26thMay 2020
Re: June 1stand onwards
While the nation has continued to debate the wisdom – scientific and other- of opening our schools, we must get on and plan for the ‘yes if.’ It has felt at times like a wholesale reinvention of our school – strenuous to say the least. Let’s assume it has been both wise and worth it.
The government has stipulated that further opening of schools is dependent on the meeting of 5 key ‘tests’ by the 28thMay. We have already shared with you our draft risk assessment – this will continue to evolve up to the 29thand will then be published on the school website.
This letter is designed to give you ‘user-friendly’ guidance regarding how we will open and especially your part in that; to enable you to plan for June 1st. Please note there may be some changes from the draft risk assessment so please read this document carefully. Please note we will be sending a separate covering letter to our Nursery parents tomorrow. Please note also this document is as close as we can get to pinning down our protocols at this moment in time. It will be subject to review.
As you know we have been asked to prioritise vulnerable children, children of key workers, Nursery, Year R, Year 1 and finally Year 6, all of which provision we have found the means to deliver. Here is a link to the Government document for parents about the reopening of schools https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/closure-of-educational-settings-information-for-parents-and-carers/reopening-schools-and-other-educational-settings-from-1-june. The Government has stated that children are encouraged to attend but it is a parental choice and schools will not be held to account for their attendance figures.
Do obviously note however that this provision is subject to our staffing capacity as well as guidance which is evolving as opposed to definitive: things may need to change and we will stay in touch.
What will the phased ‘opening up’ of school look like?
Key worker children will be able to attend school all week in line with Government guidelines. We will stagger year groups returning over the first week to allow for pupils to learn/ become accustomed to the new ways of working and so by the second week they will all be able to attend school from Monday – Thursday (for the Nursery: Monday- Wednesday). There will be no school on Friday – this to enable staff to deep clean the school and have time to plan, as well as continuing to set home learning for pupils in years 2-5. In summary then:-
Week beginning June 1st
Monday 1st -return of Key workers// Year 6// Nursery
Tuesday 2nd -return of Year 1
Wednesday 3rd -return of Reception
Week beginning June 8th(and henceforth)
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | |
| From the 8th June | Keyworker children | ||||
| N, R, 1, 6 | N, R, 1, 6 | N, R, 1, 6 | R, 1, 6 | School closed for deep cleaning, planning & home learning | |
A summary of key changes to school for your safety:
Please see website- under ‘policies’ for:-
- the school’s ‘Infection Control During the Coronavirus Pandemic’ procedures;
- the up to date risk assessment (as of Friday 29th).
Following the Government guidelines, we have introduced a raft of safety measures. We acknowledge that social distancing isn’t really possible with very young children due to the very nature of being a child. However, we have implemented the following changes to enable us to reduce the risk as much as possible.
- The creation of ‘pods’ of no more than 15 children and 2 adults in each pod. Initially all pupils are in pods of no more than 10 and can split into smaller groups of 5.
- Zones within the school and playground so the different pods don’t meet and cross contaminate. All pods have an indoor zone (a classroom) as well as an outside zone. We aim to spend a significant amount of time in the outside zones.
- Classrooms laid out differently, with the removal of excess resources and the tables spread out.
- All rooms will be well ventilated.
- Resources will be kept within a classroom and not shared between groups of children (the exception to this are the laptops/iPads which will be cleaned before different children use them). Teachers will remove resources that can’t be easily cleaned.
- Areas of the school not being used will be kept out of bounds.
- Movement will be limited around the building.
- Internal doors will be propped open wherever possible to minimise touching of door handles.
- There will be one way clockwise systems both just outside the school site and up and down to the Rec/Yr 1 classes, for families to avoid pinch points at the gates. Also one way systems for pupils inside the building and on external paths accessing outside zones.
- Safety messages will be displayed around the school.
- Toilets will be allocated to different zones and/or on a rota.
- Lunch and break times will be staggered– with children supervised by adults within their own pod.
- Packed lunch only (home or school sandwich) and children eating outside when weather permits.
- Increased hand washing.
- Children will be explicitly taught about hygiene, social distancing, routines and expectations of behaviour.
- Staggered drop off times will be in place.
- Entry to classrooms will be through external classroom doors, with 2m grid lines for queueing
- No family members to come into the school building, unless absolutely necessary: contact to be made via phone or email
- Meetings will be conducted remotely, where these are needed, such as review of Educational Health Care Plans.
- Visitors to school will be limited.
- A strict illness policy will be adhered to which follows guidelines from Public Health England
- Cleaning will take place each day, with enhanced levels of cleaning of tables, chairs, light switches, hand rails, toilets, door handles, telephones, office equipment etc.
- School run clubs have been cancelled to avoid cross contamination.
- All staff should be out of the school by 4.00 pm to enable cleaning to take place.
Illness
If a child or adult shows symptoms of coronavirus whilst at school, they will be put in isolation until they can go home. PPE equipment will be available for any staff member supporting that person or child. Staff will closely monitor the children for signs of symptoms and the Senior Leadership team will make the decision as to whether a child must go home and stay at home.
