13.05.20 Return to school only for Rec, Y1 and Y6

Wednesday 13^th May

Dear Parents/Carers,

After receiving Government guidance, we are working hard to provide a plan of action to ensure the safe return of your Reception, Year 1 or Year 6 child(ren) on the week beginning Monday 1^st June 2020.  To help us, it would be useful to get an overview of how many children are likely to return so that we can put arrangements in place.  Staff members will be contacting you before Friday at 3.00pm to discuss your intentions. Government guidelines have stated that parents who do not send their children back to school will not be fined – this is until the end of the summer term.

We value the safety and welfare of your children and I want to be honest with you about how school will be running during the second half of the summer term.  This is not school as we know it.  In line with Government guidance, children will be in groups of no more than fifteen.  They will remain in these groups with the adults allocated to them and will not be mixing with any other children or staff.  Playtimes and lunchtimes will be staggered to reflect this.

Children may not be working in their classroom or with their class teacher.  Instead, they will be working in their group with other staff members in another part of the school than what they are used to – this includes children in Reception.

We aim to ensure that children are social distancing wherever possible, including in the classroom, the lunch hall, on the playground and during PE sessions.  Government guidance states, ‘…unlike older children and adults, early years and primary age children cannot be expected to remain 2 metres apart from each other and staff.’  (Taken from ‘Coronavirus (COVID-19): implementing protective measures in education and childcare settings.’)   In light of this, we are minimising contact with others, increasing our hygiene measures and reinforcing handwashing amongst children and staff.  However, despite all of our efforts, we cannot guarantee that your child will not come into contact with others.

School start and finish times will be staggered to ensure that we don’t have over two hundred parents dropping their children off at any one time.  Only one parent will be able to drop their child off at school and this may be at the school gate to limit the number of people on school property and in contact with the staff and children.

As we are still in the planning stage and taking stock of available staff, it could be that your child is not back at school on a full time basis, but is instead on a part time rota.  We will provide more details when our plans are finalised.

We want your children back in school – we have missed them so much and we know that they would benefit from familiar routines.  However, we want this to happen when it is safe to do so.  We are doing everything within our means to ensure the safety of your children; it is paramount to us that they are happy and well in school.  You know your child and, just as you trust us, we trust you to make the right decision for you, your children and your family.

Thank you again for your continued support.  Stay safe!

Mrs K. Gorrell

Acting Headteacher