Contact Tracing over the Christmas Period
Please remember, you need to tell school if your child has Covid-19. If your child shows symptoms of Covid-19 within 48 hours of the end of the school term, or tests positive for Covid-19 having shown symptoms within 48 hours of the end of school, you should report this to school immediately by messaging Mrs Pilkington on Class Dojo or emailing the office on office@haslingden-st-james.lancs.sch.uk only if you are not on Dojo.
Staff will be on hand to notify any other pupils in your child’s bubble and their families so they can self-isolate for ten days.
It’s vital you tell us about positive tests so we can help prevent the spread of coronavirus in our community.
Organisation for September
Many of you will be wondering how we are going to organize our reopening for September. We now have the government advice in this respect and have formulated our risk assessments using these as our guide. These can be accessed below.
Please do take a look – it is a lengthy document but details all of our arrangements to keep everyone safe and follow guidance given. This has been shared with staff and Governors to ensure everyone understands our arrangements for September and their roles and responsibilities within this.
Children will stay in class bubbles with no mixing between bubbles. This means that whole school events will not be able to take place. We are, however, becoming experienced at using online tools to be able to share worship time and celebration assembly time at a distance!
Regular handwashing and hygiene instruction will take place to remind children to look after themselves and their friends. Please help your children in this regard by doing this at home – 20 seconds with thorough washing – there are many helpful instruction videos on the internet to support this. If children are displaying ANY symptoms they must NOT come to school. If you are concerned, please ring school or your doctor for further advice.
Classrooms will be organized with front facing desks so that children are not facing one another. Adults will still maintain a 2m social distance wherever possible. This will mean that lessons will look a little different as there will be no groupwork for the children or teachers sitting with children. Please help your children to understand these changes.
Lunchtimes look a little different too with designated play areas for each class and staggered lunches. Some lunches will be taken in the hall as usual, however due to restricted numbers some children will have their lunch in the classrooms.
Regular cleaning of tables and toilet areas will take place each day to follow strict hygiene guidelines. At the end of each day, each classroom and shared area will be cleaned thoroughly using appropriate cleaning fluids.
There are many things to think about, not least how we stagger entry and exit points to prevent gathering of adults and children. Therefore, please see the arrangements below and follow these when dropping off and collecting your children from September (one parent only please):
All gates open from 8.45 to 9.00
PLEASE BE ON TIME EVERY DAY TO SUPPORT SOCIAL DISTANCING AND TO KEEP EVERYONE SAFE.
IF YOU ARE LATE, YOU WILL NEED TO DROP OFF AT THE OFFICE WHILE KEEPING 2M APART. LATENESS IS STRICTLY MONITORED AND WILL NOT BE SUPPORTED ON A REGULAR BASIS BY SCHOOL.
Children to be dropped off and collected at the school gate – parents not to enter school premises to avoid congestion and gathering in school grounds.
Start of Day:
Supervised entrance to school by staff who will guide children in, parents to remain at the gate and leave as soon as possible to avoid congestion outside of school:
Nursery – enter by Nursery Gate – Mrs Barber then Mrs J Begum supervising (Mrs Parkinson in class to welcome children in)
Reception and Year 1 – enter by Key Stage One Gate – Miss Byrne supervising (Mrs Molloy and Mrs K Begum at the door in Reception, Miss Collinge at door for Year 1 (top of slope at front of school) to welcome children in)
Year 2 and 3 – gate at the top of steps at front of school – Mrs Pilkington at the bottom of the steps with Mrs Burrow or Miss Khan at the top gate for Y2 and 3 to supervise (Miss Boyle and Miss Dunne at classroom doors to welcome children in)
Year 4,5 and 6 – gate to the KS2 slope – Mr Fraser supervising with Miss Crilly at the top of the slope to guide children (Y5 and 6 up steps, Y4 to back of school) into school (Mr Simister, Miss Cooper and Mr Marren welcoming children in at classroom doors)
End of Day:
Class teachers will accompany classes out at the end of the day.
PLEASE NOTE STRICT COLLECTION TIMES (IN BRACKETS)
Reception (3.15) – collect from KS 1 playground gate
Year 1 (3.15) – collect from bottom of steps at front of school
Year 2 (3.15) ,Year 3 (3.10) – collect from bottom of KS2 Slope – each class lined up along the wall at either side of the slope
Year 4 (3.05) , Year 5 (3.10) and Year 6 (3.15) – collect from gate at back of school by staff car park – Y5 and 6 are able to walk home on their own so only Y4 parents should gather here. Y5 and 6 parents can arrange to meet their children at a safe point close to school to avoid congestion.
Our curriculum will also look a little different for the first half term, with key skills for Maths and English our focus to ensure children have a firm foundation on which to build. We will also focus on being healthy with PE focusing on fitness and stamina and PSHE focusing on healthy minds. We will endeavour to provide as many outdoor activities as possible and keep classrooms ventilated throughout the day during activities in class.
We will not be providing any after school clubs for the first half term, however we will provide these as soon as possible in Autumn 2 – more information will follow in the autumn term.
Breakfast club can continue from 8.00 each morning at the cost of £1.00 per child. Children will be kept in either family or class bubbles, whichever is easier and more effective. They will sit at front facing tables to prevent face to face contact. Limited resources for play will be in place as these will need to be washable. No contact games will be played.
On PE days, children will be asked to come to school with their PE kit on – this will consist of:
- School Jumper
- White T Shirt (no tie)
- Black Shorts, Jogging Bottoms or Leggings
- Black trainers with pumps in a bag in case of indoor PE
Please do keep in contact with the class teacher as they will be your first port of call for any questions – they can be contacted via the class email address, class dojo or by phone. No face to face appointments will take place initially upon our return in September, however telephone appointments can be made to support communication. Please contact the school office if you require a telephone appointment with the class teacher, or request one via class dojo. We encourage all parents to facilitate communication via class dojo. If you have not already done so, please sign up to this.
We continue to work hard to do our very best to ensure your children are safe, healthy and happy. We look forward to the day when our school family can all be together again and gather in person. In the meantime, we are always here to help – please contact me or Mrs Pilkington if you require any support at home. Miss Byrne continues as our Family Liaison Worker and will be available to talk things through and signpost you to support where required. We are here for ALL members of our school family so please do get in touch if you are in need – with anything at all.
To help us socially distance and keep children in their bubbles, can parents:
- Please only visit the school office if it is essential or if you have an appointment as the area is only small.
- Please also remember to make dentist and doctor appointments out of school time.
- Send dinner money to school in an envelope labelled with your child’s name, amount and what the money is for. This should be given to the class teacher which will be sent to the office. Please do not pay monies at the school office.
Remember, to help everyone in our school community stay safe:
Do not gather outside of school
- Drop off children and leave immediately
- Collect children and leave immediately
- Follow the organisation in place – use the identified areas for drop off and collection (as above)
- Maintain 2m social distancing
- Be patient – we are here to help
- Help us to keep you and your family safe by being alert
Face Coverings – please note:
If face coverings are worn, please follow the guidance below:
Pupils not to touch the front of their face covering during use or when removing them on arrival at school;
Reusable face coverings must be placed in a plastic bag that the wearer has brought with them and stowed in a safe place such as a school bag to be taken home;
Those removing face coverings are required to wash or sanitise their hands immediately after removing it;
A covered bin is in place for non-reusable face coverings on arrival at the school grounds – one bin on each playground entrance (KS1 and KS2 Slope);
The contents of the bin will be disposed of as normal domestic waste unless the wearer has symptoms of Covid-19 in which case it will be disposed of in line with the guidance on cleaning for non-healthcare settings.
