MARK LAUDER HEADMASTER, STRATHALLAN SCHOOL

MARITAL STATUS Married CHILDREN Two boys, aged 16 and 18 MAIN SUBJECT History

We were delighted to welcome back all our pupils. We made provision for pupils from overseas by opening early to allow them time to quarantine if necessary.

Over the summer, the school has made significant investment in its IT infrastructure. This ensures that we can run lessons online concurrently with in- person lessons for those who are absent. This will also allow us to respond to any locally imposed restrictions.

We have daily temperature checks for all staff, pupils and visitors; a regimented hygiene routine, including handwashing; strict protocols for dropoff and pick- up for day pupils; whole year group “bubbles” for boarding, sport, music and extra- curricular activities; a one- way system on campus; social distancing in lessons, and regulated meal times.

We ran an induction process for all pupils, introducing how the campus now functions and what good

Covid- safe practices look like. Pupils have received a Welcome Back pack, with a washable facemask, hand sanitiser and a QR code to scan for virtual tours of the campus explaining the one- way system.

A new timetable has been introduced to reduce movement, with transition times between lessons. The beneficial effects of this are seen in increased effective contact time in lessons. There is also a revised games and activities programme which follows each governing body’s regulations.

Access to the campus is restricted to essential visitors by appointment.

We recognise that children will need both emotional and practical help coping with the return and we have put in place additional support, including training senior pupils to act as helpers and empahsising our “buddy” system that matches existing pupils with new starts.