Wednesday 3^rd March 2021

 

Dear Parents / Carers, 

 

We are very excited to have all of our children in school from Monday 8th March. The staff have been busy making sure our school continues to be Covid secure and we have updated our risk assessment following recent updates to government guidance. The latest version is always available on our website. Our school procedures are going to be the same as for the autumn term and we have provided a reminder of these below. Please remember to sign up for our Facebook group – Churchfield Primary N9 if you are not already a member, for the most up to date information.

 

Attendance

Please be aware that attendance will be a legal requirement from 8th March.  If you have any concerns about what we as a school are doing to minimise the risk of Coronavirus, please contact us. We will be ensuring that we remind all the children of what they need to do to keep safe.

 

If your child, or anyone in your household, has symptoms of coronavirus then do not bring them to school. Please call the office to notify us.

 

The symptoms of coronavirus are:

•  a high temperature
•  a new continuous cough
•  a loss or change to sense of smell or taste

 

What to do if your child has symptoms

If your child has any of the main symptoms of coronavirus:

1.  Get a test to check if they have coronavirus as soon as possible
2.  Stay at home and do not have visitors until you get the test result

Anyone you live with, and anyone in your support bubble, must also stay at home until you get the result.

 

Social distancing 

Please ensure that if you are bringing your children to school or picking them up that you observe a 2 metre distance from other children, parents and staff. This is to make sure that everybody is safe and feels comfortable. Please also continue to wear a face covering at pick up and drop off for the whole time that you are on the school site. There will only be one adult allowed per family at each drop off or pick up.

 

Monday arrangements

We have reminded you of the pickup and drop off arrangements at the end of this letter and they remain the same as they were during the autumn term. You will be able to enter the playground between 8:40 and 9:10. Please choose a time after 8:40 if possible to avoid any crowding at the gates.

 

Face Coverings

The current government advice is that children under the age of 11 do not need to wear face coverings. Primary children are not expected to wear masks because of the higher risk of infection if they fiddle with or adjust them and touch their faces. If you wish your child to wear a face covering to school, they must remove it correctly and place it in a plastic bag which you must provide. If it is a disposable mask then it will be discarded in a lidded bin in the classroom. Staff will not be able to help children with masks. Staff in school can choose to wear masks in communal areas. Any visitors to school will be asked to wear face coverings. We ask all adults to wear face coverings during pick up and drop off unless you are exempt.

 

Appointments only

We will continue to minimise the number of visitors into school and these will be by appointment only. Visitors will be expected to wear masks, practise social distancing  and follow our hygiene expectations. If you need to speak to the office, please call or email.

 

Items in school

Your child will need to bring in a named water bottle as there will be no water fountains available. We still recommend that single use plastic is not used, due to the environmental impact. As well as a reusable water bottle, children should be bringing in their book bag, coat and lunch (if packed lunch) and snack (KS2). No other items should be brought in.

 

Uniform 

We will be ensuring that children are active in school and get lots of physical exercise. Your children should wear their active uniform every day to enable them to do this. Please ensure that your children wear uniform items only and speak to your child’s class teacher if there are any difficulties with this or take advantage of the uniform swap shop.

 

Uniform Swap Shop

Every week alongside the Felix Project, we will continue to have a selection of second-hand uniform available for you to take free of charge. We have a stock of jumpers, polo shirts, trousers, bags, scarves and a small selection of shoes. Thank you in advance to all of you who have donated your uniform to us: this has been extremely helpful. If you need any uniform and would like to contact us, you can do so by messaging Mr Plumb on Facebook Messenger through our Churchfield Facebook page or you can email the school office at: churchfield.office@churchfield.enfield.sch.uk.

 

Children expected to follow arrangements

In order to make sure our school is safe, we require all children to follow our procedures, especially in regards to hygiene. Please support the school community by reinforcing these messages at home.

 

Equipment

In class children will be provided with their own stationery and this will only be used by them and kept on their desk. We have to minimise equipment brought in from home so please can children only bring in the essentials.

