Dear parents,

Firstly, I would like to express my thanks again to you all for following our new rules for dropping off and collecting your children, especially with the request to wear a mask whilst on school grounds. Thank you also for not entering the school grounds before 3.05pm each afternoon, this is far less disruptive to teachers completing their end of day tasks with their classes.

I would like to take this opportunity to remind parents that, during this current lockdown, you are able to ‘form a childcare bubble with another household for the purposes of informal childcare, where the child is 13 or under’ (as per Government guidance for education and childcare settings) which includes dropping off and picking up children from school.  However, I must remind you that this is strictly limited to two households only, not multiple households.

If you have arranged with one other household to become one of these new ‘childcare bubbles’ it would be helpful if you could inform both the school office and your child’s class teacher so we know which other household has permission to drop off and collect your child.

We will be unable to let your child leave school with anyone other than either:

• Someone who is from their own household, or
• Someone who is from their nominated ‘childcare bubble’ household (if the office and class teacher have been informed).

I am sure you are aware that this is to reduce any possible transmission of Covid19, and is for the protection of both households and school bubble settings.

Thank you, as always, for your cooperation and understanding during these unprecedented times.

Mr Langford

Dear Parents and Carers 

Firstly, I would like to express my thanks again to you all for following our new rules for dropping off and collecting your children, especially with the request to wear a mask whilst on school grounds. 

More and more children are arriving at their classroom door by themselves with parents saying goodbye at the school gate. From Monday, I ask if you could encourage your child to do this if in KS2: we need to take every precaution to try and prevent Covid-19 infections in school.  

Also, from Monday, the time for collecting children at the end of the day will now be 3.10pm to 3.20pm. This is to ensure that all can exit the school site as soon as possible and therefore minimise possible exposure to the Covid-19 virus. Please bear in mind that staff have many tasks to complete after the children have left school and it is essential your child is collected promptly. Any children who are repeatedly collected late will receive a polite warning and further late collection will mean your child is admitted to after school club and you will be charged. 

I also ask that children are not dropped off at school before 8.40am: doors open at 8.45am and we want to avoid groups forming outside classrooms in the morning. 

So, in summary: 

• Please encourage your KS2 children to say goodbye at the gate and progress to their classroom on their own.  
• Do not drop children off before 8.40am in the morning. 
• Collect you child from the classroom door no later than 3.20pm at the end of the day. 
• Please exit the site as soon as possible once children are dropped off or collected. Do not congregate and please do not use any of the play equipment before or after school including the climbing frame. 

Birthday Parties & Other Gatherings: 

On a separate note, we are doing our utmost to keep our school open for all pupils. Please can all parents support us in this by ensuring you are following the current Government guidelines when outside of school.  For example, when thinking of arranging birthday parties for your child, the rule of 6 still counts.  It is crucial that you do not meet socially in groups of more than 6 people if you live in England. Please continue to maintain social distancing with anyone you do not live with; clearly it is not possible to maintain suitable social distancing in a car so please consider this before offering lifts to other people. It is illegal to do otherwise (please see link to Government website below) and we are duty bound to report instances where parents have broken the law, putting pupils and staff at risk. 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-outbreak-faqs-what-you-can-and-cant-do/coronavirus-outbreak-faqs-what-you-can-and-cant-do 

2.11 Does this mean that no more than six people can be in a pub, restaurant or place of worship at once? 

Venues following COVID-19 Secure guidelines can host more than 6 people in total, but no one should visit in a group of greater than 6 (unless you are all from the same household or support bubble). When you visit one of these places, such as a pub, shop, leisure venue, restaurant or place of worship you should: 

• follow the limits on the number of other people you should meet with as a group (it will be illegal to be in group of more than six from outside of your household or support bubble) 
• avoid mingling with anyone outside the group you are with, even if you see other people you know 
• provide your contact details to the organiser so that you can be contacted if needed by the NHS Test and Trace programme. 

Mr Langford

Dear Parents and Carers 

As you will be aware, from Monday 14th September due to the rapid increase in Covid-19 cases, the Government is changing social distancing regulations from groups of up to 30 people from two households, to a new limit of six people indoors or outdoors.  

