Back to School Guide September 2020
qebarnet.co.uk
Contents 01
Introduction
04
Play Your Part, Help Control the Virus – Our Three Key Messages
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Guided by Government & the NHS – QE Strategy Follows
Public Health Advice 17
Face Coverings
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Bubbles & Distancing – Timetable, Lunch, Assemblies and More
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Appendices 30
Appendix 1 – The Timetable
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Appendix 2 – Designated Playground Areas
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Appendix 3 – Arrangements for School Coaches
Introduction As we prepare to fully re-open to boys at the start of term, I am very pleased to say that at Queen Elizabeth’s School, we are ready and waiting, with staff in good heart and eager to welcome all the pupils here again. A great deal of careful thought has gone into our plans and preparations. We have put into place measures that are designed to keep everyone safe, while at the same time enabling us to offer a full educational experience to all the boys. Throughout the lockdown, the School, in fact, never closed, and this has given our teams a rare opportunity to do deep-cleaning and to undertake not only all our normal maintenance, but some additional tasks as well.
Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet
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With Personal Development Time resuming as normal, bespoke tutorials and assemblies picking up from the online provision offered during lockdown, and the School counsellor available to provide help to anyone who needs it, we are in a strong position to offer boys a great deal of support as they re-adjust to ‘full-time School’. It is important to say, however, that every individual – pupil, parent and staff member – has a crucial role to play in protecting the Elizabethan community: we all share a personal responsibility to follow School procedures, to maintain good hygiene and to adhere to national guidance on self-isolation and NHS Test and Trace.
The School coped very well with the tumultuous changes we faced in the Spring and Summer Terms, bolstered by a sense of shared endeavour and by active co-operation from staff and families alike. While this term should see a return to something much more recognisably 'normal', there will nevertheless be some major adaptations to life at QE. This guide includes details, for example, of our year group ‘bubbles’ for lessons and enrichment activities; of a change to the timetable to stagger the lunch break, and of new routines at the start and end of each lesson.
Of course, both nationally and internationally, the prospects for the coming months remain uncertain. Please rest assured that, at QE, we will continue to follow rigorously the evolving expert guidance and will seek to be agile in amending our routines and arrangements as necessary. The eQE platform gives us a great deal of flexibility, should we need to adapt to changing local or national circumstances. Plans are in place to ensure continuity of teaching and learning to cover a range of potential situations: we continue to develop remote learning
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strategies so that we can cater for pupils who may find themselves at home for an extended period, whether because their household is isolating or due to a local lockdown, for example.
This guide deals with serious and weighty matters, and we should all take seriously the advice to ‘play your part, help control the virus’. Yet we should not lose sight of the many positives in our current situation. It is tremendously exciting to have everyone coming back, and I know that boys are keen to see their friends and to resume many of the enriching activities that we offer in normal times, just as teachers and support staff are looking forward to returning to their normal roles.
We must, of course, be prepared to continue to adapt to changing circumstances and advice – with everyone’s health, safety and wellbeing remaining front and centre – but it is no less essential that, drawing on our collective strength as the Elizabethan community, we sustain confidence, progress and involvement as we enter this new academic year.
Neil Enright Headmaster
Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet
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Play your part Help control the virus Our Three Key Messages Whilst this guide also includes other important aspects to our work to protect the School community from COVID-19, our three key messages are Please keep your distance, Wash your hands and Catch it, bin it, kill it. To keep everyone safe, it is vital that these messages are fully understood and rigorously adhered to.
Posters and banners will be prominently displayed around the School to remind everyone of these messages. The following pages explain them in more detail.
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Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet
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Please, keep your distance •
Pupils will enter classrooms immediately on arrival to avoid queuing and overcrowding in corridors and doorways before the start of lessons.
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All desks will be arranged to face forwards, with seating plans organised alphabetically by surname.
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Teachers have been advised to remain at the front of the classroom when teaching. Teachers are also being encouraged generally to restrict contact only to pupils they are teaching or tutoring.
