No change to the end of term
You may have seen news reports that schools have been offered a "day off" at the end of this term. It has been also been reported inaccurately in a number of newspapers as a day off for school staff.
The latest government announcement regarding a training day on 18th December is late and unhelpful.
The suggestion that schools finish on 17th and have an INSET day on 18th causes disruption for families and brings issues of childcare which we are keen to avoid.
The last minute offer of a change of date also suggests an INSET day is a holiday and not part of crucial time for staff to plan together. It also conceals the national intention for staff (particularly SLT) to still be on call for track and trace if alerted to a positive case.
Our INSET day has already been planned for weeks and our focus on 4th January is on blended learning, mental health and neurodiversity. We do not want this disrupted.
Our senior team will be monitoring any alerts of confirmed cases. It is clear that we will deeply regret having to contact any families to self-isolate as a result of contact at school, but we will undertake our responsibility to contact where necessary. This will continue up to Christmas Eve.
We plan to make no change to the end of term. We will finish at 11.50am for years eight and nine and at 12.00pm for all other years.