With this in mind, the training day for Arthur Mellows, that was originally planned for Monday 12 April 2021 is being transferred to Friday 18 December 2020.  This will mean that the College will close for students, for the Christmas break at 3.05 pm on Thursday 17 December 2020 and re-open on Tuesday 5 January 2021.

Crucially, all schools have been directed by the Department of Education and our Public Health colleagues that the track and trace procedures WILL STILL NEED TO TAKE PLACE FOR THE FIRST 6 DAYS OF THE CHRISTMAS BREAK.  With bringing the closure forward by one day to Thursday 17 December 2020, this means that we need to track and trace students right up until the end of Wednesday 23 December 2020.  With this in mind, please report ALL positive cases to the College, so that these can be acted upon and contact made with individuals recommending self-isolation for 14 days.  A team of on-call staff are on duty to consider positive cases and make contact with families accordingly.

Can I please remind parents that if your son / daughter experiences ANY ONE of the published Covid symptoms in the run-up to the end of term, or there is ANY DOUBT WHATSOEVER, they should not attend school and should book a test via https://www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test.  At the same time, please email office@arthurmellows.org which is manned out of hours so that this can be dealt with as necessary.

For your information the guides for parents on self-isolation and Covid test implications can be found on the following link: https://www.arthurmellows.org/news/?pid=3&nid=3&storyid=30

To conclude, I have summarised below the procedures for the Christmas holiday for your future reference:

If your son / daughter tests positive between: Friday 18 December AND Wednesday 23 December	Notify office@arthurmellows.org without delay so that contact tracing can take place and staff/students asked to self-isolate for 14 days if appropriate
If your son / daughter tests positive between: Thursday 24 December AND Monday 4 January inclusive	Email office@arthurmellows.org.  These will then be recorded when the College re-opens, however, no further action will be required by the College

The College appreciates that this change to the end of term date for students is very late in the day, however, it is considered necessary to try to give added protection to students, staff and their families and to relieve pressure on the College at this challenging time.

Your support of the College during this term has been very much appreciated.

M Sandeman

Head of College