Attendance

School attendance will be mandatory, which means that the usual rules of school attendance will apply:

• Parents have a legal duty to ensure their child regularly attends school
• Schools have a legal responsibility to record attendance and follow up absences
• Schools have a legal responsibility to issue sanctions, including fixed penalty notices with Essex County Council’s codes of conduct.

 Returning to school is very important from both an academic and social point of view.

However, children must not attend school if they have Coronavirus or are showing symptoms of Coronavirus (however mild). They must also not attend school if a member of their household has Coronavirus or is showing symptoms of Coronavirus.

There is an expectation that parents/carers will engage in the test and trace programme, please visit NHS test and trace: how it works - GOV.UK for more information. A negative result would be required before a child was able to return to school.

Arrival and Departure

Children should arrive at school at the main back gate on Nickleby Road between 8.40am and 8.50am and walk straight to their classroom. Children in years 3 – 6 should walk in by themselves. Parents can accompany children in Reception, year 1 and year 2 although we would encourage you to let the children walk in by themselves when they feel confident. Parents should then exit by the front gate opposite Morrisons – we are keeping the one-way system as it avoids congestion on our narrow paths next to the field.

The main back gate will open at 3.05pm ready for all children to be dismissed at 3.15pm. Year 1 and 2 parents should wait on the top playground and all other parents should wait on the bottom playground. Year 1 and 2 will be walked from their classroom to the top playground and all other children will be dismissed from their classroom doors. Again, the one-way system will remain in place and ALL parents and children should exit by the front gate opposite Morrisons. This will ease congestion on our narrow paths.

Nursery children will enter through the nursery gate at the front of the school.

Bags and equipment

Each child in years 1 - 6 will be expected to bring a named pencil case to school containing writing pencils, eraser, pencil sharpener, 15cm ruler, colouring pencils and felt tip pens. A school handwriting pen and whiteboard pen will be provided to relevant year groups. Each child will keep this on their desk and not share the contents. Pencil cases will remain in school.

Children should also bring a named water bottle with fresh water every day. These will be kept on their desk. The water dispensers will be available but the water fountains will not be in use. 

Reception and KS1 should bring a book bag. KS2 should bring a small drawstring type bag.  No toys may be brought to school.

Nursery children should bring a named water bottle and any clothing/personal care items as suggested by the nursery team

Behaviour

Our expectations of behaviour will remain high and even more important than ever to keep our entire community safe and able to focus on their learning. These expectations will be shared regularly with the children and will apply both onsite and on remote learning

Bubbles

Bubbles are no longer required in schools, and children and staff are no longer required to be kept separate.

However, the school may be advised to reintroduce the use of bubbles should the number of Covid-19 cases reach levels indicative of an outbreak. in line with the school's Covid Outbreak Management Plan.   The aim of this measure would be to prevent the whole setting having to isolate and close and to reduce any potential spread of the virus. 

Any decision to vary this provision will be made based on the best interests of the health and safety of the whole school community.

Cleaning

Our cleaning protocols and regularity of cleaning have increased significantly and will continue to do so in all areas of the school, toilet facilities, hall, door handles, classrooms etc. cleaning materials will be available in each room.

Emergency Closure Procedures

In the event of school closure we will notify parents and carers as soon as possible via SchoolComms. If you are not registered for SchoolComms please enquire at the school office. 

Helping to keep our school community safe

If your child has symptoms of Covid 19 you must keep them at home and not send them to school. The government advice is clear - 

• a new continuous cough
• a high temperature
• a loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia)

For most people, coronavirus (COVID-19) will be a mild illness. However, if you have any of the symptoms above you must stay at home and arrange to have a test to see if you have COVID-19 – go to testing to arrange. 
For more information click here.

• new continuous cough, high temperature, loss or change in sense of smell or taste, shortness of breath/difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle/body aches, headache, sore throat, congestion/runny nose and/or nausea/vomiting.

For guidance on testing please click here 

To request a test click here or call 119

If a child is displaying any of the published Covid symptoms whilst at school the Head of School has the right to isolate the child from the rest of the class and ask the family to take the child home. We would ask for your full co-operation under these circumstances as this is not optional. If your child is sent home for this reason you will be asked to arrange a PCR Covid test for them and to report the result to the school.

