Reopening Nursery, Reception & Year 1: How will it work?

Dear Parents and Carers,

The resilience shown by you and your children over the last few weeks and months has been truly remarkable. The collaborative effort of parents/carers and teachers has enabled pupils to continue to access learning in novel and innovative ways, including classrooms on kitchen tables and in gardens.

You will all be aware of the announcement made by government on Sunday 10th May that schools are to reopen with a phased return from 1st June for Nursery, Reception and Year 1 pupils.

I know that this will have been an extremely unsettling period for you and your children and you will all be keen for a return to a normal routine. Everyone has total commitment to ensuring that the return to school is handled as well as possible, with the safety of pupils, parents and staff at the centre of all decisions.

The guidance provided to schools sets out specific procedures. Inevitably, school life will be different and include a number of changes as we begin the ‘new normal’. As per government guidance, I can confirm the following changes will take place at Alexander First School:

To help with contact tracing, pupils will be taught in ‘bubbles’. Once children are in their allocated ‘bubble’, teachers or pupils are not permitted to move to different groups or interact (play etc.) with other children outside of their ‘bubble’.
Areas (playground, corridors, washing areas etc.) and classrooms will be measured and taped out to facilitate social distancing.
Desks will be set apart with pupils stationed at one specific place for their use only. Younger pupils (Nursery & Reception) will be allocated a mat or station for activities. However, we cannot guarantee pupils will maintain social distancing measures.
If a child or adult within a ‘bubble’ develops COVID-19 symptoms, all members of the ‘bubble’ must self-isolate for 14 days or until tested negative and results shared with the school.
Class sizes will be reduced; therefore, your child may not be with their usual teacher; support staff will be taking groups.
Pupils to wear their own clothes with all items washed at the end of each day. The expectation is clean clothes are worn daily.

Home learning and school activities will be the same; there will be no difference to provisions at school than home learning.
Classrooms will be cleared of soft toys, soft furnishing and other items difficult to sanitise (e.g. jigsaw puzzles etc.).

Children cannot share equipment or toys between ‘bubbles’. Each ‘bubble’ will be allocatedresources for their use only.
Pupils must only bring a water bottle and coat to school.
The transference of items to and from school is not permitted (we cannot send resources home such as reading books and brain builders).
No parent/carer or visitor will be allowed on site. The school office will be closed to all adults. Should you wish to speak to a member of staff, please contact the school office on: 01753 852894 or alexander@rbwm.org.uk or contact teachers via Class Dojo messaging service.
We will operate a one-way system throughout the school (corridors, playground) as well as a drop off and collection point outside of the school gates (details to follow). We will create and share a video to explain this to pupils.

Government guidance states that PPE (Personal Protective Equipment- gloves, face mask, face shield) must be used by staff who are providing intimate care (changing nappies/soiled clothing, providing First Aid etc.). PPE has not been provided to the school and staff are attempting to source items; in the event we are unable to acquire this prior to 1st June, parents/carers will need to collect their child to provide intimate care at home.

Staggered drop-off times will be as follows:

Morning session drop-off:
Group A pupils start at 8.30am
Group B pupils start at 8.45am
If a parent misses or is late for their allocated time, pupils will not be admitted- ‘bubbles’ would nolonger be maintained.

Morning session collection:
Group A pupils collected at 11am
Group B pupils collected at 11.15am
If a parent misses or is late for their allocated time, pupils will not be admitted- ‘bubbles’ would no longer be maintained.

Afternoon session drop-off:

Group A pupils start at 12.30pm
Group B pupils start at 12.45pm
If a parent misses or is late for their allocated time, pupils will not be admitted- ‘bubbles’ would nolonger be maintained.

Afternoon session collection:
Group A pupils collected at 3pm
Group B pupils collected at 3.15pm
If a parent is consistently late to collect their child and so causing cross-mixing of ‘bubbles’, it will be at the Governing Body’s discretion as to the continuation of provision.

Between the morning and afternoon session (11.30am-12.30pm), teachers and support staff will clean and disinfect (wiping down desks/mats, toys, resources/equipment, toilet areas and door handles) ready to begin again.

We are only able to offer this very different and changeable form of school at this moment. We understand this continues to be a difficult time for you all. In regards to other year groups, we will continue to support pupils remaining at home during this difficult time and await further direction from the government.

Parents/carers will be asked to maintain social distancing between one another when dropping off and collecting pupils. This includes only one adult attending the school site for collection/drop off.

Additionally, PPE must be worn in the event of a pupil or staff member becoming unwell on site and they must remain in a quarantined area and be collected immediately (please ensure you can be contacted).

On Monday 1st June 2020 Alexander First School will begin Nursery, Reception and Year 1 pupils returning for a morning or afternoon session, with each session separated into 2 ‘bubble’ groups- Group A or Group B.

As previously explained, the government has stated there will be no penalty should your child remain at home- this will be your decision. We will continue to provide Home Learning resources/activities with details to follow.

As government public servants, we cannot give our personal opinion on the opening of schools; this is hard for us as we have always endeavored to be honest, truthful and make decisions in the best interest of your child/children. As I have said to those who have contacted the school already, it is for you to decide whether you feel it is safe to return your child to school; I cannot guarantee that they would be safe from the risk of infection. A full risk assessment is available on the school website.

You will receive a questionnaire to identify whether or not you would be taking up this provision and so allowing us to finalise groups and staffing. We will then notify you with the specific details relevant to your child.

In the coming weeks things will continue to develop and change. We will work through this together and ensure you are informed.

Thank you for your continued support and understanding.

Kind regards,

Miss Khokar