The School Day & arrangements for returning in September 2020
By now you will be aware of the Government’s intentions for the return of all pupils in September. I am delighted about this and although there will still be some necessary changes to how we have to operate; I am really looking forward to welcoming you all back.
In September we will putting a number of features in place to keep the children and adults as safe as possible.
Pupils will be kept in key stage bubbles throughout the school day and, as such, we have had to make some changes to the normal procedures in school. Pupils within their group bubbles are not expected to socially distance from each other however, they are still required to socially distance from all staff where possible (1 metre). There will be additional cleaning in place to ensure that high standards of hygiene are evident.
All children will be expected to come back in full school uniform. We do ask, however, that children wear PE kit on days when the children take part in PE lessons. The reason for this is that we are trying to reduce the amount of items coming back and forth from home and school. We will not be doing PE in the first week of the Autumn term (Normal school uniform is to be worn for these three days).
PE lessons with take place on the following days -
The children in keystage 1 will now have a separate trolley for coats and lunch boxes. Children will still require a book bag, which will be kept undercover and only accessed at the start and end of the day, for the transport of books.
In order to keep all pupils and staff safe, there are some changes that have been in place since June 2020 that will need to remain in place, along with some new procedures. We anticipate that these will remain in place for the Autumn term but we will review this regularly and keep you updated:
As we are doing at the moment your class teacher will meet your child at the school gate. At the end of the school day the class teacher will bring your child to the school gate. If you would like to talk to your class teacher either wait until they have dismissed all the children or if you would like to talk in private make an appointment with Mrs Thompson.
School Day timings from September 2020
UPDATE 22/09/2020
The Government and this School is absolutely committed to remaining open. We are aware (and parents have mentioned) that there are a lot of adults waiting and standing in a very small area outside school. With that in mind, we would like to alter our drop off and pick arrangements, as we feel this will reduce the number of adults waiting on the green triangle between pick up times.
Therefore, keystage 1 will continue to be dropped off at 8.50am - siblings of children in keystage 1 may come into school at this time to take part in quiet reading in their classroom. For the children without a younger sibling in keystage 1, they will continue to be dropped off at 9.00am.
In the afternoons, those children in keystage 2 with a younger sibling may leave class at 3.05pm whilst their peers complete quiet reading until their collection at 3.15pm.
For this to work, it is essential that parents arrive and leave in a timely manner to prevent the number of people gathering. There will not be an adult at the gate between 8.50am and 9.00am therefore it is imperative you arrive at the correct times.
If you would like to talk to Mrs Thompson, please phone or email and she will get back to you quickly and answer any questions.
Further actions to reduce contact between children:
Hand washing : Pupils will be expected to wash their hands on entering the school building and will be encouraged to wash their hands/sanitise their hands at regular points during the school day. Any parents with appointments will also be expected to use hand sanitiser on entry into the school office. The hand sanitiser that we will use will contain alcohol. If you would not like your child to use this, please provide you own alternative.
School Meals/lunchtimes : Dolce will be offering a packed lunch for those children who order school dinners. We will review our hot lunchtime meals provision in October with a view to resuming this service in November. Children will remain in their bubble groups over lunchtime.
Curriculum : Please be reassured that when pupils return to school, we will analyse where the pupils’ starting points are and plan a suitable curriculum taking these into account. PIRA and PUMA tests will be carried out in week 2 and the results of these assessments will be shared with parents at Parents' Consultations on Monday 21st September.
1:1 and small group catch ups will be planned to start at the end of September using the PIRA and PUMA tests as a baseline. These interventions will be reviewed every 6 weeks by Ms Turner - the 1:1 support will be funded by the Department of Education, as announced in April.
Pupils’ tables will not be grouped as previously but instead all tables will face the front of the classroom.
Extra-Curricular activities : As in previous years, after half term, we hope to offer extra-curricular clubs in key stage bubbles. Further details of these and how to sign up will be provided in September. We are currently not able to book any school trips the term but we would really like to organise a whole school trip in February.
Suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases in your child’s bubble : If anyone becomes unwell with a new, continuous cough, a high temperature or loss of taste or smell they will be sent home and advised to follow Government guidance.
If a child is awaiting collection, they will be moved to a room where they can be isolated behind a closed door (Mrs Whitehouse’s office).
