Dear Parents,
We are very much looking forward to welcoming you all back into school on Monday 7th September after what has been a very unusual and difficult time. I hope that you are all enjoying the summer break and thank you for the positive feedback and supportive comments we received following my newsletter at the end of last term. We are constantly following the latest Covid updates and all decisions made are in line with DfE guidance and with the safety of our children, staff and families uppermost in our minds. Please be assured we will continue to review and update our arrangements as/when we receive new arrangements from the DfE or our families.
INSET 5 Following feedback from some parents we have reconsidered some of the measures planned for September and can confirm the following changes
STAGGERED START AND END TO THE SCHOOL DAY
Gate 3
8:50- 3:00-Yr 1
8:40- 2:50 –Yr R -starting 14th September
8:30-3:15- Yr N -starting from 21st September
Main gate
8:30-2:50 –Yrs 6 & 4
8:40- 3:00-Yrs 2 & 5
8:50- 3:10-Yr 3
It is imperative pupils arrive ON TIME and wait in their designated areas (Staff will be on hand the first day back to indicate where this is).
Pupils will attend a half day session on Fridays as the afternoon will be dedicated to Teachers PPA time (Lunchtime will be shortened to 45 mins and we have added an additional 15 mins to the compulsory school day so pupils won’t miss out on learning time).
On Fridays pupils will have lunch in school and playtime in zoned areas before being dismissed as detailed below:
Year 1&2 -12:30 from gate 3
Years 3&5 -12:45 from KS2 playground
Years 4&6-13:00 from KS2 playground
I appreciate this may cause childcare problems for working parents but it is the only way I can ensure adults are not moving between bubbles and so compromising the safety of themselves, our pupils and ultimately their families.
If you have a problem with these arrangements please let me know via this LINK
We are on the countdown to September and welcoming all pupils back to school. We thought you might appreciate us sharing some of our initial plans for the children’s return to school in September. Please be aware that our recovery plan is draft due to guidance from the government being updated regularly and could of course change in the next few weeks. However, the following points are highly unlikely to change before September:
ALL CHILDREN WILL BE ABLE TO RETURN TO SCHOOL IN SEPTEMBER!
CONTACT FORM/COVID HOME SCHOOL AGREEMENT-will be sent home in the first few days-It will need to be completed, signed and returned to school.
If you wish your child to walk home from school on their own we will need a signed letter/e-mail confirming this.
BUBBLES: We will have year group ‘bubbles’ in school made up of pupils in each year group and specific staff who will remain within their allocated bubble
SOCIAL DISTANCING: Children will not be expected to socially distance within their bubbles. However they will be expected to socially distance from the adults in their bubble.This is in line with the guidance released from the government.
BEGINNING/END OF DAY ARRANGEMENTS-We request that parents socially distance from each other when on site and follow our new one-way system.
SCHOOL UNIFORM: All children will be asked to return to school in uniform in line with our policy and we request that clothing items are washed daily
PERSONAL ITEMS: Children will be encouraged to bring minimal items into school.
WATER: Children must bring a clean named water bottle into school each day and take it home at the end of the school day.
LUNCHTIME ARRANGEMENTS: Lunchtimes will have to be staggered and will look a little different to the canteen system that we were using to serve meals before lockdown. We will be in a position to offer school meals from September but the choice will be greatly reduced temporarily and will be a cold service of sandwiches and fruit. We will send further details of the menu when this has been confirmed with Havering Catering Services. Pupils will eat in their classrooms and will then go outside but will stay within their bubbles.
ACCESS INTO SCHOOL: Sadly, we do not anticipate being in a position to be able to welcome parents into the school building in September. Please use the following communication methods:
Leave a message with staff on the gate in the morning to pass onto the class teachers.
Telephone the school office on 01708 343616
Email the school office - office@mead.havering.sch.uk
Use the Facebook messenger application
Email class teachers via the year group mail boxes:
WHOLE SCHOOL EVENTS: There will be no whole school events for the first half of the Autumn term at least, this will then be reviewed for the second half of the term but may not change. This will mean there will be no whole school assemblies or stay and learn sessions. We are in the early stages of exploring ways we can celebrate these events AND include parents and carers by revisiting the virtual world that we have relied on so much over the past few months. Watch this space!
AFTER SCHOOL CLUBS: Unfortunately there will be no after school clubs for at least the first half term. We will then review this and explore how we may be able to offer a smaller range of after school clubs to year group bubbles.
BREAKFAST CLUB: We are unfortunately not in a position to be able to offer a breakfast club at this time but this will be reviewed as we receive new guidance.
Term Dates 2020-21
Havering term dates for the academic year 2019-2020 can be found here.
Autumn Term
Monday 7th September - Friday 23rd October
Monday 2nd November - Friday 18th December
Spring Term
Monday 4th January - Friday 12th February
Monday 22nd February - Thursday 1st April
Summer Term
Monday 19th April - Friday 28th May
Monday 7th June - Friday 23rd July
INSET Days 2020-2021
INSET 1-Thursday 3rd September
INSET 2-Friday 4th September
INSET 3-Monday 22nd February
INSET 4-Friday 28th May
INSET 5-Friday 23rd July
FINALLY…
I promise that we will continue to work very hard to ensure we support every individual family on your return to a new sort of normality. As always we want our whole community to be safe AND we want our pupils to continue on their learning journey.
On behalf of school staff, I want to say ‘THANK YOU’ for your support over the last 6 months. What a year it has been so far but we still have lots to look forward to.
Enjoy the rest of the break and we will look forward to seeing you all again on Monday 7th September.
Have a fabulous weekend.
Yours sincerely,
Mrs L Smith
Headteacher
