Dear Parent/Carer
Firstly, many thanks for your support and cooperation in ensuring that the return to school has been smooth and positive for our young people. We do hope that you and all of our school community are keeping well during this time. We are delighted with the way that our pupils have returned to school and the level of maturity with which they have dealt with the new school routines. Our new Year 7 cohort have settled in so well considering they did not have the opportunity to visit SJP prior to joining in September. They are a credit to the school, themselves and you for the way in which they have conducted themselves over the last week.
We will continue to keep you fully updated as much and as often as we possibly can. As you will appreciate, guidance is changing on a daily basis. With this in mind, there are a number of things that I would like to draw your attention to.
- We have been alerted to some disturbing posts on social media that are circulating and in particular a post which has been shared on TikTok. We would encourage you to be mindful and regularly check what your child is accessing on social media and the consider the impact this may have on their mental health. I have provided a link to the latest BBC news story which shares more detail on the information on these latest concerns. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-54069650
- The use of face masks is currently voluntary in school, however, it is compulsory on public transport. Staff on duty at the end of the school day have noticed that pupils have not been wearing their masks. During our supervision on all buses we have been encouraging children to wear these at all times. Could we please ask you to speak with your child regarding the use of face masks on public transport and ensure that they are wearing them at all times.
- We continue to experience technical issues with Parent Mail and our bio metric system. We have been working tirelessly with the software providers to resolve these issues. Please be mindful that transactions may be showing as pending on Parent Mail and that daily lunch spending will be deducted from the balance of accounts as soon as the system is up and running. We will continue to pursue this issue as a matter of urgency and keep you updated.
- Update from Merseytravel – There are staff on hand each evening from Merseytravel monitoring school buses. The Government guidelines differ for school buses across the country from those of public buses. While social distancing is required on public buses this is not required on school buses. Merseytravel staff will continue to monitor the number of pupils on buses for the remainder of this week. I have recently been advised that additional 38 and 410 buses should be running for schools. These buses will have the letter S marked on them and are only for use by school children. They have requested that we let parents know that should a usual 410/38 bus go past their child there should be an additional bus which follows marked with an S that will pick school pupils up. Should you have any concerns please do let us know and we would encourage you to share all concerns with Merseytravel who are responsible for all buses which serve our school.
- Can I also please ask that you remind your child about the importance of good behaviour when travelling to and from school by whatever means of transport. Pupils are still representing the school and their families while travelling in our uniform and we expect them to behave appropriately and courteously towards each other and other road and transport users.
- We have had a large number of queries regarding when pupils should self-isolate. Full guidance is available from: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/self-isolation-and-treatment/when-to-self-isolate-and-what-to-do The Key points in this document states that: You must self-isolate immediately if:
- You have any symptoms of coronavirus (a high temperature, a new, continuous cough or a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste)
- You have tested positive for coronavirus – this means you have coronavirus
- You live with someone who has symptoms or tested positive someone in your support bubble has symptoms or tested positive
- You're told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace
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- Finally, we will be launching our new behaviour policy in the coming weeks. A copy of this will be shared with parents and pupils in due course. We believe that all positive behaviour can be underpinned by three key words; Ready, Respectful and Safe. Lots more to come on this!
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Once again, we thank you sincerely for all of your support over the first week. We do not take this for granted. We will endeavour to continue to do all we can to ensure that SJP remains as safe and positive learning environment for all our pupils. If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact us though your child's Head of Learning.
Yours faithfully
Ms Maria Sharratt
Headteacher