COVID-19 Government updates - schools

Following the Prime Minister’s announcement on 31 October, national restrictions came into force today - Thursday 5 November. The Government published information yesterday on what the new restrictions mean for schools.

This guidance provides specific information and covers the latest advice for clinically extremely vulnerable children and staff, plus advice on the use of face coverings in education settings - this has not changed for children below Year 6 and for staff working in Primary Schools. 

"For education settings teaching pupils in year 6 and below, there is no change to the existing position on the use of face coverings following the announcement on the new national restrictions. It is not mandatory for staff and visitors to wear face coverings. In situations where social distancing between adults in settings is not possible (e.g. when moving around in corridors and communal areas), settings have the discretion to recommend the use of face coverings for adults on site, for both staff and visitors."

Our staff will be wearing face coverings whilst on duty at the start and end of the school day.  We would ask that you now actively consider wearing a face covering if you are waiting outside of the school gates to pick up your child.  Visitors, including parents, will not be allowed onto the school site if they are not wearing an appropriate face covering unless they have been medically exempted.  If you do not have a mask and have come to collect your child, we will bring them to you.

After School Sports Clubs

Our clubs will continue to run as they are operated as Year Group sessions meaning that children stay within the Year Group bubble and we know that a number of parents rely upon the clubs for child-care provision.

Ventilation

In response to the government’s guidance on ventilation, we do have to have try and allow a flow of fresh air through all classrooms, regardless of the season we are in. We are also told this must include all rooms that are not in use. It is suggested that schools decide on what they can do to support children if rooms become colder and so  our suggestions are set out below.

Since we returned to school in September we have been teaching with windows and doors open (where possible) in order to allow as much fresh air into the room to encourage natural ventilation and therefore reduce the risk of Covid-19 to staff and students. This is in keeping with government guidance.  This is not always as easy as it might seem in our building but we are endeavouring to meet requirements.

As the weather begins to turn more wintery, we will, of course, balance increased ventilation with trying to maintain a comfortable temperature. Therefore, to ensure students feel warm, we encourage the children to layer up clothing under their uniforms.

The children won't be wearing  coats in lessons  but they should should perhaps focus on dressing with layers each morning such as vests, under-shirts or thermal leggings under school trousers ('skins' worn for sports activities are a good idea).

We will continue to have our heating system on at full blast to try and ensure some level of comfort is maintained while windows and doors remain open.

Physical Education Kit

PE lessons will continue to be taught outside through the winter months unless the weather is atrocious - in addition to the usual PE kit the children can of course wear plain black jogging bottoms and top - but again putting layers on underneath can help although as we aim for the children to be as physically active as possible too many layers might make them uncomfortably hot.