I am writing to inform you that on Friday, I received information that we have had a learner in Year 11 who had tested positive for COVID-19. The academy acted swiftly to ‘track and trace’ all learners that had contact with the confirmed learner.

Given an increased number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Year 11, as a precautionary measure, we are acting on the advice of Public Health England to close our Year 11 ‘bubble’ and are directing all learners in Year 11 to study from home through our remote learning programme for the duration of the next two weeks.  

Please be assured that this is not a measure that we have taken lightly.  Given a number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 within the year group we had no alternative but to enact a ‘circuit break’ closure for Year 11, in order to safeguard the wellbeing of our learners; their families and our staff.   We look forward to welcoming our Year 11 learners back to the academy on Monday 23^rd November 2020 at 8:40am.  For my staff and I, their safe return cannot come a moment too soon.

We understand that Year 11s are at a critical juncture in their education and therefore we seek your support to ensure that the intervening time is productive and that learners are accessing the wide array of provision that we have in place for them.  I cannot stress enough, the importance of us working together to minimise the effect of the year group bubble closing.  Your support is critical to ensuring that our learners are accessing the high quality pre-recorded ‘voice over’ lessons available to them in the core subjects of: Maths, Science and English, and ensuring that they are completing the equally important content that teachers are preparing for them in the other key areas of their curriculum. 

As you are no doubt aware, Microsoft Teams is an important platform which we utilise to provide the virtual lessons which learners have to complete each day.  Learners should be familiar with how to access this software having recently been given a Microsoft Teams refresher.  Should it be the case that  they are not confident in how to access and use the platform then please see the instructions attached to this letter or visit the ‘Refresher Vodcast’ link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M45fZ1Lnayg&feature=youtu.be.

As a result of the two-week closure of the academy to Year 11s, I have made the decision to temporarily postpone the Year 11 mocks.  Whilst this decision was designed to alleviate pressure on our learners, I would not want them to stop revising or revisiting work.  During the time they are at home, along with the virtual lessons and other assignments provided to them, they must continue with their revision.  This by now should be an ongoing process.  Along with any textbooks or notes that may help facilitate this, I would like to remind you that there a multitude of learning and revision opportunities through the following sites:

• Hegarty Maths https://hegartymaths.com/ (Login details are stuck to your child’s planner.)
• Century Tech https://www.century.tech/  (Login details are stuck to your child’s planner.)
• GCSE Pod https://www.gcsepod.com/      (Login details are stuck to your child’s planner.)
• BBC Bitesize https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize
• The National (Oak) Academy https://www.thenational.academy/
• SENECA https://senecalearning.com/en-GB/ (A user name & password will need to be created.)

It is important that learners adhere to the National lockdown guidance and stay at home during the time that the academy is closed to Year 11 learners.

What to do if your child develops symptom of COVID 19

If your child develops symptoms of COVID-19, they must not come to school and should remain at home for at least 10 days from the date when their symptoms appeared. Anyone with symptoms will be eligible for testing and this can be arranged via https://www.nhs.uk/ask-for-a-coronavirus-test or by calling 119.

All other household members who remain well, must stay at home and not leave the house for 14 days. This includes anyone in your ‘Support Bubble’.

Further information is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance/stay-at-home-guidance-for-households-with-possible-coronavirus-covid-19-infection

Household members staying at home for 14 days will greatly reduce the overall amount of infection the household could pass on to others in the community.

If you are able, move any vulnerable individuals (such as the elderly and those with underlying health conditions) out of your home, to stay with friends or family for the duration of the home isolation period.

The most common symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are the recent onset of:

• a new continuous cough
• a high temperature
• a loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia)

For most people, coronavirus (COVID-19) will be a mild illness.

If your child does develop symptoms, you can seek advice from the nhs.uk website at www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/check-if-you-have-coronavirus-symptoms/. If you are concerned about your child’s symptoms, or they are worsening you can seek advice from NHS 111 at https://111.nhs.uk/ or by phoning 111.

How to stop COVID-19 spreading

There are things you can do to help reduce the risk of you and anyone you live with getting ill with COVID-19.

Do:

• wash your hands with soap and water often – do this for at least 20 seconds
• use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available
• wash your hands as soon as you get home
• cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze
• put used tissues in the bin immediately and wash your hands afterwards

If you need any additional help from the academy in the interim, please do not hesitate to contact us via helpline@beaconhillacademy.org.uk.  We will aim to get back in touch with you in a timely fashion.

As always, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support at this challenging time. 

Yours sincerely,

Mr S Dhami

Principal