REOPENING INFORMATION AUGUST 2020

Education Restart- Final guidelines issued August 2020

Dear Parents/guardians,

New guidelines were issued to schools on Thursday 13^th August.  Most of our plans which were originally organised in June have stayed the same, although some has changed. Please read through this information carefully below:

If your child is displaying any symptoms of Covid-19, they should not attend school.   You must inform the school immediately.  Please check your child’s temperature before they go to school each day.  If their temperature is raised they must not attend school.

Symptoms of Covid-19 include: a new, continuous cough or a high temperature/fever or anosmia (a loss or a change in your normal sense of smell, which can also affect your sense of taste).

School Uniforms

Full school uniforms should be worn as normal.  Primary 1 & 2 children will also require waterproof trousers and to wear a waterproof/weatherproof coat.  They will also require to bring a pair of wellington boots to school and keep them there.  Every child P1-7 will require a coat to school every day as we are being encouraged to utilise our outdoor learning spaces as much as possible.

Primary 3 children will also require wellington boots.

All pieces of uniform/belongings should be labelled with the child’s name.

They can be purchased from JohnPaul Fashions in Limavady.  Also if preferred, to order school uniforms at any time of the year (no minimum order) please log on to www.schooltrendsonline.com type in St. Finlough’s primary school and follow the instructions. All uniform ordered online will be delivered direct to your home address.

Girls
Navy pleated skirt/pinafore/trousers (jogging bottoms P1-3, trousers 4-7)
School jumper/cardigan
White Polo shirt
Navy socks or tights
Black shoes

Boys
Navy trousers (jogging bottoms P1-2, trousers 3-7).
School jumper
White Polo shirt
Navy socks 
Black shoes

PE uniform (you will be informed by your class teacher what days your child will be doing PE).
Navy bottoms
White t-shirt
Trainers

If you think your child is entitled to uniform clothing assistance, please contact the Education Authority on tel: 028 82 411411 or on the following link:

http://www.eani.org.uk/i-want-to/

“While Coronavirus can land on fabrics and remain for some time, schools are not a high risk environment and while all children and young people should be encouraged to wear clean uniform or fresh clothes each day, this is not essential.” (DENI 2020: 40)

Children are not allowed to store any belongings on hangers in cloakroom areas.  All belongings including coats and lunches must be kept at their own designated area and on the back of their own designated chairs. 

Children may bring a lunch box and water bottle to school but it must be taken home every day and cleaned before being brought back to school.  If you prefer, single use packaging is fine. 

School bags should not be brought to school at this time.  This will be reviewed in due course.

The breakfast club will not operate now, but will reopen at a later date. 

At present the bus service will be operating only if financially feasible.  This will decided on Monday's meeting at 7.30pm.  If it is feasible, it will commence from Tuesday 1^st September.  Please be patient as the bus driver will have a new route/pick-ups to navigate.  “It is also strongly recommended that all pupils regardless of age should wear a face covering on all buses, trains or taxis for the journey to school where it is appropriate for them to do so and they are able to handle them as directed.”

It is being encouraged that children getting the bus should wear a clean face mask daily while travelling on the bus.  This is something which you as a parent can decide, if this is suitable for your child.  Bus families, on arrival to school will remain outside if dry, or straight to classrooms via appropriate doors and sit on designated seats.  Mrs McCafferty will supervise.

The school will be open from 8.45am-9.20am to allow for the staggered arrival of our pupils.  No children (apart from those who get the bus) are permitted in the school before 8.45am. Children are not permitted to walk through classrooms at any time, they must enter/exit their classrooms via the allocated door.

Entrance/Exit Arrangements

Primary 1 & 2 enter/exit via front door.

Primary 3 enter/exit via assembly hall doors and sit straight onto designated seat.

Primary 4/5/6/7 enter/exit via ‘top doors.’

Induction Week Details:

School uniforms should we worn to the induction week to give the children a real sense of what school will be like.

Primary 1 children can attend school on Thursday 27^th August & Friday 28^th August 9am-11am. (If necessary, parents can drop their child off inside the classroom on these days to help their child settle).  Parents must use hand sanitiser on entry to the school building and exercise 2m social distancing. Please bring along all forms that were posted out in June and hand them to either Mrs McCafferty or Mrs Patton. 

Primary 7 children can attend school from Monday 24^th August for the full week, with a shorter day on Thursday 27^th August.  Primary 7 will require to bring their own packed lunches for the week beginning Monday 24^th August (except on the Thursday 27^th August as they will go home early that day).

The school canteen will commence on Tuesday 1^st September.  They will be offering lunches only to begin with.  This will be reviewed accordingly.

