Planning for a safe return Michaelmas Term 2020
Contents 3
Letter from the Master
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Frequently Asked Questions
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The Start of Term and School Calendar
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Detailed Planning
Planning for different operational options Mitigation Strategies Medical Centre and Facilities Quarantine Facility before term starts
11 What might school life be like? 13 Closing comments from the Second Master
Marlborough College, Marlborough, Wiltshire SN8 1PA Email: admissions@marlboroughcollege.org www.marlboroughcollege.org @MarlboroughCol Marlborough College (Registered Charity No, 309486) incorporated by Royal Charter to provide education.
MARLBOROUGH COLLEGE
Dear Parents I am very much looking forward to you and your children joining the Marlborough College community in September. Our pupil, staff and parent body have shown exceptional resilience and creativity while we have been operating as a virtual school in recent months and are now very keen for a return to our wonderful site in September with you among our number. We plan for a full on-site return in September 2020 and we are committed to providing the safest possible educational experience for your children, while maintaining the highest standards of academic and co-curricular programming and pastoral care. We are very conscious that much may still change but we are equally conscious that you will have questions and we hope that, by giving you an insight into the planning work that is going on at the College, it will provide some reassurance. We must, of course, plan for a number of possible scenarios and further details will follow over the course of the summer as operating guidance for schools emerges. In all our decision making, I can assure you that the wellbeing of your children is at the foremost of our thinking. I am very grateful for your contribution to the parental survey circulated this term. There was some interest expressed in the College offering a quarantine facility for pupils travelling from overseas and further information about this is included within. I thank Bill Nicholas, Second Master, for the work that he and his working group have put into creating this booklet and I hope that you find it useful. Please do not hesitate to contact us through the Admissions Department if we can be of help. Yours faithfully,
Louise Moelwyn-Hughes Master
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Frequently Asked Questions We want to respond to the most frequently asked questions with the information that reflects the situation as it stands at present on 30 June, 2020. Will the College follow Government social distancing advice? Throughout the pandemic, the College has followed the Government guidance. This is a dynamic situation and we have made plans that allow for 2m and 1m social distancing in line with the current advice.
Will face coverings be compulsory for pupils? Pupils will be required to bring back a minimum of two named, washable face coverings (which loop behind the ears, not the snood variety). They will be trained in how to put them on and take them off safely and there will be a process in place for the daily washing of face coverings in houses. Pupils will be able to choose to wear the face covering at any time and there may be occasions when they will have to wear one.
Will there be a quarantine option for pupils travelling from overseas? Pupils returning from countries where quarantine is required by the UK government must quarantine for 14 days before joining the school community. This may be done in their own homes or with a guardian arranged by their parents. For overseas-based pupils who require it, we will offer a quarantine service at the College which will start on 23rd August. UK domiciled pupils will be expected to quarantine in their own homes or by other private arrangement.
Will there be any changes to arrival times in September? A carefully phased return to school will be essential for offering reassurance to the whole community and for building understanding and confidence in any new processes. We are offering some online provision for the Hundred and Upper Sixth from 2nd-4th September and are planning to spread the arrival of the main bulk of pupils over two evenings, Tuesday 8th and Wednesday 9th September.
Will the College use its own testing process? The College is exploring a range of products which could be used in support of our own test and track process and the intention is to implement the most appropriate option, although it is currently too early to confirm this.
Is there an onsite medical facility for pupils who have COVID-19 symptoms to attend? It is essential that you do not send your child back to College if they are displaying any symptoms of COVID-19 or if they have had contact with anybody who has shown COVID-19 symptoms for the fourteen days prior to arriving back at College. In the event of a pupil showing COVID-19 symptoms whilst at College, there will be a separate, dedicated medical provision on-site for their care.
Will there be health checks for pupils prior to arrival? We will ask families for details of travel in the weeks before term begins and to confirm that their child has neither had any COVID-19 symptoms nor been in contact with anyone who has shown COVID-19 symptoms in the last 14 days. The same information will be required from staff and all visitors to the College.
Will there be daily temperature checks? There will be a series of health screening questions that every pupil and member of staff will answer each morning. A concern raised here will trigger further assessment, which will include measurement of core temperature by a medical professional.
