Coronavirus Information

Returning to School

(Updated 28th February 2022)

As parents and carers are probably aware, the guidance around Covid-19 has changed and most of the legal restrictions have been removed (though there is still some advice for people to follow).   A new 'Living With Covid-19' Risk Assessment can be found further down this web page.

A brief summary of the key changes for schools parents should be aware of is below:

• Symptomatic individuals – anyone who has any of the main symptoms should order a PCR test (still free until the end of March).  They are advised to stay at home and avoid contact while waiting for results.
• Individuals who test positive via LFT or PCR – the legal requirement to isolate has ended but those who test positive are still advised to stay at home and avoid contact with others for at least 5 full days and continue to follow guidance, including getting negative tests on 2 consecutive days before returning.  If a parent insists on sending a child who tests positive for Covid-19 to school, we can refuse them entry if, in our reasonable judgement, it is necessary to protect other pupils and staff from possible infection.
• Close contacts – Close contacts (including family members) are no longer required to isolate or take daily tests and routine contact tracing has ended.  Staff / children who are close contacts of a positive case should attend school as usual.
• Bubbles – there are no requirements to keep children separate and they can mix as normal.
• Infection prevention and control – schools are asked to maintain basic systems of infection prevention and control, i.e. maintain good hygiene, continue to keep spaces ventilated and follow advice on testing, isolation etc.
• Face coverings – Face coverings are no longer advised for pupils, staff or visitors in classrooms or communal areas.  However, we appreciate that some people may still feel more comfortable wearing them and those adults are welcome to do so.  There will no longer be an expectation that parents and carers should wear face coverings at drop-off and pick-up times but, again, they are welcome to do so if they wish.
• Vaccination – it is still recommended that staff and eligible children are vaccinated.

Of course, in certain circumstances, public health teams may advise schools to temporarily re-introduce restrictions and testing.  In order to maintain the flow of people on the school site, we are still asking parents and carers to use the designated gates for entry and exit.  Also, we still ask that parents and carers move on quickly after drop-off and pick-up and avoid congregating in groups on or around the school site.

(Updated 19th January 2022)

Please note that due to a high number of linked cases in Year 4 and 5, the level of concern in the school has been raised to Level 3 in consultation with the Local Authority Covid-19 Response Team.  Consequently, Year 4 and Year 5 are now operating as a separate 'bubbles' during the school day and have new restrictions in place to stop them mixing with other children, such as not holding collective worship together in the hall, playing in designated spaces at break time and eating lunches in their classrooms.  Also, we have introduced staggered start (9:05am) and finish times (3:20pm) for Year 4, which has a higher concentration of cases.

(Updated 17th January 2022)

Please note that due to a high number of linked cases in Year 4, the level of concern in the school has been raised to Level 3 in consultation with the Local Authority Covid-19 Response Team.  Consequently, Year 4 is now operating as a separate 'bubble' and has new restrictions in place, including staggered start (9:05am) and finish times (3:20pm).

(Updated 4th January 2022)

I hope you and your families have all had an enjoyable Christmas break.  We are really looking forward to welcoming the children back into school for the spring term!  As you will be aware, most of the legal restrictions in relation to Covid-19 have been lifted.  When the children return to school in January, we are no longer expected to keep them in separate ‘bubbles’ or to stagger opening times and lunchtimes.  Also, we shall be able to come together for collective worship and assemblies instead of using Zoom!  It was unfortunate that we had to re-introduce some restrictions during the autumn term but the children showed lots of resilience  and we are once again looking forward to doing more activities together as a school community.  These changes will make a  positive  difference to the children’s experience of school life. 

Of course, we shall continue to work hard to keep children and staff members safe.  There is still a focus on ventilation, good hand hygiene and the ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ approach to coughs and colds.  It will still be the case that children showing Covid-19 symptoms should not come to school and any child showing symptoms at school will need to be sent home.  Please note that there is a new risk assessment for January 2022 near the bottom of this webpage.

It is important to note that any restrictions related to coronavirus may have to be re-imposed, depending on the local situation and advice from the government.

