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Coronavirus – School Measures & Advice

Coronavirus – School Measures & Advice

As you will appreciate, there has been considerable preparation over the summer for the full opening of school and government guidance does tend to change! Consequently, the information below is taken from the most recent DfE guidance, but if guidance changes or we feel we need to amend protocol and measures at school in the coming days and weeks, then we will advise you accordingly and keep you updated as much as we can. Alongside many other organisations returning to a ‘new normal’, we will evaluate our systems and procedures and use parent and staff feedback to help us maintain and improve a safe and manageable environment for everyone. I would ask that you please read the following carefully so that you are fully informed of the measures and procedures in place for our return in September.

After completing a new Risk Assessment for full opening in September, the school has followed DfE advice and implemented control measures which minimise the transmission risk of Covid.

Covid symptoms and testing – UPDATED 21/09/2020

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance/stay-at-home-guidance-for-households-with-possible-coronavirus-covid-19-infection#:~:text=If%20you%20have%20symptoms%20of,you%20have%20COVID%2D19

The Stay At Home guidance updated this week and it is important that our parents are fully aware of the steps to take and measures in place if their child or a household member displays symptoms of Covid.

Symptoms of Covid are –

  • a new continuous cough

  • a high temperature

  • a loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia)

If you or your child have symptoms of COVID-19, however mild, self-isolate for at least 10 days from when your symptoms started. You should arrange to have a test to see if you have COVID-19. Do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.

If you live with others, all other household members need to stay at home and not leave the house for 14 days. The 14-day period starts from the day when the first person in the household became ill or if they do not have symptoms, from the day their test was taken.

Please notify school if your child or any household member displays Covid symptoms as soon as possible.

If you have symptoms, try and stay as far away from other members of your household as possible. It is especially important to stay away from anyone who is clinically vulnerable or clinically extremely vulnerable with whom you share a household.

Consider alerting people who you do not live with and have had close contact within the last 48 hours to let them know you have symptoms of COVID-19.

People who have tested positive will receive a text, email or phone call requesting that they log into the NHS Test and Trace website to create a confidential account where they can record details about their recent close contacts. If you do not have access to the internet, then you will be phoned by a contact tracer working for the NHS Test and Trace service.

The teachers will endeavour to provide self-isolating pupils with school work which is matched as closely as possible with the work covered in school. This work will be provided remotely to self-isolating pupils through Google Classroom.

If the test result is negative, the person who was tested may return to school/work unless symptoms persist.

If you receive a positive test result, you must self-isolate for ten days. After ten days, if you just have a cough or a loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia), you do not need to continue to self-isolate. This is because a cough or anosmia can last for several weeks once the infection has gone. The 10-day period starts from the day when you first became ill. If you still have a high temperature, keep self-isolating until your temperature returns to normal and seek medical advice. If you live with others, then everyone else in the household who remains well should end their isolation after 14 days. This 14-day period starts from the day the first person in the household became ill. People in the household who remain well after 14 days are unlikely to be infectious.

 

  • A robust hand and respiratory hygiene protocol is in place at school

All the staff and children will clean hands thoroughly and more often than usual. The ’catch it, bin it, kill it’ approach will also be promoted with the children. Coronavirus (COVID-19) is an easy virus to kill when it is on the skin and the staff will ensure that pupils clean their hands regularly, including when they arrive at school, when they return from breaks, and before and after eating. Regular and thorough hand cleaning will be part of our standard procedures for the foreseeable future. We have placed hand washing or hand sanitiser ‘hygiene stations’ in each classroom, in addition to those in the pupil and staff toilet areas, so that all pupils and staff can clean their hands regularly.

 

  • There are enhanced cleaning arrangements

There will be more frequent cleaning of rooms and shared areas that are used by different groups. Frequently touched surfaces will be cleaned regularly throughout the school day also.

A thorough clean of the school will take place each evening after Roboodles has closed at 5pm.

 

  • There are various systems and procedures in place to reduce contact between ‘bubbles’ (classes) of pupils and there is social distancing between pupils and staff in school whenever possible.

‘Bubbles’

Schools have been informed by the DfE to do everything possible to minimise contact and mixing of staff and children whilst the staff deliver a broad and balanced curriculum. In order to reduce the number of contacts between children and staff, we will be keeping groups separate (in ‘bubbles’) and through maintaining distance between individuals as much as possible.

Over the summer break there have been some adaptations to classrooms to remove unnecessary furniture and make more space. We will continue to use our beautiful outdoor space for learning as much as possible so please ensure that your child has a coat/jacket at school each day.

Movement around the school will be kept to a minimum and large gatherings of staff and pupils such as Collective Worships and lunchtimes will take place in classrooms instead.

There will be no extra-curricular activities for the first half-term (Autumn 1) and we hope to offer extra-curricular clubs in Autumn 2.

 

Face coverings

The DfE advises that primary aged pupils should not wear face coverings at school. If you wish your child to wear a face covering during their journey to school, they should not touch the front of their face covering during use or when removing the face covering and then must wash their hands immediately on arrival (as is the case for all pupils). Temporary face coverings will be disposed of in a lidded bin and reusable face coverings will be placed in a plastic bag which is taken home with the child/parent and the child will wash their hands again before heading to their classroom.

Uniforms do not need to be cleaned any more often than usual, nor do they need to be cleaned using methods which are different from normal.

 

Staggered starts

Roecliffe is adopting staggered starts to keep classes (‘bubbles’) of pupils apart as they arrive at school. Staggered starts will help the staff to ensure that all children have adequate time to prepare themselves for the start of the school day, including washing their hands, whilst minimising contact between bubbles. The four classes will remain in their four ‘bubbles’ throughout the school day and will enter and leave the school site at separate access points at particular times. These will be:-

Class

Collection and drop-off point

Drop-off time

Collection time

Class 1

Double gate at the Green (this access/exit gate was used in the summer term)

8.45am

3.30pm

Class 2

Double gate at the bottom of the playground

8.45am

3.30pm

Class 3

Single pedestrian gate from the layby on to the playground

8.55am

3.30pm

Class 4

Single gate from the Green in the middle of the front brick wall

9am

3.30pm

We understand that some parents may need to drop off at more than one gate in the mornings and hope that the time intervals allow for this. Staff will, of course, wait with your child at 3.30pm pickup time at the relevant exit point/gate if you have more than one child to collect.

If any parents need to enter the school site, they should contact Mrs Jones (01423 322302 or sarah.jones@roecliffeschool.co.uk) at the school to make an appointment.

We will continue to sanitise packed lunch bags and water bottles with cleansing wipes as the children enter the school site in the morning as well as sanitising hands with sanitising hand gel.   Parents should remain with their child/ren until the class is collected by their class teacher from the relevant access/exit point and we ask that you maintain social distancing where possible.

The children will eat their lunch in their classroom and pupils may choose from a cooked lunch, a school packed lunch or to bring their own packed lunch from home.  Staff and pupils will not share resources such as pens and pencils and pencil cases should not be brought into school from home. Reading bags, water bottles, P.E bags and P.E kit and packed lunch bags may be brought into school. Please do not bring bags larger than the Roecliffe reading bag to school as larger bags can not be fitted into our school lockers.

Roboodles

Claire and Lianne at Roboodles are excited to re-open in September! For new and existing parents interested in places, please get in touch by emailing Roboodles@outlook.com

I hope that the above information is useful to you for our return to school in September and would ask that if you have any suggestions or enquiries about any aspect of the routines and measures in place at school that you please let us know.

No doubt our school values of Faith, Courage and Love will support us all in helping each other to adjust to our new norm in September.