Will Exeats and Half-term still happen? Yes, that is the plan. Some boarding provision will remain available on Exeats for those unable to go home. We anticipate at this stage that all pupils will be able to go home for Half-term.
MARLBOROUGH COLLEGE
Will pupils be allowed to leave College for Privs?
individually risk assessed, looking at social distancing and protocols for cleaning any shared equipment.
As in any term, Privs are granted on an individual basis and this will continue. It is possible that we may only be able to grant Privs when a pupil is going to their own home. We would ask parents to communicate as fully as possible with us about their plans before a Priv can be granted.
Will there be additional restrictions on access for parents to the College site during term time?
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Yes, if national guidelines permit and if we are able to travel. We have planned the usual fixtures for the usual Michaelmas Term sports but this may change if some sports are permitted and others are not. The Director and Heads of Sport are already planning a variety of possible scenarios.
Our hope is that parents can attend any outdoor fixtures and small events that we are able to run. However, it is likely that some of the bigger events that would normally have happened in the Michaelmas Term may need to be restricted in numbers or postponed. Wherever we can, we will share closed activities via video. We would also ask parents to observe the conditions in place at the time for visiting the College.
Will the co-curricular programme run?
Will the pupils be allowed to visit the Town?
We are committed to maintaining the usual breadth and variety in our co-curricular programme as far as is physically possible, although we will observe any official advice on adjustments that may be needed. Each activity will be
It is possible that there might be some restrictions to the usual free access to the Town enjoyed by pupils during term time. The pupils will be briefed fully about conditions for visiting Town when they return.
Will there be sports fixtures?
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MARLBOROUGH COLLEGE
The Start of Term and School Calendar We recognise that pupils will be returning to campus after an extended period of time at home and away from the usual routines of school life. They will require time to adjust to being back on campus, as well as to absorb new safety information. As such, we shall put structures in place to ensure a more staggered start to the term in order to build confidence in and an understanding of how we will be operating every day. We expect the start of term to run as follows:
Sunday 23rd August
Wednesday 9th September (evening)
Boarding facility opens on campus for pupils travelling from overseas who have opted to see through the 14-day period of quarantine on campus.
Remaining Lower Sixth and Remove pupils arrive at school. All pupils back on campus and residential in their boarding houses.
Wednesday 2nd September
Thursday 10th September
Optional light programme of remote learning commences for Hundred and Upper Sixth.
Phased return to face-to-face lessons continues.
Sunday 6th September
Friday 25th – Sunday 27th September
Pupils who have undertaken the period of quarantine on campus move to their own boarding houses.
First Exeat. Pupils will go home although some provision will be made to retain pupils on campus where this is not possible.
Monday 7th September
Friday 16th October – Sunday 1st November
Prefects, Heads of House and New Lower Sixth pupils arrive at school.
Half-term. We anticipate that all pupils will go home for Half-term.
Tuesday 8th September (afternoon and evening)
Friday 20th – Monday 23rd November
Shell, new Lower School pupils, Hundred and Upper Sixth pupils arrive at school.
Second Exeat. Pupils will go home although some provision will be made to retain pupils on campus where this is not possible.
Wednesday 9th September Lessons begin for all pupils (virtual lessons for the Remove and Lower Sixth).
We will ensure that there is a wide window of time available in order to avoid congestion outside the Houses, which will allow social distancing to be observed. Collection of pupils for Exeats and Half-term may need to be staggered too and it is possible that the usual College transport arrangements will be very limited.
MARLBOROUGH COLLEGE
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Detailed Planning The latter parts of this booklet provide more detail on the various planning options and mitigation strategies we are developing for the multiple different scenarios which are currently in play. We will firm up over the summer months which plan is required and we would like to be clear that whatever plan we put in place will be proportionate to the situation and to the official guidance.
