Phased opening of school from Monday 1st June
Thursday 21st May 2020
RE: Opening up of school to further year groups
Dear Parent / Carer,
You will be more than aware of the Government’s decision to begin to open up schools to more children from 1st June. Having spent time reviewing our school site, considering what is best for the children and staff’s health and wellbeing and ensuring that we abide by the requirements the following information is our way forward. Please read all the details found below and ensure that you understand what we are setting out. It is imperative that, if your child is one of those who are to begin to access school, you spend time explaining to them the points below stressing how different school is going to be and that we are doing all this to make sure everyone can stay safe.
The Government has stated that they require schools to begin to open to more children from Monday 1st June. As a school we are dedicated to ensure these next steps are taken carefully and safely with every stakeholder knowing exactly what is expected of them.
Therefore, to allow us to spend time as a staff going through the new procedures, protocols and ensure that the site is prepared, we will not begin to accept children apart from those of critical workers until Monday 8th June. Below you will see our plan for the phased introduction of children into school.
We will not be bringing Nursery back into school. Due to the age of the children Governors feel that it would be physically impossible to even try and get them to contemplate any form of social distancing. This decision was not an easy one but taken with the safety of children and staff in mind.
Each Reception and Year 1 class will be split into groups of 15 which will become their ‘bubble’. We will inform parents which group their child is in week beginning Monday 1st June. It is important to understand that the children will stay with this group at all times.
Week 1 (proposed date w/c Monday 1st June)
Key Worker + Vulnerable children (all week)
Staff training – new protocols and procedures + organising environment
Week 2 (proposed date w/c Monday 8th June)
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
| Reception
Class 1 Group A
+Key worker and vulnerable |
Reception
Class 1 Group A Class 2 Group C
+Key worker and vulnerable |
Reception
Class 1 Group A Class 2 Group C Class 1 Group B
+Key worker and vulnerable |
Reception
Class 1 Group A Class 2 Group C Class 1 Group B Class 2 Group D
+Key worker and vulnerable |
Reception
Class 1 Group A Class 2 Group C Class 1 Group B Class 2 Group D
+Key worker and vulnerable |
Week 3 (proposed date w/c 15/6/20)
| Reception
Class 1 Group A Class 2 Group C Class 1 Group B Class 2 Group D
Year 1 Class 3 Group A Class 4 Group C
+Key worker and vulnerable |
Reception
Class 1 Group A Class 2 Group C Class 1 Group B Class 2 Group D
Year 1 Class 3 Group A Class 4 Group C Class 3 Group B Class 4 Group D
+Key worker and vulnerable |
Reception
Class 1 Group A Class 2 Group C Class 1 Group B Class 2 Group D
Year 1 Class 3 Group A Class 4 Group C Class 3 Group B Class 4 Group D
+Key worker and vulnerable |
Reception
Class 1 Group A Class 2 Group C Class 1 Group B Class 2 Group D
Year 1 Class 3 Group A Class 4 Group C Class 3 Group B Class 4 Group D
+Key worker and vulnerable |
Reception
Class 1 Group A Class 2 Group C Class 1 Group B Class 2 Group D
Year 1 Class 3 Group A Class 4 Group C Class 3 Group B Class 4 Group D
+Key worker and vulnerable |
Drop off
Drop off will be the same as we instigated prior to the school closure. The children are to be brought to the normal school gate where they are to be left to walk into the yard and straight into the school building. There will be staff on hand to encourage the children in.
Parents are not to ask other families to bring or collect their children and no parents will be allowed on site at this point.
Only one adult is to drop off.
Parents MUST arrive within the time for their child’s group to ensure we only have a limited number of people around the school gates – timings can be found below.
The gate access from Drumoyne Gardens will remain locked
Pick up
Parents are to enter the site via the normal gate.
Reception parents are to collect from the normal hall doors
Year 1 parents are to follow the direction from staff to collect from the Key stage 2 yard
Parents MUST be on time to collect children
Timings for start and end of school
| Children of critical workers | Rec / Year 1
Group |
Rec / Year 1
Group |
|||
| A + B | C + D | ||||
| Start school | 8:40 | 8:45 | 9:00 | ||
| Home | 15:15 | 14:45 | 15:00 |
Communication with staff
Due to the measures above, parents will not be able to speak to class teachers. If there is something that you need to urgently pass on to a member of staff please email the school (office@langleyfirst.orguk). Parents MUST NOT come to the school office unless it has been prior arranged. If your child has forgotten something then we will work around it.
Handwashing
Regular, good handwashing is more effective than using anti-bacterial gel. Therefore we will be asking the children to wash their hands at regular intervals throughout the day. To help us with this, please talk through the importance of hand washing and follow the correct way which can be found on the NHS website or lots of videos can be found on line such as germ busters
What extra cleaning measures have we put in place?
All classrooms will have the desks and chairs cleaned down in between each session. We also will have a cleaner on site during the day to clean the toilets at specific times.
