Planning for the reopening of Wick High School

In response to the Deputy First Minister’s announcement last week that, should the situation regarding Covid-19 infection rates continue to improve in Scotland, schools will return as normal at 100% capacity on August 12^th 2020 we would like to outline our proposed models of school opening to you as a pupil/parent/carer.

As you can imagine, this has been a very uncertain time for education and while there has been a welcome positive trend towards what we regard as normality for our school there will always remain a degree of uncertainty in our immediate future. The Scottish Government has stated that it will make clear its intentions for schools reopening across the country on Sunday 12^th July. From this statement the Highland Council will adopt the most suitable model of schools reopening across the area dependant on infection rates and social distancing measures.

The model chosen for Wick High School will be one of the following four, shown here, in order of preference:

Model A

• No social distancing with 100% of pupils (per day) returning to school, following their normal timetable, all of the school week.

Model B

(See Diagram 1)

• 1 metre social distancing in effect. 50% of school pupils (per day) attend on a two-day rotation model, ie 2 days at school per week, following their normal timetable.
• Friday sees the school closed to some pupils* to allow the online aspect of blending learning to be prepared.

Model C

(See Diagram 2)

• 2 metre social distancing in effect. 25% of school pupils (per day) attend on a one-day rotation model, ie 1 day at school per week following their normal timetable.
• Friday sees the school closed to some pupils* to allow the online aspect of blending learning to be prepared.

Model D

• As the situation currently stands: home learning online with no physical attendance at school. This is only likely if there is a dangerous increase in infection rates and, potentially, another lockdown.

Important Information Before School Reopens

As the type of reopening model is fluid we appreciate that there is an advanced need for parents/carers and pupils to know the arrangements for your child’s first day at school.

In any model we will take the following steps:

• Parents/carers of S1 pupils will be emailed a copy of your child’s timetable showing their week. As well as this you will be emailed your child’s Scottish Candidate Number which is needed to top up their school canteen account with money to be spent in school as well as the PIN number that they will need to purchase food. Instructions on how to charge your child’s account and how to use the cashless canteen system can be found on our website. This email will be sent during the summer holiday and we will notify you of it being sent via our website and Facebook page.
• Pupils in all other years will be issued with their new timetable on the first day of their new term. They will be asked to report to their old registration class to receive this information as this room and teacher will be familiar to them from before our closure. There will be an extended registration period to issue this information before the pupils begin their new timetable.

If Model A is in place we will take the following steps:

• As well as the above, special arrangements will be put in place on day one for S1 to allow them to meet with Guidance and Year Heads as well as have a tour around the school building to familiarise themselves with rooms and social spaces.

If either Models B or C are in place we will take the following steps:

• Parents/carers of pupils in all years will be contacted during the summer holiday with the group number of your child(ren) so that you can establish the days of the week that your child will be attending school.
• Further instructions on arrangements for these models – including catering and transport – will follow and will be published on our website.

If Model D is in place we will take the following steps:

• S1 pupils will be invited to online learning through Google Classrooms.
• All existing pupils will continue to engage in online learning, as they do now, until further notice.

Notes

• *In Models B & C the school may be open on Friday to pupils classed as vulnerable and/or those with Additional Support Needs. This is to be confirmed.
• School transport is also a factor in Models B & C. Again, details of this will be confirmed at a later date if either model is employed.

Summary

As a school we hugely appreciate your support and hard work through what has been an incredibly challenging time. We hope that, come August, we will be in a position of much greater normality and that we are able to function once more as a busy, thriving, school community. As information changes we will post updates on our website and Facebook page; this will be the main method of communication during the summer break.

If you have any questions in the meantime, please use the ‘Contact Us’ section of our website to speak to us.

We wish you a restful, safe, summer and look forward to welcoming you all back to the school again very soon.