Latest News and celebrations can be found on our Twitter feed @SASFschool
Wednesday 3rd September, 2020
Dear Parents and Carers,
Please read this letter very carefully, it contains important information.
As we informed you in July, from Monday 7th September, 2020, we will be welcoming all SASF children back to school, having successfully seen the return of Nursery, Reception, Year 1, Year 5 and Year 6 during the summer term. The government has made it explicitly clear that children’s attendance is statutory from September and they will be fining parents if their child does not return (unless they are following medical advice to self-isolate)
Health and Safety Precautions
We have gone to great lengths to maximise the safety of all staff and children and have closely followed the latest government, Public Health England, NHS guidelines and medical advice. Thorough risk assessments have been carried out to ensure all aspects of staff and children’s health and wellbeing have been considered, and we are excited to welcome your child back to school.
It is vital that our families maintain a high level of respiratory and hand hygiene not only when they return to school, but whilst at home and if out in public. Therefore, we ask that you continue to constantly remind your child to: wash their hands, with soap for at least 20 seconds, whenever they enter or exit your home; cough into their elbow or a tissue (catch it, bin it, kill it).
Children will be in class bubbles of 30 and will eat lunch and spend break and lunch times in these bubbles, separate from others. Throughout lock down we have successfully implemented this and have tried and tested social distancing procedures in school, which will continue until we are informed otherwise by the government.
Reporting Symptoms
If we are to safeguard our staff and pupils, it is imperative that you contact the school office, by telephone, if someone in your household displays COVID-19 symptoms (a high temperature above 37.8°C, a new, continuous cough or a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste). You will need to get tested immediately and report back to the school with your results. The school is more than happy to provide you details of how to do this and/or support you to book your test.
Access to School Site.
All children and adults will enter the school site through the main entrance on Belton Road, and exit through the Key Stage 1 playground exit onto Villiers Road. It is absolutely vital that children/parents arrive on time at the beginning and end of the day (see table below) and that people do not gather outside the entrance or exit to socialise. Please keep moving away from the site to adhere to government social distancing guidelines and plan your travel carefully, in advance, for a prompt arrival. Where possible, we would advise avoiding public transport but if it is necessary please ensure you are wearing a face cover/mask.
School Times – Vital Information.
|
Class |
Start |
End |
|
Reception |
8.30-8.35am |
3.00-3.05pm |
|
Year 1 |
8.35-8.40am |
3.05-3.10pm |
|
Year 2 |
8.40-8.45am |
3.10-3.15pm |
|
Class |
Start |
End |
|
Year 3 |
8.45-8.50am |
3.15-3.20pm |
|
Year 4 |
8.50-8.55am |
3.20-3.25pm |
|
Year 5 |
8.55-9.00am |
3.25-3.30pm |
|
Year 6 |
9.00-9.05am |
3.30-3.35pm |
Breakfast and Afterschool Club
Government guidance has permitted the reopening of breakfast and afterschool clubs in September. That said, they will operate differently from before lockdown. As this is a period when children will potentially mix with children from outside their bubble, we will be enforcing strict social distancing and hygiene measures. Children will be required to maintain a high level of hand and respiratory hygiene and they will now sit at individual tables with their own resources to use.
What Should Children Bring/Wear to School?
From September, children will be expected to wear their full school uniform (including black school shoes - trainers will no longer be permitted). Please ensure all items of clothing are clearly labelled with your child’s name (especially jumpers and coats) as if they are lost, they can be easily returned.
To avoid possible cross contamination from your home to school (and vice versa), we must insist that children only bring the essentials to school every day. We will be providing all pupils with a water bottle and stationery, so please ensure your child does not bring their own water bottle or pencil case. Equally, we ask that all pupils eat school dinners and do not bring in packed lunches (unless there are specific medical reasons that you have agreed with the school) as this greatly reduces the risk of cross contamination. Unfortunately, due to funding changes, the school will no longer be able to provide these free of charge to KS2 children (unless they qualify for Free School Meals) and therefore we ask that you set up a ParentPay account if you have not done so already. The school office will be more than willing to support you with this if needs be.
