Guidance about returning to school after lockdown

 

 

Guidance for parents about returning to school after lockdown.

 

Who should return to school?

 

All pupils from nursery to year 6 will be eligible to return to school unless:

• They have a shielding letter,

• They live with a family member who has a shielding letter

• They are ill

Any child or family member who shows signs of Coronavirus should not attend school site and should follow the latest guidance from public health Wales and self-isolate for a period of 7 days.

 

How much time will my child spend in school?

Based on the current guidance from Welsh Government, no more than a third of pupils may be in school at any one time. This means to enable us to ensure that this happens, children from reception to year 6 will spend approximately half a day a week in school and the rest of the time at home continuing with home learning. Teachers will continue to provide this on the school website, via google classroom, Purple Mash and materials sent home from school.

Children who attend nursery will attend at least 2 sessions over the 4-week period.

 

What if I choose not to send my child to school?

At the moment it is entirely up to parents if they choose to send their child to school. Parents will not be penalized or chastised for this in any way. All children will have home learning provided for them on a weekly basis. They should continue to access this and engage with learning at home as much as possible.

 

What should my child wear to school?

Children are encouraged to wear their normal school uniform. However, if they have outgrown this then non-uniform can be worn for the time being. To prevent the spread of virus it is advised that pupils clothes will need to be washed after attending a session.

 

What should my child bring to school?

Children should wear appropriate clothing to allow for work inside a classroom and outside in the school grounds. This includes a coat or rain coat in the event of bad weather. They can bring their own pencils/pens etc but will not be able to share these with others. We will be providing every child with their own resource pack to use in school. This will include paper, pens, pencils etc. They will not share these resources. They should bring a drink of water and a snack for break time.

 

How will you ensure social distancing?

Children in each class will be organised into 4 groups – these groups or bubbles will stay together and be in school on the same day each week. This means that each class will have a maximum of 8 children at any one time. Some classes will have as few as 4 or 5 children at a time. Children will sit at tables at a distance of 2m apart. They will have their own equipment in a zip locked wallet which will not be shared with others. Children will be closely supervised by staff during their time in school to ensure that the 2m distance is maintained.

All adults accessing our school site are expected to adhere to the 2m social distancing rule. Please support us in doing this and modelling it for your children.

Movement within the school will be kept to a minimum. There will be no large gatherings e.g. assemblies.

 

How will you ensure good hygiene and prevent the spread of germs?

Classes will have their own hand sanitizer and children and staff will be trained to use this regularly after touching any item. Medical advice shows that this is the best way to prevent the spread of germs. We have fun lessons that we already do with the children to teach them how to wash their hands properly.

The school site will have focused and periodic cleaning by the school cleaners to prevent the spread of germs. School site will not open to the majority of pupils on a Wednesday to allow extra time for further focused cleaning of the premises.

 

What will the toilet facilities be like?

Children will have full access to our normal school toilets but will be limited to 1 pupil at a time to ensure that social distancing is adhered to.

 

Will siblings have the same attendance times?

We will endeavour to plan for siblings to attend school on the same day. However, we cannot guarantee this. We will do our best to plan things to make them as convenient as we can for families.

 

What are the arrangements for first aid or if a child is taken ill?

We have the same number of staff available that are first aid trained. If a child is taken ill, they will be supported by staff using appropriate PPE equipment.  Parents will be contacted to collect the child from school straight away. They will wait for their parent with staff in the newly designated medical/nurture room.

 

What will the lunch arrangements be?

Children will not generally have lunch in school. Children of key workers who have approved child care places should bring a packed lunch to eat in our designated childcare room.

 

My child previously attended the childcare hub at Malpas Court. What support will they now be given?

Children who previously attended the Malpas Court child care hub will now receive their daily child care at Malpas Court Primary School. A separate child care room has been set up for this small group of children. These children will have opportunity to be part of a group within their own class setting once a week; for the rest of their time they will be with the same peers in their hub group. They should bring a packed lunch, a snack and a drink. Child care will start at 8:30am and finish at 3:30pm.

 

What will my child be doing in school?

Children will undertake the distant learning tasks that the class teacher has been providing.  There will be no formal teaching at this stage. The focus will be on the well being of the children. We will be supporting children’s readiness for learning and focussing on their next steps for the autumn term. There will be regular breaks and activities undertaken outside.

 

What should I be doing at home with my child?

Teachers will continue to provide distant learning activities for the remainder of the summer term. These are evolving to ensure that there is a blend of “in school” and “out of school” learning. By coming to school during these last 4 weeks the children will be able to “catch-up”  with their teacher on the learning they have been undertaking at home.

What about transition to Year 6?

We are working with Newport High School and other schools to arrange appropriate transition opportunities. Week beginning 20th July school site will be open for year 6 and child care hub children only. Y6 will remain in their bubble groups but opportunity will be given for the children to see one another at a social distance as a whole class. We will strive to make this last week in school as special as we possibly can.

 

What about transition for other classes?

Children will be told about their class teacher for September and arrangements will be made to undertake some transition activities as part of whole school learning. We will notify you of your child’s new class teacher over the next few weeks.

 

Will pupils have to be dropped off and picked up from school?

All pupils will need to be brought to and from school by an adult. This will allow teachers and parents to share important information.

 

Will school be like this in September?

School will continue to be organised in learning bubbles in September. Home learning will also continue. This will be the arrangement until Welsh Government and the Local Authority advise us otherwise.