Working Together to Keep Safe and Support Learning
A Rainbow Start to our School Year!
There has been much to celebrate in school this week as all classes have continued working on our Rainbow Curriculum and have impressed us all with their smiles and enthusiasm.
To keep us all as safe as possible, please ensure you follow the guidance for parents and carers outlined below carefully - by working together both at drop off and collection times and with regards to following guidance about testing and symptoms of Coronavirus, we will support our children to be safe, happy and settled in school.
I have attached, on this page, a ‘COVID-19 Absence: A quick guide for parents/carers’ from Cheshire West and Chester as well as information from the NHS which provides information for children to help them understand what Coronavirus is and the importance of handwashing together with ways we are all working together to keep everyone as safe as possible.
Thank you for your ongoing support.
Warm wishes to you all,
Mrs Jewitt
Headteacher
Drop off/collection times and zones
|
Year Group/Classes |
Drop off/collection gate/door |
Drop off time |
Collection time |
|
Reception – Oak and Elm classes |
EYFS gate on Clydesdale - Parents and carers are asked to queue on Clydesdale in class order - Elm class at the front and Oak class at the rear - please follow the one way system through EYFS back on to Wyedale once you have collected/droppedoff your child. |
8.30am |
2.45pm |
|
Year 1 – Beech and Ash classes |
EYFS gate on Clydesdale - Parents and carers are asked to queue on Clydesdale in class order - Beech class at the front and Ash class at the rear. If you arrive before EYFS parents and carers have moved through EYFS, please use the non school side of the pavement to reach the back of the queue behind EYFS parents and carers. |
8.45am |
3.00pm |
|
Year 2 – Fir and Cherry classes |
Cherry class - S4YC gate on Clydesdale - please queue from this gate along the school field, keeping the car park and school path gateways clear. Fir class - Car park gate on Clydesdale - please wait in the entrance area of the car park (coned off) and leave via the same gate. |
8.30am |
2.45pm |
|
Year 3 – Rowan and Poplar classes |
Car park gate on Clydesdale - please wait in the entrance area of the car park (coned off) and leave via the same gate. If you arrive before Year 2 parents and carers have left the car park area, please use the non school side of the pavement to reach the back of the queue behind Year 2 Cherry class parents and carers. |
8.45am |
3.00pm |
|
Year 4 – Holly and Cedar classes |
Wyedale Entrance - please leave via the one way system across the playground to the Clydesdale exit. |
8.30am |
2.45pm |
|
Year 5 – Sycamore and Willow classes |
Wyedale Entrance - please leave via the one way system across the playground to the Clydesdale exit. |
8.40am |
2.55pm |
|
Year 6 – Birch and Maple classes |
Wyedale Entrance - please leave via the one way system across the playground to the Clydesdale exit. |
8.50am |
3.05pm |
How Parents and Carers can help safety at drop off and collection times
We are all working hard to keep everyone as safe as possible both with regards to Coronavirus and safety at the start and end of the school day at drop off and collection times.
Whilst staff are focused on the safety of children arriving and leaving school site, we are dependent on parent and carers’ cooperation, help, patience and support in considering not just the safety of their own children and themselves but that of our wider school community.
We therefore ask that parents and carers:
DO NOT:
- Congregate at gateways or collection points once their child is dropped off or collected.
- Park on Wyedale or Clydesdale during drop off or pick up times.
- Drive on these two roads during these times. Where this is unavoidable, consider and be mindful of children and adults regularly crossing.
- Drop children off direct from cars onto roads and into the direct line of traffic.
- Walk along the road unless it is to pass other parents or children and then only when it is safe to do so.
DO:
- Ensure they are mindful of those around them and leave safe space between themselves and other parents and carers as they are waiting.
- Wear face coverings where they are not able to maintain social distancing whilst they are waiting to drop off or collect – this will help to protect those around you.
- Use the pavement on the non-school side of Clydesdale and Wyedale to walk to and from the gates or lines they need to access, crossing the road only when safe to do so.
- Leave school site promptly once your child has been collected/dropped off.
- Only have one adult accompanying any drop off or collection.
- Follow direction from school staff when being asked to move to a safer area and work with school staff with regards to their requests for your cooperation – we have yours and all 400+ other children’s safety in mind.
Please note, for those parents who have more than one child to collect at the same time, please be assured that your child will be kept safe with their teacher until collected as we understand that you may be delayed circulating the one way system around school.
