Return to School from Monday 8th March

Dear Parents and Carers

Following the announcement earlier in the week, we are really looking forward to welcoming all children back to school. We hope that this return really does mark the start of our journey together to a brighter and safe future.  

All the children will return on Monday 8th March and our organisation and arrangements will recommence as they were when we went back into lockdown. The children will return to their class bubbles and the arrangements for the staggered start and end to the day and different entry and exit routes will all be as they were. Below is a reminder - I am sorry that this letter is rather lengthy!

Start and End of the Day

Staggered Start

• 8.40am                      Year 6
• 8.45am                      Year 5
• 8.50am                      Year 4
• 8.55am                      Year 3
• 8.45 - 8.55am            Year 2
• 8.50 - 9.00am            Year 1
• 8.55 - 9.05am            Reception

The children in Reception and Key Stage 1 are to be accompanied to their classroom door, following the one way system and children in Key Stage 2 will line up at the designated cone in the playground until they are directed in to school by a member of staff.  It is important that your child does not come any earlier than their allocated time slot.

Staggered End

Reception - collect from the classroom between 2.45pm and 2.55pm

Years 1 and 2 - collect at 3.00pm

Years 3 and 5 - collect at 3.10pm

Year 4 and 6 - collect at 3.20pm

If you are waiting for an older child with a younger one, they must stand next to you while they wait and not run around or use the play equipment.

Please remember

• that all adults on site will need to wear a face covering.
• to observe social distancing and remain at a distance of at least 2 metres from others not from your household.
• only one adult should bring and collect your child.
• as soon as you have collected your children, please leave the school site immediately without stopping to chat to other parents.

Lunches - until Easter we will return to all Key Stage 2 pupils having packed lunches/school grab bags which they will eat in their classrooms. We will be reviewing this over the next few weeks to try to facilitate a full lunchtime service for Key Stage 2 after the Easter holiday.

What to bring to School

Please limit the number of belongings your child brings to school: they should not need to bring a bag. Key Stage 2 cloakrooms will not be in use and coats, if worn will need to be stored on the back of chairs. The children will be asked to come to school in their PE kit on the days when PE is timetabled.

• Rec     - Thursday
• Year 1 - Thursday
• Year 2 - Thursday
• Year 3 - Wednesday and Friday
• Year 4 - Tuesday and Friday
• Year 5 - Monday and Wednesday
• Year 6 - Wednesday

Your child may need to re-stock their stationery pack. This includes:

• A pack of coloured pencils
• A rubber
• A pencil sharpener
• A 15 cm ruler
• A small pair of scissors
• A glue stick
• Key Stage 2 only - a highlighter (any colour)

Uniform - normally the option to wear summer uniform (summer dresses/polo/shorts) starts from after the Easter holiday. To avoid parents needing to buy new winter uniform for a few short weeks if their child has outgrown their uniform, there is flexibility for children to start wearing summer uniform from 8^th March. As always, summer uniform is optional.

OSCAR Club - we are aware that because some people may be furloughed or working from home, demand for Oscar may be different over the coming weeks and months. We are asking parents who currently use OSCAR or who may need it in the future, to complete a questionnaire to let us know your requirements. Once we have analysed the responses we will let you know what we are able to offer. Please complete the questionnaire by Monday 1^st March.

Infection Control - before your child returns to school we ask parents to remind their children of the following measures:

• ensuring their children understand when and how to wash their hands, making sure they wash them thoroughly for at least 20 seconds using running water and soap and drying them thoroughly.
• ensuring their children understand good respiratory hygiene by promoting the 'catch it, bin it, kill it' approach
• ensuring their children understand the importance of physically distancing from adults in school.
• explaining to their children the importance of these measures and their responsibility to follow instructions.

Anyone who is displaying coronavirus symptoms, or who lives with someone who does, must not attend school. If your child, or someone in the household has coronavirus symptoms (raised temperature, a new persistent cough or changes to their sense of taste or smell) they must not come to school.

If your child develops coronavirus like symptoms at school, they will need to be immediately collected. Please make sure that you (or someone nominated to care for your child) are contactable at all times during the day whilst your child is at school. We will isolate the child from the rest of their bubble until you arrive in order to reduce their contact with others. Until the results of a coronavirus test is known, the members of your household, including your child will need to self-isolate. If coronavirus is confirmed, we will liaise with Public Health England and it may be necessary for the rest of the year group to isolate and access remote learning.

Expansion of Symptoms - usually we would encourage parents of children who feel a little under the weather to attend school, however there are also a number of other, wider symptoms (see table below), which may be linked to Covid-19 infection, although these symptoms are also common in a number of other illnesses. Dudley Council's Public Health team and the school are keen to make sure we are doing all we can to prevent any further cases and are therefore recommending that all children get a Covid-19 test as a precaution if they display any of these wider symptoms.

Please refer to the letter from Public Health on the school website for further information.

Remote Learning on Friday 5^th March – teachers will be in working in school Friday 5^th March to prepare for wider opening on Monday 8^th March. On the Friday, remote learning will be available as usual but staff will not be able to give any feedback. This will be given in person during the following week when the children are back in school.

Our Risk Assessment is being updated to support the wider opening of the school and will soon be available on the school website. As previously, we will be severely restricting access to the school site and parents/carers will not be permitted into the building unless they have a prior appointment.  Teachers and school staff can be contacted by leaving a telephone message with a member of the School Office. Following the success of Class Dojo we are going to trial expanding the use of this platform as a method of communication between parents and teachers. However, please be patient waiting for a response, as teachers will be in their classrooms delivering face to face teaching and may not see your message until the end of the day.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if there is any further information you need or any queries you have. Thank you again for all of your kind words and support over the past few weeks. We look forward to welcoming you back to school and trust that we have successful rest of the year ahead.

Kind regards
Mrs D Hudson
Headteacher