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6 SCOTSMAN.COM !THESCOTSMAN INDEPENDENTSCHOOLS PROMOTEDCONTENT
Getting schooled in
cleanliness
We asked the heads of our featured schools what plans they have in place to combat the spread of Covid-19, as full cohorts of pupils return to classrooms after learning virtually for many months
THE SCOTSMAN Saturday 19 September 2020
MELVYN ROFFE
hockey and rowing, are going ahead with some extra measures in place.
Music lessons continue to be held digitally, with face-to-face lessons possible in larger spaces. Extra hygiene measures are in place to ensure that our younger pupils can continue to enjoy playing instruments in group sessions.
We recognise that some of our pupils may need extra health and wellbeing support as a result of the pandemic.
Our guidance teachers are providing targeted support to senior pupils and
a health and wellbeing programme is being created in our junior school, which will focus on the lockdown experience and building resilience in advance of any further closure.
As ever, we are determined to contribute to our local community. In lockdown, our Design, Technology
and Engineering Department donated PPE equipment to Marie Curie hospice sta, and we opened up our car parking facilities for NHS and key workers. Meanwhile, our critical provision helped many parents to continue working in the NHS and other important functions.
is being completed electronically where possible to reduce points of contact.
The health and wellbeing of our sta and pupils is of the upmost importance so we are continuing our sta training on Covid-19 risks.
The school also engages with an independent listener who can be available to any sta member or pupil who would benefit from that service.
PRINCIPAL, GEORGE WATSON’S COLLEGE
MARITAL STATUS Married CHILDREN Two grown-up children MAIN SUBJECT English
George Watson’s College has introduced robust measures to limit the spread of Covid-19 while settling our pupils back into on-campus learning.
Perhaps the most obvious innovations are hand cleaning stations around the school, comprising extra washbasins inside and outside buildings, as well
as hand sanitiser units at every door and other key points. In addition to encouraging clean hands, we also promote good sneeze-and-cough etiquette.
Screens have been put up to prevent virus transmission in busy areas of the school, and an induction video was produced to help everyone feel confident about the changes.
Technology is central to our learning and teaching, and we have expanded
our use of online lessons and assemblies, limiting physical contact while allowing pupils to interact with their peers and teachers. Our plan is also to provide online activities for pupils waiting for a test result or in quarantine to help to limit the spread of the virus.
We are extremely proud of our extra- curricular oering and we are delighted that outdoor sports, such as rugby,
protocol throughout the school building, and you cannot travel more than about ten metres without accessing a hand sanitiser unit.
For each form group, we have created a designated entry point for coming into the building where temperature checks are undertaken, and anyone with a high temperature is sent to the infirmary for further assessment and guidance.
Extracurricular activities have been limited to those that can be undertaken within the government guidance and, following a risk assessment, these are largely outdoor or small group activities.
The sports curriculum has been temporarily changed to withdraw contact or indoor sports, which do not meet current government guidelines, and with a focus on outdoor learning where possible.
There is no face-to-face choral or wind instrument instruction, although online one-to one lessons are being maintained. This is a continuation of our fantastic remote learning, which we had in place over summer term. Homework
DOROTHY MACGINTY
HEADMISTRESS, KILGRASTON SCHOOL
Extra cleaning, hand washing stations, one-way systems and utilising outdoor space for learning are just a few of the changes schools have made. Picture: Shutterstock
MARITAL STATUS Married CHILDREN Two sons and a daughter MAIN SUBJECTS Biology and PE
We are extremely lucky at Kilgraston because our class sizes allow us to operate a “bubble” system within year groups, and we avoid any activity which mixes those bubble groups.
We have a strict face covering policy operating in corridors, and any adult who is not able to maintain a two-metre distance from our young people must wear a face covering.
Kilgraston is surrounded by the beautiful Perthshire countryside with extensive wide open spaces, so it has not been necessary to introduce a one-way system, except in certain areas where there is high volume, such as our dining hall, where we have introduced an entrance-and-exit policy at the pressure points.
We also have a full hand-hygiene
SIMON JOHNSON
Other than the classrooms, we don’t have an extensive indoor space so pupils are mostly outside while moving
between classrooms. And being located next to the beach, we
have lots of fresh sea air! Some subjects, such as
music and sport, do have restrictions; Wellington is a real singing school and it is sad there is no singing at the
moment. But we try to make our starting point,
‘How can we do this?’
to sit with the
same group
in dierent
classrooms. musical,
HEADMASTER, WELLINGTON SCHOOL
MARITAL STATUS Partnered CHILDREN No
MAIN SUBJECT Maths
We have 60 hand sanitisers
in place including outside every classroom. We
have a one-way system in operation and our year groups are in bubbles; we are also encouraging pupils
One example is
the school