Dear Parent/Carer,
As you are aware government has released guidance regarding our school re-opening for on 1st June 2020. After much consideration regarding the safeguarding of the children and ensuring the school site is safe and prepared for the children’s return we will be opening the school to staff for the initial week with the school opening for some children on June 8th.INITIALLY THIS WILL ONLY BE OUR RECEPTION, YEAR ONE, YEAR SIX AND KEY WORKER/ VULNERABLE CHILDREN.
This letter is an overview of our current plans; there will be more detail later in the coming weeks including risk assessments.
Staying safe: We are currently developing a plan of how reopening will be implemented, including detailed risk assessments, but we will not hesitate to suspend or delay the opening of the school in the event that Public Health or Health and Safety measures would be compromised. The key to the guidance is keeping small groups together, and away from other groups, with social distancing and regular hand cleansing; sanitiser will be available across the school. At present, the 8th of June is an aspirational date and is subject to change.
The Bubble: Our aim is to reduce the class sizes as far as possible below 15 with workstations in each class two metres apart – in line with social distancing where possible. Teachers and teaching assistants who are able to come into school will be working with the same group of children – in the same area to reduce the risk of infection. This means your child may be working in a different classroom than they were before the pandemic and possibly with a different adult. The adult assigned to each group will ‘bubble’ with them at least until the end of the first three weeks of the half term, remaining together to reduce the risk of infection. This will mean a group of children will stay in the same ‘bubble’, entering school together, learning together, playing together (in their own defined area), eating together (in their classroom) and leaving school together, whilst following the two metre social distancing guidance where possible to reduce the risk of infection. Classes will be thoroughly cleaned every day. Details of these procedures are currently being formulated, along with a thorough risk assessment; these will be available for parents in the coming weeks.
Uniform: There is not an expectation that children will return to school wearing their school uniform. We ask that the children are sent to school in clean clothes daily, which are suitable for outdoor play. Gentle reminders will be given to parents if children return to school in the previous days clothing. Clothing must be clean daily to reduce the risk of the spread of infection.
Lunchtime: There will be no hot meals during the return to school for the first three weeks. By offering daily packed lunches to the children we can reduce movement around school, with children being able to either eat these in their designated room or outside. Please note all children attending school from June 8th must have a packed lunch provided by our school kitchen to minimise the risk of infection. They will need a clean, full water bottle each day.
Key Worker/Vulnerable Children: Key worker and vulnerable children will access our school as they have for the last nine weeks. We will be asking whether your child will be accessing school full time, as the government have changed their stance on key worker/vulnerable children and are now encouraging parents to send them into school every day.
Year 2, Year 3, Year 4 & Year 5 Children: The government have stated they would like to have all children back in school for a month before the end of the summer term; we will keep this under review and update you weekly of developments as they arise. Although we will be following government guidance, the safety of our children will be at the heart of every decision we make.
Entering and leaving school safely: Start and end times for the day have been revised to allow for the safe arrival and departure of the children to and from the school site. The school day will run from 8:45 – 3:15 with designated time slots for different groups. We will also have a designated gate for entry to the site and one for leaving the site, along with demarcated lining up stations to keep a two-metre distance and enable the flow of people, thus reducing the risk of infection. Parents/Carers will not be permitted onto the school site during this time. There will be no Breakfast Club or Teatime Club in the summer term.
Decision-making: There are obviously huge planning implications for school in terms of children returning after half term. As a result, this is why we have needed to establish numbers in order for us to organise staffing, arrange timetables for break times, set up ‘bubbles,’ organise staggered start/finish times etc. to maximise your child’s safety.
For parents of Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 children there are currently two options:
- Return to school full time on 8th June 2020.
- Not return to school in the summer term.
Bubbles will be set up from June 8th based upon your responses and will remain fixed according to the government guidelines. We will NOT be able to admit your child if you change your mind, until we have reviewed the provision later in the term; this is to ensure the safety of the staff and children in each bubble. Following the review, there may be an opportunity to set up new bubbles, but this cannot be guaranteed. When making your decision, please read through the guidance we send out and feel free to give me a ring to discuss any issues or reservations you may have.
Whether you have chosen for your child to return to school this term is your decision as a parent/ carer. I fully respect whatever decision you have decided upon. If you have decided to keep your child at home during this period, there will be no fines or further action taken by school; the children will also continue to have a virtual home learning to access.
I will be sharing more details of our plans the coming weeks; in the meantime, if you have any questions please just drop me an email.
Kind regards,
Helen Smith
Headteacher
