28 January 2022 weekly update

Dear Colleagues,

The final COVID-19 restrictions are now lifted but I know many of you are still working hard to manage infection rates amongst staff and pupils. We are aware that you all have risk assessments in place and it is important to continue review and periodically update these.

The media and some parents are remarking, and in some cases complaining, about schools acting outside the current expectations. Stewart Baxter-Smith, KCC’s Head of Health and Safety, has provided some text below about schools’ statutory duties which may be helpful in responding to challenges about your infection control measures, as well as providing up to date advice on risk assessments.

“With changing Government guidance relating to COVID-19 and a lessening of control measures within the wider community, it is important to remember that, as employers and education providers, there remains a duty to assess and control risk. Under Health and Safety legislation and guidance the responsible persons within the educational setting should be identifying any significant risks, evaluating the potential impact on those for which they have a duty of care and putting in place measures to minimise such risks to a level that is as low as reasonably practicable. This of course doesn’t mean that control measures need to be excessive, rather that they need to be proportionate to the risk and in fact sometimes specific to the task, location or situation.

At present COVID-19 remains a risk within the community and certainly within educational settings. Where the current Omicron variant has less efficacy in the majority of instances we need to be mindful that other variants are still prevalent and vulnerable persons may be more susceptible to infection. It therefore follows that COVID-19 should remain a hazard and be considered within risk assessments in order to comply with legislation and safeguard staff, pupils and parents. We also need to be mindful that whilst the impact of infection may indeed be less, current isolation rules means that even smaller outbreaks within the educational setting could have significant impact on the continuity of the education provision and put increased pressure on remaining staff through absence."

When looking at suitable control measures, it is within the power of those responsible for the educational setting to put in place measures that they consider appropriate and in some instances may include measures that were in place during the pandemic. The key is to ensure that where a risk is identified, proportional measures are put in place to minimise that risk. Advice and guidance is also available on Kelsi for KCC educational settings and for those that are non-KCC-maintained advice is available through the HSE website or through your contracted Health and Safety Adviser.

• HSE guidance
• GOV.UK"

For colleagues who have children and young people who need aerosol generating procedures, the Public Health team are providing training during March, please see letter here (PDF, 79.6 KB). The Public Health Team have also provided a social media toolkit which provides posters for different groups promoting winter vaccination including the covid booster if this is of interest.

This week I was delighted to visit three schools. The complex challenge of getting school place planning right was really brought home when I visited Chilmington Green Primary school, part of the Stour Academy Trust, which has been built to serve a community of homes which have yet to materialise.

It was fascinating to hear about the work of the school, about how technology and the use of Microsoft Class Notebooks has been embedded across all the schools in the Trust and the benefits of this particularly for vulnerable children. It was also really heartening to hear from the staff about what a difference the work of the South Area Education Officer is making in moving the building project forward in the face of repeated challenges and set-backs. Another AEO team that was rightly highly praised this week is the North Team at the opening of the new Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys School site at Sevenoaks where a delightful year 7 group of pupils made a memorable contribution to the ceremony. Again, this building project, on a campus shared by three new secondary schools, has been an incredibly complex project and challenges continue as we move towards finishing the sports facilities over the next 18 months.

The four AEOs, ably supported by their teams, do a tremendous job day in, day out in the face of relentless challenge and it was just great to hear that acknowledged.

The third school I visited was Homewood School and Sixth Form Centre, part of the Tenterden Schools Trust. I really welcomed the opportunity to find out more about the improvement journey of the school, as well as discussing the Trust’s plans to build on and further improve the existing effective practice in SEND inclusion.

A huge thank you to Rachel Howell, Chief Executive Officer Sour Academy Trust; Amanda Simpson, Headteacher TWGBS; Jeremy Single, Principal Homewood School; and Stuart Reeves, Chief Executive Officer Tenterden Schools Trust, and their teams for their time and their warm welcome.

Just a reminder of events coming up - virtual Headteacher briefings on Monday 7 and Tuesday 8 from 2pm to 4pm, invitations with the link to join the briefings will be sent directly to schools next week; and Secondary Headteacher's update on post-16 option year options virtually on Thursday 10 February from 10am to 11am.

Any The Repair Shop fans out there? The family histories as well as the love and craftsmanship with which the team restore everything, from a sailor’s hat to clocks and everything in between, often brings a tear to my eye. So when I saw that presenter Jay Blades had courageously made a film about how he had learnt to read at the age of 51, I made sure I watched it. Seeing Jay struggle was a such a good reminder about the implications in adulthood of school failure and something we all know, how important it is that we get it right.

With best wishes

Christine McInnes
Director of Education