Welcome once more to Heads Up, the first edition of a new school year. We hope that schools will enjoy less disruption than the two previous academic years. We hope you can concentrate more on creating the environment and curriculum that will instil and encourage a spirit of learning in our children and young people that they will take through their lives.

There remains a considerable amount of work to be done before that becomes the sole focus. This year, at least, there are more tools with which we can fight back and more opportunities to be proactive rather than reactive. We have options available that will help schools fight the spread of the virus without the measures that have had to be implemented previously which, while absolutely necessary, will have done so much to reduce the experience of learning.

Key to fighting the spread of the virus has been the rollout of the vaccination which has done so much to free the country from the grip of lockdown. We are expecting guidance as to how the next phase of that programme will look. You’ll have received a letter from us last week advising on initial proposals, but it is likely to be an evolving picture as the programme starts. We do know that the co-operation of parents will be integral to progress. Information, reassurance and encouragement will be key in how need to work with parents.

Attached to the letter was guidance on dispelling some of the myths that are circulating and causing some unease around the vaccination which will be useful for you in the coming weeks in that engagement with parents and carers. I do urge you to look at that in advance of the Head Teachers’ call next Tuesday where we will look at some of the practical issues around this large-scale venture.

Please do make the time to join that call. They have been so critical in sharing good practice and in helping us, at the Local Authority, to understand the issues you are facing so that we can support most effectively.  The call is at 1400 and will take up to one hour: I am sure that will be time very well spent to work together to make sure that Warwickshire, again, sets a very high standard in taking the necessary measures to protect our learners, students, staff and wider communities.

Another tool that we can use to proactively prevent the spread of the virus in our schools and settings is testing. Schools embraced this earlier in the year and we are hoping that this will continue. We know that there is a degree of fatigue around Covid messages but the rapid spread among young people of the virus in recent weeks following the lifting of restrictions, and the enhanced social interaction that brought, brought home the fact that we are still in a pandemic and the virus is still very much present in our communities. Regular testing is critical to keeping people safe and we need our children and young people to remain part of that wider effort.

The rollout of the vaccination programme has meant that the bubble system will no longer routinely be in operation as we start the new term, eliminating the need for the large numbers of pupils having to isolate if they had been in contact with a positive case. Pupils will now be able to move beyond their year groups and classes and that is great news for them.  It does, of course, create new problems for schools and settings in identifying close contacts and taking the necessary steps. Rest assured that we will work with Public Health colleagues to support you as the term goes on.

That is it from me for now.  This has been very Covid-centric which I had hoped to move away from but I hope that, as the term goes on, there will be less need to share guidance and more opportunity to promote the business as usual work that we are all looking forward to seeing.  For my part, I look forward to seeing many of you at the call next Tuesday. Until then, have a good weekend.

Best regards,

Ian