Dear Parents and Carers,

 

Here is my final update for this academic year. It has been a difficult time for everyone and it isn’t over yet, so we do need to be mindful of this over the summer and keep up with the social distancing.

 

Over the summer the Government will be sending me an update every week and then further extended guidance the week before we are due to return. I will provide you all with an update before we return to school, following on from that guidance. You will be sent a text alert to let you know there is an update for you to read. I hope it doesn’t involve too many changes to what I have outlined below, but I guess that will all depend on what happens over the holidays and how sensible everyone has been in trying to control the virus.

 

September Arrangements:

As you will have seen on the news, all children are expected to return to school at the beginning of term unless there are extreme medical needs for the child.

 

Families

As from September our ‘school families’ will be based on year groups, as this will allow children from each class, within a year group, to receive interventions, share events and go on visits together.

 

For children in our Resourced Provision, they will be in their own RP class full time, as they will be mixing with other RP children on transport so it would not be sensible to then send them all to a different mainstream class. This means Hedgehog class at the infants, and Mrs Clift’s class at the juniors, will remain in their RP class all day but will still cover the work their year group are covering.

 

Arrival and Collection

I have decided to go for an ‘arrival window’ for all, rather than staggered start times. The window of arrival will be 8.40-9.10 for all children, so you can bring your children at any point during this time.

 

Nursery collection: 3.15-3.30

Infant collection: 3-3.15

Junior collection: 3-3.20 (if children have not been collected by 3.20 they will be allowed to go home at 3.20 as usual)

 

Children will enter and leave school through their classroom external door with the exception of years 4 and 6. Year 4 will use the external door opposite the staffroom and Year 6 will use the dolphin door (the children will know where these are)

 

Breakfast Club

Breakfast club will run from 8.30-9.00 exactly as it does now but children must arrive before 8.40 to get their order in and give them time to eat before lessons start at 9. Children will go to their own classroom, orders taken and then food delivered. Breakfast can only be provided for vulnerable and key worker children. If you would like your child to have breakfast please make sure you return the booking form, which you should have received already, by Wednesday 22nd July at 12.30p.m.

Only children who are entitled to have breakfast will be allowed into class before 8.40 a.m.

 

Assemblies

There will not be any group assemblies but each class will provide an assembly each day.

Friday assembly will be held 2.45-2.55 where each class teacher will award the usual certificates in their own room. Mrs Waters and Mrs Turnnidge will then arrive with birthday cards/ attendance award etc. if there are any for that class.

 

Playtime

Playtimes will be staggered and children will play with their class members in a designated area.

 

Infant school:

Year 1: 10.15-10.30

Year 2: 10.30-10.45

 

Junior school:

Lower school: 10.20-10.35

Upper school: 10.40-10.55            

                       

There will not be a tuck shop at the junior school – children need to bring a healthy snack such as a piece of fruit but definitely no sweets.

 

Lunchtime

Lunchtime will also be staggered and, as they are at the moment, children will eat in their own classrooms. They will then have some time to play with their class in their designated area.

 

Infants

Nursery and year R will eat in the hall from 11.45 a.m.

Year 1 will eat in their classrooms from 12 p.m. -12.30 p.m.; play 12.30 p.m.- 1p.m.

Year 2 will play 12 p.m. -12.30 p.m.; eat in their classrooms from 12.30 p.m.-1p.m..

 

Juniors

Year 3 & 4 will eat in their classrooms from 12 p.m. - 12.30 p.m.; play 12.30 p.m. -1 p.m..

Years 5 & 6 will play 12 p.m.- 12.30 p.m.; eat in their classrooms from 12.30 p.m. -1 p.m.

 

Children will be washing their hands frequently, especially before eating. Gel will also be provided. All tables will be cleaned before and after eating too. The children are in good habits with their hand washing routines now and these will continue.

 

If you pay for lunches, please can you pay on-line so as to reduce the need to handle money in the office. Should you need to know how to pay on line, please call the junior school office and they will be able to help you.

