Term 2 – Welcome Back
Dear Parent / Carer
We hope you have enjoyed your half term break. It is lovely to welcome everyone back to school for the start of Term 2. I am sure you will have seen the national briefing this weekend and will be aware of the rise in COVID-19 cases across the UK.
The new national restrictions come into force on Thursday 5 November 2020; however, in order to prioritise the wellbeing and long-term futures of our children, the Government will not be closing schools and it remains very important for children to continue to attend school. As a school, we have already implemented a range of protective measures to keep everyone safe and will continue to review these in line with Government guidance.
The Government’s new restrictions require you to stay at home, minimising time spent outside your home and around other people. To help minimise contact with people outside your household we ask you to adhere to your child(ren)’s pick up and drop off times and refrain from congregating and mixing outside the school gates. Only ONE parent/adult should accompany children to/from school.
We are actively encouraging the use of face coverings in the collection areas and you will have noticed that staff on duty at the gates are now wearing face coverings. This is to help keep everyone safe and to enable conversations with parents/carers to continue. If you need to approach a member of staff to discuss your child or ask questions, please ensure you are wearing a face covering or keep a distance of at least 2m.
As cases continue to rise it is essential that if any member of your household shows any of the symptoms of coronavirus (high temperature (fever), a new continuous cough, loss of smell/taste) the whole household must self-isolate. In this situation, your child(ren) must stay at home and not come to school. Anyone showing symptoms can and should get a test to confirm whether or not they have Covid‐19. You must report a positive test result to the office immediately so that we can follow the NHS Test and Trace guidance.
In school, the following measures will minimise the risk of infection for everyone in our community:
- Frequent, thorough hand washing as part of everyday routines
- Good respiratory hygiene habits – ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’
- Enhanced regular cleaning arrangements
- Active engagement with the NHS Test and Trace service
- School day arrangements that reduce contacts between groups of pupils as far as possible
- Maximising distancing between those in school as far as possible.
- Operating in individual class pods
- Parents/carers/visitors will not be permitted onto the school grounds without a prior appointment
Please continue to contact us on [email protected] or telephone on 01934 626769 with any queries you may have.
Yours faithfully
Sam Hodder
Principal