Our school lunches are provided by Chefs in School, who employ highly trained chefs, to run school kitchens with the efficiency, and passion for food, of a top restaurant. All food prepared and served on site meets the national School Food Standards, including a weekly variety of fruit, vegetable, salads and whole grains, and restricts the amount of salt and sugar added. There is also limited fried food options and no processed ingredients are used as all meals are cooked from scratch. Additionally, as we are a nut free school, our meals do not include any nut products and we also cater for other allergen-free options such as gluten-free, dairy -free etc. (Please ensure you have informed the school if your child has any food allergies and you have provided the appropriate medication if required). Chefs in School prides itself on only using top quality, fresh products to produce a varied menu and the meals always include a high quality protein – although twice a week this may be a meat-free meal. The children have been consulted on the menu and asked about their preferences and suggestions (this is an ongoing process). The menu is designed to offer our children new food experiences and healthy eating patterns. However, we appreciate that not all our pupils enjoy every meal option, therefore during this period we will be including more additional options such as jacket potatoes and some sandwiches if requested. For additional information, please visit Chefs in School’s website (https://www.chefsinschools.org.uk/)
As an additional method to reduce cross contamination and safeguard our staff and pupils, we also ask that you regularly wash your child’s school uniform. Children will be expected to bring in their PE kit, during the week they return, and it will remain in school until the half term holiday. Should individual kits require washing in between this time, your child’s teacher will communicate this with you (please see below for school office procedures).
As it is imperative that children continue with their daily reading and have access to a wide variety of books/genres, we will resume sending out school reading books in September. That said, they will only be permitted to return them to school on a Friday as they will need to remain separate from the rest of the book shelves over the weekend to reduce the risk of contamination.
Year 5 and 6 children, who walk home alone, will need to complete a new permission slip in September and only they may bring a mobile phone into school, if you deem it necessary. However, phones will no longer be able to be handed into the office (due to cross contamination risks) and will have to be stored in the children’s lockers. Please note, these lockers do not lock and the school accepts no responsibility if they are lost or damaged. Therefore, we ask that you carefully consider whether it is an absolute necessity for your child to have a mobile phone in school with them.
Office Hours
To reduce the risk to our staff and families, we ask where possible, you continue to communicate with the school via email or telephone. However, if it is imperative that you speak to a member of our admin team, the office will be open every day between 8:30-10:30am and 2:30-4:00pm on a Thursday. The office foyer will operate a strict one-way system (which will be clearly signposted) and only 2 families may enter at any one time. If you are returning forms, we request that you use either the post box on the main gate or in the school foyer.
Future Holidays Abroad and Travel Plans
As previously stated, school attendance is statutory from September, therefore if you are planning to travel abroad in the future to a country that does not have an air bridge agreement with the UK, you will be forced to quarantine for 14 days on arrival. This will not be an authorised reason for your child to miss school and therefore you may be subject to a fine.
Please also note, the list of countries is constantly reviewed and revised therefore if conditions worsen in an exempted country, the government has stated it ‘will not hesitate’ to (re)introduce quarantine for those travellers. Therefore, it is important you check before travelling.
Group/Social Events
Until government guidance deems it safe to do so, all group/social events will continue to be postponed. This will include activities such as: assemblies, parents’ evenings, coffee mornings, trips, Mass, School Clubs etc. We will provide you with more information on this as and when we receive it.
Medication
We would like to politely remind parents that it is your responsibility to ensure any medication provided to school (e.g. Asthma pumps and Epi-pens) is in date. All medication must be brought into school in its original box, with the pharmacy’s sticker on it detailing the dose/usage. Please contact Mrs Yerby in the office if you would like to discuss this further.
Finally, we would like to thank all our families for continuing to support their children’s education during this difficult time. I would also like to publicly acknowledge the hard work of all our staff, both teaching and non-teaching, during this period. Rest assured, our community’s safety is always at the forefront of our decision making and we are always here to support our families.
Kind regards,
Mr T. Sharpe
Headteacher