect the bubbles that are adopted within school • use of hand sanitiser upon boarding and disembarking • additional cleaning of vehicles • organised queuing and boarding where possible • distancing within vehicles where possiblehe use of face coverings will be compulsory for Senior School Pupils

A full minibus risk assessment can be found on the school website.

Before School Provision From Friday 4 September, before School provision will be available from 7.30 and will be held in the Dining room. Students in the provision will be sat in their year group bubble separated from other year groups. All students making use of this provision must wear a mask. The breakfast facility will still be available. Please note that the Before School Provision will not be available on Thursday 3 September.

After-School Supervision A separate letter asking parents to sign their daughter up to the after-school provision will be sent to parents Tuesday 1 September to allow us to make sure that students are given space to socially distance and be fully supervised. Those who take the School minibus do not need to complete the form. continued... After-school provision will continue to be offered from the end of the school day till 5.30 pm. Students will be required to wear face coverings during this time. Students will be sat in their year group bubbles and separated from other year groups. This will take place in the Guard Room but will also include other rooms to allow for appropriate distancing.

Academic Lessons All Year groups will be taught the full range of subjects in their normal curriculum including practical subjects and swimming. We have put in place enhanced cleaning procedures to ensure that the handling or use of specialist equipment or spaces is Covid-safe. This will include measures like a full clean of the swimming pool changing room between groups. Some adaptions to the curriculum have been made in practical subjects to ensure that they adhere to government guidelines covering subjects like Music and PE. Where Year groups are taught in their form rooms (Years 6-9), teachers will move to these classrooms so your daughter is taught by their regular subject teachers in a consistent room. Homework will be set in all subjects in line with the new homework policy which will be communicated to parents during the week starting 7 September. For Year 7, they will not have homework until after the October half-term to allow them to focus on settling in and forming new friendships. For Year 6, 8 & 9, they will be set homework from the third week of term, giving them time to adjust to the routines of School. For Year 10 to 13, homework will be set as appropriate for the GCSE or A Level programme of study.

Catering Arrangements & Water To adhere to the enhanced cleaning protocols required around eating and to keep year groups separate where possible, we have adapted our lunch timings and food offer. We will stagger lunchtimes and will be offering a range of sandwiches or a salad box rather than hot food. Those who bring packed lunch will still eat in the dining room with the rest of their year group.

Years 6-9 The rota for the dining room is as follows: Session Time Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Session 1 11.55-12.20 Year 6 & 7 Year 8 Year 6 & 7 Year 6 & 7 Year 6 & 7 Session 2 12.25–12.50 Year 8 Year 6 & 7 Year 8 Year 8 Year 8 Session 3 12.50–13.15 Year 9 Year 9 Year 9 Year 9 Year 9

Please note that students who have lunch during session 1 will return to their period 3 lesson at 13.00 ensuring that they do not miss any teaching time despite the earlier lunch. Protocols for the dining room: • Students will be supervised sanitising their hands on entry and exit • Students with pack lunch will funnel through the left-hand side of the servery doors and walk up the left- hand wall • Students collecting School Lunch will queue up on the right-hand side • Students will sit facing the same direction, but can sit side by side • Students will sit in their designated zones.

continued... Years 10–13 Years 10 & 11 will eat in their form rooms while Years 12 & 13 will eat in their separate common rooms. The Year 12 Common Room will be located in Ramsay. Each Year group will have a separate and designated collection point for their sandwiches. They are as follows: Year Group Location Time Year 10 Outside Acykbowm 12.25-12.40 Year 11 Shah Foyer 12.30 -12.40 Year 12 Outside Year 12 Common Room 12.25 Year 13 Outside Year 13 Common Room 12.25 Please note that students who have lunch during session 1 will return to their period 3 lesson at 13.00 ensuring that they do not miss any teaching time despite the earlier lunch. Protocols for the dining room • Students will be supervised sanitising their hands on entry and exit • Students with pack lunch will funnel through the left-hand side of the servery doors and walk up the left- hand wall • Students collecting School Lunch will queue up on the right-hand side • Students will sit facing the same direction, but can sit side by side • Students will sit in their designated zones.