All staff and students who are attending an education or childcare setting will have access to a test if they display symptoms of coronavirus and are encouraged to get tested in this scenario.
Isolation does not need to take place once a negative test result has been received. Your child can return to school, once a negative test result has been received and they are free of any symptoms for 48 hours.
Where a child, young person, or staff member tests positive, the rest of their bubble will be sent home and advised 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, young person, or staff member that they live with from that group subsequently develops symptoms.
We will contain any outbreak by following local health protection team advice : If the school has 2 or more confirmed cases within 14 days, or an overall rise in sickness absence where COVID-19 is suspected, there may be an outbreak in our school community.
In some cases, health protection teams may recommend that a larger number of other pupils self-isolate at home as a precautionary measure – perhaps the whole school community or bubble.
Where transmission risks are minimised, whole school closure based on cases within the school will not generally be necessary, and should not be considered except on the advice of health protection teams.
In consultation with the local Director of Public Health, where an outbreak in a school is confirmed, a mobile testing unit may be dispatched to test others who may have been in contact with the person who has tested positive. Testing will first focus on the person’s class, then the whole school if necessary, in line with routine public health outbreak control practice
Travelling to and from school : If your child is walking or cycling to and from school independently, they must follow the above guidance and not mix with children from outside their bubble.
Tell us how we can help your child: We know that the last few months have been extremely difficult for many families. We want to support your child as best as possible when they return. In order to do that, we would be grateful if could share with us if your circumstances have changed or you think we need to be aware of anything. Please be reassured that this information will only be shared with people who need to be made aware of it e.g. your child’s class teacher and the safeguarding team.
Attendance from September will be compulsory. If you have any concerns or questions about your child returning to school, please do contact Mrs Whitehouse or ring the main office to make an appointment, as we want to work with you and reassure you we are doing everything we can to keep your child safe.
We have been informed that there will be an update to the Government guidelines over the six-week summer break, this is expected to be in the middle of August. When this happens this page will be updated; please check this our website regularly.
Mrs Wendy Whitehouse
*the above information has been agreed with the Warriner Multi Academy Trust and our school governing body
In September we will putting a number of features in place to keep the children and adults as safe as possible.
Pupils will be kept in key stage bubbles throughout the school day and, as such, we have had to make some changes to the normal procedures in school. Pupils within their group bubbles are not expected to socially distance from each other however, they are still required to socially distance from all staff where possible (1 metre). There will be additional cleaning in place to ensure that high standards of hygiene are evident.
All children will be expected to come back in full school uniform. We do ask, however, that children wear PE kit on days when the children take part in PE lessons. The reason for this is that we are trying to reduce the amount of items coming back and forth from home and school. We will not be doing PE in the first week of the Autumn term (Normal school uniform is to be worn for these three days).
PE lessons with take place on the following days -
- Keystage 1/EYFS - Mondays and Wednesday
- Keystage 2- Mondays and Wednesday (at the moment we are hoping that swimming lessons will take place after half term although Brackley Pool have not confirmed this yet)
The children in keystage 1 will now have a separate trolley for coats and lunch boxes. Children will still require a book bag, which will be kept undercover and only accessed at the start and end of the day, for the transport of books.
- Year 3 and 4 are welcome to continue to bring in their book bags, which will be stored appropriately during the school day.
- Year 5 and 6 are welcome to bring in a small rucksack which will be kept in the cloakroom.
In order to keep all pupils and staff safe, there are some changes that have been in place since June 2020 that will need to remain in place, along with some new procedures. We anticipate that these will remain in place for the Autumn term but we will review this regularly and keep you updated:
As we are doing at the moment your class teacher will meet your child at the school gate. At the end of the school day the class teacher will bring your child to the school gate. If you would like to talk to your class teacher either wait until they have dismissed all the children or if you would like to talk in private make an appointment with Mrs Thompson.
School Day timings from September 2020
- EYFS - Start 9.20am, Finish 12.00pm (for the first 3 weeks of term) and then start at 8.50am finish at 3.05pm (from Monday 28th September). For these children we will arrange for the outside classroom to be the drop off point as this will allow parents to talk to Ms Turner/Mrs Harding at the beginning of the day and for children to start to be engaged in an activity.