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The sharing of textbooks, worksheets and other resources will be minimised insofar as this is possible. Teachers will, for example:
— Scan textbook pages so they can be displayed on interactive white boards — Send worksheets and resources to pupils in advance so they can be printed out. Where this is not possible, they will… — Put sanitised resources on desks, or in a box for pupils to take as they enter the room (once they have sanitised their hands).
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Merits, good notes, and bad notes will continue to be issued electronically, rather than face-to-face.
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Pupils should begin packing up approximately five minutes before the bell to ensure that they can be dismissed from the classroom immediately after the bell has rung.
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•
Teachers will monitor the corridor as classes are being dismissed to avoid congestion.
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The School will be operating in year group ‘bubbles’ to avoid close contact between pupils from different years. More information on this and other aspects of our distancing measures is in our Bubbles & Distancing section below.
Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet
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Wash your hands •
All pupils, staff and visitors should wash their hands regularly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, e.g. upon arrival at School, before eating, on departure etc.
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Pupils should sanitise their hands as they enter and leave at the start and end of every lesson; teachers will carefully control the entry and exit of pupils to ensure this happens.
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Hand sanitiser will be provided in every classroom and at other key points, such as reception, dining areas and The Queen’s Library.
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Although hand sanitiser will be provided, we also encourage pupils and staff to carry their own, and to use it regularly.
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Pupils will be able to use the alcohol wipes provided to clean desk/chair surfaces before the lesson begins. Teachers will clean shared resources with alcohol wipes before and after use.
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More information on the School’s wider cleaning preparations and routines may be found on the Enhanced Cleaning Arrangements page below.
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Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet
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Catch it, bin it, kill it •
All boys, staff and visitors to the School are requested to carry their own tissues and to use them to catch a cough or sneeze. They should then immediately dispose of them in a waste bin, as well as washing or sanitising their hands. Packs containing tissues and wipes will be available in each classroom.
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Staff will ensure classroom bins are accessible for pupils to throw away tissues during lessons. All classroom bins have a lid, and there are lidded wheelie bins in the playgrounds. The lids will be wiped down regularly.
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Everyone should take care to avoid touching their nose, mouth and other areas of their face.
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Doors will be kept open to increase ventilation in classrooms; windows will also be kept open whenever possible. Mag-lock doors have been installed in Main Building and the Fern Building.
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Face masks are not mandatory on the School site (although they must be worn on School coaches and public transport). We are, however, asking everyone to carry one when at School. If worn, pupils must ensure they are safely disposed of. More information on face coverings in our FAQ section below.
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Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet
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Guided by Government & the NHS QE Strategy Follows Public Health Advice In our detailed and comprehensive approach to developing a strategy for managing the coronavirus, QE has been guided by the following essential control measures drawn up by the Government and the NHS for schools as they prepare to re-open fully:
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Robust hand and respiratory hygiene .
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Formal consideration of distancing and of minimising potential for contamination – largely covered in Our Three Key Messages section above.
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A requirement that people who are ill should stay at home – further information in the Guidance on Isolation section below.
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Active engagement with NHS Test and Trace – see the NHS Test
and Trace section below.
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Enhanced cleaning arrangements – the Enhanced Cleaning
Arrangements section below details our preparations over the summer and our ongoing routines.
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Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet
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Guidance on Isolation The specific coronavirus symptoms highlighted by the NHS are: • A high temperature. • A new, continuous cough. • A loss of, or change to, your sense of smell or taste.
As soon as you experience any of these symptoms, you must: •
stay home, or go home (reporting first to the front office if symptoms develop when on the School premises).
•
isolate and not leave home for at least 10 days, (or until the fever has subsided, if beyond this) .
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arrange for yourself to be tested as soon as possible (by visiting the official NHS website).
People must isolate for 14 days if anyone in their household develops symptoms or tests positive.
If the test comes back negative, you can return to School if feeling well enough: at this point, others in your household can stop their isolation, unless any of them have also experienced symptoms, in which case all must continue to isolate.
Isolation rules must be followed even if a person knows, or believes, that they have had Covid-19 before.