The Food Offer A weekly menu will be produced and students will order their lunch in advance. Ordering of food will take place during form time. Their selection for the week will be printed and put up in their form room and outside the dining room. Across a week, the types of bread and filling will vary to make sure that the students have a varied and balanced diet. Their sandwich or salad choice will then be packaged with additional snack items which, again, will vary across the week. We will of course take into account dietary requirements of students and those with allergies will be given adapted versions if necessary. Once the lunch offer has been running for two full weeks, we will seek student feedback to make sure that the offer is meeting their needs and make changes to the offer from this feedback.

Water All students must bring a full bottle of water with them to school. To prevent contamination, students will not be able to use water fountains to get a drink or refill their water bottle. Additional water will be served in disposable cups in the dining room. Years 12 & 13 have access to drinking water in their common room and Year 10 and 11 will have supervised access to a suitable fountain where they can refill water bottles.

continued... Mobile Phones The normal protocols for mobile phones have been suspended for hygiene reasons. Any mobile phones that are brought into school must be kept in the student’s bag and will not be collected by a teacher. Responsibility for looking after the device will be the student’s so they should make sure they bring a secure lock for their lockers so their bag can be locked inside while not with the student. In Year 6 -11, mobile phones must not be used during the School day and sanctions will be given for those breaking these rules.

Extracurricular Activities & Clinics We are planning for clubs and clinics to start later in September. Clubs and Clinics will have to maintain the consistency of Year group bubbles. Further details and a full club list will be available shortly after the start of term. We are aiming to publish club details on the week commencing 21 September.

Trips As we advised last term, there will be no school trips of any sort for the first half-term. We will continue to monitor guidance and advise parents of any change to this position in good time. We will continue to plan school trips for dates into 2021 and offer these opportunities to pupils when guidance permits.

Resources from Home We ask that you limit the amount of equipment that your daughter brings to school each day to essential items only. She should bring her snack, water bottle, school bag with stationary, and her reading book or Kindle.

The School Site

Classroom Layout and Resources We have adapted our classrooms so that all pupils will be facing forward and teachers will be 2 metres distant from pupils at the front of the classroom. Each classroom will have hand sanitiser available and a pack of wipes. When students enter the class they will be instructed to sanitise their hands, pick up a wipe and wipe the desk that they will sit at. In computer rooms and music MAC room, students will need to use the wipe to clean their area including the keyboard and mouse.

Prevention Control We require pupils and/or staff who have travelled from countries that currently require a 14 day quarantine period to have adhered to the Government guidance and completed. Pupils, staff and other adultsmust not come into the school if they have coronavirus (COVID-19) symptoms, or have tested positive in at least the last 10 days. Anyone that develops these symptoms during the school day will be sent home and will be advised to follow.

continued... Cleaning Enhance and more regular cleaning will take place throughout the day. Cleaners will ensure frequently touched surfaces like bannisters, door handles and light switches are regularly cleaned. There will also be additional cleaning of classrooms and toilets during the day. Classroom-based resources, such as books can be used and shared within the bubble; these will be cleaned regularly, along with all frequently touched surfaces. Resources that are shared between classes or bubbles, like sports equipment, will be cleaned frequently and meticulously after each use or rotated to allow them to be left unused and out of reach for a period of 48 hours (72 hours for plastics).

Visitors Visitors to the site will be limited to essential key contractors. Physical distancing and hygiene guidance will be explained to visitors on or before arrival. Where possible, visits will be arranged outside of school hours. A record will be kept of all visitors. Where an urgent meeting with a parent needs to take place on site, these will be limited to one parents, one member of staff and the child if appropriate. Where possible, meetings will be carried out by remote means.

Medical Care and Hygiene

Medical Care If a student or staff member becomes unwell with a new, continuous cough or a high temperature whilst at school, they will be sent home and told to ‘stay at home: guidance for households with possible or confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) infection’, which sets out that they should self-isolate for at least 10 days and should arrange to have a test to see if they have coronavirus. If they have tested positive whilst not experiencing symptoms, but develop symptoms during the isolation period, they should restart the 10 day isolation period from the day they develop symptoms. Other members of the household (including any siblings) should self-isolate for 14 days from the day when the symptomatic person first had symptoms. If a pupil develops symptoms and is awaiting collection, she will wait in the medical room and will be supervised by a member of staff that is first aid trained. This room has an adjoining bathroom. This bathroom will be cleaned and disinfected using standard cleaning products after use. A window will be opened for ventilation. PPE must be worn by the member of staff caring for the pupil while they await collection if a distance of 2 metres cannot be maintained (such as for a very young child or a child with complex needs). As is usual practice in an emergency, we will call 999 if a pupil is seriously ill or injured or their health is at serious risk. We are planning to respond to any Infection by: • Engaging with the NHS Test and Trace process • Managing confirmed cases of coronavirus amongst the school community • Containing any outbreak by following local health protection team advice.