Asymptomatic Testing

We continue to strongly encourage staff and all households (including primary aged children) to take part in regular testing if they are not showing symptoms. This will help to reduce the risk of the virus unknowingly entering the school community. You can access a free LFT in a number of ways, including at the local LFD site in your district, by collecting a home LFD kit from a test site, or by ordering a home test kit online. More information about these options can be found here: Regular Rapid Lateral Flow Coronavirus (Covid-19) Tests.

Self-Isolation

Individuals identified as a close contact of someone with COVID-19 and told to self-isolate by NHS Track and Trace must do so for the time specified.

Individuals living in the same household as someone with COVID-19 are at higher risk of becoming infected and should follow the guidance below:

• if they are aged 18 years 6 months or over and not fully vaccinated they should stay at home and self-isolate for 10 days . 
• if you are fully vaccinated or aged under 18 years 6 months they do not need to self-isolate. However they shoud take a LFD test everyday for 7 days and self-isolate if any of the test results aer positive or they develop symptoms.

The following image provides examples of when to end self-isolation if you have had COVID-19 symptoms or have received a positive COVID-19 test result:

Lunchtime

Children can bring a packed lunch or order a hot lunch from the kitchen as usual.  We will  have our usual tasty menu on a three week rotation. The menu can be found here. 

Parents and Carers can check eligibility for Free school Meals through the LGfL FSM Eligibility Checker. You will need to provide your name, date of birth and National Insurance Number or Asylum Seeker Reference to check.

Children with a packed lunch will eat their lunch in the classroom, to allow for more space in the dining hall.

Remote Learning

Should your child need to self-isolate at home for any reason remote learning will be put in place by the school. This will be available on DBprimary.  Laptops will be available to borrow for families without a laptop, tablet or PC.

Risk Assessment

The academy carried out a thorough risk assessment prior to reopening the school in line with government guidance. This risk assessment is under constant review to ensure  its effectiveness. The current version of the risk assessment is available on request from the academy office.

Social Distancing and Hygiene

Maintaining hygiene is of the utmost importance. We will continue to preserve a rigorous routine of cleaning and sanitising at school as last year and we will be reminding your children about the importance of thoroughly washing their hands and other relevant personal hygiene expectations e.g. covering their mouth when they sneeze or cough

Whilst social distancing is not currently a legal requirement we would ask for your care and cooperation when dropping off and picking up your children and/or visiting the school. We would appreciate it if anyone with any possible symptoms stays away from the school and seeks a Covid test.

Social distancing is not a requirement for the children, however the school may be advised to reintroduce measures to assist with social distancing in order should an outbreak be declared at the school. This could include reintroducion of bubbles, playground zones and the avoidance of any loarge gatherings, such as assemblies.

Government advice is that face masks or PPE are not necessary in schools as it interferes with teaching and learning.  However, the wearing of face masks or PPE may be re-introduced for adults should government guidance change or should an outbreak be declared at the school.  

Uniform

Children are expected to wear the usual school uniform. Footwear this academic year will be plain black trainers to enable use of the field for a longer period of time.  PE kits will be used as normal; you do not need to provide a second pair of trainers for PE.

Due to increased ventilation in the school you may wish to send your child in a vest or plain white t-shirt under their school shirt.

On the day that a class has P.E. or Games they will be asked to wear their P.E. kit to school and will remain in this all day. The intention is to minimise crowded changing situations and to ensure that the children do not lose any time changing at the beginning and end of a lesson.  This term the children should wear their PE kits to school on the following days:

Visitors

Visitors, including volunteers, will only be allowed on site when absolutely necessary and by prior appointment. This will be kept to essential persons only to minimise the risk to the school community. All adults over 12 years of age visiting the school will be required to wear a face mask whilst on school premises.

Further Information

Further guidance and information is available via the links below should you wish to read more about the government plans to reopen in September:

• Guidance for the full re-opening of schools: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools
• Guidance for parents about the opening of early years providers, schools and colleges, safety in schools, attendance, transport, school meals and exams: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/what-parents-and-carers-need-to-know-about-early-years-providers-schools-and-colleges-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.​
• Stay at home guidance for those displaying symptoms of Cronavirus: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance  We are continuing to follow advice from Public Health England in respect of Coronavirus.
• Guidance on Shielding and protecting clinically extremely vulnerable from COVID-19:

• Guidence on getting tested for Coronavirus (Covid-19): https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-getting-tested?utm_source=c6b6967f-d25c-483c-84be-ef9d741937fa&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_content=daily