- Keystage 2 – Start 9.00am, Finish 3.15pm
- Keystage 1- Start 8.50am, Finish 3.05pm
UPDATE 22/09/2020
The Government and this School is absolutely committed to remaining open. We are aware (and parents have mentioned) that there are a lot of adults waiting and standing in a very small area outside school. With that in mind, we would like to alter our drop off and pick arrangements, as we feel this will reduce the number of adults waiting on the green triangle between pick up times.
Therefore, keystage 1 will continue to be dropped off at 8.50am - siblings of children in keystage 1 may come into school at this time to take part in quiet reading in their classroom. For the children without a younger sibling in keystage 1, they will continue to be dropped off at 9.00am.
In the afternoons, those children in keystage 2 with a younger sibling may leave class at 3.05pm whilst their peers complete quiet reading until their collection at 3.15pm.
For this to work, it is essential that parents arrive and leave in a timely manner to prevent the number of people gathering. There will not be an adult at the gate between 8.50am and 9.00am therefore it is imperative you arrive at the correct times.
If you would like to talk to Mrs Thompson, please phone or email and she will get back to you quickly and answer any questions.
Further actions to reduce contact between children:
- Art resources will be provided for each child as well as Maths equipment and stationary. PE equipment will be split into two groups and only used by one phase. Gymnastics equipment will be cleaned between lessons
- Children in years 5 and 6 may bring a pencil case into school, but we ask that it remains in school for the year
- Daily reading continues to be of high importance for all ages. As per the guidance, children will be bringing reading books home to support this but will have a rota system in place to ensure that when books are returned to school, they are quarantined for at least 72 hours, before they are sent home with another child
- There will be no whole school assemblies in the Junior Room
- Children will have their own equipment which will be kept on their desks. Each phase will have their own coat and lunchbox storage area
- Our peripatetic teachers will generally work with one phase. Visiting music teachers will use the staff room and be socially distanced- lessons will be grouped with children from only one phase
- The times of break and lunch will be the same however the children will eat with their class in the rooms that they use in the morning. After they have eaten they will use two playground areas: Keystage 1 - Garden (with a new all weather surface) Keystage 2 - Main playground, supervised by the adults who work with the groups in the morning.
Hand washing : Pupils will be expected to wash their hands on entering the school building and will be encouraged to wash their hands/sanitise their hands at regular points during the school day. Any parents with appointments will also be expected to use hand sanitiser on entry into the school office. The hand sanitiser that we will use will contain alcohol. If you would not like your child to use this, please provide you own alternative.
School Meals/lunchtimes : Dolce will be offering a packed lunch for those children who order school dinners. We will review our hot lunchtime meals provision in October with a view to resuming this service in November. Children will remain in their bubble groups over lunchtime.
Curriculum : Please be reassured that when pupils return to school, we will analyse where the pupils’ starting points are and plan a suitable curriculum taking these into account. PIRA and PUMA tests will be carried out in week 2 and the results of these assessments will be shared with parents at Parents' Consultations on Monday 21st September.
1:1 and small group catch ups will be planned to start at the end of September using the PIRA and PUMA tests as a baseline. These interventions will be reviewed every 6 weeks by Ms Turner - the 1:1 support will be funded by the Department of Education, as announced in April.
Pupils’ tables will not be grouped as previously but instead all tables will face the front of the classroom.
Extra-Curricular activities : As in previous years, after half term, we hope to offer extra-curricular clubs in key stage bubbles. Further details of these and how to sign up will be provided in September. We are currently not able to book any school trips the term but we would really like to organise a whole school trip in February.
Suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases in your child’s bubble : If anyone becomes unwell with a new, continuous cough, a high temperature or loss of taste or smell they will be sent home and advised to follow Government guidance.
If a child is awaiting collection, they will be moved to a room where they can be isolated behind a closed door (Mrs Whitehouse’s office).
All staff and students who are attending an education or childcare setting will have access to a test if they display symptoms of coronavirus and are encouraged to get tested in this scenario.
Isolation does not need to take place once a negative test result has been received. Your child can return to school, once a negative test result has been received and they are free of any symptoms for 48 hours.
Where a child, young person, or staff member tests positive, the rest of their bubble will be sent home and advised 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, young person, or staff member that they live with from that group subsequently develops symptoms.
