We are on countdown to Monday 7th September and we hope that your children are looking forward to returning to school as much as we are looking forward to seeing them all. We are still living in very testing and challenging times and we hope that these temporary arrangements will be short lived. I wanted to take this opportunity to confirm plans for the return to school for you.
Whilst the spread of infection is steadily reducing, we still do have to be mindful that it is 'still with us' so we still need to ensure we have effective measures in place. The Department for Education (DfE) and Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson have advised that classes can resume in September in larger 'bubbles', these being normal class sizes and year groups. However, they still advise against multiple groups of children and also adults gathering within and around school. Therefore, there will be some initial changes. The most significant for you as parents and carers are changes to the start and finish times and the ways in which children will enter and exit school at these times. Please refer below:
Nursery
Please refer to the information that you have received from school staff regarding your child's start date.
Reception
Please refer to the information that you have received from school staff regarding your child's start date.
Arrival and Departure
Year 1
Pupils will enter the school via gate3 (The Nursery Gate)
Years 2-6
All pupils must enter the school through the Key Stage 2 playground. Teachers will be there to meet them to direct them to their lining areas. We respectfully ask parents to not wait around and leave via our new one way system.
There will be members of staff available in the morning and afternoon to assist you.
8.30 am - 2.50 pm -Year 4 & Year 6
8.40 am - 3.00 pm -Year 2 & Year 5
8.50 am - 3.10 pm -Year 3 and 1
Friday arrangements
To limit the number of pupils and staff in contact with each other to only those within the group we have decided to give teachers their PPA time on Friday afternoon. This means that pupils will finish after lunch time and should be collected at the following times:
Year 1 (from gate 3 at 12:45
Year 2 (from KS2 playground) at 12:45
Years 3 and 4 (from KS2 playground) at 12:55
Years 5 and 6 (from KS2 playground) at 13:05
If you have a problem with these arrangements please let me know via this LINK
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).
I APPRECIATE TIMINGS MAY BE DIFFICULT FOR SOME PARENTS BUT WE HAVE TO FOLLOW GOVERNMENT/DFE GUIDELINES-PLEASE BEAR WITH US AND WE WILL IRON OUT ANY CONCERNS AS THEY ARISE.
Can I ask that only 1 parent brings and collects your child/children so that we can avoid gatherings on school premises. Please ensure that you drop off and arrive at the correct time to ensure that there are a minimum number of people in one place at any one time. The main school office will also be used for emergencies only.
We MUST have prior notification supported by evidence of any appointments requiring children to leave school during the day. Please notify by e-mail/telephone call.
BUBBLES: We will have year group ‘bubbles’ in school made up of pupils in each year group.
SOCIAL DISTANCING: Children will not be expected to socially distance within their bubbles. This is in line with the guidance released from the government. However, we do ask parents to take responsibility for their own social distancing when on school grounds collecting pupils.
SCHOOL UNIFORM: All children will be asked to return to school in uniform in line with our policy.
PE BAGS AND LUNCH BOXES/BAGS-these are the only items that should be brought into school. It would be appreciated if pupils could bring their lunch in to school in disposable bags but if this is not possible please ensure lunch boxes are sanitized after use/before being brought back into school
PERSONAL ITEMS: Please DO NOT allow your child to bring personal items into school-they will be provided with all the stationary items they need which will not be shared
WATER: Children must bring a clean named water bottle into school each day and take it home at the end of the school day.
Playtimes and lunchtimes are going to be staggered within year group bubbles of the school.
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, fruit and water. 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.
ASSEMBLIES: We will not be holding school assemblies
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
eyfs@mead.havering.sch.uk
year1@mead.havering.sch.uk
SOCIAL DISTANCING: Children will not be expected to socially distance within their bubbles. This is in line with the guidance released from the government. However, we do ask parents to take responsibility for their own social distancing when on school grounds collecting pupils.
SCHOOL UNIFORM: All children will be asked to return to school in uniform in line with our policy.
PE BAGS AND LUNCH BOXES/BAGS-these are the only items that should be brought into school. It would be appreciated if pupils could bring their lunch in to school in disposable bags but if this is not possible please ensure lunch boxes are sanitized after use/before being brought back into school
PERSONAL ITEMS: Please DO NOT allow your child to bring personal items into school-they will be provided with all the stationary items they need which will not be shared
WATER: Children must bring a clean named water bottle into school each day and take it home at the end of the school day.
Playtimes and lunchtimes are going to be staggered within year group bubbles of the school.
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, fruit and water. 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.
ASSEMBLIES: We will not be holding school assemblies
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
eyfs@mead.havering.sch.uk
year1@mead.havering.sch.uk
year2@mead.havering.sch.uk
year3@mead.havering.sch.uk
year4@mead.havering.sch.uk
year5@mead.havering.sch.uk
year6@mead.havering.sch.uk
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. The reason for this is because of cross infection and the spread of infection as children from multiple classes or bubbles attend and again, we have been advised against this.
FINALLY…
You can be confident that the safety of your children and our staff comes first in all of these plans. If we feel that anyone is at risk, we will review, assess and change if necessary.
I promise that we will continue to work very hard to ensure we support every individual family on your return to some sort of normality. As always we want our whole community to be safe AND we want our pupils to continue on their learning journey. We will try as much as we possibly can to make school 'normal' and ensure that these plans do not hinder the education of our children. We will continue to celebrate and reward the hard work of our pupils to ensure that they are successful.
Thank you for your continued support.
year3@mead.havering.sch.uk
year4@mead.havering.sch.uk
year5@mead.havering.sch.uk
year6@mead.havering.sch.uk
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. The reason for this is because of cross infection and the spread of infection as children from multiple classes or bubbles attend and again, we have been advised against this.
FINALLY…
You can be confident that the safety of your children and our staff comes first in all of these plans. If we feel that anyone is at risk, we will review, assess and change if necessary.
I promise that we will continue to work very hard to ensure we support every individual family on your return to some sort of normality. As always we want our whole community to be safe AND we want our pupils to continue on their learning journey. We will try as much as we possibly can to make school 'normal' and ensure that these plans do not hinder the education of our children. We will continue to celebrate and reward the hard work of our pupils to ensure that they are successful.
Thank you for your continued support.
