Knox Academy pupils learn when they'll be back in class

The Haddington secondary school is gearing up to welcome more pupils back from Monday.

A new timetable is being drawn up, with Sue Cook, headteacher at the school, writing to parents and carers today (Wednesday).

Ms Cook said they had been asked by the Scottish Government to “prioritise face to face teaching for S4-6 pupils” and to ensure that “all pupils experience some in school learning” ahead of the beginning of April.

The timetable for the coming three weeks has been unveiled

The headteacher stressed a number of measures would be in place to try to combat the coronavirus.

She said: “With this return, and to ensure the safety of both our young people and staff, a number of safety measures have been put in place to keep everyone safe and we all need to play our part in following these to stay safe and well and keep our community safe.

“Rigorous risk assessments have been carried out as we have had our in-school provision (critical childcare) and some of our senior phase practical subjects up and running already this term.

“Thorough cleaning takes place at the start and end of each day, and communal areas, such as toilets and dining facilities, will be cleaned during the day.

“At the end of each morning and afternoon session work areas will be wiped clean by staff and pupils prior to the arrival of a new class, who will also clean their area on arrival.”

READ MORE: When are Preston Lodge High School pupils returning to school?

All pupils will sanitise their hands on arrival at school and also on departure, with communal toilets shut during the phased returned.

Physical distancing will also be in place while face coverings are “expected” to be worn by all pupils and staff at all times, unless they are exempt.

Ms Cook said: “Although the six secondary headteachers across East Lothian Council have worked to achieve as equitable approach as possible across our schools as we designed our models, we are unable to offer the exact same approaches in all of our schools as our building capacities and staffing are different.

“What we have done is share our models and supported each other to ensure our individual ones were the best we could devise.

READ MORE: Find out when Dunbar Grammar School pupils are back in the classroom

“During the next three weeks we will move to a model whereby in-school learning will take place for pupils from Monday – Thursday, with half of S4 in on the two Fridays (March 19 and 26 – we will let you know who is in when we give more detail at the end of the week).

“Some of this time the pupils will be in school, and the rest of the week they will learn remotely, supported by teachers in their Google Classrooms.”

For more information, go to www.ka-net.org.uk