All other children to start the school year on Tuesday 1^st September 2020.  The school will be closed on Monday 31^st August 2020.

All parents will be required to remain outside the school building, unless specifically requested to enter or an appointment has been arranged, (apart from Primary 1 induction mornings).

Weeks beginning Tuesday 1^st September & Monday 7^th September: Primary 1 children should be picked up from school at 12 noon (no lunch), and at 2pm thereafter (week beginning 14^th September).

Primary 2 children should be picked up at 2pm daily.

I would encourage as many families to walk to and from school as possible.  Park only on the same side of the road as the school when dropping off or picking up.  No cars are to be parked at any time on the opposite side of the road from the school.  This is for health and safety reasons.

Children’s class teachers/LSA are as follows:

Primary 1 & 2: Mrs F. Patton & Mary Canning

Primary 3: Mrs S. McCafferty, Mrs F. Patton & Sadie Duffy

Primary 4 & 5: Mrs N. Morrison & Aileen Carmichael

Primary 6 & 7: Miss G. Herron, Mr P. Duffy (Friday) & Aileen Carmichael

Further information:

Primary 1-7 children: Your child should bring a pencil case to school on their induction day either with stationary, or the school will provide stationary to put into it.  It should be kept on their school desk and not taken home.  Please label this with their name.

There will be staggered break and lunch times to ensure children do not mix with others from different classrooms.  This is to form protective ‘bubbles.’  Children will be expected to eat their break/lunch either at their desks or outside in a designated area.  Packed lunches will be offered from the 1^st of September, this will be reviewed accordingly.  The school assembly hall will not be used as a canteen at lunch time at the moment.  Children will be restricted to their classroom to form a ‘protective bubble,’ and to the playground/outside space.  Again these are recommendations from the Department of Education.

Each class will have their own designated outdoor play equipment.

Children are welcome to bring their own hand sanitiser to school if desired to limit the amount of walking about the classroom.

There will be the regular cleaning of learning areas, throughout the duration of the school day and after school.  Handwashing will become part of the daily timetable throughout the duration of the school day.  Hand sanitiser will be available too.  We would ask for children to wash their hands just before they leave their homes each day.  We will be encouraging children to cough/sneeze into a flexed elbow or tissue.  We will be promoting the campaign ‘Catch it, bin it, kill it.’  There will be posters displayed throughout the school on handwashing and personal hygiene.  Teachers will also be reminding children about this regularly in class.  Foundation stage children will receive a level of adult support.

“Regular and thorough attention to hygiene is essential to deter spread of the virus. Children should wash their hands thoroughly on arrival at the education setting – this must be a repeatable discipline throughout the school day.

Hands should be washed thoroughly and regularly in the school at existing facilities using soap and water, and this can be with tepid / luke warm water. Hand sanitising material should also be made available at entrance points. It should be noted that hand sanitising is only a support mechanism for hand hygiene and does not negate the need to wash hands. Disposable paper towels / hand dryers are appropriate – not shared / ordinary towels. Younger children should be supervised/assisted when washing hands.” (DENI 20:9)

1 child per class will be allowed access to the toilets at any time.  The children will be asked to sanitise their hands before entering the toilets and wash them afterwards.

Internal doors will remain open to ensure reduced touching of door handles and to allow for fresh air to flow/ventilation.  Windows will also be opened to allow for fresh air in classrooms.

Any money or dinner money should be sent in a sealed plastic bag, with clear labelling of the child’s name and what it is for.

If a child becomes unwell at school, we will be following the DENI guidance below:

“If anyone becomes unwell with a new, continuous cough or a high temperature/fever or anosmia (a loss or a change in your normal sense of smell, which can also affect your sense of taste) in an educational setting, they must be sent home and advised to follow the PHA guidance for households with possible coronavirus infection. Settings should keep a full record of such actions and request a parent / carer / guardian record their acknowledgement of this action.  A child awaiting collection should be moved, if possible, to a room where they can be isolated behind a closed door. Appropriate adult supervision should be provided as required. Ideally, a window should be opened for ventilation. If it is not possible to isolate the child, move them to an area which is at least 2m away from other people. A risk assessment should be undertaken by the school to address this.   If the child needs to go to the bathroom while waiting to be collected, they should use a separate bathroom if possible. The bathroom should be cleaned and disinfected before being used by anyone else.   PPE should be worn by staff caring for the child while they await collection if direct personal care is needed and a distance of 2m cannot be maintained (such as for a very young child or a child with complex needs).

If the child is seriously ill or injured or their life is at risk, call 999. Do not visit the GP, pharmacy, urgent care centre or a hospital.” (DENI 20: 41)

Please ensure that your contact details are up-to-date with Sharon at the school office in case you need to be contacted at any time.