In order that everyone has a happy and safe return to school, please take note of the following points.  It is a good idea to discuss this with your children, so that they know what to expect. This is especially important for the younger children, who may never have experienced what we think of as ‘normal’ school!  Although the number of cases in the school community is not currently a significant concern, we ask that everyone continues to be cautious, careful and vigilant, so that we can minimise the spread of infection as much as possible. 

Parents and carers can help by taking the following steps:

• Please can parents and carers use designated gates to enter and exit the premises at drop-off and pick-up times, so that the movement of people flows (see below for further information).
• Please can parents and carers move on quickly after dropping children off or picking up, to minimise gathering in groups on and around school premises.
• If parents or carers have symptoms or test positive for Covid-19, please do not come to school to drop off or collect children.  Anyone with a positive case must follow Government guidelines and isolate immediately.  Further information can be found here.
• For Years 1 – 6, we are continuing to ask children to come into school in suitable PE kits on days when they have PE timetabled.  Last year, we actually found that we had much better PE sessions without taking the time for the children to get changed.  Of course, during the pandemic, we accepted more freedom around PE kits.  We would like children’s PE clothing to return to our more typical PE kits: white T-shirt; blue/black tracksuits or jogging bottoms and sweatshirts; blue shorts. 

  Year 1 (Oak)  -        Monday and Fridays

  Year 2 (Elm)  -        Monday and Wednesdays

  Year 3 (Beech) -       Tuesday (Swimming) and Wednesdays

  Year 4 (Rowan) -      Monday and Fridays (Swimming)

  Year 5 (Chestnut) -   Tuesdays and Fridays

  Year 6 (Willow) -      Thursdays and Fridays

    
• On days when they do not have PE, children must come in their full school uniform. Wearing full uniform is an important part of returning to ‘normal’ school, reinforcing the sense of school identity and being part of a team.   
• Children in the Early Years (Nursery and Reception) should come in their uniform every day and bring a separate PE kit to change into for PE.  This is because we want to help the younger children develop their self-care skills.  
• We still wish to minimise the number of belongings that children bring into school.  We actually found that it worked well last year having more stationery supplied in school as children always had everything they needed.  We shall provide all the equipment and stationery children will need for the classroom.  The main things children will need to bring into school are:
  • A small bag for their belongings;
  • A named water bottle;
  • Their school reading book and reading diary (your teacher will give more information about this, depending on your child’s age);
  • A change of footwear for break times when the field is muddy;
  • A named coat;
  • A sunhat in warmer weather;
  • A healthy snack for Years 3 – 6 (these are provided in younger year groups).

It is important to help your children be enthusiastic about coming to school!  Help them to be prepared and talk positively to them about their experiences and any changes to school life!

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the school office.  Once again, we are really looking forward to seeing the children in the spring term.  Schools continuing to work towards being something like ‘normal’ will be a huge help to families, communities and the whole country!

One-Way Systems for Dropping Off and Picking Up Children

We ask that everyone maintains social distancing as far as possible and moves on quickly after dropping off or picking up children.  Unfortunately, the field is now too muddy for us to continue using the double gates as an exit.  As we are bringing children from Years 2 – 6 out onto the large playground, please keep this area as clear as possible.  Many thanks for your understanding.

Morning drop-off – Parents should enter with their children at their designated entrance, drop off on the playground and then leave via the designated exit. 

Afternoon pick-up – Parents should enter at their designated entrance, pick up from the playground and then leave together via the designated exit. 

If you need to drop off or pick up children at both playgrounds, please start at the small playground.

Supporting Anxious Children

If you or your children have any worries, please do not hesitate to get in touch.  You can email admin@stmaryshad.co.uk or your children's teachers using their class email address.  Also, you can contact our Pastoral Support Worker on pastoral.support@stmaryshad.co.uk.

If your children are anxious about coronavirus or worried about coming back to school, the links below may be helpful. 

Collective Worship in School

We can now enjoy collective worship together in the hall again!  We know the children have missed being together and singing with the whole school.  When restrictions were in place and we could not gather together in the hall, the children continued to have collective worship regularly, using the interactive whiteboards in the classrooms to make sure we could see everyone.  Here is a story we shared in worship in the summer term.  If restrictions are imposed again, we shall return to doing collective worship remotely in this way.  If your child is isolating, there are more examples of Bible story videos that you can use for worship at home on our page dedicated to the school's Christian vision and values.

