Tuesday 4^th January 2022

Dear Parents/Carers,
 

We hope you have had a lovely, relaxing holiday and look forward to seeing you all return to school tomorrow.
 

There has been no further guidance for primary schools from the Department for Education (DfE). Therefore, due to the current situation of Covid-19 around the country, we have decided to implement some safety measures which we are sure you will agree with. Covid-19 has already impacted on our school community and we are trying to minimise the risk of further infections.

• We are going to limit the mixing together of classes.
  • Start times (arrive between 8:45am and 8:55am) and home times (3:15pm for Rec to Y2 and 3:20pm for Y3 to Y6) will remain the same, but we will separate the children as much as we can.
    • Reception children will enter and leave school via the little playground and go through their entrance as normal.
    • Year 1 children will enter and leave school via their classroom as normal.
    • Year 2 children will enter school via the little playground and go through to their classroom. They will leave this way at home time as well.
    • Year 3 children will enter through the ramp entrance and leave via the office exit.
    • Year 4 children will enter and leave school via the ramp entrance.
    • Year 5 and Year 6 children will enter and leave via the Year 6 entrance.
       
  • Phonics will still take place each day where children from Reception to Year 4 are taught together in groups at their appropriate phonics stage. Numbers in each group are much smaller than class numbers and they work with 1 adult.
     
  • Assemblies will return to Zoom so that we do not have all the children and staff in the hall at the same time. During Merit Assembly on Fridays, children awarded a certificate will go to the hall to collect it from the teacher leading the assembly and will be seen by all the classes virtually. Any singing will be done within the children’s own classrooms.
     
  • We will not be inviting parents in for any assemblies/workshops at this moment in time.
     
  • Clubs will be postponed for the first 3 weeks. We will then be able to see the impact of returning to school as well as the national picture. If things are looking more positive, clubs could return week beginning 31^st January 2022. We will let you know prior to this date.
     
  • Lunchtimes will be staggered to limit the mixing in the hall. Reception and Year 1 will eat their lunch in the hall between 12:00 and 12:25pm. Years 2 to 4 will eat their lunch in the hall between 12:25 and 12:50pm. Years 5 and 6 will eat their lunch in the hall between 12:50 and 1:15pm. These are approximate times – timings may change.
     
  • Playtimes will remain the same as the children are outside.
     
• Primary school children do not need to wear masks. Staff will be wearing masks when in communal areas and when meeting with parents. Please ensure that if you go to the school office, or meet with a member of staff in school, you wear a mask as well.
   
• Please send your child to school with their own water bottle, labelled with their name on it. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to provide disposable cups to children who forget their bottles as we used many of these before Christmas and obviously cannot wash them out and re-use them.
   
• Windows will still be open so please ensure that your children bring a jumper or cardigan with them to wear as it can get very cold during the day. Coats can be worn if children or staff are particularly cold during the day.
   
• Children and staff are still expected to wash/sanitise their hands regularly throughout the day. Please keep this routine at home; some children are still having to be reminded to wash their hands after going to the toilet.
   
• If someone in the household tests positive, please let the school know as soon as possible. We are asking, children and staff, to take a daily lateral flow test at the very least if someone in the home tests positive. If a child, or a member of staff, has symptoms but will not book a PCR test, we will say that they will not be able to return to school until 10 days of isolation has passed. This is to protect the school community.
   
• If your child shows signs of Covid-19, please do not send them to school. Likewise, if you have symptoms, please do not come to school. Children and adults must isolate until they either receive a negative PCR result or if they have tested positive, their isolation period is over.

We really hope you understand our reasons for these changes. This is not how we want to run a school but we feel that implementing these changes will help to protect our school community. We will reassess the situation later this half term and may drop some or all of these strategies depending on the local and national picture.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Yours faithfully

Mrs Janet Edwards  (Head Teacher)                 

Mrs Sharon Brewer (Deputy Head Teacher)