“The Department of Health has implemented a contact tracing programme called Test, Trace and Protect designed to control the spread of COVID-19. All staff and pupils are expected to follow the requirements of this programme: to self-isolate if they are identified as close contacts of cases and to obtain a test for COVID-19 if they develop symptoms. All members of their household should follow 28 isolation guidance as provided by the Test, Track and Trace service in the Public Health Agency.

Where an individual has had a negative result, it is important to still apply caution. If everyone with symptoms who was tested in their household receives a negative result, they can return to work providing they are well enough and have not had a temperature for 48 hours.

Where the result is positive, they should follow PHA isolation guidance which currently requires that everyone in your house must stay at home:-

 if you develop symptoms of coronavirus you should arrange to have a test as soon as possible, you will need to stay at home for at least 7 days from the onset of your symptoms;

 if you live with someone who has symptoms or has a positive test, you are a close contact and you will need to stay at home for 14 days from the day the first person in the home started having symptoms, it is important that the full 14 days are completed;

 if you develop symptoms during this 14-day period, you will need to arrange to have a test and if your test is positive you must stay at home for 7 days from the onset of your symptoms (regardless of what day you are on in the original 14-day period);

 7 days after your symptoms started, if your condition has improved and you have not had a temperature during the previous 48 hours you can complete your period of self-isolation. If you still have a high temperature, keep self-isolating until your temperature returns to normal. You do not need to self-isolate if you just have a cough after 7 days, as a cough can last for several weeks after the infection has gone;

 if you have symptoms and live with someone who is 70 or over, has a long-term condition, is pregnant or has a weakened immune system, try to find somewhere else they can stay for the 14 day isolation period;

 it is likely that people living within a household will infect each other or be infected already. Staying at home for 14 days if you are a close contact or 7 days if you have the infection will greatly reduce the overall amount of infection the household could pass on to others in the community.

It is essential that all staff and pupils follow this guidance. By doing so staff and pupils will not only protect themselves but they will also limit the spread of the virus to educational settings and the wider population.

Staff or pupils who have been part of the same ‘protective bubble’ as someone who has/develops symptoms and/or who tests positive for COVID-19, must follow PHA isolation guidance under the Test Trace and Protect programme. All other contacts in the same ‘protective bubble’ as a person with symptoms or who tests positive will have to self-isolate for the required 14 day isolation period. They can return to school when they have completed the necessary period of isolation as advised by the Test, Trace and Protect service. This will help contain any potential transmission to those staff/pupils in the bubble and will also assist in protecting the wider community. A ‘protective bubble’ is effectively an extension of a household.

Enhanced cleaning should be carried out within any classroom in which an individual who has developed COVID-19 has been to prevent the spread of the virus and this should be clearly communicated to staff, parents and pupils to provide assurance that the environment is safe.”

If there is a suspected case of Covid-19, the classroom or entire school will be closed for at least 72 hours, and will reopen following test results being received and an enhanced clean of the school.

Behaviour.

At St. Finlough’s Primary School, the behaviour of our children is a credit to themselves and their families and I have no doubt that our children will continue to approach these new guidelines with maturity and respect.  However, if a pupil who wilfully refuses to adhere to arrangements of social distancing and deliberately coughs or spit at pupils or staff, putting them at risk, their parents/guardians will be contacted regarding this, and they may be asked to be collected and taken home immediately.  This is to ensure the health safety of our pupils and staff.  This is Department of Education guidelines.

There will be no extra-curricular activities offered at this time.  This will be reviewed.

The Northern Ireland Curriculum

Teachers will, “use the flexibility within the NI Curriculum and, in particular, the use of cross-curricular themes to structure lessons innovatively and thereby reduce the need for learners and staff to move between different areas of an establishment” (DENI 2020)

There will be an element of ‘catch-up’ time to ensure key skills are core curriculum content is covered.  There will be a key emphasis on literacy, numeracy as well as personal development and mutual understanding.  However, all curriculum areas will be covered.  Careful classroom management will be taken into consideration for each lesson, to ensure the health and safety of all.  Additional support will be made available to those on the SEN register, or those who may be within 'target groups.'  More details on this will follow.

Finally:

The emotional wellbeing of the children and their self-esteem will be paramount.

At this time, this is what we as a school plan to do.  You will be informed of any changes if new advice is released by the Department of Education.

I appreciate that this is a lot of information to process, but we must keep everyone informed as best as possible.  I hope this has answered any of your queries of what the new school year may bring.

Please read the attached documents below, Page 54 on wards of the 'New School Day' document is very important.

Kind regards,

Mrs S. McCafferty