Bubble Group Schedules for the Year 10 provision from 29th June

Year 10 Groups will attend three Progress Tutorials.  The “bubble groups” will be staggered and students from one bubble group will not be able to mix with those in another. Students are reminded to maintain their social distance outside their sessions as well as within them. This includes your journeys to and from school and when you are at the Park Road gates and coming into school.

Frequently Asked Questions – Year 10 provision

How big will the “bubble” groups be for Year 10?
We have now established “bubble” groups of 12 students. This has worked very well both in terms of teaching and learning and also from the point of view of social distancing. The layout of the classrooms we are using  have been altered to ensure social distancing is maintained. We are continuing to insist on 2 metre social distancing.

How will I know who is in my child’s “bubble” group?
Groups are based around students’ maths and science groups and will remain the same across the progress tutorials in maths, science and English (this is to enable us to minimise movement). Whilst we understand there may be some anxiety from students about coming into school, they will only be in school for a short time and will be socially distanced at all times, so grouping friends together has not been a priority.

Will the students be in one room for the entire morning session or will they be moving around?
Students will not circulate or move around the school for their progress tutorials. They will stay with their bubble group in one room. The teachers will come to them.

Why are the in-school progress tutorial sessions restricted to English, maths and science?
To ensure the safety, the members of each bubble group have to be the same for all subjects. This is possible for English, maths and science. It is much more complex to arrange for other subjects. We would have to create multiple bubble groups that would involve mixing student groupings and would inevitably lead to more movement around the school. This is something that we cannot risk at this stage. However, we are providing some remote ‘face-to-face’ sessions for options subjects using Google Meet (within Google Classrooms).

Is there a way of having more sessions for the students?
Issues around safety have determined the provision we have in place. If the risk assessment changes then this too may change, but we would then also be restricted by the availability of staff who also have a commitment to maintain our online learning for the other year groups. We are also enhancing our remote provision. We have been running video sessions on Google Meet with Year 12 and will be introducing these to other years shortly.

Will you be making the in-school progress tutorial sessions available on line?
No. Unfortunately the need for the privacy of the students in-school precludes us from recording or sharing these sessions on line.

Will there be an alternative provision for those who do not or cannot attend?
Yes. Though we are confident that the support provided in the in-school progress tutorials will be of real benefit to the students involved, these are very much a supplement to students’ remote learning which remains the key focus for their learning.

How can I be sure that the school is safe?
The government has provided significant guidance for schools, including (COVID-19): implementing protective measures in education and childcare settings and the school has carried out a full risk assessment which is under constant review. Details of our precautions are available in a separate document. 

What equipment do Year 10 students need to bring with them?
Students should come equipped to do schoolwork and therefore should have the necessary pens, books/paper, etc. Please note students will not be able to share any equipment or any other items. Departments will issue any subject specific expectations of preparation work or resources to bring via Google Classrooms. In addition we would ask that in order to ensure the minimum of contact between people in school, that each student bring the following:
• their own bottle of water
• a snack to eat during their short break
• their own tissues and if possible some hand sanitiser

Do Year 10 students need to wear uniform when they come into school?
We are not asking students to wear uniform to school but please ensure they wear something sensible for the school environment (clothes should be washed after a day in school).

Can or should students wear face coverings?
If any students wish to wear a face mask or similar they may, however the current guidance is that face masks are not required for educational settings. They are required for journeys on public transport.

Will food and drink be provided for students in school?
Unfortunately, because of social distancing concerns we will not be serving or selling any food or drink. Students are advised to bring in their own water bottle and a snack to eat during break time.

What if a member of my child’s “bubble” group develops Covid-19 symptoms?
Government and Public Health England has given clear guidance on what to happen in this eventuality, which the school will follow. It is critical that we have accurate and update contact details for all those attending school to ensure that these procedures can be followed. Further guidance is available in a separate document.

Will there be ‘face to face’ progress tutorial sessions for Year 12 students?
Not at the moment. Because of the importance of maintaining the integrity of each “bubble” group it is not possible or realistic to have the very large number of Year 12 groups occupying the school site and their individual combinations of subjects would make it impossible to do without significant mixing of students. We will, of course, keep this under constant review. In the meantime, we will be piloting on-line progress tutorials for Year 12 students starting from 8th June and intend to roll this out more fully from 15th June.

Are you going to be offering progress tutorial sessions for children in other year groups?
As we continue to develop our online learning provision, we do hope to be able to expand the ways we are able to engage students in online learning. We do hope that this will include video tutorials and have begun to plan for these.

Is the Highgate Wood School “small school” still going to be available for all vulnerable students and the children of critical workers?
Yes, but the “small school” will be in a separate part of the school to the Year 10 progress tutorial sessions and will operate on a different schedule. There should not be any interaction between the two groups. We will make specific provision for small school attendees in year 10 so they are not disadvantaged in any way.

Are you planning to run a summer school?
No, we are currently not planning to run a summer school.

What arrangements are in place for September 2020?
We are still uncertain of what the situation will be in September 2020, however, we are aware that there will be many challenges to face at the start of the new academic year and have already begun to work on developing the “recovery curriculum” that will be in place at that time.

What adjustments are going for happen to examinations in 2021
To date there have not been any specific announcements by the exam boards, Ofqual or the DfE on examinations next year. We will alert the families of those concerned as soon as we hear.

If you would like to suggest further questions\answers to appear here please email covid@hws.haringey.sch.uk 

Letters and other material regarding learning provision at Highgate Wood School

Please click here for the letter to Year 12 families from Ms Pinnick – 4th June 2020

Please click  here for the letter to Year 10 families from Mr Hewitt regarding progress tutorials beginning 15th June – 8th June 2020

Background information: Opening of Schools and Educational Settings to more children 

On 28th May the Prime Minister announced that schools could start welcoming back more children in primary schools from 1st June and that secondary schools could provide, some “limited face-to-face support for year 10 and year 12 pupils… to supplement their remote education” from 15th June.   To support this development the Department for Education have provided schools with fulsome guidance on how to help minimise the risks and make the environment as safe as possible for all. 

At Highgate Wood School we will be supplementing  Year 10’s remote learning with in-school progress tutorials in the core subjects of English, maths and science. These will be delivered to small “bubble” groups of students and, in the first instance, will involve one morning session in the first fortnight following 15th June.  For Year 12 students we will be enhancing our on-line provision with video tutorials, which we have already begun to pilot.  For further information on this please see the FAQs and other details below.

As the situation with Coronavirus pandemic continues to evolve we anticipate there will be changes and developments in this offer, and in the offer to students in other year groups.  However, we are not in a position to confidently predict what those developments will be.  They will be based on the advice of the Department for Education and Public Health England.

Please follow these links to view the government’s current guidance: Opening schools and educational settings to more pupils from 1 June: guidance for parents and carers,  What parents and carers need to know about schools, colleges and other education settings during the coronavirus outbreak, and Coronavirus (COVID-19): implementing protective measures in education and childcare setting.