Any child or adult who has symptoms must self-isolate for 7 days. If a child or adult who has been working in the school is confirmed as having Covid-19, any children or adults who have had direct contact with that child or adult will be required to self-isolate for 14 days. This will include the children and staff members working in the bubble group. We are awaiting further guidance on this from Public Health England.
Provision for children of Key Workers and other eligible children
Children who are eligible to attend school because they have an EHCP, other specific children or they are children of key workers will continue to be taught in groups of no more than 15 by teaching staff as they have been since 23rd March. This group will continue to operate out of the hall and have their own outdoor zone. These children can of course join their year group pods instead if they are in N, R, Yr 1 or Yr 6 but would then need to join the Fun club + provision again on the Friday. This may well need to happen but will need some liaison with home and some discussion – given guidelines dictate that they would need to stay within their same pod within the Fun Club.
Parents will need to book into this provision in the same way they have until now. However, in order to ensure we have adequate staffing, please could you book for the week ahead and avoid last minute changes. You will be notified of the group they will be in and this won’t change whether they are in full or part time. These children will stay in their teaching groups. The same rules will apply as to all other children being taught in the school. Children in this provision will continue with their remote learning and then other activities generally in the afternoon.
How will we get to/from school?
Please bring as few people to the school as possible to limit the number of people on the school site- only one parent to accompany child to school and please avoid bringing in non- attending children to school to drop off, if at all possible.
You are encouraged to walk or cycle where possible.Please leave bikes or scooters in the bays provided.
Year 6 children will be encouraged to come to school on their own
Please no ‘gathering’at school gates. There will be tape on the pavement outside each entry point – to enable for 2m queuing.Given the number of people approaching the school gates, please refrain from staying around and making polite, friendly conversation once you have dropped off or picked up your child.
Staff will be at each entrance before and after school to welcome children in.
Hand sanitiser stations will be set up on the approach to each classroom. Pupils will need to sanitise their hands at one of these stations before entering the school building.
Entrances
- Y6 pupils enter and leave school grounds by the 5 bar gate by long jump pit. A member of staff will be there from 8.35- please aim to arrive between 8.35 and 8.45. Weather permitting, they will start their day in their outdoor areas- near the 5 bar gate.
- Key worker pupils– enter and leave school by 5 bar gate onto the bottom playground. A member of staff will be there from 8.35- please aim to arrive between 8.35 and 8.45.
- Reception pupils with their parents please enter the school grounds by the common gate, follow the one-way system and drop off at the gate into the Reception classes’ outdoor area. A member of staff will be on the gate from 8.35- please aim to arrive between 8.35 and 8.45.
- Y1 pupils, with their parents please enter the school grounds by the common gate, follow the one-way system and drop off at the gate into the Reception classes’ outdoor area. A member of staff will be on the gate from 8.50- please aim to arrive between 8.40 and 8.50.
- Nurserypupils enter and leave up the steps outside Azure class (to the right of the main school entrance). Staff will then guide the children in via the nursery garden. A member of staff will be on the gate in time for each pod to arrive. Please arrive as close as possible to the allotted time for your pod (see Nursery letter to follow).
In summary: staggered start and end of day
Different year groups will have different start and end times:-
Stagger start and end of day:
(Nursery will be operating 3 pods and timings for their staggered start will be on the Nursery letter)
8:45::: Yr6 + key workers + Reception
9.00::: Yr1
—-
3.00::: Yr 6+ key workers+ Reception
3:15::: Yr 1
All children will be dismissed from the same entrances. Families are asked to wait 2m apart when collecting their child. Year 6 will be dismissed individually and will be encouraged to walk off the school site on their own.
Contact with school
Please phone or email wherever possible. For the first week, the answer phone will not be used and admin staff will be available to answer any of your queries.
If you need a longer conversation to discuss your child, the office will organise a telephone appointment for you with the relevant member of staff so avoiding face to face meetings.
If you do need to come into the school –you will need to initially speak on the intercom. There will be a queuing system as elsewhere and hand sanitiser at the entrance, to use before you enter.
What should children wear to school?
As stated in the Government guidance children should wear clean clothes to school every day. For this reason, children can wear any practical clothing, including school uniform.
Given we aim to work outside for significant periods of time, please ensure ‘practical clothing’ includes: –
- waterproof clothing / coat/ wellies
- a sunhat and wearing sunscreen (or have it available to apply themselves);
- shoes must be suitable for being both inside and outside;
The government guidance for school settings suggests that it puts children at higher risk of spreading germs and picking up germs if they wear face masks and PPE. This is because children would find it difficult to wear face coverings comfortably and this results in them touching their face more often and thus spreading germs more easily. The government guidance therefore suggests that PPE is not necessary in a school setting. Staff will need to wear PPE if your child shows symptoms of COVID-19 to protect themselves or if they are administering intimate care.
We have suggested making masks for your children (as a sensible precaution/ possible development) but given the guidance as it stands, we will not be requiring/ wanting pupils to wear masks in school at present.
Food at lunch and break
Children need to bring a healthy snack- there will be no fruit delivery for the foreseeable future.