 

Lunches and playtimes

We have staggered playtime and lunchtime so that children do not cross bubbles. We use both halls for lunch so that children have space, the lunchtime company has robust hygiene measures in place and one way systems and stop/go systems in the hall. Children can bring in a packed lunch if that is what they usually have.

 

Updated risk assessment 

Please visit the website for the latest version of our risk assessment where any changes have been highlighted. If you have any questions or concerns please contact the leadership team by calling the office.

 

Outdoor learning 

There are many benefits to learning outside, one of them being that viruses are less likely to be transmitted outdoors. We will be encouraging lots of learning outside over the next few months so please make sure that your children bring their coats and suitable clothing for outside activities.

 

Bubbles

The main strategy we use to minimise the risk of the virus to children, staff and parents is by maintaining bubbles of staff and children. Inside the building, children will mainly be in their class bubbles and lessons will be taught by members of staff in that bubble. At lunch times and break times, children will mix in year group bubbles outside of the building where the risk is considered to be lower. We will do our best to ensure that the bubbles do not cross-over or mix together. Some members of staff will need to travel between bubbles and these staff will maintain social distancing wherever possible.

 

Enhanced cleaning/ hand hygiene

We have ensured that hand cleaning facilities are in place in all classrooms and that hand sanitizer is also available. Hand hygiene lessons will be re-taught and children will be instructed to wash their hands at key points of the day, including on arrival at school, before and after playtime, and before and after lunch time. Our cleaning team will be paying extra attention to surfaces that are frequently touched. Classroom staff have also been provided with sanitising spray and cleaning equipment for enhanced cleaning throughout the day.

 

Breakfast and After School Club

Breakfast Club and After school club will resume straight away to ensure that working parents can take advantage of this provision. We hope to be providing other extra-curricular clubs after the Easter holidays.

 

Testing

The Government has introduced voluntary testing for families with children at primary school as another way to help our school community to be safe. The reason for this is to identify those who have the virus but do not display symptoms. We will not insist that any families get tested if they do not have symptoms; however the more families who regularly test, then the safer our school community is. You can order lateral flow tests to do twice weekly at home, and you get the results in 30 minutes. We shall share with you how to order these testing kits when the information becomes available.

 

We really look forward to seeing you all next week.

 

Best wishes,

Nicki Jaeggi                    Natalie Lorkins

______________________________________________________________________________

 

Drop off from Monday 8th March onwards:

Gates to be opened at 8:40am We would like parents to choose a time between 8:40 and 9:10 to enter the school so that not all parents are arriving at the same time. A one way system is in place with free flow entry to avoid parents waiting outside gates.  No KS2 parents (years 3-6) should come on site. There will be extra staff on the playground to guide children to classrooms. The soft start for all year groups is between 8:45 and 9:10.

Main Gates close at 9:10am Lates after that time will go through the office as normal. Parents must wait outside the office.

Pick up:

Parents who are collecting children from more than one class need to use the first pick up time and then wait in the playground outside the  next pick up class. Ensure social distancing is taking place. Gates open at 2:55pm (2:50 for nursery.)

• Nursery, reception and years 1-3 will enter through the main gate.
• Years 4, 5 and 6 will enter through the side gate by the farm.
•  Please then use the one way system to exit through the main gate.

Class	Time	Location and route
Nursery	2:50	Nursery side door
Reception	3:00	Classroom doors. Penguin and Dolphin: in through the side gate and out through the main gate. Turtle- outside classroom as normal
Year 1 classes	3:05	Outside classrooms
Year 2 classes	3:10	Outside classrooms
Year 3 classes	3:15	Outside classrooms
Year 4: Jaguar, Iguana	3:05	Up on the road past the office, use the side gate by the farm. Walk around the end of the new build across the playground and use  the one-way system out of the main gate.
Year 4: Macaw	3:05	Up on the road past the office, use the side gate by the farm. Children will be dismissed from the door opposite the  junior hall.
Year 5	3:10	Outside classrooms- one way system as above (through side gate)
Year 6	3:20	Collect Leopard class from the Year 6 exit door. Collect Pandas from the Art room door. Tiger class parents need to enter using the side gate Collect Tiger from the door opposite Junior Hall.

 

A huge thank you in advance!

 

To download a paper copy please click here.