Executive Principal’s Blog – 11.9.20: ‘A Great Start to Another Academic Year’
As we come to the end of our second official week at Bushey Meads, it has been really encouraging to see how happy all the students are being back in school. Despite the obvious different levels of anxiety that we are all understandably feeling at this challenging time, without exception all the students have been extremely grateful for all the measures we have put in place to eliminate the risks as much as possible and ensure that the school is safe.
Despite recent media reports potentially increasing levels of anxiety, as a school we are following all Government guidance, working very closely with Hertfordshire County Council and Public Health England and ensuring all protocols are followed to the letter. As parents and carers please do remain calm and don’t jump to conclusions if a member of staff (for whatever reason) is not in school on a particular day; it might not necessarily be Covid-19 related!
Just to absolutely reassure all parents and carers, if any students had been identified through the PHE Track and Trace system as being in close contact with any member of staff who has tested positive for Covid-19, we would of course immediately contact the students and the families of those concerned so that they could follow PHE advice and self-isolate for 14 days from the day after the last close contact occurred. For your information, with staff sickness to date, no students have been identified.
Understandably we have had a number of telephone calls and emails from parents asking Covid-19 related questions. I would urge you all to carefully read the Whole School Risk Assessment and School Reopening Plan as the vast majority of answers to these questions are contained in those comprehensive documents available via the link: Covid-19 Risk Assessment and School Reopening Plan
We have also had many citations of praise for the work we are doing at this present time, epitomised by these two emails received earlier this week:
Dear Mr Turner,
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you and your team for doing everything within your power to get Bushey Meads back up and running with as little impact to our children as possible. In these trying times it’s hugely important for our children to be together, learning and supporting each other and I’m amazed that you’ve managed to get the whole school back as safely as is humanly possible. I’m in awe of all the work that was clearly invested in implementing ever-changing legislation from the government, some only told to you days before school was due to open. I’m convinced that despite the rumours circling regarding Covid-19 cases in school, that you have ensured the high-risk protocols are in place and dealt with it in the professional way that I’ve seen evident in all my dealings with your school. Thank you again, my new starter in year 7 has had a wonderful first week back; she is buzzing about your school and all the opportunities afforded to her. A huge thank you to everyone involved in the transition process.
Kind regards
Parent of a Year 7 and 8 Student
Good morning Mr Turner
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to my email. I really appreciate the explanations provided below. As a parent, I find that these are particularly anxious times and I feel a responsibility to my children as you clearly do too. My husband and I really do appreciate all that you and the staff at Bushey Meads are doing to manage the situation and keep the children safe at school. I can’t even begin to imagine the extent of the logistics that go on behind the scenes to manage this but we are so very grateful for all that you do.
My daughter is thrilled to be back at school and she seems to be adapting well to this new normal that we are living in, which is a reflection on how the school are managing things and for this I thank you.
Kindest regards
Year 8 Parent
As a parent or carer if you do have any questions or concerns about how the school is managing the safe return of all our students please do click on the link to find answers related to a number of Covid-19 Frequently Asked Questions. We do hope you find this useful in helping to understand the carefully managed approach we are currently taking in line with all Government and PHE advice and guidance.
I would like to thank all the hard-working staff, wonderful students and parents and carers for their continued support.
I wish you all a very happy weekend; as always do click on the usual link to read our latest BMS News.
Jeremy Turner
Executive Principal
