Dear parents
We are delighted to be welcoming back all our children next Monday on the 8th March. This has been a tremendously difficult period for everybody and we would like to thank all parents for being so supportive during this lockdown and understanding of the difficult decisions that have had to have been made.
From next Monday, the procedures we will be asking parents to follow at the beginning and end of every day and information about how school will operate is detailed below. There have been some changes so please read all of the information carefully.
General Information
- School uniform is to be worn as usual.
- Children are to wear PE kits all day on days when they have PE. They will not be asked to change. All children will also have a Forest School/Gardening day until Easter on these days children can come to school in old clothes that they don’t mind getting a bit mucky. Each class teacher will let you know which days these are required.
- The school kitchen will be open as usual. Children will have their dinner in the hall in their class ‘bubbles’ in separate sittings and discrete areas.
- Playtimes will be staggered and ‘bubbles’ will have designated zones in which to play.
- All requirements for children with Individual Learning Plans or Educational Health Care Plans, including visits from key professionals, will carry on as normal.
Beginning and end of the day
New School Gate
Hopefully, by the 8th March, there will be a new entrance to the playground on Linley Terrace. We are reinstating the old gate next to the large tree at the end of the existing diagonal path from the playground. Some of you may remember it although it was taken out several years ago!
This new gate will change our beginning and end-of-day procedures, so please do read the following.
- The school gate will open at 8.40am and will shut at 9.00am
- At the beginning of the day, we would like to encourage children to go to the classroom doors by themselves to try and reduce the amount of footfall on the school site as much as possible. There will be members of staff on the playground each day to supervise the children and ensure they get to their classrooms. Parents and children will enter through the existing front school gate and then exit through the new gate. Any parents who need to speak to their class teacher urgently or have children who are particularly anxious about coming into school independently, are to continue anti-clockwise around the school and exit via the side gate onto the front, visitor carpark.
- At the end of the day, parents are asked to collect their children from the back door of their classrooms between 3.05pm and 3.20pm. Parents of children in Years 4, 5, 6 and 1 are to enter through the front, visitor car park, as before, and follow the existing one way system to the classrooms doors and exit through the new gate. Parents of Reception, Year 2 and Year 3 are to enter through the old front gate as in the morning, collect children from classrooms doors and exit again through the new gate. If you have siblings in different classes please follow the existing one way system for collection.
- Parents are asked to obey strict 2 metres social distancing requirements at all times whilst on the school site and ensure that children adhere to this as well. We also ask parents not to congregate outside the school in groups before the gate is unlocked in the morning or in the afternoon.
- We still require all parents to wear a face mask when on school site unless they are exempt.
Equipment
- Children are to come to school with their lunchbox (if they are not having a hot dinner), water bottle and coat. (No rucksacks)
- EYFS/KS1 children are to bring reading books in every day. Please only send these in a PPS blue book bag, or just in the clear plastic wallet provided. We cannot have large rucksacks in school as they take up too much space and we don’t want anything unnecessary coming into school.
- KS2 children will keep their reading books in school. We will ensure that children read everyday. Children may take a book to read at home, but this must stay at home until they have finished the book.
- Children now do not need a pencil case as we have enough equipment in school for children to have their own named pen, pencil etc. Please do not send pencil cases into school.
Wraparound Club and After School Clubs
Until Easter, whilst Covid-19 infection rates are still very high, we will not be running our wraparound club and apologise for any inconvenience this causes. Before and after school provision will therefore start again after the Easter holiday as will after school Crossbar clubs.
Curriculum
We are so proud of the work that you have completed at home throughout this lockdown period. We appreciate that is has been tough and that circumstances have been different for every family. We will work extremely hard to ensure that the children’s return to school is a positive experience.
As well as making sure that the curriculum for this term is being covered, we are very aware that some children will have been adversely affected by the isolation and may be very nervous about returning to school. We will therefore be building in opportunities until Easter for children to ‘catch-up’ on other experiences that they have missed: playing, teamwork, communicating with others and simply having fun with their friends.
Each class will work on a range of activities including, team-building games, forest school, gardening, art, mindfulness activities, music, games and activities to encourage discussions about feelings and emotions, outdoor games and using wonderful picture books to promote discussion and inspire learning. We hope that these activities will help children to settle back into school quickly, help to build their stamina for a full day of learning, and most importantly help them to be happy and enthusiastic about returning to school.
All staff are really excited and cannot wait to welcome back all our children next Monday. Although we will still be working in bubbles, we hope this is the end of the last ‘lockdown’ and that we all will be returning to normal life as soon as possible.
Mr Langford Miss Roberts Mrs Hilditch