Your safety comes first
​Coronavirus (COVID-19) Procedures - update as at 26th November 2020

Firstly, we hope you and your loved ones are safe and well at this very difficult time. It is with great sadness that we had to close the school again for the second period of national lockdown, in line with the published Government guidelines. We rescheduled or cancelled all workshops planned on and between 5th November and 2nd December with some postponed until after the lockdown or until 2021.

​We will re-open, in line with Government guidelines, from 3rd December with our full covid-secure procedures in place. We are in Tier 2, as with much of the country. It is up to you to check the rules relating to your own Tier restrictions.

Our covid-19 safe procedures are listed below, and have received excellent feedback from students and tutors to date:

Summary of covid-19 safety protections

• Each class size is restricted to a maximum of 10 students plus the tutor
• The school layout has been amended to accommodate all necessary social distancing measures, and is currently operating at around half to two thirds normal capacity
• It is requested that all tutors and students wear appropriate face coverings when moving around the school and classrooms, although when seated and working at your desk, face coverings can be removed if you prefer (subject to any changes in Government guidelines)
• The front classroom and dining room area have been opened up into one large space to accommodate socially distanced work table layouts
• The back classroom is opened only occasionally, when class sizes are particularly small, with staggered / distanced seating
• A one-way system has been put in place in parts of the school, with signage and distancing markings, and barriers where required
• Doors and windows will remain open for best ventilation. Please wear extra layers if you feel the cold.
• Tutors will demonstrate via cameras projected onto large screen TVs out in the classrooms and will sit behind screened-off desks. Tutors can be approached for one to one assistance at the correct safe distance. In certain arts and crafts, tutors may need to circulate around the classroom, at 1m+ distance, wearing a face covering. If you are uncomfortable with this, please tell the tutor.
• Students and tutors are asked to observe social distancing at all times, and not move around the classroom to look at other's work
• Shared tools must be sanitised after each use – where possible students will be provided with own set or can use own tools
• Refreshments and lunch will be served individually in individual Brown Paper Bags and can be taken in the garden, eaten at desks, on a walk or in own cars, or you can bring your own refreshments if preferred. Lunch choices will be made by completing a 'menu form' in the morning
• Tea, coffee and water will be available as usual; handles of urn and coffee pots must be sanitised after each use. Please bring your own mugs / drinking vessel!
• Additional daily sanitising and cleaning measures have been put in place. Sanitisers and cleaning materials will be available on each desk, in each classroom, by the refreshments, on any shared tools tables and at the entrance/exit
• The ladies washrooms have been modified so that the centre cubicle is closed to avoid overcrowding - we ask that you keep to one in the loo and one washing hands; the disabled / men's toilet has been converted to a unisex loo for the future. Spray cleaning materials are provided so that everyone can sanitise the loo after use
• We expect and encourage you to wash your hands well very regularly. We have seven sinks available in the school and all have nail brushes and plenty of soap and paper towels. Please bring own sanitiser supply if preferred to soap and water
• Anyone who has been in contact with, or experiencing symptoms of covid-19 in the last 14 days, or in quarantine because of returning from places under quarantine, will NOT be permitted to enter

​We provide a regular update to students on the status of your particular course. If your course is cancelled by us, we will offer a full refund, or a transfer to another course, in line with our usual policy. If you cancel your attendance, our usual cancellation policy applies.

​Online Workshops
In the meantime, we have extended our programme of safe, socially-distant online LivePlus workshops and ArtTalks, which are proving to be extremely popular.  You can see the full programme, including the newly released early 2021 sessions, at ArdingtonAcademy.

​These sessions are hosted live on Zoom video conferencing, which our students and tutors describe as incredibly simple to use.  Our policy is always to keep the group size small, so that the tutor can manage to work with and get to talk to all the students. Feedback on your work, plus the opportunity to have discussions with other students and the tutors (if you wish) are a feature part of these sessions. We hope to see you again soon, and in the meantime, do feel free to give us a call or drop us a line to discuss any aspects of our programmes and procedures.

With best wishes, Yvonne and Simon