Dear Parents and Carers,
I very much hope you all remain well and are enjoying the summer. We are now approaching the final period of the holiday and I wish to update you and provide additional information regarding the new term. You will recall I wrote to you during the last week of term to outline our plans for the staggered reintroduction of all our pupils, so that we are able to confidently welcome the whole school back in advance of the expected date of September 14th. We have met as a senior leadership team and a Governing Body to discuss the structure further and will go ahead as initially planned. Below, I have shared the timetable with you once again and provided further details. I have also specified in the attached document on which day your child will attend when the Nursery, Reception, Years 1, 2 and 3 classes are split on the 3rd and 4th of September.
Timetable
Week 1
Day / Date Year Groups
Mon 31st Aug Closed for all – Bank Holiday
Tue 1st Sep Closed for pupils – Planning Day – LA organised
Wed 2nd Sep Closed for pupis – Planning Day – LA organised
Thu 3rd Sep Nursery (50%) / Reception (50%) / Year 1&2 (50%) – Mrs Liddy
/ Year 3 (50%)
Fri 4th Sep Nursery (50%) / Reception (50%) / Year 1&2 (50%) – Miss Bevan
/ Year 3 (50%)
Week 2
Day / Date Year Groups
Mon 7th Sep Nursery / Reception / Year 3 / Year 5 (100%)
Tue 8th Sep Year 1 & 2, Year 4 / Year 6 (100%)
Wed 9th Sep Nursery / Reception / All Juniors (Years 3, 4, 5, 6) (100%)
Thu 10th Sep All Foundation Phase (Nursery, Reception, Year 1&2) /Year 3/Year 6 (100%)
Fri 11th Sep All classes back
Week 3 Onwards – All classes in as ‘normal’
Further Information and Guidance
Contact groups – The guidance states that we should establish contact groups of pupils in the school. This helps us manage social distancing and also put measures in place to restrict those groups mixing with one another where possible. Contact groups are as follows: Nursery & Reception, Years 1 & 2, Years 3 & 4 and Years 5 & 6. Because of these arrangements, there will be no school assemblies, nor mass gatherings of pupils. Pupils will be expected to play outside within their contact group. Pupils for each contact group will have their own designated toilet.
Social Distancing – The directives regarding social distancing have changed somewhat over the summer with regard to pupils. The 2 metre rule no longer applies to children of 11 and under. We will however, whenever and wherever possible, be encouraging and reminding pupils of the need to remain apart as much as is practicable. Our staff will be asked to observe the guidelines to remain 2m apart at all times.
Hand washing – As before, all persons entering the building will be asked to wash their hands on entry and also expected to repeat at various times during the day.
School lunches – These will resume in the normal way, sat on class tables apart in the hall to maintain contact groups. Those having sandwiches will eat in class. Pupils having sandwiches should bring their lunch in a lunchbox and take it home each day.
School start and end time –These will remain as before- with school starting at 9am and finishing at 3.15pm. Please ensure you are punctual in dropping off and picking up. I’d also be grateful if you could ensure you do not arrive before 8.50am (unless you child attends breakfast club) and also leave the site promptly.
Breakfast Club – This provision will resume from September starting at 8am, but we ask that only pupils attend whose parents require it for childcare purposes in order to restrict numbers. Entry to Breakfast Club is via the hall door.
Giggles – Giggles will reopen from September. Please contact Anna for information.
After School Club – This provision will resume from September, with measures put in place to keep pupils safe. We will be using the hall to assist in maintaining distancing between contact groups. Again, please contact Anna or the office after we reopen to register.
After School Activities – These are suspended for the time being, in order to maintain contact groups and allow us to focus on operating safely and in an organised manner from day to day.
Uniform – We request that pupils wear school uniform. We ask that all pupils ensure they change from their school clothes as soon as they return home each day.
PE – We want to avoid pupils changing in and out of their PE clothes while in school. On the days the pupils will be having PE, they will be asked to come to school in their PE kit. We will let you know on which days each class will have PE.
Pencil cases – We ask that each child brings in their own pencil case containing the following resources: writing pencil, eraser, sharpener, coloured pencils (5 max), ruler. This will be kept in school in their drawer which only they will access. Please ensure the pencil case is as small as possible, so it fits in the drawer.
Healthy Snacks – Snacks will not be provided by the school for the time being. Water and healthy snacks brought in by pupils must be clearly marked in a disposable bag. Please do not send in cakes for birthdays as we cannot share food.
Visitors – We will aim to restrict the amount of visitors entering the building. Any visitors will need to leave their name and contact details for ‘Test, Trace and Protect’ purposes.