Schools are exempt from this new guideline, but quite clearly there is, once again, an increasing threat to all of us from Covid-19. 

I thank all parents and carers for how you have observed our systems for dropping children off in the morning and collecting them in the evening but from Monday I ask you to: 

• Please wear a mask at all times whilst on school grounds when collecting and dropping off children or visiting the school office. 
• Take particular care to maintain a social distance of two metres at all times. 
• Move around the one-way system smoothly and please refrain from stopping and chatting to other parents. 
• Children are not permitted to play on any of the school equipment, either before or after the school day. Time on the equipment is carefully timetabled during the school day and we cannot guarantee it is safe to access at other times. 
• To ensure that older siblings from Mary Webb picking up younger brothers or sisters do so on their own and not in a group with their friends. A reminder, children in EYFS & KS1 (Years R-2) must be collected by an adult or a child aged 15 years or older. 
• Not to use the path in front of Room 4,5 and 8 unless you child is in reception or year 1. Please use the cut grass path around the perimeter fence. There will be a new gate in the fence for room 8 pupils to use on Monday. 

Please bear in mind that any child exhibiting symptoms associated with Covid-19, in particular a high temperature or new continuous cough (this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours, or your usual cough is worse than usual) may not attend school until their symptoms have stopped.  

If a child with a temperature or cough receives a negative Covid-19 test result, they can return to school immediately or when they are well enough to do so. We recognise that this is difficult, both in terms of getting access to tests and because there will be the normal run of coughs and colds doing the rounds at this time of year. However, the current pandemic means we cannot keep children in school who exhibit any of the Covid-19 symptoms. 

We appreciate your support during these exceptional times and your understanding that a decision to ask a child to be collected, where symptoms would not normally require this, is taken because of need to do what is right for your child, all other children and adults in the bubble, and for all our school community as we battle this horrible disease. 

As always, if any have any queries, questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. 

Mr Langford 

Dear Parents and Carers 

When we open our doors in September for, thankfully, all our children, we will do all we can to keep our community safe and to minimise the risk of contracting the COVID-19 virus. It is important to realise though that, as a school, we cannot mitigate all risk and that we rely heavily on the actions of parents and carers to support us in our endeavour to keep everyone safe. I ask that all parents over the summer, and when we return to school in September, take every precaution to stay safe and to follow Government guidelines, even though these are sometimes a little ambiguous!  

Further to my email last week, I am posting to answer queries raised by parents over the last few days about our return in September: 

• Pupils are to bring a schoolbag as normal. 
• Lunchboxes are allowed. 
• ‘Bubbles’ will use the same toilets throughout the day; cubicles will be labelled, and all children will have access to appropriate, non alcohol based hand sanitiser and hand washing facilities. Toilets will be thoroughly cleaned each day. 
• Parents or carers do not need to wash school uniform each day. 

On our return, please take every care as you drop off or collect children from school. Please obey social distancing requirements at all times and refrain from forming groups and chatting on the playground. As soon as children are collected, I ask you to exit the site as quickly as possible. Just to reiterate, on arrival in the morning, please rotate anti-clockwise around the school and exit through the front carpark and when collecting, please enter through the front carpark, rotate clockwise around the school and exit through the front gate by the bike rack. 

During the summer holiday, I would be very grateful if any have any questions, concerns or anxieties about returning in September, or have any general queries, to contact me via email and refrain from contacting class teachers. My staff have, for the last 4 months, given all for our school community and need a very well-deserved break with their families. 

Lastly, I would like to thank you all for the support you have given since the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown started back in March. I know I speak for all staff in expressing our gratitude for the way you have supported your children at home, even though sometimes this has been difficult. I am also acutely aware that some are experiencing extremely uncertain times and our thoughts are with you. This has been an extraordinary and unprecedented period but I know this: thanks to your support, the exemplary work of all staff and the phenomenal way our community has pulled together, our children’s education has suffered no long-term implications due to the coronavirus pandemic.  

Their future is in safe hands. 

I wish you all a wonderful and safe summer holiday. 

Mr Langford