continued... Uniform In line with current Government Guidance, Years 6 – 11 should wear their school uniform to school. However, on days when the students have PE or Dance they should wear the relevant sports uniform for the full day, making sure that legging or tracksuits are worn. Changing facilities will not be available. Years 12-13 should wear clothes that conform to the Sixth Form dress code and can be easily cleaned.

Hygiene We are planning to prevent the spread of the coronavirus by implementing the following measures: • Minimising contact with individuals who are unwell by ensuring that those who have coronavirus symptoms, or who have someone in their household who does, do not attend school. Any absences should be reported to the school office, as soon as possible. • Cleaning hands thoroughly & more often than usual • Ensuring good respiratory hygiene by promoting the ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ approach • Ensuring enhanced cleaning, including regular cleaning of frequently touched surfaces using standard products, such as detergents and bleach. Cleaning staff will be available throughout the day • Minimising contact between individuals and maintaining social distancing wherever possible • Where necessary, wearing appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE).

Face Coverings In light of the Government’s recent update to their guidance on face coverings, we will be asking pupils to wear masks in communal areas like corridors when moving between lessons and queueing for lunch. They will not, however, wear them in lessons. If, however, a student has a valid medical reason and needs to wear one, please contact their Head of Year. Staff who require a face covering in the classroom will wear a visor so that pupils can still see their mouths and their voice is not inhibited. Safe wearing of face coverings requires cleaning of hands before and after touching – including to remove or put them on – and the safe storage of them in individual, sealable plastic bags between use. Where a face covering becomes damp, it should not be worn and the face covering should be replaced carefully. We would ask that pupils provide their own face coverings.

Pupils who are shielding or self-isolating • a small number of pupils will still be unable to attend in line with public health advice because they are self-isolating and have had symptoms or a positive test result themselves or because they are in contact with someone who has coronavirus • shielding advice for all adults and children was paused in August. This means that even the small number of pupils who will remain on the shielded patient list can also return to school, as can those who have family members who are shielding. Read the current advice on shielding here • if rates of the disease rise in local areas, children (or family members) from that area, and that area only, will be advised to shield during the period where rates remain high and therefore, they may be temporarily absent • some pupils no longer required to shield but who generally remain under the care of a specialist health professional may need to discuss their care with their health professional before returning to school (usually at their next planned clinical appointment). You can find more advice from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health at COVID-19 - ‘shielding’ guidance for children and young people’.

continued... Remote Learning Plan Where a pupil is unable to attend school because they are complying with clinical and/or public health advice, we will provide remote education. Remote learning will also be used in the case of a local lockdown. We plan to ensure any pupils that need to be educated at home for some of the time are given the support they need.

Student Wellbeing and Support We understand that the girls may be experiencing a variety of emotions in response to the coronavirus outbreak, such as anxiety, stress or low mood. We also understand that other girls will have enjoyed being at home and will be reluctant to return. We will be providing additional form time to support the pupils in re-adjusting to school. If you have any particular concerns regarding how your daughter will adjust to returning to school, please contact her Head of Year. The government has recommended a recorded webinar on mental health and wellbeing produced by MindEd: https://www.minded.org.uk/Component/Details/446741 We will also be supporting the girls to understand the behavioural expectations regarding restrictions on movement within school and new hygiene rules including the ‘bin it, catch it, kill it’ approach. I would also like to reassure parents that those students with SEND needs will be given special considerations and adjustments to make sure that no adjustments made to meet Covid guidelines will impeded their education. We appreciate that this has been an extremely difficult time for many of our families and want to thank you for your ongoing support. We are really looking forward to welcoming your daughter back to school in September. Please feel free to share the contents of this letter with your daughter. A student friendly version of this letter and a video guide on the return to school will be shared with all pupils on Tuesday 1 September. Current students will receive this via their School email accounts. New starters will receive it via parent contact details. If you have any questions or require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Kind regards Inga Sinclair