Planning for different operational options We are looking forward to the return of all pupils for the Michaelmas Term. As we plan for reopening, we are following Government guidance for the safe operation of schools, alongside specific advice for residential educational settings. Furthermore, we are sharing best practice ideas with similar schools, both in this country and beyond, and learning from the experiences of boarding schools in Australia and New Zealand who have already welcomed boarders back. The planning groups working on the resumption of boarding have followed the guiding principles set out below: • Comply with or exceed the guidance for safe opening of schools set out by the Government • Focus on safety and wellbeing through a comprehensive process of risk assessment • Continue to provide the very highest standards of education and pastoral care • Develop and implement a comprehensive COVID-19 infection response plan The UK Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) has produced five level descriptors for the British Government which are given below. The College needs to be able to react to changes in the National level, possibly at very short notice. Level 1 COVID-19 is not known to be present in the UK Level 2 COVID-19 is present, number of cases and transmission is low Level 3
A COVID-19 epidemic is in circulation
Level 4 COVID-19 is in general circulation; transmission is high and rising Level 5
Risk of healthcare services being overwhelmed
As a country, we continue to make positive progress and on June 19th the Chief Medical Officers and the Joint Biosecurity Centre recommended that the COVID-19 alert level should move from level 4 to level 3. We all hope that we will continue to see progress in the containment of the virus and that the risk level will continue to be reduced. However, we are developing our own set of operational plans for each alert level scenario, aligned to all official guidance and rigorously risk assessed. Although our hope is that the Michaelmas Term can operate as close to normal as possible, we will be able to execute any of the options outlined on the next page if required. The current trajectory would seem to suggest that we will be operating Plan C in September but we will keep all options open until the latest point possible. Please note that Plans A-E on the following page are not necessarily directly correlated with Levels 1-5 on the JBC descriptors.
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MARLBOROUGH COLLEGE
Detailed Planning It is essential that our plans retain the flexibility to be able to deliver a blend of face-to-face lessons and the virtual school programme, and this flexibility must extend to variations within the same year group, when pupils from any year may be in isolation or unable to return to College. Although face-toface lessons will be the desired norm, we also need to have the capacity to deliver all lessons online to pupils who are in school, should circumstances and Government guidance dictate. Our timetable will need to adjust to accommodate different physical restrictions. Under Plans A and B, we will follow
the standard school timetable, with the familiar weekly pattern of lessons and co-curricular activities. Under Plans C and D, we will follow an adjusted timetable which will incorporate the same 29 lessons in the working week but, in other respects, may be very different. Two or three different timetable models have been created, from which the most appropriate one will be selected to suit the circumstances at the time. Under Plan E, the virtual school timetable will run as it did in the Summer Term 2020.
Summary
Key Considerations
Plan A
Normal school operation.
• No special measures in place
Plan B
Normal school operation with some alterations and safety procedures in place. Five year groups in school.
• Health and Hygiene protocols reinforced • Standard school timetable • Some Mitigation Strategies in operation: Hygiene, Sanitisation and possible Social Distancing • Access to Virtual School possible
Plan C
Plan D
Plan E
School day adjusted to facilitate social distancing requirements. Up to five year groups in school.
• Adjusted school day
School day adjusted to facilitate social distancing requirements. Fewer than five year groups in school.
• Adjusted school day
College campus closed to most pupils.
• Virtual school in operation for all pupils
• All Mitigation Strategies in operation • Virtual School running for some pupils
• All Mitigation Strategies in operation • Virtual School running for a large number of pupils
• Summer timetable lesson times in place • Some provision for pupils in place on site, for example any having to isolate, children of essential workers etc
MARLBOROUGH COLLEGE
Mitigation Strategies Ensuring as normal a return to school life as possible will require the careful execution of mitigation strategies for Health and Hygiene and Social Distancing. Depending on which Plan option we are operating within, more or fewer of these measures will be put in place.
In all circumstances we will continue to encourage sensible measures around personal and general hygiene. These strategies draw on Government documents already referenced, as well as specific guidance for the workplace and from the BSA in their COVID-SAFE charter and from the ISC, which should allow boarding to operate in a safe and productive manner.