PE This Term

You do not need to send in PE bags with your children in Years 1 - 6.  This is to reduce the number of items coming into school and so that lots of children do not have to get changed together in small spaces.  Also, we found last year that PE lessons were much more productive without having to spend time changing. 

Therefore, for Years 1 – 6, we are continuing to ask children to come into school in suitable PE kits on days when they have PE timetabled. We would like children’s PE clothing to return to our more typical PE kits: white T-shirt; blue/black tracksuits or jogging bottoms and sweatshirts; blue shorts. 

Year 1 (Oak)  -        Monday and Fridays

Year 2 (Elm)  -        Monday and Wednesdays

Year 3 (Beech) -       Tuesday (Swimming) and Wednesdays

Year 4 (Rowan) -      Monday and Fridays (Swimming)

Year 5 (Chestnut) -   Tuesdays and Fridays

Year 6 (Willow) -      Thursdays and Fridays

Please note that children in the Early Years should wear school uniform everyday and should bring a separate PE kit.  This is because changing in school will help them to develop their self-care skills.

We strongly recommend that children bring a change of footwear, such as trainers or wellies, for breaktime as the field is very muddy and we often use all the available space to spread the children out.

We are delighted that swimming lessons are now taking place again at Hadleigh Pool.  During the spring term 2022, Years 3 and 4 will participate in swimming lessons.  Your child's teacher will  provide further information about swimming lessons as required. 

How Can Parents and Carers Help?

• If your child is unwell with symptoms of Covid-19, please arrange for them to be tested.
• If your child is displaying a cough, loss of taste and smell or high temperature, you must follow NHS advice regarding isolation and when they can return to school.
• Please avoid speculating on the situation on social media.  Be assured that I will always share with you any information you need to know, such as school closure if this becomes necessary.
• Please talk to your children about keeping safe and following the rules in school.
• Please inform the school immediately if a child has a positive Lateral Flow Device test or takes a PCR test.  It is essential to let us know the outcome of tests straightaway as we are expected to keep records, assess our level of risk and liaise with the Local Authority and Public Health Teams.
• Use our dedicated email address for sharing any information about Covid-19.  This will help to make sure that your important Covid-19 messages do not get 'lost' amongst all our other messages and this address can be checked easily outside of school hours.  The address is covid@stmaryshad.co.uk. 
• Please follow any guidance sent out in newsletters or letters regarding face coverings and arrangements for drop-off and pick-up times.

Home Learning

If the school has to close during term time or if your child is isolating but well enough to access learning, we still expect pupils to engage in learning activities at home.  We encourage the children to use:

• Times Tables Rock Stars to practice times tables through fun activities;
• Accelerated Reader to complete quizzes on reading books (children in Years 2 – 6 and some Year 1 children are registered).

If you cannot find your child’s log-in details for these, please contact your child’s teacher and they will support you.  To further enhance your child’s learning, we also recommend the free BBC Bitesize resources for Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/levels/zbr9wmn

Your child’s teacher will share a weekly timetable of learning activities.  Each day, there will English and maths tasks and an activity that relates to the broader curriculum.  All activities will be posted on SeeSaw, so that you only have to look in one place.  If you are still struggling to register or use SeeSaw, please do contact the school for help.  Where families have significant problems with technology, your teacher will support you by providing other learning opportunities, such as paper packs or borrowing a school device. 

For some learning activities, teachers will post videos or examples to help your child understand the tasks and be more independent.  This will also help them to feel more connected to school.  We strongly encourage children to share their learning with teachers on SeeSaw, for example by posting photos and completed work.

We strongly recommend for the wellbeing of you and your children that you try to stick to a daily home-learning routine.  A lack of routine could make it more difficult for your child when they return to school.  The Government clearly expects all children to engage with home-learning and teachers will communicate with you to offer support if your child is struggling to manage this.  We are going to try hard to move the children’s learning forward rather than just post revision tasks.  As this crisis extends further, the children cannot ‘stand still’.  We ask that parents work in partnership with the school to encourage children to complete these tasks at home.