 

Toilets

The recent Government guidance does not expect that each ‘school family’ has their own toilet facilities but we do have enough facilities to be able to allocate dedicated toilets for each class at both schools. This will further reduce the likelihood of any virus transmission as children are not mixing with other ‘school families’ when they visit the toilet.

 

Classrooms

In line with Government guidance all tables must be facing front with children sitting side by side and a space between tables.

 

Each child will have their own pencil case and equipment.

 

Adults, when supporting a child, will stand alongside them, not face to face and spend only a short while within 1 metre of them.

When coming in from lunch/play, children who sit furthest from the door will go into class first so that they do not have to pass other children to get to their seat.

Handwashing on arrival at school is essential and children should wash their hands before they leave home and when they arrive home.

Good respiratory hygiene will be taught: Coughs and sneezes must be covered, then hands washed and surfaces wiped.

‘The ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ approach continues to be very important and should be reinforced at home.

 

If there was a suspected case of coronavirus

If a child showed symptoms, they would be taken to a room which can be closed off, windows opened and the child supervised from a social distance with staff wearing PPE. The whole room would then be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected afterwards. The expectation is that the child and their household will isolate and book for a test to be taken. The Government have made it clear that parents are expected to engage in this process and with the Test and Trace process should the test come back positive. Obviously this is an essential way of keeping cases down. If the test came back as positive the whole household have to continue to isolate for 14 days to allow time for any symptoms to develop.

In school we would ask PHE (Public Health England) for advice as to what was required. It may be just that child’s ‘school family’ needed to be sent home to isolate or it could be just their class, in extreme cases it could be the whole school.  Obviously we want to keep this to a minimum which is why we are trying to keep children in their classes as much as possible to reduce the likelihood of large numbers of children having to isolate.

 

Library

School libraries will not be used for changing books as this could increase transmission. However, plans are in place to provide ‘class’ libraries. Mrs Boseley, Mrs Flynn and Miss Sheldon are working on these plans to ensure children can still progress with their reading.

 

ELSA support

ELSA support will continue to be provided but not in large groups. Where possible ELSAs will work outside in our various outside areas, or in larger spaces. They will only work 1:1 in their own rooms if they are socially distanced and with windows open for good ventilation.

 

Free School Meal Vouchers 

You will be aware that the Government have agreed to fund FSM vouchers for the summer. Those of you who are eligible will be entitled to a £90 voucher per child. You should receive these towards the end of this week but you can only use them once the holidays begin.

 

Stubbington Residential

Every year we offer a residential visit to the year 5/6 children. Please see your child’s seesaw account for current year 4 and 5 for further information about this.

 

Childcare during the holidays

The government have issued guidelines for parents and carers regarding childcare during the holidays amid the coronavirus outbreak. This document is on our school website for you to read.

 

Laptops

Those of you who have borrowed laptops or similar devices from school, please can you return them to the junior school office by Friday 17th July so that they can be cleaned and prepared for September.

 

Parking and Permits

Thank you. There has been a reduction in the number of people driving onto the school site. If you need a permit for September please contact the infant office.

 

Nursery

We still have some nursery places available for September. We do provide 30 hours of care if you require it. Unlike other local nurseries, because the nursery is part of the school, we have a full time, qualified teacher leading the nursery. This means that they receive a good foundation in their learning and experience quality teaching right from their first day. Please contact the infant school office if you would like further details, or to register your child for a place.

 

Last day

Please remember that all children finish school on Wednesday 22nd July at 12.30p.m. as we would usually do at the end of the summer term. Children will have their lunch before they go home. However, you can collect your child anytime between 12.15 and 12.30p.m. as this will reduce the number of people arriving on site at the same time. Children who walk home will be allowed to leave school at 12.30p.m. Nursery children who only stay for a morning session can be collected at 11.45a.m. as usual.

 

Please note there is still no crossing patrol at the moment.

 

Finally, I hope you all have a lovely holiday and stay safe. It has been a very strange time for all of us so let’s hope there is some good news on the horizon and we can get back to some sort of normal in September.

 

Keep socially distancing and washing your hands!

Stay safe.

With my very best wishes,

Mrs Sheila Pape