Phase 2 Return to School arrangements

From Monday 15th March:

• All L4-7 Pupils will return to In-school learning full time.
• All F4-6 Pupils will return to in-school learning full time, with a strict 2m physical distancing observed.
• F1-3 will spend two full days, each week, in-school learning at Mayfield. Strict 2m physical distancing will be applied indoors. Online Learning from home will continue for F1-3 when they are not in school.

As has been the case throughout the pandemic, the safety and wellbeing of the whole community in our care remains our top priority and has been at the forefront of our thoughts as we have planned our Phase 2 return. In addition, we have worked hard to identify and find solutions for the specific needs of the pupils in our different stages.

As they return to school, we will be paying particularly close attention to the wellbeing of all of our pupils and ensuring that we continue to respond to their needs.

F4-F6
Government guidance has asked schools to prioritise the in-school return of F4-F6 pupils and through careful planning we will be able to welcome back all our pupils in these year groups full-time. We are very much aware of the fact that F4-F6 pupils require as much face-to-face teaching as possible to prepare for certification – a crucial stage in the school careers of all young people - this session. We have prioritised the use of our City Centre campus for this purpose. All classes will run as timetabled, but with room changes. 

L4-L7
Children in L1-L3 returned to in-school learning on February 22nd, and from Monday pupils in L4-L7 will join them. Detailed arrangements for the safe and smooth return of our L4-L7 pupils have been shared with HSD parents. We are very much looking forward to having all our Junior Years pupils back in school again. We will be continuing to ensure that all the ‘bubbles’ and ‘blocks’ which we set up during the Autumn term are maintained to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all.

F1-F3
For all year groups, during lockdown we have worked extremely hard to deliver the very best, comprehensive online learning experience. Our pupils have engaged with this extremely positively and we are confident that they are pretty much on track with their learning, so the coming weeks will be about filling any gaps in their knowledge. We are conscious though of how much our F1-F3 pupils have been missing the opportunity to learn alongside their friends, and also, of the need for them to re-establish a number of routines as they return to school full-time next term. We have therefore made separate arrangements for F1-3 to return to School for two full days per week until the Easter holidays. Learning will take place at Mayfield, and, in addition to a teaching block with English and Maths, will feature PE, Games, and PSHE/Guidance activities, capitalising on the wellbeing benefits of outdoor learning whenever possible. Much of the focus will be on the pastoral recovery which is so critical to all aspects of their learning. The pupils will be able to prioritise re-engaging with their friends and their teachers. This will, we believe, be very beneficial from a wellbeing perspective and good preparation for the full time return to In-School learning on April 12th.

The other three days a week, pupils in these year groups will continue with online learning from home, with timetabled live lessons in place.

Careful planning
As a result of a thorough ongoing planning process throughout the pandemic, we have been able to quickly adapt to meet the latest government guidelines to ensure that all children in the Nursery, Junior Years and all F4-F6 pupils are fully back in school every day from 15th March, as well as enabling all of our F1-3 pupils to enjoy two full days at our Mayfield campus each week.

During summer 2020, we developed plans to enable the school to operate at full capacity while catering for a range of different scenarios, including with 2m physical distancing in place. We have revisited and updated these plans to ensure the safety of all members of the school community.

Upon the full return to school in August 2020 we introduced a range of enhanced safety and hygiene measures, installed additional hand-washing facilities, increased the teaching space we have available to us by leasing the adjacent Royal Exchange Building, introduced one-way systems and pupil bubbles and blocks, and implemented a number of other logistical and organisational changes to allow a full timetable to operate. In addition to maintaining these measures:

• There will be strict 2m physical distancing indoors for all F1-F6 pupils.
• All pupils in F1-6 will be required to wear a face covering when they are in class, moving around the buildings and on school buses. All Junior Years pupils will also need to wear a face covering on school buses.
• All staff and F4-6 pupils will be offered twice weekly lateral flow testing for home use. This will be extended to F1-3 from the start of the Summer Term.
• There will be a focus on ensuring that all classrooms and shared spaces are properly ventilated, and this will be closely monitored to ensure optimum levels.

Our school buses will operate in line with Government guidance.

For a variety of reasons, some of our pupils will continue with fully supported online learning from home full-time, with a place kept for them in the classroom so that they can return when they are able to do so.

Further detail on the Return to School arrangements has been issued to parents this week.

As per current Government guidance, all pupils will return to the High School full time following the Easter holidays (12th April at the High School of Dundee).

Rector Lise Hudson said, “The national Phase 2 return to school has provided all schools with the challenge of trying to accommodate large numbers of pupils whilst at the same time operating within very important safety guidelines.

“However, the fact that we are able to maximise the time that our young people can spend engaged in In-School learning in this way, is a result of a combination of long-term planning and a great deal of intense hard work over the last weeks and months.

“We have worked hard to identify and put in place plans to address the varying issues which our young people will be facing, whilst also ensuring that safety remains our number 1 overriding priority.

“I am hugely indebted to all members of the school community for working together to create and sustain the very best learning experience possible for our young people, and I look forward very much to the day – which is now very close on the horizon – that the whole school can be together full-time again.”