We ask that parents and carers continue to support us to keep everyone as safe as possible by continuing to observe the current social distancing guidance at all times both on and off school site so that contact with people beyond your households is limited to the current social distancing guidelines.
Bikes and scooters - Children in Years 4, 5 and 6 are welcome to travel to and from school by bike. We ask that the accompanying adult wheels the bike across the playground to the bike rack at Clydesdale as they drop their child off on the playground via the Wyedale entrance gate.
Children can also use scooters to travel to and from school. Children in Years 4, 5 and 6 can be stored in the scooter rack on the playground as above. For children in EYFS, Years 1, 2, 3, we ask that the accompanying adult takes the scooter home with them after drop off.
Permission to walk home from school alone - No child will be permitted to walk from school without an adult accompanying them without written permission (via one of our school letters) which has been sent out to Year 5 and 6 children only.
We ask that parents and carers who are using child minders or other relatives to collect or drop off their child/ren, support us by ensuring they update the person collecting/dropping off about the staggered drop off/pick ups and the need for promptness arriving and leaving school site.
Cheshire West and Chester have provided the following information regarding frequently asked questions regarding childcare provided by Grandparents and travelling to school by car:
Childcare Unless grandparents are part of a support bubble* they should maintain two metre social distancing where possible from their grandchildren. One household is permitted to visit another household indoors in England (unless local restrictions apply), but two metre social distancing should be maintained. It would be possible for childcare to be delivered before and after school in these circumstances if the grandchildren do not require any close contact as part of the childcare. If grandparents are part of a support bubble they can provide childcare and transport to and from school without having to maintain two metre social distancing.
Travelling by car - National guidance ‘Coronavirus (COVID-19): safer travel guidance for passengers’ https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-safer-travel-guidance-for-passengers#private-cars-and-other-vehicles advises you should try not to share a vehicle with those outside your support bubble. If there is no-one within the household who can take your child to school you need to, try to:
- share the transport with the same people each time – this means only using one grandparent to undertake all the journeys rather than rotating
- keep to small groups of people at any one time – so only one grandparent and the grandchildren from one household should travel in the car
- open windows for ventilation
- travel side by side or behind other people, rather than facing them, where seating arrangements allow
- face away from each other
- consider seating arrangements to maximise distance between people in the vehicle
- clean your car between journeys using standard cleaning products - make sure you clean door handles and other areas that people may touch
- ask the driver and passengers to wear a face covering
It is important that you advise the driver of any arrangements your child’s school has made for car drop-offs and pick-ups.
*A support bubble is where people who live alone (or just with their children) meet people from one other household
WORKING TOGETHER TO KEEP EVERYONE IN OUR SCHOOL FAMILY SAFE AND WELL
Coronavirus – Clarification and Guidance
In these challenging times, we value the support of parents and carers in working with us to keep everyone safe and well. It is important that if you’re child or family member becomes unwell with any of the COVID-19 symptoms listed below that they get tested and you ensure your child does not attend school:
- a high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
- a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
- a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you've noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal
Please notify us that your child is self-isolating with other household members, arrange for them to get tested and continue to self-isolate as a household until the result comes back.
There is no need for members of a symptomatic person’s household to have a test, unless they are also symptomatic.
Testing sites are available across Cheshire and Merseyside, with appointments for tests released daily throughout the day. However, a vast increase in demand has led to laboratories, which process the tests, being overwhelmed. This national issue has meant that bookings have been restricted by the Department of Health and Social Care.
At this time of such high demand it is crucial that only people who have COVID-19 symptoms book a test. You can either book a visit to a test site to have the test. Or order a home test kit if you cannot get to a test site. Use the website(https://www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test) to book a test or call 119.
Test sites available:
Local Testing Site - Walk in test centres. There is one based at Chester Roodee car park (you are able to drive to this testing site, park and then use the walk through facility).
Mobile Testing Unit – This testing unit moves around sites located in Ellesmere Port, Winsford, Northwich and Chester spending two or three days in each site, they are a combination of drive-through and walk-through appointments.
Regional Testing Sites – There are no regional testing sites in Cheshire West and Chester, the nearest site is Deeside in Flintshire and Liverpool Airport.
As we head into the winter months pupils may feel unwell for example with a sore throat, stomach upset or a headache. These pupils don’t need to book a test but may need to stay off school and seek medical advice through their GP or pharmacist as usual. Please do not attend A and E, other hospital facilities or GP Practices requesting a COVID test as they are not able to provide these.