Our areas of focus are summarised below:
General Hygiene
Sanitising spaces/surfaces
Social distancing
• Frequent handwashing
• Implementation of increased sanitising of frequently touched surfaces e.g door handles, hand railings, desks, washrooms
• Create a culture of physical distancing
• Easy access to hand sanitisers • Coughing/sneezing etiquette • Avoid sharing food/drinks • Avoid touching face
• Enhanced laundry/housekeeping protocols
• Proper diet, sleeping, general wellness
• Directions to stay at home when feeling ill
• Visible spacing markers in busy areas • Reduce class sizes to match social distancing requirements
• All co-curricular activities individually risk assessed and social distancing measures applied
Structural controls
Administrative controls
• Erect physical barriers e.g. plexiglass in key areas such as reception and the dining hall
• Campus protocols on entry for day pupils, staff, parents, guests, deliveries
• Enhanced food service protocols.
• Directional signs and one-way systems for pedestrians
• Rather than buffet-style meals, food services staff to prepare plated or takeout meals.
• Avoid congestion by adopting adjusted timetable
• Apply daily health screening questions for all pupils, staff and visitors; subsequent core temperature checking if needed
• Limit large gatherings
• Adjust boarding house protocols; create separate discrete zones in houses, based around shared facilities
• Directions to inform someone when feeling ill
• Reduce furniture in communal spaces
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• Modifications to co-curricular delivery • Consider yearly breaks and school calendar • Maintain online learning facility • Medical Centre protocols • Testing/contact tracking processes
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) • Access to (washable) face coverings and associated policy for wearing in place. • All pupils to return with at least two named, washable face coverings. • Increased use of PPE in key areas – catering, medical centre, boarding houses.
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MARLBOROUGH COLLEGE
Medical Centre and Facilities The Medical Centre will continue to offer its full service of nurse-led 24/7 care. Nurses will provide routine health care and treatment of injuries, and triage pupils to enable access to GP assessment, in accordance with NHS guidance for primary care. In the event that a pupil feels unwell and would like to see a medic, they will email the Medical Centre in the first instance. A triage appointment and venue will then be arranged, taking into account any symptoms. Bumps, bruises and sprains picked up through College activities will be dealt with in the usual way. The College Counselling Service will continue to operate, with a combination of face-to-face and remote appointments. In any case where COVID-19 might be suspected, a separate, dedicated facility will be used. If COVID-19 testing is required, Public Health England guidance will be followed and parents will be informed. We will isolate pupils until a test result is provided. If the result is positive, we would expect pupils to be collected and looked after at home, wherever this is possible (i.e. for UK based parents). If collection is not possible, we will have an isolation facility available with medical cover. In either event, the pupil will have access to Virtual School, if they are feeling well enough to attend. A positive test result will necessitate the College making an assessment of who any close contacts of the pupil might be. As a minimum, all those within the same zone in House will be required to self-isolate for 14 days (under current legislation). Again, in most cases we would expect this to happen at home. In the few instances when this might not be possible, we will have access to a separate self-isolation facility where pupils will stay for 14 days and join in the Virtual School provision. In addition, we are exploring a range of products which might be used in support of our own test and track process and the intention at this stage is to implement the most appropriate option, although it is too early to confirm this.
Quarantine Facility before term starts Indications, at the moment, from the UK Government are that there will be a 14-day quarantine period for arrivals in the UK from a defined list of countries and we have robust plans around implementing this with the child’s wellbeing at the foremost of our thinking. If the quarantine regulations still apply in August, we will provide a facility at the College where pupils may spend the 14-day quarantine period, starting on Sunday 23rd August. The College will arrange transport back to the College from a London airport on the 23rd.
Pupils will be well looked after by College staff and we will have a range of appropriate activities in place to keep pupils occupied. The conditions stipulated for quarantine are stringent and there is very limited room for interaction between pupils, unless they have travelled together. There will be support available through the School’s Medical Centre throughout the quarantine period. The details of this quarantine service, including cost, are being finalised and will be communicated in due course. If the requirement for quarantine is removed but families have already booked flights then we will make a residential facility available, even though the strict need for quarantine no longer exists.
