Updated Coronavirus information

Dear Parents / Carers,

Following on from the new measures put in place by the Prime Minister yesterday I would like to share with you some of considerations and alterations we are putting into place.
To reduce the number of people congregating in one place we are changing the drop off and pick up arrangements as follows;

Nursery

Drop off and pick up times extended to reduce the numbers in and around the cloakroom

  • Morning sessions
    Drop off extended to 9:15 (8:45-9:15)
    Pick up 11:15 (11:15 – 11:45)
  • Afternoon sessions
    Drop off extended to 13:00 (12:30 – 13:00)
    Pick up from 15:00 (15:00-15:30)
  • Main school
    • Gates will be not be unlocked until 8:40am
    • Adults / Carers are to drop the children at the school gate, staff will be on the gate and on duty in the yard.
    • We ask that once you have let your child through the gates you move away quickly to avoid congestion.
    • The children will be able to play in the yard until the whistle is blown for the start of school.
    • Reception children will go straight into their classroom.

At the end of the day we would like to stagger the children coming out of the building. To do this the children in Reception and year 1 will start to come out of school at 15:15, the older children at 15:30 as normal.

If you are unable to collect slightly early then please do not worry, the children will be supervised until you are able to get to school.

With the increase to the isolation period to 14 days for a whole family, we envisage the real possibility of staff shortages. Should this be the case then there will be consideration given to what our school offer may result in, for e.g.

  • Stopping of intervention / small group work
  • 1:1 support staff taking larger groups
  • Increasing class sizes (within legal limitations)
  • Closing non statutory school age areas of the school (Nursery)

Closing of some or all of the school would be extreme measures and something that would only be done as a last resort. Every decision that is made will be done with the safety of the children and staff at the forefront and communicated to parents as soon as possible using the normal channels.

Changes to school events

At this point it would seem appropriate to postpone the forthcoming parents’ evening. This will be rescheduled as soon as is appropriate.
The following events have also been postponed

  • Friends of Langley meeting
  • All school swimming sessions
  • Nursery stay and play
  • Choir’s Sing Up at the Playhouse
  • All visits to Monkseaton Library
  • Year 4 Fairtrade afternoon tea party
  • When I grow up… careers morning
  • Any other alterations to school life will be text out to parents as soon as known.

Child absence

It is essential that parents support us in our bid to continue to offer as best an educational offer as we can in the current climate by ensuring that they act as per the current guidance. This can be found - Corona guidance. I am sure you are aware that this advice changed last night to state that if anyone in the household shows the symptoms which are a consistent cough or a high temperature then everyone should stay at home for 14 days. Please also note that should your child exhibit either of these symptoms when in school then we will call for them to be collected
With these measures I hope you can appreciate that we are trying to balance keeping things normal for the children whilst also trying to support efforts to reduce possible opportunities for the spreading of the virus. We will continue to monitor the situation and inform parents/carers should any other changes or alterations be necessary.

Again, thank you in advance for your co-operation and support at this unprecedented time.

Mr. T Jones
Headteacher

Posted in Coronavirus