Reedley Primary School26.08.20 Letter to parents re Opening of school
Wednesday 26th August 2020
Dear Parents/Carers,
We hope you and your family have continued to stay safe during this very difficult time. You will be aware that the government have stated that all children must return to school in September. Our school term starts from Wednesday 2nd September.
As you can appreciate, some things will have to run a little differently. There are a lot of plans that we need to put in place in order to ensure the safety of our children and staff and that all of our plans reflect the latest government guidance. Please read this letter carefully and share the information with your child and anyone else who will be responsible for caring for your child over the coming weeks.
Our priority is to provide a safe environment for our children and their families and for our staff, so although some of these measures may cause you and your family some inconvenience, all the decisions have been taken in the best interests of the health and safety of all concerned.
Children will be working in ‘bubbles’, with children and staff in their year group. To limit the number of staff and children that your child will come into contact with, they will mainly be working in their classroom with their teacher and teaching assistant. Children in bubbles will not mix, to avoid the possible spread of any infections.
Opening hours
The government have suggested that we use staggered start and finish times, to minimise the number of adults on school premises. We have put the following plan in place for when each of the year groups will start and finish school. These timings will be regularly reviewed.
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Start of school day |
End of school day |
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Reception children |
Miss MacKenzie will contact parents/carers of new Reception children with specific timings of sessions. Children will enter and exit through the porta-cabin |
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Yr 1 and Yr 2 |
8.40am |
3.00pm |
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Yr 3 and Yr 4 |
8.50am |
3.15pm |
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Yr 5 and Yr 6 |
9.00am |
3.30pm |
If you have children in different year groups then you can bring all of your children in at the earliest time and pick up at the latest finish time e.g. if you have children in Yr1 and Yr 6 then both children can start school at 8:40am and finish at 3.30pm.
We cannot emphasise enough how important it is that you keep to the specified times. We will not have additional staff to look after children who are collected late or dropped off early.
Picking up/dropping off procedures
Only one parent or carer will be able to drop off their child(ren). You are required to observe social distancing on site and at the school gate and for adults to wear facemasks as you see fit.
Children will not be required to wear face coverings at any time in school. Our priority is to protect the staff and children on school premises and we need your help with this.
Children in Y1 to Y6 will enter through the school gate as normal.
Parents/carers of children in Y3 to Y6 need to drop their children off at the usual gate, where the children can make their own way into school.
Parents/carers of children in Y1 and Y2 will follow a one-way system on and off the school playground, entering through the usual gate and leaving through the car park.
Parents/carers dropping off and picking up children in RECEPTION, will enter through the pedestrian gate next to the car park and their children will enter school through the red porta-cabin door, where they will enter school with their teacher.
Staff will be around to guide you on your child’s first day as to where children are to be dropped off and picked up. If you are unsure, please ask a member of staff.
Under no circumstances are parents/carers permitted to enter the school building, including the entrance near Mrs Iqbal’s office. Again, this is to ensure the safety of our staff and children
You are also encouraged to walk to school and reminded not to park on the zigzags or double yellow lines, for the safety of children crossing the road.
Lates
It is vital that your child is dropped off and picked up at the designated time. We have put these timings in place to ensure the safety of you and your child. Children arriving late, or being after the allocated time slot, will impact on the health and safety of the children and staff in school, which is completely unacceptable.
Breakfast Club
There will be no breakfast club until further notice. Our priority has to be getting the children back into school to continue with their education. We will review this, when it is safe to do so.
After school clubs
There will not be any after school clubs taking place until further notice.
Y4 Swimming
There will be no swimming lessons until further notice.
School Arrangements
Breaks and lunchtimes will be staggered so that the children do not mix with any other children in any other ‘bubble’. They will remain in their ‘bubble’ at playtimes and lunchtimes, playing in designated areas of the schoolyard. Each ‘bubble’ will be separated at all times, including the staff members.
The children will have their own desk and tray that will contain equipment and resources necessary to take part in lessons. Certain furnishings and items have been removed (e.g. soft toys, dress-up clothes, small apparatus) and other resources will be cleaned on a regular basis.
Lunch arrangements
Children who decide to have school dinners will be provided with a hot meal. All children in Reception, Y1 and Y2 are entitled to have this free of charge, and we highly encourage these families to take up this option. The cost of a school dinner for children in Y3 to Y6 is £2.30.
If you wish for your child to have a home packed lunch, you must ensure that their lunch box is disinfected every day and that they can open everything in their lunchbox themselves. This must be brought into school by the child every morning as we cannot accept items being brought into school during the school day.
Uniform
If you require items of school uniform from school, you can contact Mrs Iqbal via phone on either Friday 28th August or Tuesday 1st September. She will make you an appointment to come and collect the uniform from her. We ask that you pay by cheque, or bring to exact money in an envelope. All Year 6 children will be given their new dark blue jumper on the first day in school.
Health and Safety
All rooms will be equipped with appropriate cleaning equipment and areas that are touched regularly, such as toilets and door handles, will be cleaned throughout the day.
Strict handwashing provision will be put into place e.g. washing hands on entering school, before and after playtime, before and after lunch, after using the bathroom, and children will be reminded how to do this effectively. School will also promote the ‘Catch it, bin it, kill it’ approach to coughs and sneezes.
Protocols are in place for any child or staff member showing symptoms of COVID-19. In this instance, school will contact you and you need to come and collect your child immediately.
Government guidance will be adhered to, as in the following document. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools
How you can help us
While we have done everything in our power to ensure the safety of your child, we need your help to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in school.
We ask that you:
- Wash and dry your child’s school uniform when they return home for the next day. They must come to school in clean school clothes, wherever possible.
- Wipe down your child’s shoes, including soles, with a disinfectant wipe.
- Adhere to the social distancing rules when dropping off and picking up your child.
- Do not access the school building for any reason
- Understand that staff will be observing the social distancing rule when communicating with parents/carers. The best way to communicate with staff is via the telephone.
- If you have more than one child in school, then you can drop your children at school at the earliest staggered slot and pick them up at the latest staggered slot. Please ask if you are unsure.
- Ensure that children do not bring any items from home, other than a clean, full water bottle, PE pumps and a clean packed lunch box if your child requires a packed lunch. (They do NOT need their PE shorts, t-shirt or PE bag, until further notice).
- Ensure that you send your child with their school reading book on their allocated day
This letter may seem scary to some of you but the welfare of our children, staff and families is very important to us, which is why we have had to put the above common sense measures in place. School will be the happy, welcoming and safe place that your child is used to and that we assure you that we will do everything we can to help them to feel settled. We hope that you understand this and support us in our decisions.
Please ensure that you stay safe during these difficult times. We look forward to seeing the children again on Wednesday 2nd September. If anything changes before this time, we will inform you via text and direct you to the school website for further information.
Reminder:
Main symptoms
The main symptoms of coronavirus are:
- a high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
- a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
- 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
Most people with coronavirus have at least 1 of these symptoms.
What to do if you have symptoms
If you have any of the main symptoms of coronavirus:
- Get a test to check if you have coronavirus as soon as possible.
- Stay at home and do not have visitors until you get your test result – only leave your home to have a test.
Anyone you live with, and anyone in your support bubble, must also stay at home until you get your result.
Please check your child regularly to see if they have any of these symptoms.
Anyone displaying any of these symptoms must inform the school via phone BUT MUST NOT come to the school.
Thank you so much for your support in these difficult times. I hope that you all continue to keep yourself and your families safe during the summer.
With very best wishes,
Mrs S Bell, Headteacher
Mrs K Gorrell, Deputy Headteacher