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NHS Test and Trace As stated on the previous page, if you have Covid-19 symptoms, you must get tested promptly. While the School may be able to assist with this, the test should be done through the national scheme.
While your test is pending, you must not attend School, even if you are no longer symptomatic, or have not been symptomatic at all.
If you are in household isolation (because another family member has experienced symptoms and/or tested positive), you must isolate for the full 14 days. Even if you test negative, you must not return to School within this period. This is in line with Government advice.
Once you receive your test result, whether positive or negative, you must send evidence to the School via absence@qebarnet.co.uk. This could be as a forwarded email, a screenshot of a text message etc.
In the case of a positive test, the School will then be able to support efforts to identify your close contacts. The codified seating plans in each lesson will aid tracing. You must cooperate fully with Government tracers and must isolate if asked to do so by a tracer.
A suspected or confirmed case at School does not necessarily mean that others will be sent home en masse : the School, Barnet's Public Health team and national tracers will advise.
Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet
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Face Coverings We are encouraging all boys, staff and visitors to carry with them a face covering (mask) when they are on the School site.
Boys and staff may wish to wear these face coverings when they are moving between classes, since corridors may be busy at lesson changeover times. They may also wish to wear face coverings in communal areas of the School in which maintaining social distancing is difficult.
It is not currently mandatory to wear masks in these, or any other, areas of the School, but please note that this position may change, for example, if coronavirus transmission rates increase in the local area. Masks must, however, be worn on the School coaches and on public transport.
Those wearing face coverings must ensure that they put on, remove, store and dispose of them safely, washing/sanitising their hands before and after use, and, ideally, keeping their masks in a sealable plastic bag when not in use.
Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet
17 Eliza-
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Enhanced Cleaning Arrangements •
A deep clean of the School
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Additional, regular cleaning of
site took place during
common ‘touch points’ – e.g.
lockdown; indeed, a full
door handles, bannisters and
programme of cleaning
toilets – will take place. Doors
has been maintained since
will be propped open to
the start of the pandemic.
reduce contact with these ‘touch points’ and to aid
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The capacity of the day
ventilation.
cleaning team has been expanded by increasing
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their overall working hours.
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An emergency call-out
All dining venues will be cleaned between sittings.
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In-lesson routines will be
cleaning procedure is in
adapted to ensure work
place to deal with
spaces remain clean.
incidents. • •
Medical rooms will be
All desk surfaces will be
professionally cleaned after
professionally cleaned
any usage where coronavirus
twice a day.
is suspected.
Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet
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Around the Site •
The School will be operating year group ‘bubbles’. There will therefore be no close contact between pupils from different year groups.
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Extra-curricular activities will be limited to single year groups. (Senior staff are conducting planning for enrichment activities that usually involve more than one year group, such as drama and some Music ensembles.)
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Playgrounds will be assigned to single year groups on a rota, to prevent any mixing between year groups. See Appendix 2 below.
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Some one-way systems have been instituted around the site, to limit corridor congestion at lesson changeovers.
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Pupils will still move between different departments. This is so that they can benefit from specialist teaching spaces; so that the setting system, which contributes significantly to academic progress, can be maintained, and also so that teachers can generally stay in their own rooms, better enabling them to provide a safe environment.
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More staff will be on duty around the School to ensure distancing measures are fully observed. Supervision in The Queen’s Library will be increased and the Weights Room will now be supervised.
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All pupils should have their own stationery and not share such equipment with others.
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No more than two pupils will be allowed into the School shop at a time, with break only to be used to collect pre-orders, and a socially distanced queue to be maintained during lunchtime.
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We are encouraging pupils to bring their own water bottles. They will still be able to get water at School to top them up. Signs at filling points will advise boys about safe usage and regular cleaning. Pupils should not drink straight from the filling point.
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Pupils will not be invited into any shared staff offices. They should use the counters in reception, Business Administration and The Queen’s Library, as these are ‘customer service’ points and have had screens etc. installed.
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The gym toilets have been made accessible from Red Square, increasing available provision. The disabled toilet in the Main Building will be locked, with the keys kept in reception and the medical room, for use only by those who have a disability and those in the medical room.
Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet
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Heads of Subject and QE’s senior leadership have worked together on any adaptations necessary to ensure safety - e.g. relating to the use of Science equipment; how performance music will be structured; how the PE curriculum will be adapted (with full-contact sports initially being discouraged).
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There are contractors on-site working on the construction of the new Music School. They will adhere to their own health and safety standards, and these contractors will remain separate from the rest of the School.
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The School Day •
The timetable has been adapted to avoid the whole School having lunch at the same time. Periods 5 & 6 and the lunch break will be staggered: > Years 7, 9 and 13 have their lunch break from 11.30am–12.40pm and then periods 5 & 6 from 12.40–1.50pm. > Years 8, 10, 11 and 12 have periods 5 & 6 from 11.30am–12.40pm (as previously), and then lunch from 12.40–1.50pm.
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Each year group will have designated lunch areas (Dining Hall for Year 7 and then 8; Shearly Hall for Year 9 and then 10 & 11 [separated]; and Café 1573 for Year 13 and then 12). > For further details, see Appendix 1 below.
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No assemblies will be held comprising more than one year group; some will be conducted using video-conferencing technology, so forms remain in their form rooms.
Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnett
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Coming and Going •
When arriving in the mornings, pupils should head straight to their designated outside areas and may enter their form rooms from 8.30am (or before, in the event of wet weather).
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When dropping off or picking up their sons, parents are requested not to approach the Main Gate and also to remain in their vehicles. To ensure safety in front of the School gates, it would be helpful if drop-offs/pick-ups can take place on Granville Road, just a minute’s walk from the Main Gate.
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No parents will be allowed past the security guards at the Main Gate unless they have an appointment. Visitors will be held at the gate and contact made with reception. Visitors will only be sent up when it is safe do to so. Reception has been arranged to limit contact between visitors and staff.
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Supporting our Staff •
We are expecting the full complement of staff to return at the start of term and will work on an individual basis to minimise the risk for those whose existing health leaves them more vulnerable.
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Risk assessments will be carried out for all visiting staff, such as trainee teachers from the Initial Teacher Training programme and peripatetic Music teachers, both for their own wellbeing and to protect the School. They will be fully briefed, such as on social distancing in Music practice rooms and on not sharing equipment.
Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet
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FAQs Do I have to wear a mask? No. Face coverings will not be mandatory, other than on public transport and the School coaches*. There is no general expectation that staff and pupils will wear face coverings during the day, although masks and other PPE may be worn at personal discretion. We are, however, encouraging everyone to have a mask in their possession. Boys and staff may wish to wear these in corridors at lesson changeover times or in communal areas where social distancing is difficult. Remember that wearing a mask or gloves is not a substitute for other protective measures, such as hand-washing and socially distancing from those not in your year group bubble. Avoid touching the fabric of the mask; like everybody else, mask-wearers should avoid touching their face. •
See Appendix 3 below for more information on the
Arrangements for School coaches.
What should I do if I feel unwell at School? Go first to the front office. You will then be told where you should go. (Note that any pupil assisting you should maintain a safe distance). In addition to the medical room, where there will be PPE for first aid staff, other venues have been identified as isolation rooms, or auxiliary medical rooms, so that safe distances can be observed and those with
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Covid-19 symptoms can be kept separate from those needing medical assistance for other reasons. Seven additional members of staff were trained in First Aid during lockdown to increase capacity.
And what if a boy feels unwell or develops Covid-19 symptoms at home? If a boy develops Covid-19 symptoms, he must not attend School. Our normal absence procedures will be in operation, so absence because of sickness should be reported through the normal channels – by replying directly to the text message sent at 9.30am to the parents of boys absent on a School day, or by emailing absence@qebarnet.co.uk, or by leaving a voicemail on Option 1 of the School’s main system. Prior notice of absences should be made by email. Please be assured that we do fully understand that if pupils, or others in their families, are showing symptoms, they will need to stay at home and isolate. If a pupil is absent for a reason associated with coronavirus, the School should be notified at the earliest opportunity and then kept up to date, so that appropriate support can be put in place.
