Dear Pupils,
At the end of the school year, I always write to our schools to look back at what has gone well and to celebrate your successes. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the hard work of our headteachers, school staff and pupils has made me very proud. You, your parents and carers, and your teachers have been involved in teaching and learning from home, using technology in ways that are new to many of us. Some of you have also attended school so that your parents
and carers were able to continue their work in important services, such as the NHS.

Many of you will know that your schools are working hard to get ready to welcome you back safely in September.
For those of you who have not been in to school before the summer holidays, you will notice in September that there will be some differences to what you are used to. These changes are
there for everybody’s safety. For example:

• You will be asked to wash your hands more often.
• You will see more cleaning being carried out around school.
• You may start the day or have lunch at a slightly different time from what you are used to.
• You will also need to take a packed lunch for the first couple of weeks.
• Your school might decide that not all pupils will return on the same day.
• Breakfast or after school club arrangements may need to change.
• If you travel to school by bus or taxi, it is likely you will need to wear a face mask and your travel times may be different.

Your school will explain any changes to you and your parents and carers before your first day back. Once again, I’d like to thank you all. I hope you have a safe and happy summer and look forward to welcoming you back in September.

Yours sincerely
Nick Williams
Director of Education