Headteacher Update to Parents Regarding School Reopening

Birkrig, Skelmersdale, Lancashire WN8 9BN. Telephone: 01695 724730.

www.bishopmartin.lancs.sch.uk Headteacher:

Mr IJ McDonald

26/08/20 Headteacher Update to Parents Regarding School Reopening Dear Parents/Carers, I hope you and your families have had a safe and pleasant summer holiday. In my end of year letter in July I told you all I would be writing to you this week to outline the arrangements for the new school academic year. I have said before that I look forward to the time when we can return to the ‘old normal’ and the measures outlined in this letter are another step towards that.

There will be quite a lot of detail in this letter about those arrangements so please read everything carefully and if there are any questions don’t hesitate to e-mail office@bishopmartin.lancs.sch.uk or telephone school and we will do our best to reassure you.

I would like to start by making the following basic announcements (I will go into greater detail for each one further down): 

School WILL open, from Thursday 3rd September, for ALL pupils (from Nursery to Year 6) and it is now mandatory for children to attend.  School will open under the broad principles that proved so successful before the summer when we partially re-opened for Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 on the 22nd June. Obviously, there are some changes/revisions to that strategy so that we can bring back all children safely.  Because classes will return to full size (up to 30 children plus staff in a classroom), there will need to be an acceptance from everyone that Social Distancing cannot be maintained within classroom settings.  Breakfast Club and After School Club will re-open (under safe, controlled measures) from Monday, 7th September  PPE will ONLY be used by staff under certain; specific circumstances and this will be outlined below. There is no requirement for pupils to wear face coverings in school at this time.

School Opening/Start of the Day/End of the Day Arrangements I have assessed the main school gate at the start and end of the school day as being the main risk for groups of adults outside of the school mixing and not being able to social

distance (especially as we are bringing back all pupils so there are far more families dropping off/picking up children).

I have therefore decided that we will make use of a second school entrance to welcome/dismiss the Key Stage 2 pupils. There is a school gate opposite Birleywood Health Centre and by the subway that overlooks the junior building. This gate will be opened at 8:40am and at 3:05pm by a member of the Leadership Team for Key Stage 2 pupils to enter and leave school by.

So to be clear: Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 pupils will continue to be dropped off and collected at the main school gate. Year 3, 4, 5 and 6 pupils will use the new school entrance opposite Birleywood Health Centre. Families with pupils in both key stages will have their Key Stage 2 children brought to the main gate to dismiss with their siblings at their collection time.

There will be no staggered entrance times at the start of the day. School will open for children not attending Breakfast Club at 8:40am and the whistle blown to go to class at 8:55am.

The end of the day, slightly staggered dismissal times (to help with social distancing) will be as follows: 3:05pm:

Year 5 and 6 at the top Junior Building gate

3:05pm:

Year 1 and 2 at the Main School gate

3:10pm:

Year 3 and 4 at the top Junior Building gate

3:10pm:

Reception and Nursery at the Main School gate

Distancing in School/Lunch Arrangements As stated earlier, with full size classes returning, there has to be an acceptance that social distancing in classes will not be able to be maintained. We are following the advice that this is an acceptable risk as children are the age group least likely to either catch or spread the virus.

Classes will still remain separate from each other and we will not come together as a whole school (for things like Praise Assemblies/Collective Worship etc.). We will continue to use Virtual Conferencing technologies to run those events.

The hygiene measures introduced before the summer will still be maintained (children using their own school given equipment, regular handwashing/sanitizing, reduced learning session times and greater outdoor access etc.). Social Distancing will still be followed in communal areas and between classes.

The Free School Meal Voucher system will be stopping at the start of the new school year as children are now expected to be in school. I would encourage ALL Free School Meal pupils to take the option of a school dinner and I continue to advise ALL families to take a school dinner option to reduce the amount of items moving between school and home.

Parents will still only be allowed onto the school site via pre-made appointments at this time however this will remain under constant review.

Breakfast Club/After School Club These services will open to families from Monday 7th September. There will be separate eating/activity areas for children in different classes and appropriate distancing maintained between them.

PPE As per Government guidance, staff will only wear PPE in two specific situations: 



where an individual child or young person becomes ill with coronavirus (COVID-19) symptoms while at school, and only then if a distance of 2 metres cannot be maintained where a child or young person already has routine intimate care needs that involves the use of PPE, in which case the same PPE should continue to be used

There is no proven benefit, or requirement for children to wear face coverings in school.

Class/School Closures I have to stress that all the advice we have been given is that it is safe for children to return to school. We proved at Bishop Martin before the summer we could manage this on our site in a COVID secure way. Primary age children, according to the medical advice we have, are the least likely age group to either catch or spread the virus. However, I fully accept that nothing in life is totally risk free so the school will work as follows:  I will ONLY close down any specific class/cohort of pupils if there is a CONFIRMED case of Coronavirus (verified by a Positive Test Result and through Test and Trace) and not just if there is someone with symptoms.  If someone (a child or adult connected to a class) shows symptoms of Coronavirus, they will be sent home and instructed to get a Test and send the result into school.

At this stage their class/cohort will remain open as normal to the other pupils. If they have siblings/family members in another class they will be expected to keep coming into school (as there is no CONFIRMED case at this stage).

 If the Test result comes back as positive, families will be notified and the entire class will be sent home for the recommended 14 day isolation period. ONLY family members (ie: siblings) of the positive test result individual will be sent home from other classes.  If there are children in the affected class who have siblings in other classes, those siblings will still be expected to attend school as normal.  If there is a second positive result within the school, during that 14 day period, I will seek advice from the Public Health Information Team regarding wider school closures and communicate this with parents as quickly as I can.

I have to stress that this procedure is part of the wider risk assessment for the school. I am absolutely confident, that with all the additional hygiene, cleaning and distancing measures introduced, the school is as safe as it possibly can be.

Home School Agreement I know there was a Home School Agreement used before the summer as part of the partial re-opening of the school. I have had to create a new one to reflect the changes I am making to allow all children to return next Thursday. This is attached with this letter and I require all parents to read and sign it and return it school (by e-mail if you wish).

In Conclusion All other arrangements and information about class routines (PE, home learning, class timetables etc.) will go out over the course of the first week from the class teachers and there will be virtual meetings that all parents will be invited to.

This has been an extremely challenging time for all of us but I am so excited, as are all the staff, at the prospect of welcoming back all the children of the Bishop Martin family and I look forward to continuing working with you all through the coming school year!

Yours sincerely

Mr McDonald