Over the last few weeks, we have been unfortunate to experience a significant number of cases of Covid 19 in Bedford and across our wider school community. Despite continuing with stringent cleaning procedures, the extended use of facemasks for both students and staff, regardless of national guidance, and ongoing education regarding hygiene, we have been unable to control the rapid spread of the virus.

Even with significant intervention and the deployment of mobile testing units, the increased frequency of LFD and PCR testing and securing vaccinations for 30 - 39 year old staff, parents and carers, we have still seen new cases emerge, almost on a daily basis. We are now in a situation where we have tried everything possible to keep students in school safely without negatively impacting on their education.

After in-depth discussions with The Dept for Education, Dept for Health and Social Care, Public Health England and Bedford Borough Council we have reached the joint decision for the school to move to remote learning for a week, starting on Monday 24th May 2021. The purpose of this transition, is to control the breakout we have experienced, by restricting the attendance to our school site as much as possible. Clearly, this is not a decision that has been taken lightly or without due consideration. The Senior Leadership team have worked in partnership with Public health England over the last few weeks to ensure every strategy to lower the rate of infection has been exhausted.

As of next week, our virtual learning policy will be in full effect with students moving to fulltime online learning with all lessons scheduled on Microsoft Teams. HEART Academies Trust was able to procure a number of laptops during the previous lockdowns, meaning that every student who does not have access to a device will be given a laptop whilst the site is closed.

Students who have Exams will still take part in these, on the school site under exam conditions.

We will continue to offer School places to keyworker and vulnerable children as we did throughout the previous lockdowns. All families eligible for Free School Meals will be issued with vouchers whilst the School is moved to remote learning to ensure they are able to access meals each day.

We are really thankful to our school community for their continued support and understanding during these challenging times.

David Morris 
CEO HEART Academies Trust