MARLBOROUGH COLLEGE
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What might school life be like? It is clearly important that in planning for a safe return to school for all pupils we have focused on developing the measures needed to ensure the health and safety of the whole College community whilst continuing to deliver the Marlborough College educational provision as fully as possible. Equally, we appreciate that in returning to College your children are looking forward to the usual collegiate life of our full boarding school and will be keen to understand what might need to be different. Although we cannot be certain which Operating Plan we will be required to work within, it is highly likely that certain changes will have to be made to the daily routine. We want to outline our best view as to what the main adjustments might look like from September so you and your child can familiarise yourself with them. The following guidelines would apply to Plan C. Each room in the boarding houses will be allocated to a specific zone, based around shared bathroom facilities. Pupils within each zone will be viewed as a “household� and, as such, will be expected to work together to maintain high standards of personal hygiene and cleanliness, using the bathrooms and other facilities in their own zone. Central communal areas within houses will follow social distancing protocols and will be the only place in the house
where pupils from different zones may meet. It is likely that such areas will need to be reconfigured to allow for whatever social distancing requirements are in place. This will mean less furniture in shared areas and in some dormitories. Beyond the confines of the House, full social distancing measures will be applied at all times, aiming to avoid close contact between individuals. Lesson times will be staggered for different year groups and other measures will be in place to mitigate against congestion, including a one-way system for pedestrians around some parts of the College. Pupils will be expected to engage actively with the social distancing requirements as they carry out their daily activities. They will also be required to keep their personal belongings tidy and not leave them in communal areas. Breaches of rules around hygiene and social distancing will be dealt with rigorously through the College sanction system. At the start of each day, every member of the College community will be required to answer a short series of Health Screening questions. A concern raised here will result in medical assessment, which will include core temperature checking. School uniform requirements will be adjusted so that items that require dry cleaning are not worn.
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Pupils will be asked to use hand sanitiser or wash their hands on leaving and arriving in all buildings, especially on returning to their Boarding House or going to Norwood Hall.
Co-curricular activities will happen within allocated groups. Pupils may be engaged in new sporting, creative and outdoor activity programmes to support exercise whilst maintaining physical distancing requirements.
Pupils will see an enhanced cleaning regime being executed across the campus, in their Boarding Houses and classrooms, including between lessons when there will be a fifteen-minute gap to facilitate the stagger as well as cleaning contact points. Further infection control measures (use of PPE or screens) may be in place in close contact situations. There will be floor signage and indicated one-way flow in and out of our buildings and class rooms.
We are undertaking detailed planning around the safe participation and return to sport. Restrictions on national sport in the UK are gradually lifting and we anticipate that will trickle down to school sport level over the next few months. At all times, we will follow Government guidance, advice from the Department for Education on school campuses, and that of the International and National Governing Bodies,alongside our own risk assessments. We are optimistic that we will be able to return to some modified provision of sport and activity following social distancing and hygiene practices and we will be flexible over which sports may be played.
Certain lessons or practical and group work may require the wearing of face coverings. Pupils will be asked to return with at least two named, washable face coverings (loop behind ears, not snood type). Pupils will be able to wear these at any time they choose and there will be times when they will have to wear them. Training on how to place them on their face will be given and daily washing of face coverings will be provided through the boarding houses. It is likely that written work will continue to be submitted digitally, rather than handing in paper or books. Many pupils will continue to work in exercise books and on file paper, before scanning work using their phones and submitting, as they have been doing during the Virtual School period.
Mealtimes in Norwood Hall may be staggered to reduce numbers at any one time with social distancing management of queues, and we may need to move temporarily to pre-plated or takeout meals. A significant function of any adjusted timetable in place will be to avoid any congestion in Norwood Hall or elsewhere on campus. For the moment, it is likely that large gatherings such as assemblies and Chapel services will be delivered online.
We are enormously grateful for the way the Marlborough College community has come together to do the right thing, as individuals and collectively, during this global pandemic and we are confident that this mind-set will enable us together to navigate effectively the ongoing challenges of returning to normality. The health and safety of everyone will always remain our priority. We will be reviewing and updating our plans over the coming weeks and will keep in regular contact with you during the summer holiday period as things change and move forward. Please do contact us through the Admissions Department if you have any further questions.
WDL Nicholas Second Master
Marlborough College, Marlborough, Wiltshire SN8 1PA Email: admissions@marlboroughcollege.org
www.marlboroughcollege.org @MarlboroughCol
Marlborough College (Registered Charity No, 309486) incorporated by Royal Charter to provide education.
