Despite the obvious challenges, education leaders have been working hard over the summer holidays to ensure schools are ready for the return of new and existing pupils next week.

Here, we reveal the measures some secondary schools in the Lancaster district, and Lancaster and Morecambe College, are taking in an effort to avoid any potential spread of Covid-19.

Dr Chris Pyle, headmaster at Lancaster Royal Grammar School

We are looking forward to the new term, with these Golden Rules in place:

· Anyone with possible coronavirus symptoms, or who has someone in their household with symptoms, must not come onto the school site.

· Frequent handwashing will be compulsory (we have some extra handwashing stations), as well as regular use of hand sanitiser.

· No shared equipment: Bring a full pencil case, reading book and everything you need.

Separating year groups and social distance

The main change for most pupils is that they will have most lessons in the same building with their year group, instead of walking between classrooms for each lesson.

Each year group also has its own outdoor or recreation space, and its own site entrance and exit for the start and end of the school day.

Lunchtimes are staggered, with cleaning in between groups, and there are new pop-up catering venues around the school so that every year group.

Classrooms have been rearranged where possible to separate the desks, with doors and windows open for ventilation.

Assemblies will be online, and extracurricular activities will take place within year groups.

Face masks are warmly welcomed in school, although they are not compulsory.

We have added some temporary outdoor shelters, and created extra space for our Medical Centre to isolate anyone who becomes ill during the day.

Boarding

Adjustments for boarders are following guidance in the Boarding Schools’ Covid-Safe Charter.

They include staggered meal times and separation to create “bubbles” within each boarding house.

Although most of our boarders are from the UK, some of our international boarders are currently quarantining at the start of term.

Wes Johnson, Principal and Chief Executive, Lancaster & Morecambe College

As we excitedly look forward to the new academic year at LMC we all recognise that we are still living through very unusual and uncertain times, which we all continue to adapt to. Over the summer we have been preparing the campus for the safe return of our students to start the new academic year whilst continuing to innovate in the ways we deliver learning using a blend of face-to-face, online and distance learning packages for our students and apprentices.

Our first priority, as always, is to safeguard the health & wellbeing of our learners, apprentices and staff and we continue to follow government guidance on how best to adapt the College’s functions to suit the ever-changing response to Covid-19 both nationally and locally.

There have been physical changes made to our campus which includes, screens, additional handwash sinks, sanitizing stations, one way systems, scanned entry systems in to buildings and restricted social areas. In addition changes to the way we work and learn at LMC have also been made with face coverings required in communal areas, limited students on site at any one time in college ‘bubbles’, a takeaway food service and a change to what activities happen on campus.

Our

Colette Roberts, Principal of Bay Leadership Academy, said:

“We are delighted to be welcoming back our pupils to Bay Leadership Academy. We have spent the summer implementing sensible and proportionate control measures to keep our pupils safe and to support their emotional wellbeing on return from such a challenging period. We have put enhanced wellbeing services in place to support our pupils when they return, including counsellors, bereavement counselling services, mental health first aiders, and wellbeing mentors.

“We have put a range of measures in place to minimise contact between individuals. Each year group will form a ‘bubble’ with its own entrance and exit and its own exclusive building where pupils will participate in the majority of their lessons. All desks and chairs are facing the front of class, and classrooms and corridors are marked out for social distancing with clear, safety signage. We’ll have staggered lunches and breaks to give each year group exclusive use of a dining room and outdoor space.

“We also have enhanced hygiene measures in place across the site with regular cleaning throughout the day, particularly of frequently touched surfaces. Pupils will sanitise their hands and have their temperature checked on entry and exit. We have 70 fixed hand sanitising dispensers throughout the school and every pupil will be issued with their own personal hand sanitising spray. Students will be encouraged to wash or sanitise their hands every 90 minutes throughout the day. To avoid the need to share equipment, pupils will be issued with their own stationery pack. Exercise books will have plastic covers so that they can be cleaned easily.”

college bus service will also run as normal, with the wearing of face coverings mandatory.

The college’s Safer College Community team will monitor the campus during the day to help everyone in the college community keep each other as safe as is possible.’

Dr Nick Walmsley, principal, Central Lancaster High School

As new Principal I am delighted to be able to welcome back all staff and pupils to CLHS next week.

We have many new routines in place to make the school environment COVID-secure.

These include year group bubbles located in classroom zones and separate spaces for breaks and lunchtimes.

We have minimised the need for movement around the school site, but where this is necessary our one-way ‘Central Line’ outdoor corridor system will ensure that this can be achieved safely and securely.

Despite all the new systems and precautions, school life at Central will be a welcome return to routine for our pupils and staff.

Given the uncertainties and upsetting events of the last few months, it is vitally important both for the wellbeing and education of our young people that we get them back into school to be with their peers and teachers.

It is our duty as a school to ensure we meet the needs of our pupils in this period of recovery and provide the support to help them get back to learning.

The safety of everyone will of course be our priority as we do this.

Catherine Walmsley, vice principal at Ripley St Thomas CE Academy

We are really looking forward to seeing our students again and getting back to the joy of learning together as a school community.