School Uniform
For this half term the school uniform policy has been relaxed. We ask parents to make their best endeavours to have the children in the correct school uniform but appreciate that things may no longer fit and replacing is difficult with the current restrictions in place. If your child is wearing something other than their uniform, please make sure it is suitable to school e.g. footwear needs to be fastened and robust. Also please, if possible, wash their clothes they are using for school each day.
What will my child be doing when they are in school?
When the children are in school we will endeavour to give them some form of teaching in line with the curriculum for their year group. However, there will be clear restrictions on what the staff can and can’t do under the current social distancing measures and also that we will have children coming in who will have done lots of different things during lock down period. We will look to try and review lots of the work from the year so far and also to support the children to be prepared for September. However, before we can do any learning, we must spend a considerable amount of time supporting children in the social, emotional and wellbeing. We want to ensure, as a priority, that the children can be happy, calm, feel safe and secure as until they are they will not be able to learn.
What will the classrooms look like?
To help explain to the children what to expect when they return to school we will be sending pictures out through Seesaw and Tapestry. We have made best endeavours to ensure that the children will be socially distanced but our main focus will be on ensuring that the children keep to their group bubble.
Will home learning continue?
For those year groups that are not starting school (Year 2, 3 & 4) home learning will continue as you have been used to since the school closure. For the year groups where the children are accessing school the offer of home learning will significantly reduce. This is due to staff needing to prepare and teach the children in school.
Please note that there will be no home learning next week due to half term.
What if there is a confirmed case of Covid-19 in school.
Schools have been given very clear advice from the government should such an occurrence happen
‘When a child, young person or staff member develops symptoms compatible with coronavirus, they should be sent home and advised to self-isolate for 7 days. Their fellow household members should self-isolate for 14 days. All staff and students who are attending an education or childcare setting will have access to a test if they display symptoms of coronavirus.
Where the child, young person or staff member tests positive, the rest of their class/group within their childcare or education setting should be sent home and advised to self-isolate for 14 days. The other household members of that wider class/group do not need to self-isolate unless the child, young person or staff member they live with in that group subsequently develops symptoms.’
PPE
Each school in North Tyneside has been given a small allocation of PPE. As a school we have decided to increase this to ensure that we can, where needed, keep the staff and children safe. At present the government guidance is that school staff do not need to wear PPE unless they are performing intimate care or would normally be using PPE in a role.
Does my child have to come into school?
The simple answer is no! The government has made clear that parents will not be penalised should they wish for their child to stay at home. If your child is in a year group that we are opening to and you are not sending them back we ask that you inform school of this by email. If there is something specific that is influencing this decision that we may be able to address then please let us know.
For those parents who have a child in Reception or year 1 we would really appreciate it if you could complete this quick survey to help us plan for numbers
Will my child be with their normal teacher?
Unfortunately, due to the small groups that we are putting in place we are not able to have every teacher with their class. However, we are planning for there to be two members of staff with each group and where possible, at least one of these will be a member of staff that the children will have worked with previously.
What will lunches be like?
To begin with it will be a packed lunch. If your child wants to bring in their own packed lunches please consider that they will not be placed in the fridges and will be kept on your child’s peg to reduce contact by others. Due to restrictions on space there will be occasions when your child will have their lunch in their classroom or in the dinner hall.
How will playtimes be organised?
The children will remain with their group during all playtimes. Unfortunately the equipment will also be restricted. The timetable will be created to stagger playtimes to ensure that children are not all out together, again restricting cross contact between groups.
What happens after Friday 21stJune?
When deciding on the plan to reopen school Governors have felt that due to the measures changing on a regular basis and the restrictions on space due to social distancing, it would be only be right to plan for the first 3 weeks. As mentioned previously, everything will be under constant review and changes where needed made swiftly and transparently. Governors would also like it made clear that school recognises the emotional turmoil that our year 4 children must be having in not being able to end their time at Langley in a normal way. They would like to give an assurance to all year 4 that they are working hard to hopefully be able to plan for them to return in some way prior to the end of the term.
Critical Worker guidance
I am aware that there may be updated guidance around critical workers on 28th May. If this does have a significant impact on the numbers of children that we have to accept into the setting then there may be alterations made to the year groups that we are accepting. This will clearly be communicated to parents as quickly as possible. If you feel that you qualify for critical worker care for your child then parents must email school and provide evidence from their employer.
I hope that this overview goes someway to answering your questions and hopefully reduce any anxiety or fears that you may have with this move to begin to return to school. Please be clear that Governors and I will be continually reviewing how we are keeping children and staff safe.
Further guidance from the Government, should you wish to review it can be found here
I thank you in advance for your support and co-operation in these difficult times.
Stay safe,
Mr. T Jones Mr. Chris Coady
Headteacher Co-Chair of GovernorsNext Steps for school opening 22_5_20
