We are planning to begin a phased re-opening of our school campus from Monday 1st June, following government guidance. We are eager to welcome back our pupils, parents and staff, with safety and well-being of all at the forefront of all our planning efforts.
As we navigate through this unprecedented time, we have implemented a number of new safety measures based on guidance from the local authority and UK government. These measures are detailed below and we ask that you take some time to familiarise yourself with them prior to our re-opening.
We understand that these times are challenging, and we appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding. Please do contact us via the school office if you have an questions or concerns.
Important Information Regarding Reopening
Social Distancing and Social Mixing
We are putting measures in place to try and aid some social distancing however please be aware that following our review of school and risk assessments I am writing to inform you that during the school day we will NOT be able to social distance the children within our care.
This is particularly the case with children in Nursery and Reception whose learning is hands on and play based and who cannot sit at individual tables for the length of the school day. We will be putting a number of measures in place to distance children but please be aware, no matter how many reminders are given and how vigilant staff are, these are very young children and they naturally gravitate towards their peers and adults.
Additional measures that will be in place include;
– Social distancing markers will be in place for pathways into and around the school building for school drop off and collection times.
– A one way socially distanced drop off and collection system will be operating – children need to be dropped at their appropriate classroom door and parents need to leave the site (no parents will be admitted into the school buildings).
– Children will be placed into year group ‘bubbles’ of no more than 15 children, each bubblewill have their own room and children will remain in these social groups throughout the school day including time in identified zoned playground areas at break and lunchtimes. These bubbles will remain in place until we are issued with further government directives.
– Staff members will be allocated to each bubble – these adults will remain with their ‘bubble’. Please be aware they may not be your child’s usual class teacher or year group teacher.
– In accordance to the government’s advice on social mixing children will not be able to mixwith children in other ‘bubbles’ at any point in the day.
– Markers will be used in school at certain times for the children to stand/ sit on to aid social distancing – this will include queuing to enter classrooms in the morning etc.
Drop Off
Children will enter school as a part staggered starting times
8.45am – 9.00am Early Years / Key worker, vulnerable groups
9.10am – 9.20am Year 1
9.30 – 9.40am Nursery
Gates will be locked at 9.40am
Collection
The collection of children will start at 3.15pm. All parents will need to access the school grounds following the assigned one way system and observe the 2m social distancing markers.
- Children in Reception, Year 1 and key worker children will be lined up, socially distanced, on the playgrounds.
- Parents are asked to remain in line and your child will be sent across to you once you are near their line. Please do not overtake.
- Parents collecting from Nursery are asked to follow the one way system around to the nursery fire exit area. Once here please stand socially distanced behind the marked areas and your child will be sent to you by a member of staff.
Please be aware that staff will be available to help inform you and support the dropping off and collection of children using this new system.
School will close for the children in Nursery, Reception and Year 1 at 12.30pm on Fridays allowing the school time to do additional cleaning and preparation for the following week. School will remain open on Friday afternoons for Key worker bubbles only.
This decision has been made to help safeguard all of the children and staff within the school.Children in these ‘bubbles’ must be collected in the normal way at 12.30pm. Children will eatlunch prior to being collected.
Before/After School Clubs
Due to the new measures that we are implementing to enable us to open during the school day we will be unable to continue to provide the wraparound before and after school club facility in school whilst these additional measures are having to be put in place.
Following advice from Staffordshire Health and Safety team please also be aware that we will be unable to accept children into school who are attending any other off site before and after school provision where they are mixing with children outside of their household. These measures have been implemented to reduce the chance of the spread of the COVID-19 infection between children groupings.
Classrooms and Learning
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A number of items have been removed from the classrooms to enable surfaces to be left clear and reduce children’s physical contact with them.
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Classrooms have been reorganised – Children in Year 1 will sit at individual desks, there will be no movement out of places during lesson time (with the exception of going to the toilet).
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In Year 1 very few items of equipment/ resources will be used during the school day. Each child will be provided with a pack containing a pencil, ruler, rubber etc that they alone will use.
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Social distancing is much harder in Nursery and Reception however classrooms will be zoned and only a limited number of children encouraged to play in each zoned area.
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I believe that we cannot facilitate learning within nursery and reception without access to resources, toys and equipment. Therefore there will be limited access to these, children will share these during the school day.
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Reception children will have an increased amount of time being encouraged to work at desks to minimise contact.
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It is not possible to stop children in Nursery and Early Years from sharing pencils etc. please be aware your child will be handling and using objects that other children have held and used.
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A limited amount of playground equipment will be provided to each ‘bubble’ to use at breakand lunchtimes, this will be shared by children within their group.
Hygiene
- As a school we will have strict hygiene procedures in place. Children will wash hands on entry to school, before and after eating (snack and lunch), on returning into the classroom from break times and lunchtimes and the end of the school day.
- We ask that your child and whoever is bringing them into school washes their hands thoroughly before leaving home to help support us in this.
- Lessons on handwashing and catch it, bin it, kill it will take place.
- Cleaning packs are in each room to allow touch points to be wiped down during the school day.
- Children may only bring into school their water bottles and their lunchboxes. No bags, additional items (other than medical) or reading books etc can be brought into school.
- A school lunch is being prepared, which can be ordered. For the first week this will be a packed lunch.
- Children are to wear school uniform. A new clean school uniform must be worn each day to minimise risk of infection spreading. If you need assistance with uniform to facilitate this please contact the school by email and we can help.
Infection Control
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No child or adult who is showing any symptoms for coronavirus will be permitted into school.
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In the event of a child developing any symptoms during the school day they will be removed from the room and isolated. They will be supervised by a member of staff (please be aware this member of staff may be wearing PPE equipment).
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From June 1st any staff member or child attending school who displays symptoms can be tested at national centres for COVID-19.
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In the event of someone in school testing positive for COVID-19 the whole of their group bubble (both children and staff) will need to self-isolate for 14days or 7 days if they develop symptoms and test positive for Coronavirus.
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Bubbles will only be reopened when there is a staffing level available to be able to do this safely.
Contacting Us
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We are asking that contact between yourselves and school is by telephone or email not through face to face contact with the office staff.
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The school office will be closed during school drop off and collection times to minimise the number of people accessing school.
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No written communication will be sent on paper – email and text services will be used.
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No paper based correspondence is permitted.
Home Learning
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Online home learning will continue for children in Year’s 2,3 and 4 who cannot yet return toschool.
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We will continue to offer home learning for children in Nursery, Reception and Year 1 whose parents make the decision for them not to return to school, however this will be structured differently than prior to this date.
Seesaw - Home Learning
We are currently using the Seesaw platform to provide daily activities and feedback for you to complete at home with your child. Check your emails for instructions on how to access the service. If you require any assistance, please email the school office and a member of our team will get back to you.