Dear Parents/carers,
I can't wait to welcome the new starters and the existing F1 children on Sept 7th. Mrs McCormac , Mrs Murphy and I are so excited to return to school after what seems like an eternity. We will do our absolute best to meet all your needs in a Covid-safe way. Please read the following:
This is how the Early Years (E) department at Newbold School will be managed in light of the latest DfE guidance.
BUBBLES (groups): Latest Government guidance does not expect Early Years (EY) children to form bubbles within their class, but they need to try to remain separate from the rest of the school. It is a well-known fact that children of this age cannot social distance. However, as our EY department forms part of a school, we need to also consider the updated School guidance. Therefore, F1 and F2 will form one bubble (currently 20 or so children) but will not mix with any other year groups. We will use the F1 and F2 classroom, our outside garden, the playground and the surrounding Newbold College outside areas.
The adults, however, plan to social distance from each-other as much as possible. The staff will ensure the children’s emotional needs are met as best they can.
DROP OFF DETAILS: Only one parent (who is not self-isolating and is symptom-free) can drop off their EY child between 8.55-9am. EY parents are to enter (and leave) the school grounds via the wooden gate on Popeswood road. Both sides of the gate will be open - one for entry and one for exit. There will be lane markers on the ground which must be followed. A member of EY staff (most likely Mrs Jennings) will be waiting by the EY garden gate - please keep your distance. Please ensure you and your child are consistently 2m apart from the people in front of you. Your child’s name will be called and your child will enter the EY garden with the staff member.
F1 - Your child will enter into the F1 classroom, supervised by a member of staff. There will be another staff member there to welcome them inside and to direct them to place their prepared snack in a plastic bag into their tray and to find their name card. They will then walk towards the sink - place their lunchbox and/or water bottle on the trolley and then a member of staff will supervise the washing of their hands before your child chooses what table-top activity to do. If they have separation anxieties, you may enter the EY garden to help them settle and a member of staff will assist you when they can.
F2 - The member of staff (most likely, Mrs Jennings) will walk your child into F2 and they will be greeted by an F2 staff member who will direct them on where to place their lunch box, water bottle and prepared snack, before being supervised whilst washing their hands.
In the meantime - You will exit via the same large wooden onto Popeswood Road (following the markers). The big wooden gate will be locked at 9.05am.
WHAT TO BRING IN/WEAR: We are following the DfE guidelines and want to reduce as much cross-contamination as possible. With that in mind, there are some changes from the last information feed:
No toys, no books or any object from home (including pictures) are allowed.
No small tupperware pots, containers with lids or canvas lunch bags are allowed.
School uniform will now be worn
Your child DOES NEED a water bottle, as we will not be using our cups or provide milk/crackers at this time.
Please bring in a fruit snack - (in a plastic bag for loose fruit, such as berries)
Please bring in a wipeable lunchbox (contents to be in packaging that the children can open themselves). We will wipe the lunchbox with antibacterial spray on arrival and before departure. Canvas lunch-boxes are not permitted as they cannot be properly wiped.
Your child needs a clean set of clothes in a named bag, wellie boots, a sunhat and a WATERPROOF jacket suitable for the weather, as we plan to do a lot of outside learning, whatever the weather.
CLASSROOM LAYOUT AND ROUTINES: The classroom will look a bit different to how it usually does, but I’ve tried to make it as inviting as I can. Public health advice is to remove all soft toys, and any toys that are hard to clean, such as those with intricate parts. Where practicable, we have removed soft furnishings, for example pillows, bean bags, the bed and most rugs. We have also removed access to all soft toys, dressing-up clothes, sand and other sensory resources from our learning environment. There will be accessible books available each day, which will be changed daily. The accessible resources will be different each day and will be disinfected and thoroughly cleaned at the end of each session. Daily resources bags will contain some scissors, glue sticks, pens and playdough tools. These will not be used again until 7 days later. Frequently touched surfaces, toilets, handles etc will be cleaned and disinfected throughout the day. Children will wash their hands throughout the day and will be supervised each time. They will be required to wash their hands on arrival, before snack-time, after using the toilet, after personal hygiene, when coming in from the playground and before they go home. Staff will be following the same guidance. Children will go to the toilet one/two at a time whenever possible (but this may not be possible on some occasions). The children’s temperature will be taken (non contact) at registration times and if your child looks unwell, tells us they feel unwell or they feel hot.
For now, we will not be doing PE in the carpeted hall nor have Toast Tuesday. We will be doing as many activities as we can outside, including singing and movement in music outside. Playdough will be changed daily. The library books will be accessed by staff only. If your child requests one, they will go home on a Tuesday and must be returned before or on Friday. These will be stored for 72 hours before being released to any other child.
PICK UP ARRANGEMENTS - 3.20pm for EY or 12.05pm: These are the same as with drop-off routines. Only one parent who is symptom-free/not isolating can pick up children. Social distance and stand-on markers will be used. Please enter through the big wooden gate on Popeswood Road (both for lunchtime and end of the day pick-ups). Please stand on the markers and wait until a member of staff opens the garden gate. Once at the front of the line, a member of staff will collect your child and bring them out to you. Once reunited, please exit promptly through the big wooden gate - following the one-way markers, so the next parent can collect their child. All correspondence and handover information will need to be done via email rather than face-to-face. Any minor accident/first-aid correspondence will be emailed to you for you to acknowledge and return. Please do not use your mobile phones whilst waiting as we cannot discharge your child to you if you are on them, and this will cause a hold up. Thank you in advance for your cooperation and support.
We will continue to support children’s early language and communication skills and use the outdoor space as much as possible. We will plan how children can learn in age-appropriate ways about how they can keep themselves safe, including regular hand-washing and using tissues. For children in F1, practitioners will mainly focus at this time on the prime areas of learning, including: communication and language, personal, social and emotional development (PSED) and physical development. For children in F2, we will also assess and address gaps in language, early reading and mathematics, particularly ensuring children’s acquisition of phonic knowledge and extending their vocabulary.
IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS TO READ: There are conditions, specific to our school situation, that parents must understand and adhere to. Our up-dated school risk assessment and EY risk assessment contains details of the risks and what we have put in place to mitigate these, as well as changes to specific policies. All of these will be sent to you before school re-starts. Please ensure you read them thoroughly.
If someone in school displays symptoms, and/or tests positive, this will impact your child’s attendance and could also impact the opening of our EY department at short notice. Full guidance will then be followed and communicated to you. As part of the national test and trace programme, if other cases are detected within the setting, Public Health England’s local health protection teams will conduct a rapid investigation and will advise settings on the most appropriate action to take (please find details in our risk assessment). Everyone, including under 5s, can be tested. You will be expected to sign a parent agreement giving your consent to follow all policies, procedures and risk assessments. Thank you for your continued support in helping to keep everyone safe.
Mrs Jennings
Early Years Manager
