HOLMES Chapel Comprehensive School has unveiled a multi-stage plan aimed at returning staff and students to the classroom while keeping everyone safe.

Headteacher Denis Oliver said the dates for implementing each stage were not yet all known as they depended on the progress against the five key tests set out by the Government to monitor the transmission of the coronavirus.

The completed first stage included developing safe systems to enable the key workers club and vulnerable learners to access parts of the school during lockdown while bringing as few staff to school as possible.

Stage 2 has seen all classrooms being cleaned and locked off for several weeks to ensure they were coronavirus-free to start the reopening process.

Stage 3 has seen the redevelopment of the sixth form area begin on May 11.

Safe systems of work have been implemented by contractors, and construction areas are self-contained. Staff cannot go in, and contractors aren’t able to access other areas of school.

Mr Oliver said: “The really important next step is to bring our staff back to the school environment in a safe and confident manner.

“This starts from June 1 and accelerates slowly. From June 8 teachers will have the equipment to deliver live lessons via the internet from every classroom in the school.

“All classrooms will be clean and the teachers will be in protected space.

“For Stage 5 we have already shared our plans to bring some students from years 10 and 12 back to school for very targeted interventions.

“We will be inviting around 40 students to come into school for short periods before the summer holiday.

“These are students who, for whatever reason may not have engaged as well as they could have with the education at home programme.

“No fixed dates are yet set for large numbers of students to return to the classroom.

“Longer-term plans will be subject to guidance from the Department of Education.

“We are designing plans to step the return to school in two possible phases, assuming 50 per cent of students in one scenario and 100 per cent in the second.

“[This] has been a most extraordinary couple of months for all of us. In almost 50 years as a teacher I have never known a challenge quite like it.

“Over the coming weeks and months we will all continue to change and to adapt as the situation unfolds.

“However, I remain very confident and upbeat about the prospect of us all working together to get the very best out of all of our students in every year group.”