Covid-19 information for parents/carers

Our school is currently only open to the priority group children (those of key/critical workers and those deemed vulnerable). We are not opening any wider to any other children at this times the potential number of children in the priority group exceeds the number of staff and rooms we have available to maintain the required social distancing procedures. This will be reviewed fortnightly.

For the children of key/critical workers that are going to be on the school site from Thursday 4^th June 2020, please find below very important information to ensure we maintain social distancing and prevent the spread of coronavirus.  We will have significantly more children on site from 4^th June and we want to open up our school to more children knowing that we are doing everything we possibly can to not transmit the virus to one another.

We are sorry for the length of this communication, however it is vital it is read thoroughly for everyone’s safety and parents/carers must follow the survey link at the end of the information to digitally sign our revised Home/School Agreement in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.

School Start and Finish Times

The government has asked all schools to reduce “pinch points” (essentially, to control the number of people who need to gather in communal areas). The start and finish of the school day are part of our main concerns and therefore, each class (bubble) will be allocated a start and finish time and a specific entrance and exit.   Line markings have been implemented and one way drop off/collection routes created as follows (please note: a member of staff will be stationed at each entrance point):

• Nursery entry/collection:
  • Entry will be via the junior school main entrance. Parents/carers will enter the nursery garden and drop off their child at the entrance point to the nursery ‘little garden’ so that they do not have to enter the building. They will then exit via the big garden gate/year 6 path following the 2m distance markers and staying on the correct side of the division to prevent contact from any forthcoming traffic
• Infant entry/collection:
  • Entry will be via the Bedonwell Centre gate and along the path into the Infant Milling area. 2m distance markers are along the route up to the entry gate to the playground (which is nearest the Bedonwell Centre) where children will be dropped off. Parents/carers will then make their way out of the milling area via the main black gates
  • Infant collection time: there are 2m distance markers in line with each of the small exit gates that children come out from. There are 2m distance markers on the playground side of the gates for children to use when lining up to go home. Parents/carers will use the same entry route as above, wait on the marker for their child’s class line and depart through the main black gates
• Junior entry:
  • Year 5 and 6 children will enter via the junior school main entrance. Parents/carers will leave them at the roadside entrance gate for them to make their own way along the path. The children will then go along the year 6/Nursery path/huts to enter their classrooms via their external doors. The path has 2m distance markers all the way along.  The path outside the year 6 classrooms also has dividers in the middle to create two paths that can keep people 2m apart in case someone is coming down the path in the opposite direction
  • Year 3 and 4 children will enter via the junior school milling area. They will be met by their adult on the playground, where there are 2m distance markers for each ‘bubble to line up on’. The year 4 groups and Mojave classroom group will be walked down the playground, along the year 6 path and into the external doors of their classrooms. The year 3 groups will enter the building via the top corridor doors, through the shared hall and in to the playground to be able to enter via their classroom external doors. The adults dropping off their child will be directed to follow the footstep (daily mile) markings on the outside of the playground to exit via the bottom of the playground and main entrance path
• Junior collection arrangements:
  • Year 6 parents will be encouraged to meet their child on the pavement outside of the school main entrance.
  • For other year groups and for year 6 pupils where it is not possible or chosen to meet on the pavement, parents will enter the playground via the junior milling area. They will then wait in the playground on the 2m markers for their child’s line and the adults will bring them out to the playground via their external classroom doors to dismiss them.
  • All adults will exit the playground via the junior school main entrance path

 Class Sizes and Staffing

Our children will be allocated to a ‘bubble’ of 8 children with the same adults. They will spend the day with this group and will not mix with other groups or members of staff. At Bedonwell, where possible there are two adults assigned to each bubble in order to cover lunchtimes and again minimise contact with others. It is our intention to use our outdoor spaces as much as possible and ensure the curriculum, for this final term, continues to be varied and creative.

