Update regarding wider opening of School

28^th May 2020

Dear Parents and Carers

Wider Opening of School for primary pupils

The Prime Minister has indicated that he will press on with the planned phased re-opening of schools from 1^st June. Please find below our plans for this phase of wider opening of schools. These plans are subject to change in case of further government guidance.

Phased re-opening

As explained in my letter dated 21^st May, pupils will be admitted during the first week as follows;

Monday 1^st June              Only key workers’ children will be in school. All primary staff will be in school to make final preparations for the return of children.

Tuesday 2^nd June             Reception children

Wednesday 3^rd June         Reception and Year 1

Thursday 4^th June            Reception, Year 1 and Nursery

Friday 5^th June                Reception, Year 1, Nursery and Year 6

Key workers with places already allocated will be able to come into school every day.

Informing school that you require a place (by Monday 1^st June 9am)

Thank you to parents who submitted the Microsoft form to let us know whether your child would attend school. I know that this is a very difficult decision and you may have changed your mind. If this is the case, the form is still open and you can submit a new form to let us know your current decision. Equally, if you did not submit a form, you can do this now. We need to ensure that we have sufficient staff to meet demand and that we can provide lunch for all children. Therefore, I would ask you please not to send your child into school without informing school by 3pm the day before. You will find the link on the text message that has been sent to you today.

Start times

In order to minimise congregation we will introduce staggered start and end times until further notice and pupils will enter and leave school via different entrances as follows:

We ask that parents respect the social distancing measures and do not stand with people outside of your household on the school grounds and do not linger. Parents should take their children to their designated entrance point and leave the school premises once their child has been taken inside. Parents must not enter the school playgrounds or classrooms.

Communication with members of staff

If you wish to contact a member of staff, you should do so via telephone (01226 704550), email (info@holytrinitybarnsley.org), text message (01226 610168) or class dojo. You will not be able to speak to staff when you drop your child off or pick him/her up.

Staffing

In order to make the environment as safe as possible, we have reduced class sizes. This means that your child may not be in the same classroom as they were before lockdown, and may have a different teacher and teaching assistant working with them. This is unavoidable if we are to achieve social distancing. Please be reassured that we will take time to build relationships and staff will, as always, talk to each other to ensure that they have all the information they need to be able to look after your child.

Key Workers

We will continue to provide places for children of Key Workers. Parents will be able to continue to book their children in, in advance, each fortnight, as they have done over the past 10 weeks. If your child is in one of the priority year groups listed above, you will not need to book in for a key worker place, as your child will join their year group. If children are in Years 2, 3, 4, 5 or in secondary, they will continue to be in the key worker groups. Due to the nature of this provision, which is to enable key workers to continue to work, the children in these groups may vary each day.

Hygiene

Routines will be in place in school to ensure that children wash their hands regularly. Staff will show them how to do this. Please ensure that your child washes their hands as they leave home and again when they return home. Children should change out of their uniform when they return home.

In line with Government advice, children will not be permitted to wear facemasks in school. If your child wears a facemask on their way to school, they should leave this with parents and ensure that they wash their hands immediately on entry to school.

Cleaners will be in school wiping surfaces and equipment throughout the day. Teachers will also have cleaning resources in their classrooms.

Children will not share equipment or resources. We will allocate them their own writing equipment. For Year 1 and Year 6 children, a seating plan will be in place to ensure that they always sit at the same desk. The younger children will not have access to some of the resources they are used to having; all soft toys, soft furnishing, wooden and intricate toys have been removed.

If your child becomes ill.

Please do not send your child to school if they present any of the symptoms of Coronavirus. That is if they develop a new continuous cough or a high temperature.

If your child is in nursery, reception, Year 1 or Year 6 and you have indicated that they will come to school, you must inform school if they are unable to attend due to illness, whether it is COVID-19 related or not. Please follow the normal procedures for reporting absence.

If your child becomes unwell with symptoms of coronavirus whilst in school, they will be taken to main reception and you will be informed immediately and asked to come and collect him/her. Where possible, your child will be supervised from a 2 metre distance. However, please be reassured that if he/she is distressed or requires close supervision and physical contact, the supervising adult will give that support, wearing a face mask, disposable gloves and a disposable apron to protect themselves.

Your child will then need to self-isolate for 7 days and all other members of the household should isolate for 14 days, unless a test is taken and the test result is negative.

Where the child, tests negative, they can return to school and fellow household members can end their self-isolation.

Where the child, tests positive, the rest of their group will be sent home and to self-isolate for 14 days. The other household members of that wider class or group do not need to self-isolate unless the child they live with in that group subsequently develops symptoms.

If a staff member develops symptoms, they will follow the same procedure as children who develop symptoms.

Maintaining Social Distancing

Whilst we will do everything we can to encourage the children to socially distance and wash their hands regularly, they are young children and so they will touch each other, play with each other, share things and forget to keep their distance.

Social Distancing will be maintained by limiting the number of people that your child comes into contact with. Children’s contact will be limited to the same small number of children and to the adults that have been assigned to their group. As well as staggered start and end times, children will have staggered playtimes and lunchtimes. They will have their playtime in a designated area of the playground. They will eat their lunch in a separate area. Groups will use their own allocated washbasins and toilets.

For the Key Worker group it will be more difficult to maintain a discrete group as, due to the nature of this provision, parents will opt in and out of the group depending on their work rota.

Lunch

In order to reduce what pupils bring into school, we have made the decision to provide a packed lunch for all children. This will be free of charge. The choice of sandwich will be ham or cheese. This provision will also be in place for Key Worker children. Therefore, you do not need to send food into school for your child. Your child will only need their water bottle.

What your child should bring into school

In order to minimise the spread of infection, we are asking children not to bring pencil cases, toys and other equipment into school. We will provide writing equipment and packed lunch to support this.

Your child should only bring a water bottle and sun hat. Parents please apply sun cream before school.

Uniform

Children should wear normal school uniform. Pupils will not be required to bring PE kit into school.

Teaching and Learning

The school day will look different to the way it looked before lockdown. Your child will spend time learning new routines and getting used to being with their classmates and teachers. Our first priority will be personal, social and health education, including emotional well-being. We will then focus on reading, writing and maths. We will ensure that your child has time to take physical exercise, to play and to be creative.

In order to reduce the risk of transmission, exercise books and reading books will not be transferred between school and home. Therefore, no homework will be set, although children are encouraged to read at home and to continue to access on-line learning.

Fun Box and Clubs

In order to avoid pupils and staff mixing beyond their “bubble” we will be unable to provide access to the Fun Box and to activities before and after school. Government guidance states: “You should only run such provision if you are able to keep children within the groups they are in during the day”.

School Update

I am sure you will wish to join me in congratulating Miss Williams who is pregnant and is expecting her baby at the end of the summer term. In light of her pregnancy, Miss Williams will not return to school before the summer holidays.

As you know, I will be retiring at the end of this school year. Mrs Oldcorn has agreed to take on the role of Acting Headteacher from 1^st September 2020. Congratulations and thank you to Mrs Oldcorn.

Family Responsibilities

All families have a social responsibility to follow the latest government guidance in order to limit the spread of the virus within their small school group and to help school to run safely.

Please:

• Ensure that you continue to abide by government social distancing guidance.
• Ensure that your child abides by social distancing guidance when not in the home.
• Wash your hands regularly, including when you enter or leave your home. Encourage your family members to do the same.
• Book a place for your child before sending them to school.
• Arrive on time when coming into school and do not linger
• Arrive on time to pick your child up at the end of the day.
• Provide your child with a water bottle so that they do not share with others.
• Provide your child with a hat if it is warm.
• If it is warm, apply suncream before bringing your child to school.
• Avoid sending anything into school that is not permitted, including pencil cases and toys.
• Inform school if we are expecting your child and they are going to be absent.
• Keep your child off school if they or anyone else in your household developed COVID-19 symptoms. Book a test and do not return for 7 days, if the test is positive.
• Ensure the school has up to date contact details, in case we need to contact you urgently.
• If you need to speak to anyone in school, contact us via phone, text, email or class dojo.

Take Care and Stay Safe

A Dickson

Headteacher