All children will have a packed lunch, either provided by home or ordered from school.
Weather dependent, the children will eat outside in their allocated playground zone. If this isn’t possible children will eat at their table in their classroom.
Please ensure children can open everything in their lunch box to enable to us to maintain the social distancing guidelines. All rubbish from home packed lunches will be sent home.
What about after school club?
At this stage we will be unable to offer any of our after school clubs due to the risk of cross contamination between the different pods of children.
Fun Club and breakfast club will be available from 7.45am and only until 5.00pm for children of key workers as a last option.
The curriculum
We have read parental feedback from our survey of a week ago and as a staff have then discussed at some length what the curriculum ought to look like in the short term, over the next weeks, as well as in the medium term. We all accepted that, while it will of course be important to maintain a focus on core knowledge and skills like maths, reading, oracy and writing, we simultaneously needed to prioritise the ‘soft stuff’; this to support our children in the journey back to ‘normal’ and to process what they have been through. We have come up with 5 overarching and connected principles or themes we intend to apply to the work we do:-
- Reconnection– including a focus on talk and social interaction; to rebuild relationships and trust and support any attachment anxieties children may feel. This could and should be informal, fun and draw upon strategies like P4C and ‘Stories for Healing.’
- Feelings– including a focus on emotional literacy and mental wellbeing; to rebuild confidence and deal with trauma. This could draw upon strategies like mindfulness and include encouraging children to express themselves through the arts.
- Child-centred– including attending to and valuing the experiences and learning of individuals, drawing on their strengths. This could include part so the curriculum driven by children’s interests and expertise.
- Stability– including trying to provide structure and ‘normality.’
- Responsiveness– ensuring staff work flexibly and responsive to need. This is intrinsic to our to teaching and learning vision but staff are receiving training in some of the difficulties children may encounter and how best to respond to them.
Year 6 children will be working towards transition in the main- reflecting, celebrating and looking forward to what lies ahead. We will be look to create a varied and engaging body of work to go towards an alternative to our ‘Leaver’s Evening.’
Home learning
We have been very impressed with the home learning from the children and the teachers have enjoyed seeing the learning that has been shared via Tapestry, Padlet and email.
The provision for home learning will change next term as staff are required to be in school full time, teaching the children who have returned.
We will continue to provide home learning through the website for any child not in school. Teachers might not be able to comment on individual work daily but love seeing what home learning children have been doing so please do continue to send it. Communication will be reduced but staff will still be thinking of you!
We are keen to attempt the impossible and try, where we can, to mirror the learning going on in and out of school.
Home learning will be loaded up during the week commencing the 1st June (it is taking longer to pull together because of the change of tack and we are now in half term).
How do I stop germs transferring from home to school and back again?
Your child should only bring what they need for the day – a water bottle (Nursery children do not need to bring their own water bottle),their lunch (if they are not eating a school meal), a healthy snack (there will be no fruit delivery for the foreseeable future) and a coat as they will be spending as much time as possible outside.
Please remember to bring in inhalers and medication on the first day back. Please drop these in a labelled bag in a medicine ‘drop box’ just outside the school entrance. The school First Aid Coordinator, Mrs Shipton will be on hand to note down anything you would like to inform us about the medication.
Children should not bring toys or books or home learning in from home. Boxes of reading books will be made available to each class by the school librarian but these will stay in school. PE kit is not needed for the remainder of the term- we will exercise in our usual clothes. Children will have a tray to put their belongings in including their lunch box and snacks.
Children bringing in their own hand lotion should make sure it has their name on it and that it is left at school and not carried back and forth to reduce infection risk.
Teachers will maintain social distancing where possible and appropriate (not in Nursery); they will not mark work but will rather discuss learning together with the child. Teachers and TAs will move around the room looking and discussing learning but where possible will not sit at tables with pupils, work face to face or at eye level.
All surfaces in the school will be clear so that they can be cleaned down frequently throughout the day.
Please can you make sure your child washes their hands with soap and water prior to leaving home in the morning and as soon as they return home in the afternoon. We would strongly suggest that once your child arrives back home, they change their clothes immediately and the clothes they’ve worn at school are washed. Their shoes should be removed at the door.
How can I prepare for my child to return to school?
Don’t under estimate the changes that need to happen to prepare your child for getting back into the school routine – things have been very different for us all for a long time….and they’re still not back to ‘normal’. To help your child make this transition, here are some things you may like to consider:
- Make sure that children can do up and undo their own shoes to reduce the risk needed for adult assistance- – consider velcro for younger children.
- Get back into the routine of a regular bedtime – it takes a while to adjust to a new routine
- Start getting up and dressed at the time needed to be ready to go to school
- Discuss how you will keep them in mind when they go back to school
- Walk past the school on your daily exercise and start planting the seed of returning
- Talk about school – What have you missed? What are you looking forward to? Who do you want to see?
We hope this is a useful guide however, if you have any further questions please don’t hesitate to get in touch via email.
We are very much looking forward to seeing you soon. Your children have been missed.
Kind regards
Nick Moss
Head teacher
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