National ‘Outstanding Winner’ 21 Century Learning Alliance Award st Friday 3rd September 2021 Dear Parents and Carers Firstly, welcome back to all our returning families I also wish to extend a very warm welcome to all our new families and myself and the Grampian team are looking forward to meeting you all in the coming weeks I hope that everyone has had an enjoyable summer break after what was a very challenging year Staff in school are looking forward to seeing everyone return to their new classes In readiness for the new school year, please find some useful updates below All pupils return to school on Monday 6th September 2021 Children returning to nursery should return to the sessions they were attending in July If you wish to request a change of session, please call the school office and speak to Mrs Chamberlain Children who are starting in nursery this September will be advised by the nursery staff as to their start date Reception children will begin on a part-time basis so that the children are able to settle into their new classroom and get to know the staff and children The Reception children will be full-time from Monday 13th September Please contact the school office if you are unsure when your child should be attending this week What has changed? With the recent national changes in Public Health advice, many of the covid-related restrictions that were in place last year have been relaxed Although we continue to operate in accordance with our covid-19 risk assessment, I am sure that parents and pupils will be pleased to see school starting to return to some something much closer to ‘business as usual’ As per the DfE guidance, school will continue to: • Ensure good hygiene, including regular hand washing/sanitising and continuing to remind and teach children about the ‘catch it bin it’ regimes • Maintain appropriate cleaning regimes in school • Keep the school environment well ventilated by opening windows and doors as necessary • Manage suspected and confirmed cases of covid-19 When an individual develops Covid-19 symptoms: pupils, staff and other adults should follow public health advice on when to self-isolate and what to They should not come into school if they have symptoms During the school day, the classes no longer need to be kept within ‘bubbles’ and therefore classes will be able to mix for the purpose of assembly, playtime and lunchtime in addition to some aspects of the curriculum The classroom spaces can return to their pre-covid layout, for example the Key Stage children will no longer have to sit in forward facing desks When on the school site, parents and carers will no longer be asked to wear a face-covering but we respect that some adults may wish to continue to so Parents and carers will be able to take their children to the Key Stage and Key Stage playground and wait with them until the school day starts We politely request that when the whistle is blown, and the children join their class teacher to form a line, that parents and carers say goodbye to their child and the children join the line by themselves We will reopen our bike shed but wish to remind everyone that school are unable to take any responsibility for bikes or scooters that are left there throughout the school day The one-way system will no longer be operational and entry and exit to the school site is through the front and side gates only The car park gate will no longer be used by pedestrians and will be kept closed at all times In the weeks ahead, we will continue to carefully manage the number of visitors in the school building as we prioritise settling the children into the new routines School will continue to be cashless and therefore items such as school dinners should be paid for using SchoolMoney Start and end of the day The school gates will open 8:45am and parents and children will be able to make their way to the KS1 and KS2 playgrounds Teachers, and other non-contact staff, will be out on duty so we will be able to direct everyone to the correct place as we recognise this will be a new routine for some and those who are more familiar with it may be unsure which entry and exit point the children will use At 8.55am, the whistle will be blown and classes will be asked to line up on the playground with their class teachers Class teachers will then lead the children into school and get them settled for the school day At the end of the day, the school gates will be opened at 3:20pm and the children will be dismissed to parents and carers Those classrooms with a fire exit that open onto the playground will exit school via these doors to allow us to dismiss in a calm and orderly fashion Useful reminders: • Contact details – we kindly ask that parents and carers update us, if they have changed their telephone number or address School must hold two emergency contact details for all children We regularly use our text service to send reminders and notify parents of important changes • Attendance – attendance is compulsory for all children of statutory school age In the event that your child is unable to attend school, parents and carers should notify the school office by 9:30am School will undertake home visits where no contact is made or in the event of a child being absent for days or more School is unable to authorise term-time holiday Regular school attendance is vitally important for all children’s achievement and as such we monitor attendance very closely We will liaise closely with the local authority and the Education Welfare Officer if we become concerned about patterns of attendance or punctuality • Label all clothing – please ensure that all clothing, including coats and PE kits, are clearly labelled so that we are able to identify who they belong to Every school year we have a huge number of jumpers, cardigans and other items of clothing that we are unable to return to children • Water bottles – please ensure you send your child with a freshly filled water bottle each day The children are able to have regular access to water when they are in the classroom Please note that juice or flavoured water is not permitted in the classroom • PE kits – children should arrive ‘PE ready’ on the days they have their PE lessons PE kits must be consistent with our uniform policy and should be a plain black tracksuit, leggings or shorts and a plain white t-shirt Tracksuits, shorts and t-shirts should not contain a brand / logo We will confirm each classes PE days on Monday 6th September and a text message will be sent to all parents and carers • Pre-order school meals – all school dinners must be pre-ordered so that the kitchen is able to prepare sufficient meals each day Pre-orders should be completed for all children who require a meal from the kitchen, including those who not pay for school meals Reception, Year and Year continue to receive free school meals as these are funded by the government Our school kitchen offers a varied menu with a number of options each day In order to continue to offer a variety each day, all parents must pre-order for their child/ren There are a vast range of dietary requirements throughout the school, the pre-ordering system ensures that each child is receiving a meal that is consistent with their dietary needs • Healthy Snack – the children are welcome to bring in a healthy snack for playtime, such as a piece of fruit or cereal bar Early Years and Key Stage will continue to receive a fruit / vegetable snack We will continue to offer all children breakfast cereal mid-morning which is free of charge The breakfast cereal is donated to school by His Church and school cover the cost of the milk • Nut-free school – we continue to be a nut-free school We have a number of children and staff who have nut allergies and it is vitally important our school remains a safe place for all Your Sincerely, Mrs Murfin Headteacher ... kitchen offers a varied menu with a number of options each day In order to continue to offer a variety each day, all parents must pre-order for their child/ren There are a vast range of dietary... notify the school office by 9:30am School will undertake home visits where no contact is made or in the event of a child being absent for days or more School is unable to authorise term- time holiday... piece of fruit or cereal bar Early Years and Key Stage will continue to receive a fruit / vegetable snack We will continue to offer all children breakfast cereal mid-morning which is free of charge