Charlton School

Dear Parent/Carers,

Confirmed Covid-19 Case – Year 10 and Viral Video

We have been informed of a positive case amongst our student body in Year 10.  A small number of parents have received a text and personalised email informing them of the need to isolate, if your child is a close contact or in the same class. Please check your spam folder.  We believe this case has come about through family transmission and not contracted at the school. 

Please can I take this opportunity to remind all parents that it is of vital importance that as a community we follow the rules below regarding not attending school in these circumstances.

• Students should not attend school if either themselves or any member of their household are showing coronavirus symptoms, they should remain off until the outcomes of a test are known
• Students should not attend school if either themselves or any member of their household are awaiting the results of a coronavirus test, they can return to school if the test is negative
• Students should not attend school if either themselves or any member of their household have had a positive test result.

Failure to abide by these guidelines makes controlling the virus in school impossible and will lead to having significant periods of isolation for our students, something all of us want to avoid.  We would urge families to err on the side of caution and if you are concerned about coronavirus symptoms or are in the situations above, families should remain at home and follow the Government guidance.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance/stay-at-home-guidance-for-households-with-possible-coronavirus-covid-19-infection

Please ensure you have provided a mask for your child, they will need to wear one in all communal areas in school (corridors, open areas and the canteen, unless eating), at all times, including entering and exiting the building.  Students will not be permitted to walk around the building without a mask.  Despite my request last week, we still had 44 students attend Monday without a mask.

As a school community we will continue to do all we can to prevent the spread of coronavirus.  The easiest way to do this is to keep the virus out of the building.  We urge all families to support us by following the guidance above and to ensure your child wears a face mask as required.

You may have become aware of a video being shared of an incident that occurred outside of school on 13 November 2020.  I can assure you this has been robustly dealt with by the school. We have released the following press statement.

Charlton School is aware of an incident that took place on Friday 13 November involving a number of our students, on their way home from school.

We have taken swift, immediate, and appropriate action, including sanctions and targeted intervention for the perpetrators. A police investigation is ongoing, and we are co-operating fully.

Charlton School works hard to provide a safe, nurturing environment where proactive measures are taken to ensure students are protected from any types of bullying.

Although this incident did not take place during the normal hours of the school day, we have taken full responsibility for working with all students involved, and the wider school community, to prevent any further such incident from occurring.

We are in contact with the parents of all those involved, who tell us they are satisfied with the actions we have taken. The school is also working closely with the local Sikh community and its leaders at this time.

Thank you for your continued support.

Yours faithfully

Mr A McNaughton

Principal