• We will continue to stagger lunchtimes and playtimes. However, the children will be having play and lunch within their year group. This will help to widen their friendship groups as well as reduce the number of children who are outside at the same time. The children will continue to eat their lunch within their classroom.
• Classrooms will be organised to promote collaborative learning. This will include grouping the children and paired working. If for any reason, there is an increase in positive cases of COVID 19 then we will be reviewed.
• Children will be sharing resources so that we can continue to promote our core values of Inclusive, kindness and respect in all that we do.
• We will continue to use outside areas for teaching where possible and staff have considered these opportunities when planning.
• The children will continue to be washing their hands on a regular basis.

The school day

• The start and departure times will be;

• Arrival between 8:30-8:50am.
• Leave between 3pm – 3:15pm

• There are no specific times to arrive or finish, however, the time periods should allow for reduced numbers arriving or collecting all at once.
• There is 20 minutes for children to arrive and be in class in the morning and 15 minutes for the children to be collected.
• Year 5 and 6 children who walk home by themselves will be dismissed at 3:15pm.

If your child is attending breakfast club, they will be taken to their class at 8:30am. If your child is attending after school club, they will be taken to after school club at 3:15pm.

It is important that you are on time to ensure a safe drop off and collection. However, please do not arrive on the school grounds before 8.25am unless arriving for breakfast club.

The school attendance policy will be followed which indicates that children arriving after 8:50am will be marked as ‘Late’. The school gates will be locked at this time and the children will need to sign in at the office. We will continue to work with all of our families during this transition period as we get used to the new routines.

We will be asking for children to be dropped off and collected by one adult only and following the one way systems.

Due to changes in the timing arrangements, please could I ask that parents and carers leave the school grounds as soon as they have collected their child/ren.

 

• Children and parents are encouraged to walk or cycle.
• Parents do not have to wear face coverings during arrival or collection but may choose to do so.
• Children should be taken to their own entrance. In Year R and KS1, an adult will be there to welcome your child and send them to their classrooms.  Staff will be available to direct parents and children.
• As mentioned previously, it would be helpful if your child/ren were brought to and picked up from school by one adult only to reduce the amount of people attending the site.
• If you are happy for your Year 4, Year 5 or Year 6 child to walk to their classroom from the single gate, we would encourage this. Again, this would reduce the amount of people in the school grounds during this time.
• The current one-way system will remain. The only entrance is the single gate in Dovercourt Road. We would like you to use the path closest to the school when arriving.
• The single gate will be the main entrance. The path to the main playground will be used for Nursery, Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6 children. The diagonal pathway will be used by the Year 1 and Year 2 children.
• There will be one exit. This will be through the double gates at the end of the driveway. There will be no exit through the staff car park exit point.
• When leaving the school grounds, we request that you use the path furthest from the school.
• Some staff will continue to wear face coverings during drop off and collection times.
• Please do not drive down Dovercourt Road to turn or drop your children off. This road can get extremely busy.
• Year 5 and 6 children who walk home by themselves will be dismissed at 3:15pm.
• Breakfast Club will run from 7:30am – 8:30am and After School Club will run from 3:15pm to 6pm.

• Children can only bring in lunch boxes and these will be stored in the classrooms (Packed lunches do not need to be in disposable bags).
• Hot dinners will continue to be delivered to the classrooms as is the current practice.
• Please do not allow your child to bring in a rucksack/or pencil case as this is not needed.
• We would like the children to bring a named school book bag so that they can bring and take home their reading books.
• Only coats will be on their coat peg.
• Children should bring a named water bottle to school each day ready to be filled with water. We are continuing to promote the drinking of water as part of an initiative to improve children’s oral health.

• Children will need to wear school uniform from the date they return. Uniform includes black shoes.
• Due to popular demand, your child is required to come to school in their PE kit on their PE days. Please see attached timetable.
• A coat will be needed as well if it looks overcast or is cold/windy.
• As the weather begins to change, a separate letter requesting your child to bring in suitable clothing for Forest School and wellies will be sent out.

Due to the importance of keeping our school and nursery building well ventilated, your child may need an extra layer of clothing as the temperature begins to decline.

• Please avoid congregating in the school grounds at the beginning or end of the day.
• Where possible, only have one parent/carer bringing child/ren to the school and collecting child/ren at the end of the day.
• Follow the one-way system.
• If you need to speak to a member of staff, please use Studybugs. A member of staff will be in contact with you as soon as possible.
• Please avoid coming into the school reception as this area has limited space. Please call the school, send a message via Studybugs or speak to the class teacher at the end of the day to arrange a convenient time to meet.

The guidance states that ‘From 16 August 2021, children under the age of 18 years old will no longer be required to self-isolate if they are contacted by NHS Test and Trace as a close contact of a positive COVID-19 case’.

Instead, children will be contacted by NHS Test and Trace, informed they have been in close contact with a positive case and advised to take a PCR test. We would encourage all individuals to take a PCR test if advised to do so.

If your child has any of these symptoms, it is vital that your child gets tested for COVID-19; this can be arranged online: The main symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are:

• a high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back
• a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours
• a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you've noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal

As there is currently no self-isolating for children you should only keep your children at home if they have had a positive PCR Test or are unwell or have any symptoms of COVID-19.  Children should not come into school if they have symptoms, have had a positive test result or other reasons requiring them to stay at home due to the risk of them passing on COVID-19.

If a member of your family has symptoms or a positive test you should all get a test but only adults who have not been vaccinated should isolate until they have the results;

If anyone in our school develops COVID-19 symptoms, however mild, we have been advised to send them home and they should follow public health advice.

Our school and nursery will continue to have a role in working with health protection teams in the case of a local outbreak. If there is an outbreak in our school or if central government offers the area an enhanced response package, a director of public health might advise us to temporarily reintroduce some control measures.

If anyone has to self-isolate, there will be learning available to individuals.  

Please click here for a parent/carer leaflet we have created. If your child has to go home, we will give this to you on collection of your child.

If a child has symptoms they will be moved to the 'Rainforest Room' (our additional medical room in response to COVID) and you will be asked to collect them immediately. Any person with symptoms must get a PCR test. Depending on the outcome of the test result, your child may need to isolate or return to school.

From September, the government have said that all children must attend school. We will continue to follow our school’s attendance policy which was in place before the response to COVID-19. Mrs Pitts, our Attendance Assistant, will be following up any non-attendance. It is important to remind you that holidays will not be authorised and leave of absence forms must be completed. Please contact the office via Studybugs so that we can arrange a safe collection or delivery of this form.

Our cleaning and premises staff have given the school a deep clean. A cleaner will be in school each day so there will be regular cleaning of toilets, door handles, light switches and hard surfaces during the day.  Each day there will be thorough cleaning of the school. Cleaning materials are available in every classroom for staff to use if necessary.

Children should not wear masks or face coverings. Staff will not wear masks or face coverings unless they are supporting  a child with symptoms, who is waiting to be picked up or they are delivering intimate care.

Regular hand washing will take place throughout the day. Children will be encouraged to follow good respiratory hygiene - ‘Catch it, bin it, kill it ’.  Regular toilet breaks will be built into the day and access to toilets will be carefully managed. The number of children in toilets at any one time will be limited to children from the same year group at any one time. Toilets will be cleaned regularly throughout the day.