Dear Parents,
A warm welcome to our new Children's House families and to everyone returning to school this year.
Nothing makes me happier than seeing all of our children back at school full time. Despite the physical change to our classrooms, the children are overjoyed to be together. We have had to remove the vibrantly colored rugs and cushions from the classrooms, but we are replacing them with soft PE mats which are easier to clean. We want the children to sit together with their teacher and to enjoy a welcome break from sitting at tables.
Our playground is still divided into three distinct areas for each year-group, but within each 'bubble' the children are playing together as normal. Handwashing is a regular theme throughout the day, as are tissues to catch sneezes. We hope that with our additional cleaning and the children's awareness of hygiene, we can keep all types of infection to a minimum. We are ready to switch to online teaching and learning if a bubble is forced to self-isolate but hope this won't be necessary. All children should have login details for Seesaw, our online learning platform.
Thank you to everyone who has kept their child off school for illness, both mild and more severe. Unfortunately, we have no way of knowing whether a fever indicates a regular viral infection or coronavirus. By keeping your child at home until symptoms disappear, you are helping to limit the spread of all infections through the school. A reminder that children who display covid symptoms, (which usually involve a fever and can include tummy pain and upsets), must be tested for covid. We want children to be off school for the shortest possible time, so please let us know if you have difficulty getting hold of an NHS test and we will try to help. If children test negative, they can return to school provided they are symptom free. If they test positive, the entire bubble (adults and children in that class) will be forced to self-isolate for a fortnight. It is in everyone's interest to keep illness out of the school so that we can continue running as normal.
The children have been busily involved in activities here at school and the walls are filling up with beautiful artwork and writing. I am sorry we can't invite you into the classrooms to see what fabulous work they are doing, but I hope you enjoy looking at the photographs.
Best wishes and enjoy the weekend,
Kate