If your child or family member is tested for COVID19, we ask that parents/carers notify us of the test result (positive or negative) immediately via help@whitbyheath.cheshire.sch.uk This will allow us to take action quickly in the event of any positive tests within our school community moving forward.
If your child tests positive they should self-isolate and stay off school for 10 days. If the test comes back negative they can return to school if they no longer have symptoms and have been fever free for 48hrs. All other people who have had close contact with them will need to self-isolate for 14 days.
Should there be a positive test in our school community, we will identify any school contacts and notify them of the need to self-isolate. Where a pupil or staff member become a confirmed case, then we will directly contact those staff and pupils affected. If you are not contacted, you can be assured that you are not a direct or close contact and are not required to self-isolate. Attached, at the bottom of this page, is a guidance sheet for parents and carers from Cheshire West and Chester relating to this.
I would like to remind all parents and carers that it is our policy to ask that all children are absent from school for 48 hours from their last episode of diarrhoea or vomiting. We would also ask for families to support us in ensuring children who are ill with non COVID19 symptoms are fully well enough to return to school before sending them back into school to prevent other children and staff becoming ill. In all cases, it is vital that the School Office is contacted about any absence that is non COVID19 related. Thank you for your understanding, support and cooperation in this matter.
Uniform and Resources
As we begin our new school year together, we will be reinstating our school uniform policy. All children will be expected to attend wearing school uniform each day. The Uniform Shop on Whitby Road now has an online shop with discounted uniform offers for school uniform. Visit www.theuniformshopwebsite.co.ukor call 0151 345 4656.
Everything your child requires for lessons will be provided in school – we therefore ask that children do not bring anything in from home at this time apart from their coat, reading bag, a packed lunch (these can be brought in named lunch bags or boxes) if they do not require a school lunch and a named water bottle.
It will be important for all children to have a jumper, cardigan and/or coat with them, even on sunny days as all classrooms will have windows and doors open to allow for maximum ventilation during lesson times so classrooms will be cooler than children are used to.
On sunny days, please provide a sun hat and apply sun lotion to your child before they leave the house as staff cannot apply lotion to any child at this time and we plan to be spending more time outdoors than we usually do.
PE Kits
From September, we ask that children come into school dressed in a full school PE kit on their PE days. They will remain in PE kit all day. We will NOT be storing PE kits in school.
Please refer to the class newsletter, from your child's class teacher, regarding your child's PE days.
PE kits must be school uniform only and in line with our current school policy, which can be found on our school website. A reminder of these requirements are listed here:
For PE all children need:
Black Pumps for indoor P.E.
Trainers for outdoor P.E.
Plain white t-shirt
Plain black shorts
Black, blue or grey tracksuit for outdoor
School Fleece (optional)
Lunches and Snacks
New Menu Options from Monday 21st September
Mrs Bateman has been busy developing new, hot options for children to eat at lunch time as part of our ‘grab bag’ lunch menu whilst we are needing to maintain separation and staggered lunchtimes in school.
From next Monday, there will be two sandwich and one hot option each day for children to choose from. We will be operating a two week menu cycle starting with Week 1 menu from Monday.
Please find copies of the new menu on our school website.
All children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 will continue to be eligible for Universal Infant Free School Meals.
We ask that if your child is in Key Stage 2 (Year 3, 4, 5 or 6) and requires a school meal and is not eligible for Free School Meals, that payment is made in advance on a weekly basis by cheque (made payable to CWAC) or exact cash only on the first day of each week as we will not be offering payment on a daily basis. School Meals will continue to be charged at £2.30 a day, the cost of a week’s school meals for one child will therefore be £11.50.
We will not be providing a snack during the school day via our school kitchen but would ask that parents and carers do provide several healthy snacks for your child e.g. fruit, breadsticks, a cereal bar as we will be having increased break times across the school day as we are mindful that many children will find the structure of the school day and timetabled lunch breaks difficult to readjust to and may need further energy boosts across the school day.
CHILDREN STARTING RECEPTION SHOULD NOT BRING SNACKS FROM HOME. Snack will be provided in school at a cost of £40 per year (£10 to be paid at the start of each of the Autumn & Spring half terms or paid in full)
Attendance
In line with the Government’s guidance, school attendance will be mandatory again from the beginning of autumn term. This means that the usual rules on school attendance will apply. All children will be expected in school every day.