We have drawn up comprehensive risk assessments to ensure that students and staff can return safely to Ripley.

I am very pleased that all our students will be following their normal timetables and will be taught by their assigned teachers from the beginning of the year.

We have created zones around the school and we will have staggered breaks and lunchtimes in order to keep our different year groups separate.

I know that our young people are very resilient and I am confident that the time out of school will not have a lasting impact on their life chances; we will certainly all be working very hard at Ripley to make sure that is the case.

Tim Iddon, principal at Carnforth High School

At Carnforth High School we are looking forward to welcoming all students back on Wednesday 2nd September.

We have worked tirelessly over the summer to prepare the school for the safe return of all our students.

All classrooms have been deep cleaned and re-organised, timetables have been changed, hand sanitisers have been installed, policies have been written, risk-assessments have been printed, one-way systems have been changed, safety notices displayed and staff have been trained.

In order to keep students and teachers safe we have adjusted our routines and practices significantly, however, we feel confident that we can continue to provide our students with high quality education as usual.

Students will be taught in year group ‘pods’ to minimise contact between the different age groups. In addition, each year group will have their own entrance and exit and their lunchtimes have been staggered. Students will be able to order their lunch at the start of the day so that they can collect it safely in a ‘grab and go’ bag at lunchtime. At the end of each day, students will be dismissed in a controlled way by messages that will be broadcast on the interactive whiteboards in each classroom.

There will be a lot to get used to, but we feel confident that the staff and students at Carnforth will rise to the challenge as ever.

Vicky Michael, principal at Morecambe Bay Academy

We are really looking forward to welcoming all students back to Morecambe Bay Academy and have been busy preparing the site to make it as safe and comfortable as we can.

Sometimes the messages about protecting yourself from Covid-19 can seem a bit complicated.

In schools, the measures are based on five principles: The first is making sure unwell people do not come to the school site at all.

We have installed new visitor’s reception in our gatehouse, so that during the day, only school staff and children are on site.

We have bought electronic temperature scanners and all schools will receive testing kits, for families who may find it hard to travel for a test.

The second principle is handwashing more often. Every classroom now has a wall mounted hand gel dispenser and wipes for the keyboards or equipment.

We have also installed two new sets of toilets and sinks over the summer to enable each group of students to have their own to use.

The third is to promote the “catch it, kill it, bin it” approach to coughs and sneezes.

Our windows will be open for ventilation, and there are now pedal bins, posters and tissues in all the classrooms.

The fourth is more regular cleaning.

Our cleaning company have invested in new machinery and routines, with hourly cleaning of the toilets and busy areas.

Many parents will recognise these measures from going shopping, or their own workplace.

The last measure is to reduce social contact and mixing between groups of students as much as possible.

In order to reduce social contact between different year groups, we have grouped the students into protective bubbles in separate blocks for most of their lessons.

We are staggering our return to school this year so we can take time to explain all the new measures to the students a year group at a time.

Our new Year 7 will not have had a normal transition time, so they will start first so we can concentrate on making them feel part of the school before we welcome everyone else.

The teachers will come to them, and the students will stay in their bubble rooms.

Dining rooms and social spaces have been allocated to one year group only.

We have opened up all four paths into school and installed new cycle racks to encourage students to cycle to school.

For specialist lessons such as PE, or Science, there are individual risk assessments for each activity and the spaces used will be cleaned in between groups.

All learning activities are still possible- they just need a bit of creativity and planning!

We have also made face masks in black and blue optional for students and visors for staff.

It is natural for people to feel a bit anxious about returning to school, and we want to do everything we can to make staff and students feel comfortable and safe.

We will also be marking returning to being a community with an art installation in our main hall.

Every student will be asked to take part with their own reflection on the last six months and these will joined together into a colourful display.

Colette Roberts, Principal of Bay Leadership Academy

“We are delighted to be welcoming back our pupils to Bay Leadership Academy. We have spent the summer implementing sensible and proportionate control measures to keep our pupils safe and to support their emotional wellbeing on return from such a challenging period. We have put enhanced wellbeing services in place to support our pupils when they return, including counsellors, bereavement counselling services, mental health first aiders, and wellbeing mentors.

“We have put a range of measures in place to minimise contact between individuals. Each year group will form a ‘bubble’ with its own entrance and exit and its own exclusive building where pupils will participate in the majority of their lessons. All desks and chairs are facing the front of class, and classrooms and corridors are marked out for social distancing with clear, safety signage. We’ll have staggered lunches and breaks to give each year group exclusive use of a dining room and outdoor space.

“We also have enhanced hygiene measures in place across the site with regular cleaning throughout the day, particularly of frequently touched surfaces. Pupils will sanitise their hands and have their temperature checked on entry and exit. We have 70 fixed hand sanitising dispensers throughout the school and every pupil will be issued with their own personal hand sanitising spray. Students will be encouraged to wash or sanitise their hands every 90 minutes throughout the day. To avoid the need to share equipment, pupils will be issued with their own stationery pack. Exercise books will have plastic covers so that they can be cleaned easily.”

Bubbles, staggered lunchtimes, online assemblies and optional face masks as pupils in Lancaster and Morecambe return to the classroom