We will contain any outbreak by following local health protection team advice : If the school has 2 or more confirmed cases within 14 days, or an overall rise in sickness absence where COVID-19 is suspected, there may be an outbreak in our school community.
In some cases, health protection teams may recommend that a larger number of other pupils self-isolate at home as a precautionary measure – perhaps the whole school community or bubble.
Where transmission risks are minimised, whole school closure based on cases within the school will not generally be necessary, and should not be considered except on the advice of health protection teams.
In consultation with the local Director of Public Health, where an outbreak in a school is confirmed, a mobile testing unit may be dispatched to test others who may have been in contact with the person who has tested positive. Testing will first focus on the person’s class, then the whole school if necessary, in line with routine public health outbreak control practice
Travelling to and from school : If your child is walking or cycling to and from school independently, they must follow the above guidance and not mix with children from outside their bubble.
Tell us how we can help your child: We know that the last few months have been extremely difficult for many families. We want to support your child as best as possible when they return. In order to do that, we would be grateful if could share with us if your circumstances have changed or you think we need to be aware of anything. Please be reassured that this information will only be shared with people who need to be made aware of it e.g. your child’s class teacher and the safeguarding team.
Attendance from September will be compulsory. If you have any concerns or questions about your child returning to school, please do contact Mrs Whitehouse or ring the main office to make an appointment, as we want to work with you and reassure you we are doing everything we can to keep your child safe.
We have been informed that there will be an update to the Government guidelines over the six-week summer break, this is expected to be in the middle of August. When this happens this page will be updated; please check this our website regularly.
Mrs Wendy Whitehouse
*the above information has been agreed with the Warriner Multi Academy Trust and our school governing body
The School Day - 2019-2020 academic year
We request that children and parents/carers enter the playground between 8.45-8.50am and come into school straight away. Please bring pupils in EYFS and KS1 through the garden to the Infant classroom door and please can pupils in KS2 enter school through the cloakroom door (at the rear of the school) where a member of staff will be there to greet them.
Any child arriving at school after 8.55am will need to be taken to the school office door where parents/carers will be asked to sign them in.
Children can be picked up at 3.30pm from the cloakroom door, ready to tell you about the exciting day they have had. Teachers welcome the opportunity to talk to parents after school, so please pop in if you have any queries.
08.45 Children should begin to arrive for school
08.55 Registration and start of school day
10.45 Morning break (15 mins)
12.00 Lunch time
13.00 Start of afternoon session for Juniors & Infants
Infants break - to fit with curriculum
15.15 End of school day
Children who join in our reception year group attend school from 8.55-12.00 Monday to Friday during the first half of the autumn term. They then attend full time for the rest of the year.
Children have the option of bringing a packed lunch to school, buying a hot school meal or going home for lunch. We are very pleased to have Dolce Ltd, provide our healthy and delicious hot school meals. All children eat together in the junior rooms at lunch time, playing outside once their lunch is finished. When the weather is fine we eat our lunch in the shade outside and are able to make full use of the garden area.
Children going home for lunch should be collected from school at 12pm and returned to school at 1pm.
Any child arriving at school after 8.55am will need to be taken to the school office door where parents/carers will be asked to sign them in.
Children can be picked up at 3.30pm from the cloakroom door, ready to tell you about the exciting day they have had. Teachers welcome the opportunity to talk to parents after school, so please pop in if you have any queries.
08.45 Children should begin to arrive for school
08.55 Registration and start of school day
10.45 Morning break (15 mins)
12.00 Lunch time
13.00 Start of afternoon session for Juniors & Infants
Infants break - to fit with curriculum
15.15 End of school day
Children who join in our reception year group attend school from 8.55-12.00 Monday to Friday during the first half of the autumn term. They then attend full time for the rest of the year.
Children have the option of bringing a packed lunch to school, buying a hot school meal or going home for lunch. We are very pleased to have Dolce Ltd, provide our healthy and delicious hot school meals. All children eat together in the junior rooms at lunch time, playing outside once their lunch is finished. When the weather is fine we eat our lunch in the shade outside and are able to make full use of the garden area.
Children going home for lunch should be collected from school at 12pm and returned to school at 1pm.