Reminder of New School Year arrangements
Friday 4th September 2020
Dear Parents and Carers,
It is with relief that we have reached the end of the Summer holidays with schools still able to open to all pupils. For our school, the first day will be Monday 7th September for all pupils except those pupils due to start the first year of Nursery this term (they start on Monday 14th September instead).
In July, I sent all the information about the arrangements for school reopening, including gates, times, what your child does/doesn’t need, changes to breakfast club/ after school club etc. Please take the time to re-read this as it should answer most of your questions (school website-latest news section). The only area that has changed is regarding PE (please see below). I am aware that some parents have been asking some questions via the Facebook page and have been directed to our website. Hopefully, this has now answered your questions.
Please remember to share this video with your child to help prepare and reassure them.
Click the link below to view:
Worries
I realise that many children (and parents) may be anxious about the return to school for several reasons. Most children have not been in school for a significant length of time, some will be worried about COVID 19 and the changes in school to keep everyone safe; some may be worried about being in new classes with new staff and some may be worried about parents having to drop pupils off at the gate rather than take them to classrooms.
Please be assured that your child’s safety and well-being is our FIRST priority. All staff will be focusing on this first and foremost. We want children to feel safe, secure and happy before we begin assessing where the pupils are, identifying any gaps in their understanding and helping them to catch up, where this is needed. I can also assure you that we are taking every precaution to reduce the risks in the transmission of COVID 19. Please see the risk assessment on our school website (Key information- COVID 19 section) for full details.
Events
Normally, at the beginning of the term, we would immediately plan all the dates for events throughout the year such as plays, fundraising activities, trips, residential visits, parents evenings, sports days, rewards days etc. At this time we are not able to set dates and plan these. We hope that once schools have been back a few weeks and it is clear how the situation is evolving, that we will be able to start making plans but for now, these plans need to be put on hold. It is our intention to offer all that would normally be offered if the situation allows.
Lessons learned
Whilst we have had staff training this week, many schools have already welcomed back children and feedback from such schools has helped us to fine tune our plans.
PE
Pupils take part in PE, once per week (usually an afternoon slot). In line with many schools, instead of pupils bringing PE kits to school, we will be asking them come to school on their PE day, wearing their outdoor PE kit. (Black/grey jogging bottoms, white PE shirt, Black, grey or red hoody/jacket and trainers). This will prevent the need for pupils changing in school and reduce the number of items coming into school.
There will be no PE sessions during the first week. Your child’s teacher will let you know next week which day is your child’s PE day so you can send them in their PE kit on that day each week. Staff will send text reminders the day before until you get into the habit of this.
Uniform
Children should wear their normal school uniform on all other days unless it is their birthday when they can wear their own chosen clothes as normal. Please be aware that if your child’s birthday falls on their PE day, they can wear their own clothes on the day before or the day after so they still get to feel special. Younger pupils should wear clothing that they can manage themselves, e.g. elasticated waistbands and velcro shoe fastenings to reduce staff needing to support in close contact.
Social distancing/ masks
Several schools have commented that they have experienced problems with social distancing at the gates, despite having staggered start and finish times and different drop off zones. It is CRUCIAL that you all follow the guidelines. The last thing any school wants is an outbreak which causes a local lockdown, partial or full school closure and potentially serious illnesses/loss of life.
I have tried to keep the drop off and collection times quite close together so any parents with multiple children in different year groups aren’t waiting around too long but this means it is extremely important that you do your part:
If social distancing cannot be achieved as described above, we may need to significantly change the start times for classes. This could make it very difficult for parents in terms of work and make long waits between collecting different aged children so please, please do your part and ensure we keep everyone safe.
A reminder of the staggered start and end times- as described above- please be aware these may need to change if it is felt they are not working. The gates have been labelled to help remind parents.
Please be aware that staff will not have time for individual conversations at the gates as they only have 5 minute window to get all pupils in. If you need to speak to a staff member, please ring school or if you need to pass an urgent message to staff, please hand them a note when you drop off your child. Nursery parents will have a little more flexibility at the end of the sessions to speak as there are no groups to follow at these times.
Kitchen gate:
Y1 8:50am-3:15pm
Y2 8:40-3:05pm
Middle/Nursery gate:
FS2 8:40-3:00pm
FS1am 8:30-11:30
FS1pm 12:30-3:30pm
Y3: 8:45-3:10pm
Main reception gate:
Breakfast club 8:00-8:30 arrival time (no arrivals for breakfast club after this time)
FS1 30hrs 9:00-3:00pm
Y4/5 8:50-3:15pm (Y5 children in this group have been contacted)
Y5 8:40-3:05pm (All children in Y5 who have not been contacted are in this group)
Car park gate: (no access to and from car park during these times)
Y5/6 8:45-3:10pm (Y5 children in this group have been contacted)
Please ensure your child goes to the toilet before leaving home so we don’t have all children needing to go as soon as they arrive as this will cause significant problems in social distancing.
Arriving late
Please do your best to arrive at your allotted time. However, if, in exceptional circumstances your child arrives late, please be aware that you will have to wait until 9am and they will enter the school via the main Reception door, completing the late book.
Visiting school
Please remember, Parents are not currently permitted in the school building unless in exceptional circumstances. Please telephone or e-mail with any queries. If there is something exceptional, that cannot be dealt with by e-mail or over the telephone, we will make an appointment for you to visit. You will be asked to sanitise your hands on entering the building and sign in. You will also be asked to wear a mask/face covering. Please bring a pen as we are not permitted to share pens with visitors.
School Money (Dinners, breakfast club and after school club)
This is now open to book school dinners, breakfast club and after school club. If you are having problems logging in, please contact the office for help (01623 810355). Please remember these all have to be booked in advance (at least the day before) using this service and we have limits on the numbers for breakfast club and after school club. Pupils cannot pay in school or book on the day. Please also remember the increased charges for school dinners and breakfast club and changes to the timings and prices of the after school club.
Many schools are not offering after school club at this time so although I know the changes to the latest collection time will prove difficult for some parents, I hope you appreciate the effort we have gone to in order to keep this service open as much as we can. Our current times are:
3:15pm-5:00pm (including a drink and biscuits) £3.50 per session.
3:15pm-5:15pm (including a drink and biscuits) £4:00 per session.
3:15pm-5:15pm (including a drink, biscuits and sandwich or toast) £4.50 per session.
Please be aware the pupil organisers/ diaries show the full range of times and costings which we are currently not able to offer. We hope to be able to revert back to as soon as possible.
Uncollected items
Despite numerous reminders about left over PE kits, trainers, clothing and wellies, there is still a significant amount of unclaimed items. Your LAST chance to collect these is this morning. At 1pm, anything left over will be disposed of or donated. The items will be outside the main Reception area. Please come to look this morning and take whatever belongs to your child.
Displaying symptoms
Staff, pupils and any exceptional visitors will not be allowed in school if they are unwell with any of the following symptoms:
Please do not send your child to school if they are showing any of these symptoms. Arrange for them to be tested straight away and keep them at home until the result is received. Share the result with school once confirmed.
If we notice any of these symptoms while your child is in school, we will keep them in a safe place away from other pupils and you will be asked to collect them and organise a test for them. Even if the symptoms appear to disappear, they will still need to be tested. They can return to school if the test is negative and they are feeling well. If the test is positive or if a test is not taken, they will need to self-isolate for 10 days at home. Please be aware this is longer than the previous 7 day period. All other household members will need to self-isolate for 14 days.
Please be aware that in line with track and trace, your child may be asked to self-isolate for 14 days if they have been in close proxitimity to another child or adult that has tested positive. It is also very important that you engage with the track and trace process should anyone in your household test positive.
In all cases, these absences will be marked as authorised. However, evidence may be requested if there are current concerns or have been concerns about attendance in the past.
Thank you in advance for your continued support and your understanding that plans will be continunally evolving as this situation changes. We will keep you up to date via text, e-mail and our school website. Please ensure the details we hold for you are up to date.
Stay safe,
Yours sincerely
Mrs Donna-Marie Johnson