If there is a suspected or confirmed case of Covid19 in my son’s form or year group, will he and his classmates be sent home? Not necessarily. The School will advise, in consultation with Barnet's Public Health team, and national tracers.
Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet
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If my son develops coronavirus symptoms, can he stay in isolation at School for the rest of the day? No. Should a pupil display Covid-19 symptoms, parents will be asked to collect him without delay. We recognise that many parents live or work a distance from School, but it is vital that boys (and any brothers, who would also need to go home to begin household isolation) are collected as swiftly as possible.
Can I continue with my lessons if I have to isolate? The School expects people to stay at home where this is required under the Government’s coronavirus rules. Efforts will, therefore, be made to ensure that those isolating at home are able to 'join' lessons using technology. Should large groups (e.g. an entire year group ‘bubble’) have to isolate at home, we envisage that a full range of work would be set for them.
eQE played a major role in the Summer Term. Will it still be used? Although all boys are expected to come back to School this term, we will continue to make use of eQE’s functionality to support in-School learning, drawing on our successful experiences during lockdown.
Examples of this will include: teachers sending resources to pupils on eQE for printing ahead of a lesson; boys submitting some work and
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having it marked via eQE; staff using eQE to issue Merits, Good Notes and Bad Notes electronically; and teachers delivering information virtually, in certain cases where it is still not possible to hold meetings or other events on-site.
Do I need to take any special measures with regard to cleaning uniform? No. All QE uniform, including the blazer, is machine-washable, and maintaining normal standards of cleanliness and hygiene is sufficient. Upper School pupils are responsible for maintaining the hygiene of their suits.
Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet
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Appendix 1 The Timetable 8.40am-8.50am 8.50am-9.25am 9.25am-10.00am 10.00am-10.20am 10.20am-10.55am 10.55am-11.30am 11.30am-12.05pm (Years 8, 10, 11, 12) (All other years: lunch break) 12.05pm-12.40pm (Years 8, 10, 11, 12) (All other years: lunch break) 12.40pm-1.15pm (Years 7, 9 and 13 only) (All other years: lunch break) 1.15pm-1.50pm (Years 7, 9 and 13 only) (All other years: lunch break)
1.50pm-2.25pm 2.25pm-3.00pm 3.00pm-3.35pm 30
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Explanatory Notes •
Lessons 5 and 6 take place between either 11.30am and 12.40pm (Years 8, 10, 11, 12) or 12.40pm and 1.50pm (Years 7, 9 and 13), thus allowing for a staggered lunch break.
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Lesson 7 is always timetabled from 1.50pm–2.25pm. On Monday, Tuesday and Thursdays this is a pastoral session in form groups. On Wednesday and Friday, it is timetabled for curriculum lessons.
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On Monday, Tuesday and Thursdays, afternoon registration takes place in the lesson 7 pastoral session. On Wednesday and Friday, it takes place in the lesson 7 academic lesson.
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Each form group will meet for PDT/assembly, a discussion session and a tutor administration/bespoke tutorial session each week. These take place on Monday, Tuesday or Thursday.
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Bespoke tutorials will not be run individually in 2020-2021, but in lesson 7 (with the whole class present).
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Year 12 &13 students who do not have further lessons or other School activities may sign out after lesson 7 (pastoral session) on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, or from 11.30am onwards on Wednesdays and Fridays.
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If there is a wet break when a form room is in use in lessons 5 and 6, the form should use the nearest available form room.
Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet
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Appendix 2 Designated Playground Areas
x x x x x x x
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x x x
x x x x
Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet
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Appendix 3 Arrangements for School Coaches
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Route F
Uxbridge
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Route G
Wembley
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Route H
Hatfield
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Route I
Harrow-College Road
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Route J
Watford
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Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet
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Queen Elizabeth’s School Queen’s Road, Barnet Hertfordshire EN5 4DQ 020 8441 4646 enquiries@qebarnet.co.uk
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