Entry and Exit Points – You will recall I shared a video before the partial reopening of Rhos Street School in June. We are going to continue with the same arrangements, except for one specific area. Foundation phase parents will no longer go down the grass bank to leave the site. They are now requested to enter the gate via the path at the bottom and follow the top path on exit going down the zig zag path rather than down the bank. There will be a greater number of people on the site, so please work together to observe social distancing. Please remain patient with one another to achieve this. Please click on the following link to refresh your memory of the arrangements as outlined in the video – https://youtu.be/zmB1GPRuz7w
Where do I bring my child at the beginning of the day?
We encourage as many families as possible to walk their child to the school. We ask that only one parent walks their child to and from the site. Families should walk together but remain socially distanced from other families. Please do not arrive earlier than 8.50am and leave promptly after dropping off your child/ren. Any parents with buggies can pass their child on to a staff member in front of school, who will then guide them on site via the correct entrance. Any pupils on bikes can pass their bike to a staff member, who will then place it by the racks in front of the office. On arrival to school there will be a one way system. Please observe the signs. Foundation Phase pupils are to enter school via the lower gate and will be directed up the path to their class by a staff member. Parents can then go up the steps inside the gate and exit via the top Nursery gate. Years 3 and 4 are to enter the main reception door with Year 5 and 6 pupils to enter via the hall door. No parents will be permitted to enter the school building. Please only visit the office if it is completely essential, otherwise please telephone or email.
All pupils will travel in one direction to their classes to be welcomed by their teachers. There will be clear signage to help them travel in the correct direction safely. Foundation Phase pupils will enter via their classes external door after walking up the path. Years 3 and 4 will travel up the main corridor to their class. Years 5 and 6 will go through the hall, exit the other hall door and enter via their classes external door. Pupils will go straight into class and not assemble on the yard as they would normally do.
All pupils and staff will be asked to wash their hands on arrival to the site as well as on the following occasions:
– before and after handling food
– before and after handling objects and equipment that may have been used by others
– where there has been any physical contact
– after people blow their nose, sneeze or cough.
Where do I pick up my child at the end of the school day?
Foundation Phase will be dismissed via their cloakroom door. All Key Stage 2 pupils will be sent home via the same doors they entered the site, Years 3 and 4 will leave via main reception and Years 5 and 6 from the hall. Please wait in the parent pick up zone. May I once again ask parents to arrive on time, exercise social distancing and leave the site promptly.
New parents – There are a number of new families joining us at the beginning of term. These includes parents of Nursery pupils, but we also have many new pupils joining classes from Reception all the way up to Year 6. I understand that due to the lack of familiarity with the school and its site, that much of this information may be confusing, but please do not worry. There will be staff about at the front of school each morning to guide you in the right direction.
COVID-19 Guidelines and the school community – There are many procedures we need to follow as a school, to keep our school community safe and we take this responsibility seriously. In order to do this effectively, we must rely on the co-operation of every person who comes onto the school site and the people who live in those households. It is absolutely essential that everybody follows the guidelines and expectations in terms of quarantine, self-isolation and testing to ensure we do everything we can to mitigate the spread of the virus, particularly as we head into the autumn and the colder months. Please read the information below.
Procedures for illness – If a child develops symptoms of COVID-19 during the school day, they will be placed into sick-bay, parents will be called to fetch them and organise a test. They can return to school if they test negative and have recovered. However, isolation for positive cases is 10 days for the child and 14 days for other family members.
Quarantining – The government has specified that any families need to quarantine for two weeks on returning from holiday from certain countries abroad. If you have been abroad to any of those countries, please ensure you follow those guidelines.
Test, Trace and Protect – If you have been informed through the ‘Test, Trace and Protect’ system that your family needs to isolate, please do not send your children to school and follow the guidance you have been given.
Infection Control – We are provided with guidelines on how long pupils should be kept off school and I have attached them for your reference. As before, I must stress that you should not send your child to school if they are ill and this is ever more important now as a cough, and a temperature are also symptoms of many non COVID-19 illnesses, so if we do not co-operate with these procedures effectively, then the school could face significant disruption and potential risk of closure once again. I’m sure you’ll agree that’s the last thing we want!
Attendance – Again, we need to work together closely in respect of attendance. If your child is absent from school, it is essential you inform us telling us the reason for absence. Please do by phoning the office and leaving a message. Alternatively, you can email me.
Times remain uncertain and the school community needs to work together closely and positively to ensure we manage this period effectively. When we reopened before the summer, everybody co-operated wonderfully and I’m sure I can count on your ongoing support and collaboration going forward.
As ever, if you have any further queries or concerns, please email me and I will respond.
Enjoy the rest of the summer break and we look forward to seeing you in September.
Yours sincerely,
Bryn D. Jones
Headteacher