August 2021 Return to School

Dear Parent/Carer and Grove Young Person,

I hope that you have had a relaxing summer break and had the opportunity to chill out and enjoy the fantastic weather we have had (mostly!), albeit under the current unusual circumstances. I look forward to welcoming our staff back to school on Monday 16^th August, and all our young people on Tuesday 17^th August!

As you will know, there will still be some mitigations in place to help combat the Coronavirus. The Government issued a new set of guidelines which you can find here:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-reducing-the-risks-in-schools/

Information is also available on the DCC website:  https://www.dundeecity.gov.uk/coronavirus/schools-information.

Below is information regarding:

Dates

Monday 16^th August - In-Service Day - Staff only in school

Tuesday 17^th August - All pupils back in school at 8.45am. 

• S2-6 Pupils to go to Tutor Time from 8.45 to 9.00.  Pupils will receive their new revised timetables. Period 1 will commence at 9.00 a.m.
• S1 will be met in the Plaza by S6 Buddies, Guidance Teachers and SLT. They will then have a double period with their Guidance Teacher before resuming normal Tuesday timetable from break.

Mitigations

The Scottish Government has said that most of the mitigations which were in place in June will continue for up to 6 weeks in the new session. These include the following:

• Face coverings must be worn in school by pupils, staff and any visitors (by appointment only), unless they are exempt and are wearing a sunflower lanyard.
• Pupils should wash or sanitize their hands thoroughly when entering school and classrooms

• Staggered interval/tutor time and staggered lunches will continue.  (S1-3 will be based in the Dining Hall or outside, as will S4-6. The former individual year group bubbles are no longer necessary. However, S1 will also have access to the Assembly Hall during the first week at Grove to allow them to get accustomed to the school and to allow the S6 buddies to identify them more easily.)

• Due to the staggered lunches and breaks, we have slightly amended the period times for this session:

• Pupils will continue to access the building via the nearest entrance to their Period 1 class. The building will only be open to pupils from 8.30 a.m. and pupils should make their way directly to their class before 8.45 a.m. Pupils should also exit the building at lunch and break by the nearest exit.

• Pupils are asked to continue to wipe their work-stations before and after use. Each member of staff will have a supply of PPE (e.g. wipes, masks, anti-viral spray and paper towels, gloves, tissues and hand sanitiser) for use in classrooms. 

• We shall still be encouraging distancing between young people where possible, particularly in the Senior Phase. However, 1m plus distancing should be maintained between adults and other adults and between adults and young people.

• Full school uniform must again be worn at all times. Pupils must change for PE either at Dawson or at school and change back again after PE lessons.

• We ask parents/carers to drop off and collect your young person a distance away from the school and cars should not enter the car park.  Young people travelling by public transport must wear a mask on the bus. 

School Meals Service

Tayside Contracts will not be providing any breakfast service. There will however be a snack service at break and meals at lunch.  Pupils requiring a school lunch or snack, who do not have a Free School Meals Entitlement, will need to use their NEC Card.  Parents should upload money to the card via ParentPay.  No cash transactions are allowed. If your child has lost their NEC card, please contact dundee.nec@dundeecity.gov.uk or 01382 433267 to arrange for a new card to be sent out. You will need to advise name, address and date of birth.

Tests for Secondary School Pupils and Staff

All staff and secondary pupils are being encouraged to take twice-weekly LFD tests as part of a range of measures to help keep schools safe. They are being asked to restart twice-weekly at-home LFD testing in the week before the start of the new term. 

Staff and pupils can access test kits in a range of different ways, including ordering online(link is external) or at local pharmacies(link is external), as well as from the school office.

All participants are encouraged to report their results through the gov.uk digital portal(link is external) – whether the result is positive, negative or void.

Vaccinations

All young people 16 to 17 years of age will now be offered the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination in Scotland. In line with the latest advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), they will be offered a first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

People who are 16 or 17 in mainland Scotland are being invited to register their interest through the online portal at NHS Inform, and will then be sent an appointment via SMS or email. Full details here(link is external). We would strongly encourage all our young people in this age group to get vaccinated!

Meanwhile, children and young people aged over 12 from key groups are to be offered COVID-19 vaccine. More details here(link is external).

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone in the Grove family a very successful and healthy year!

Yours sincerely

Graham W Hutton

Rector

This information can be downloaded in pdf form from our website.