Dear Parents/Carers
Full School Closure
In response to further cases over the weekend, we have reviewed and upgraded the partial closure decision. In the last seven days, The Hundred of Hoo Academy has had 22 positive cases of COVID-19 confirmed within the school community, the majority of which appear to relate to a very small number of cases from the wider community being transmitted to close contacts within year group bubbles. Operationally, it has also been a challenging period as we have had to contend with several staff self-isolating at the same time.
I have consulted with Public Health England, the Local Authority and the Leigh Academies Trust over the weekend as a result of the multiple cases in most year groups and also due to low staff numbers. We have now reached a point where a ‘circuit break’ measure is the only sensible option to ensure our students, staff and the wider community are safeguarded.
Student and staff safety and well-being are my first priority. Therefore, I have made the very difficult decision to fully close the secondary academy to all students and staff from Monday. I believe that by fully closing the school for a two-week period, we will significantly reduce the transmission rate and, importantly, staffing levels will have returned close to full capacity. The primary academy remains open as normal.
The expectation is that all students and staff will return to the Academy on Monday 7th December 2020, however, with the rapidly changing environment this may need to be reviewed and we will keep you informed of any changes.
During this full closure we will be using the opportunity to supplement our already robust cleaning process by undertaking an additional deep clean of all areas of the school.
As an Academy we will be offering a full suite of learning over google classrooms both live lessons, recorded lessons and assignments. Please ensure your child is ready to start the day off as normal following their school timetable structure. Please be aware there will be a further letter to advise you on remote learning as we are aware some students will have difficulties accessing this.
If your child is eligible for Free School Meals please contact the academy using the parent enquiries email below to arrange for food hampers to be collected.
The school will be aiming to provide a limited provision for Key workers and vulnerable students from Wednesday 25 November as an option of working in school. If your child needs to access this provision, please contact the school on parentenquiries@hundredofhooacademy.org.uk by 12pm Tuesday 24 November so that arrangements can be made, and details provided of how this will work over the next two weeks. Please be aware that students who have been asked to isolate will not be able to access this provision and if a member of your household develops symptoms of COVID-19 or is waiting for the results of a COVID-19 test, then please do not send your child into school.
Just as a reminder to all parents/carers, that if your child has been directed to isolate following close contact with a student who has tested positive then you should continue to do this. I would also strongly recommend that all students have limited contact with others, including collecting siblings from primary school, to ensure we can contain the spread and protect the community. If your child develops symptoms of COVID-19, they must immediately self-isolate, and must 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.
It is also vital that if your child does test positive whilst the school is partially closed that we are informed as soon as possible so that we have a clear picture of cases across the school, especially in the run up to re-opening the academy safely. You can inform us by emailing:
parentenquiries@hundredofhooacademy.org.uk
I would like to thank parents and carers for their messages of support over the past few weeks, this has been a very challenging time and your patience and understanding is much appreciated.
Yours sincerely,
Carl Guerin-Hassett
Principal