We will follow up any absences in the usual manner from September and we ask that you contact our school office by email or telephone if your child is absent for any reason or wish to discuss your child’s attendance with school staff.
Getting Back on Track – ‘Catch Up’
As we start our new year, we are mindful that we must focus on children’s mental health and wellbeing as well as their academic ‘catch up.’ We have therefore, written a Recovery ‘Rainbow’ Curriculum for our school which will support children to settle back into school routines and for us to assess and support them during the first few weeks back in school to allow for bespoke ‘catch up’ sessions to be planned which will be tailored to address gaps in learning as well as support any worries or concerns individual children may have. We will be using additional teachers and support staff to work alongside class teachers to support this approach.
‘Moving Forward With Hope’
For many people things are difficult right now, and that’s why we’re supporting the @NSPCC who are still there for children who need their support now more than ever.
- Whether you want support and advice for adapting to family life in lockdown, or you’re worried about a child, the NSPCC are there to help.
- Whether you’re juggling childcare with working from home, or your children are feeling anxious about the coronavirus, the NSPCC have got tips and advice for you.
Visit the NSPCC coronavirus hub for information and advice to support you and your children. - Home isn’t a safe place for every child. With schools closed and children spending more time at home, you might have spotted something that’s worrying you. If you’re worried, talk to the NSPCC. The helpline is free, and you don’t have to say who you are. The helpline is open 7 days a week.
If you’re worried about a child, please call their helpline on 0808 800 5000or you can email help@nspcc.org.uk
Barnardo’s ‘See Hear Respond’ service
See Hear Respond is a service provided across England by Barnardo’s and other national and local community-based organisations in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The programme has been created to help children and young people in England who are experiencing harm and increased adversity during this period by providing support to those who are not being seen by social care or other key agencies.
Working with its partners, Barnardo’s aims to reduce the likelihood of harm and ensure other support and protective networks are in place using:
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See Hear Respond accept referrals from any source either through the Freephone number 0800 151 7015 and via their online referral hub.
NHS Track and Trace Scams
We have been informed by Cheshire West and Chester that there has been an increase in scam calls in relation to NHS Track and Trace where people are being asked to pay for a home testing kit etc.
NHS track and Trace Service will never ask you to pay for a test, ask for bank details, passwords or pin numbers. Never share personal details if you are not sure who you are talking to.
NHS Coronavirus Helpline
This is a 24 hour crisis line for all residents of Cheshire West, Cheshire East and Wirral - 0300 303 3972
Meals, Food Shopping and Other Practical Support
Foodbanks
Foodbanks are available in our area - call 0151 355 7730 or visit westcheshire.foodbank.org.uk to find out more about this support. Please see the document attached at the foot of this page for further information.
Cheshire West and Chester has a Community Response Group looking at access to food for vulnerable people across the area. A dedicated response for vulnerable groups at higher risk from serious complications as a result of coronavirus (COVID-19) infection. There is a dedicated helpline to provide advice and support, and where necessary make arrangements for food, medicines and social contact.
• Telephone: 0300 123 7031
• Opening hours: every day from 8am to 7pm
• Email: enquiries@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk
Further support is available for families via the Live Well Cheshire website at: https://www.livewell.cheshirewestandcheshiter.gov.uk/Categories/4855
Free School Meals
Free School Meals does not include Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) where all government funded schools offer free school meals to pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. If your child was receiving UIFSM but you believe you may be eligible for Free School Meals please apply here https://www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/residents/education-and-learning/school-meals.aspx
BEWARE - Scam around Free School Meals
We have been informed that some parents and carers of children in receipt of free school meals are being targeted by fraudsters. Fraudsters are targeting families, emailing parents and carers with messages such as ‘If your child is entitled to free school meals send your bank details to the school and they will help with funding while the school is closed’. The email contains links for the parents to follow if they want to receive this funding – these links are fake. This is a scam. Please be alert to this.
Police Helpdesk
To support the public to report concerns to the Police, Ellesmere Port Police are providing a daily helpdesk staffed by Police Officers who can provide immediate support to anyone who needs help. The Police Helpdesk will be open from 2pm - 3pm daily at Ellesmere Port Police Station.
Useful Internet Safety websites:
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Thinkyouknow - https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/ (advice from the National Crime Agency to stay safe online).
Internet Matters - https://www.internetmatters.org/
Parent Info - https://parentinfo.org/
Paper copies of any letters are available from the office upon request.
