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Plan for reopening
2 articles
Communicate with your school community
- Coronavirus: staff worried about coming into school If you have staff who are worried about being in school whilst there's an increased risk of coronavirus in your area, here's an overview of their rights and how you can approach concerns they raise about not wanting to come into school.
- School reopening: reassuring parents that their child is safe Parents will be understandably concerned about their children coming back to school. Find out how to get a handle on how they're feeling, tailor your messaging and make them feel as reassured as possible – whenever their children are returning.
11 articles
Keep pupils and staff safe
- Coronavirus: extended provision risk assessment Use our risk assessment to help you set the protective measures you have in place for your extended provision, such as after-school and breakfast clubs.
- Coronavirus: how to manage drop offs and pick ups By now you’ll have put measures in place to help keep pupils, staff and parents safe as they enter and leave your school. We've highlighted some common issues schools are experiencing and provided practical solutions to help you tweak your system. Download our template letter to update parents on any changes you're making.
- Poll results: wearing face coverings when your secondary school reopens Have your say and find out what other secondary school leaders are saying.
- School reopening: how to deliver assemblies to multiple groups The DfE has advised against mixing groups of pupils in large gatherings such as assemblies or collective worship. Here are some alternative solutions for when you want to bring your whole school together.
- School reopening: how to keep office staff safe If you have office staff who need to work on-site, be clear what measures you should have in place for them, such as social distancing.
- School reopening: how to mark pupils' work safely Learn how to approach marking safely when your school reopens in September. Consider alternatives to written marking so that you can reduce contact with pupils’ work where possible.
- School reopening: how to reduce contact at busy hotspots Find out how to minimise opportunities for contact on site, including creating smaller class groups and setting up one-way systems. Plus get advice on how to keep on top of cleaning and hygiene practices.
- School reopening: how to run your autumn term parents' evening Due to coronavirus, it's unlikely you'll be able to run a face-to-face parents' evening this autumn term. Find out how to organise a virtual parents' evening instead, and see an example from a school that's hosted one.
- School reopening: how to safely run interventions (primary) Learn how to safely run interventions when your primary school reopens, so that you can provide effective targeted support for pupils while sticking to social distancing guidelines.
- School reopening: pupil hygiene and wellbeing posters Use our child-friendly posters on health and hygiene around your school. They'll help you reduce the risk of coronavirus spreading and signpost pupils to where they can go if they're struggling with settling back in to school.
- School reopening: template equality impact assessment Use our template to help you consider how your approach to reopening may disproportionately impact different groups of people in your school, on the basis of characteristics like race, disability and gender.
2 articles
Learn lessons from lockdown
- School reopening: how are you applying what you've learnt in lockdown to improve your provision in September? Share a change you've made to adapt to running your school remotely that will influence how you do things going forward, and help other school leaders reflect on how to use lessons from lockdown to improve provision over the long term, too.
- School reopening: how to apply what you've learned during lockdown to improve your school See how the changes you’ve made to adapt during this turbulent period can help you improve learning, parental engagement and staff wellbeing as you prepare for September. With suggestions from Patrick Ottley-O'Connor at North Liverpool Academy, and other school leaders across the country.
7 articles
Settle pupils back into school
- Coronavirus addendum to your exclusion policy: model Download and adapt our model addendum - it covers temporary changes to the exclusion process during coronavirus.
- Coronavirus: contingency planning You're legally required to provide remote education if pupils need it. Find out what your remote learning contingency plan should cover and how to put it together.
- School reopening: how to reestablish routines and expectations As more pupils return to school, you won't be wanting to jump into learning straight away. Get tips on settling your pupils into their 'new normal' school routines so they feel safe, know what your behaviour expectations are and can successfully re-adjust to school life.
- School reopening: providing high-quality outdoor learning Learning outdoors makes it easier to maintain social distancing – and it supports pupils’ wellbeing too. Find out how to make the best use of whatever outdoor space you have and safely deliver high-quality outdoor lessons. Download our checklist of equipment staff will need as they take the classroom outside.
- School reopening: rebuilding relationships between pupils and staff As more pupils return to school, get advice to help them rebuild trusting relationships with school staff and each other.
- School reopening: supporting pupil mental health Before you start teaching your curriculum again, you'll be trying to make sure your pupils are emotionally settled and feel secure at school. Find out how you can identify your pupils’ mental health needs and support them whenever they return to school.
- School reopening: supporting pupils with SEND to transition back to school Find out how to help pupils with SEND get back into school life and adjust to the ‘new normal’, including tips on adapting instructions and conversations to have. You know your pupils best, so pick the approaches that work best for their needs.