Headteacher Message

Hello all,

Well that was the week that was. As you will know we had to send home three classes at the start of the week because of suspected coronavirus. Thankfully all the PCR tests were negative, and we were quickly able to return all classes to school. I have to thank a number of people for their support this week. Firstly thank you to all the parents involved. Without fail all parents responded in an understanding and calm manner and we were able to ensure that everyone was safely at home. Next I need to thank the staff. At one stage we had over 20 staff out isolating and, as is the way at Darell, everyone stepped up and delivered. Dinners, laptops, lessons, breaktimes, home learning were all delivered. Lastly but very definitely not least the children to whom this was the most disruptive. I had hoped that by now I would not be having to mention Coronavirus in my newsletter. But we are where we are. Local cases are on the rise. You can see from the table below the extent to which this is the case.

The graph below shows that we are not at the stage we were in the new year, but it is concerning nonetheless. This variant does seem to be more transmissible and does seem to be infecting the younger age groups.

The purple line represents Richmond. The green line represents Kingston. As a school I remain very happy with the safety measures we have in place and we still have not had to close a bubble for a confirmed case. I suppose I am highlighting this to urge you to remain as safe as you can possibly be. The decisions that you make outside of school can and will affect those in school. I was at a Headteachers meeting this week with our two local MPs. The single biggest request was that schools be given timely advice about what September will look like. I will let you know as soon as I do. We will get there. In the meantime we are going to trial a new way of you notifying us if you or a member of your family receives a positive test. You will shortly receive a text message from Darell School. If you need to inform us regarding anything Covid please reply to this text and I will receive notification. This will allow us to get organised over the weekend and ensure that all involved are informed as soon as possible.

I promise that my newsletter next week will be of a more uplifting nature. I remain an optimist and even at the end of a challenging week both personally and professionally I will reflect on how well the school community navigated the challenges we have faced this week and what a great team we have here at Darell. Have a lovely weekend. Be kind to yourself, your families and friends and stay safe.

Mr Porter

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