SNMAT Letter To Parents

The following update, written by the CEO of SNMAT, has been sent out to our families on Class Dojo today. It can also be found in the 'Letters' section of the website:

Dear Parents and Carers,

I am writing to provide you with a final update of this academic year, before academies close for the summer break later this week.

You will know that all SNMAT partner academies will be fully open in the new academic year; we are very much looking forward to welcoming all pupils back. What is clear, however, is that things will not be back to normal at this stage and that parts of the school day will be different. Headteachers and senior staff have been working to ensure that the academy is as safe as it can be for children and staff. Risk assessments are either already in place, or are very close to completion.

There are a few pieces of information that I think you will find useful at this stage:

The government’s guidance for September states that children must be grouped into ‘bubbles’. Each of these represents a group which has limited mixing with other ‘bubbles’. The size of these ‘bubbles’ depends on the context of the academy and is impacted by, for example, how many toilets there are on the academy site.
The ‘bubbles’ method means that children’s experience of break and lunchtime will be very different to what they have been accustomed to in the past. They will only be able to play and socialise within their own ‘bubble’.
Classrooms will look quite different in September. Desks will be set out so that children can be seated apart during their lessons, with all desks facing the same way.
The government’s guidance is very clear that, in the event of a single, postive test for COVID-19 of a pupil or member of staff at the academy, the local Health Protection Team will be informed and they will determine the response. It is very likely that, if this happens, all pupils within the affected bubble will be required to self-isolate at home for 14 days. Clearly, we very much hope that this does not happen but I am sure that you would wish to understand what the consequences of an isolated case might mean.
In the event of a local community outbreak, the local Health Protection Team are likely to close all local schools to pupils other than those who are vulnerable and the children of critical workers. This would see us return to the way that we had to operate in April and May of this year. Once again, we very much hope that this does not come to pass.

Breaking News… Destination September is now live!!

You may remember that when I last wrote to you, I mentioned a catch-up programme of learning for primary pupils. The team of teachers who have been working on this have now completed the programme and it is now live. I would ask you all to encourage your children to make use of this resource during the summer break – it really will help them to be ready for the return in September. The programme is called ‘Destination September’. This can be accessed by clicking on the link below, or by simply visiting the SNMAT website:

https://www.snmat.org.uk/destination-september/

Finally, can I remind you that the INSET days in September are:

1^st September
2^nd September
25^th September

Please take very good care of yourselves and your loved ones over the summer break. I very much look forward to the autumn term when we will start, in earnest, the journey back towards normality.

Yours faithfully,

Chris Moodie

Chief Executive Officer

Diocese of Southwell & Nottingham Multi Academy Trust (SNMAT)