 Protective Measures

We have been advised, by the Department for Education to adopt a number of protective measures, in order to keep our children and staff safe. Please see the key points detailed below:

• No one should enter the school if they are displaying any symptoms of Coronavirus.
• Please ensure your child is wearing fresh clean clothes each day. They can wear school uniform or their own clothes but please be mindful particularly for younger children that they will need to be able to fasten their own shoes and tighten their clothing independently in order for the adults to remain socially distanced.
• Your child should be accompanied to school (if necessary) by only one parent or carer.
• Children will be allocated a time for drop off and collection, please help us to protect everyone by adhering to these times
• Please do not gather at school entrances and exits (social distancing must be respected). Parents must keep to the one-way system when dropping off and collecting children
• All children will be taught in the same small groups at all times of the day, in the same classroom, at the same desk; different groups will not mix
• All adults and children will be encouraged to: frequently wash their hands, not to touch their mouth, eyes and nose, use a tissue to cough or sneeze into and use bins for tissue waste

• Where adults have to get closer than 2 metres to any child e.g. treating a child for first aid, they will put on a visor and other PPE as appropriate. Some adults may choose to wear a face mask inside the building and to enable a smooth transition to these new arrangements for the children we will provide photos of staff wearing masks and visors for the children to see prior to coming back to school.

• All spaces will be well ventilated
• Breaks will be staggered to ensure routes throughout the school have a limited number of children using them
• Lunch breaks will also be staggered, with packed lunches only – there will be no hot food served.
• Water fountains will be out of use. Please ensure your child brings a bottle of water to school each day (where possible please ensure the bottle is disposable so it can be put in the classroom bin at the end of each day). Cups of water will be available where required.
• Outside spaces will be used as frequently as possible
• Frequently touched surfaces, equipment, door handles and toilets will be cleaned thoroughly each day
• The school will be closed to all pupils every Wednesday to enable the site to be deep cleaned
• We will be limiting the number of shared resources. Pupils will have their own pencils, pens, rulers, rubbers etc. and these will not be shared or taken home
• External visitors will be restricted and only allowed into the building if absolutely necessary
• Whilst staff will strive to adhere to these procedures stringently at all times, we are unable to guarantee that the 2 metre distancing rule will be possible at all times, especially when adults are supporting in the classroom. It also depends very much on the pupils’ ability to remember to maintain this distance from their peers and adults whilst at play and when transitioning around the school – and this will undoubtedly be extremely difficult for some.

Procedure when there is a Suspected Outbreak

If anyone in an education or childcare setting becomes unwell with a new, continuous cough or a high temperature, or has a loss of, or change in, their normal sense of taste of smell (anosmia), they will be sent home immediately and advised to follow the COVID-19: guidance for households with possible coronavirus infection guidance which instructs to self-isolate for 7 days.Their fellow household members should self-isolate for 14 days.  All staff and pupils who are attending school will need to request a test if they display symptoms of coronavirus.  Where the child or staff member tests negative, they can return to their setting and the fellow household members can end their self-isolation.

 Where the child or staff member tests positive, the class bubble will be advised to self-isolate for 14 days. The other household members of that wider class bubble do not need to self-isolate unless the child or staff member they live with in that group subsequently develops symptoms. Please note – this will only happen, once the positive result has been received.

As part of the national test and trace programme, if other cases are detected within the child or young person’s cohort or in the wider education or childcare setting, Public Health England’s local Health

Protection Teams will conduct a rapid investigation and will advise schools and other settings on the most appropriate action to take. In some cases, a larger number of other children and staff may be asked to self-isolate at home as a precautionary measure - perhaps the whole class bubble, site or year group.

 Playtimes and Lunchtimes

Playtimes and lunchtimes will be staggered. If the weather is kind to us and it is warm enough, lunches will be eaten outside. On days when this is not possible, pupils will eat at their desks in classrooms. Please send your child in with a packed lunch in disposable packaging (no lunch boxes please). Pupils who normally have free school meals and infant aged children who have Universal Free School Meals, can choose to have the school packed lunch. KS2 pupils can purchase a school packed lunch for £2.50 per child per day. Pupils will be supervised by the same adults as long as staffing levels remain constant.

Transport

In line with government advice, we would encourage our parents and children to walk or cycle to school, where possible, and avoid public transport.

Here are a few photos to show the types of markings/signage we have on site and what staff will look like when they are wearing PPE: