2nd September 2021

Dear Parents and Carers

I hope that you are having a lovely summer holiday and have been enjoying opportunities to go out and about. We are excited to be welcoming the children back to school and hope we have a more settled year where we can return to more ‘normal’ school life.

To help with a smooth return to school, I have put together the key information that you need to know about the back-to-school arrangements for school reopening on Monday 6^th September 2021.

As you may be aware, the government has proposed changes to the current Covid-19 operational guidance for schools, which will be effective from September. As a result of the new guidance, we have updated our operational procedures from September 6^th.

Class Bubbles

We are no longer required to be in class ‘bubbles’, however, to start with the children will remain in four large groups – EYFS, KS1, Y3/4 and Y5/6. The children will be able to mix with their group at play and lunch times and also for different lessons including phonics and maths.

Start and Finish Times

Start and end of day timings will revert back to normal – there will no longer be any staggered timings for the start or end of the day. However, there will continue to be a 10-minute time period during which you can drop off your child in a morning. Please take your child to their playground and they will enter through their normal door, staff members will be available on the yard to direct the children. We please ask parents to not go to the door but remain on the playground. Your child can arrive any time between 8.45am and 8.55am; registration will be at 9am. If your child is late and arrives after this time they must go to the main office. Unfortunately we ask parents and carers do not come into the cloakroom or classroom at this time. If you have a message for the class teacher, please pass it on to the staff outside or give it to the office. Thank you. At the end of the day please wait on the playground for your child, the class teachers will bring the children out to you as a class. 

Start of school: 8.45am to 8.55am

End of school: EYFS and KS1 3.10pm              

KS2 3.15pm

Breakfast Club

Breakfast club will be open to all pupils from 8.00 am to 8.45 am every morning. At 8.45 your child/children will be accompanied to their class by a member of staff. You do not need to book a place in advance for Breakfast Club, but we must insist that on the day/days you wish your child to attend that you accompany them to the door to make sure they have arrived in school safely, please do not leave them at the gate. For further information, please see the Breakfast Cub page under the Parents tab on the school website.

Health and Hygiene

• Health and hygiene will continue to be a priority. Children will wash their hands frequently – as they arrive at school, after breaks, before and after lunch and at other regular intervals.
• We continue to have enhanced cleaning protocols in place across the school throughout the school day.
• Equipment and resources are integral to education in schools. Classroom based resources, such as books and games, can be used and shared within the classroom.
• Outdoor playground equipment will be used again, so children are active.

Use of Face Coverings

Whilst face coverings are no longer legally required, they are still recommended to be worn in enclosed and crowded spaces. If you come into school to meet with a member of staff we ask that a 2m distance is maintained from staff and / or a face covering is worn. Staff may also wear a face covering at other times of the school day such as administering first aid to a child or where they feel it is necessary to do so or it is their personal preference. Face coverings will also be worn by staff on transport such as coaches travelling to swimming etc. On transport (such as a coach travelling to swimming) any child who has been confirmed as having been in contact with a positive case is also required to wear a face covering.

Good ventilation

All areas of school will be well ventilated by opening windows and internal doors whilst maintaining a comfortable working temperature. As the outside temperature starts to get colder, children are encouraged to wear an additional base layer of neutral colour clothing under their polo shirts etc. for extra warmth. They will not be sitting in their coats to work.

What can my child bring into school?

Your child can bring in a lunchbox (if not having a hot dinner) a coat, book bag, a named water bottle filled with fresh water, no juice or squash. Pens and pencil cases should not be sent in, all equipment will be provided by school. Remember children will come into school in their PE kit on PE days. They will be told when their PE lessons are next week. No-one will have PE on Monday next week.

Uniform

Children are expected to come to school in their full uniform each day. Please ensure uniform is in line with our uniform policy which can be found on the Useful Information page under the Parents tab on our website.

Attendance

Attendance at school is mandatory for all children of compulsory school age unless there are special circumstances e.g. illness. Should your child be ill, please follow the agreed protocol and inform the school by 9am of the day of absence. We will be following up any unreported absence with a text then phone call as part of our safeguarding measures.

Track and Trace - Isolating

School is no longer tracking and tracing for COVID-19. Tracking and Tracing is the responsibility of the NHS. It may be that NHS contact school for guidance and support but the likelihood is that if your child tests positive NHS Track and Trace will contact parents/carers directly. The guidance has also changed with regard to isolation if you have been in contact with someone who has tested positive. Please see the table below for further information.

Although we do not really know what is going to happen in the coming months as restrictions begin to be eased, we do know that we will need to continue to rely upon the support, cooperation and understanding from our school community and your continued support is greatly appreciated.

As always, should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me and I look forward to welcoming you all back to school on Monday.

Kind regards

Lisa Duncan

Headteacher

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COVID GUIDANCE – SEPTEMBER 2021

If your child displays symptoms of coronavirus…

The most important symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are recent onset of any of the following:

• a new continuous cough
• a high temperature
• a loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia)

If your child displays any of the above coronavirus symptoms, please ensure that you book them in for a full PCR test (https://www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test ) and not use a lateral flow home test kit. The evidence that school needs in order for a child to return to school is a negative result from a PCR test which needs to be emailed into the school email address: info@whitwell.derbyshire.sch.uk