“It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
Deuteronomy 31:8

Lord Jesus

In the mist of a storm, 

You said 'Peace, be still.'

Let our anxious fears fade away,

Surround this school in faith, hope and love,

Grant wisdom to those with great responsibility,

Gentle hands and patience to those who give care,

And healing and hope to all.

Amen

Archived 2023

September 2021

CHANGES TO CONTACT TRACING 

One of the key changes on the return to school in September is that education and childcare settings will no longer be asked to conduct routine contact tracing.

As with positive cases in any other setting, NHS Test and Trace will work with either the positive case – or in the case of children – the parents, carers or guardian of the positive case to identify close contacts.

NHS Test and Trace already manages the contact tracing process for the rest of society – including children who have recorded a positive PCR test – and has expertise in supporting people to identify close contacts.

If your child gets a positive PCR test result, NHS Test and Trace will contact you, using the details you registered when ordering the PCR test. You and/or your child will be asked a series of specific questions designed to identify who your child has been in close contact with.

As a school, it is our duty of care to inform families if their child has been in close contact with a standard letter. 

Ordering a PCR Test

HYGIENE PRACTICE 

As part of our hand hygiene procedures, all classrooms, corridors and communal spaces will continue to have sanitisation stations.

Classrooms continue to have: 

• Tissues 
• Hand sanitiser
• Posters to remind children 
• Foot pedal bins with secure lids (emptied frequently)

TRAVEL

Parents, children and young people are encouraged to walk or cycle to their school where possible. 

A member of staff will be at the entrance of school should you require the 'stop and drop' method. 

ROUTINES

 School Day Classroom doors will continue to be used for drop of and pick-ups. Doors will open between 8.30am – 8.50am and then again at 3.10pm - 3.20pm. This has worked successfully and enables the children to have a settled start to the day; registration is in accordance with our standard school day at 8.50am. This will also help to continue to ease any congestion at busy times.

ONE WAY

Please continue to use the one-way system  (entering through the infant gate and leaving either via the main gate or junior gate) with the quick drop offs.

UNIFORM

Please ensure your child is in full uniform as follows:

Sweatshirt or cardigan – purple with our school logo (Year 6 have Leavers’ Hoodies)

Skirt or pinafore – tailored, grey. Trousers – tailored, grey, long or short.

Lemon polo shirt

Socks or tights – plain white or grey.

Shoes – black, flat, sensible.

In the summer, between Easter and October half term lemon or purple check dresses may be worn

We also have black school bags with our logo on and we encourage all children to have these – larger rucksacks are not allowed e.g. rucksacks due to health and safety reasons.

PE Kit Purple sports t-shirt – with school logo Black sports shorts Black/grey tracksuit bottoms or Redeemer tracksuit Black trainers

It is very important that all children's clothing and possessions are clearly named.

Jewellery - only stud earrings may be worn by children who have pierced ears. No other types of jewellery; chain, bands, rings, etc. are allowed for health and safety reasons.

Hairstyles Sensible hairstyles please.

BREAK AND LUNCHTIMES

Lunch and break times will continue to be staggered however, the children will now have the opportunity to move freely on the playground and will not be confined to a designated place.

ATTENDENCE

We would like to take the opportunity to remind our families of the importance of good attendance and punctuality especially as we move into a new school year and with the removal of many COVID19 restrictions. 

School Open to All Pupils from 8th March 2021

Schools will be reopen to all pupils from March 8th 2021.  For further information please click on the link:

Schools coronavirus (COVID-19) operational guidance (publishing.service.gov.uk)

National Lockdown - 4th January 2021

Following the Prime Minister’s announcement on 4 January 2021, only children of critical workers and vulnerable children and young people should attend school or college. All other pupils and students will receive remote education.

Vulnerable children and young people

Vulnerable children and young people include those who:

• are assessed as being in need under section 17 of the Children Act 1989, including children and young people who have a child in need plan, a child protection plan or who are a looked-after child
• have an education, health and care (EHC) plan
• have been identified as otherwise vulnerable by educational providers or local authorities (including children’s social care services), and who could therefore benefit from continued full-time attendance, this might include:
  • children and young people on the edge of receiving support from children’s social care services or in the process of being referred to children’s services
  • adopted children or children on a special guardianship order
  • those at risk of becoming NEET (‘not in employment, education or training’)
  • those living in temporary accommodation
  • those who are young carers
  • those who may have difficulty engaging with remote education at home (for example due to a lack of devices or quiet space to study)
  • care leavers
  • others at the provider and local authority’s discretion including pupils and students who need to attend to receive support or manage risks to their mental health

Critical workers

Parents whose work is critical to the coronavirus (COVID-19) and EU transition response include those who work in health and social care and in other key sectors outlined in the following sections. Children with at least one parent or carer who is a critical worker can go to school or college if required, but parents and carers should keep their children at home if they can.

Health and social care

This includes, but is not limited to, doctors, nurses, midwives, paramedics, social workers, care workers, and other frontline health and social care staff including volunteers; the support and specialist staff required to maintain the UK’s health and social care sector; those working as part of the health and social care supply chain, including producers and distributors of medicines and medical and personal protective equipment.

Education and childcare

This includes:

• childcare
• support and teaching staff
• social workers
• specialist education professionals who must remain active during the coronavirus (COVID-19) response to deliver this approach

Key public services

This includes:

• those essential to the running of the justice system
• religious staff
• charities and workers delivering key frontline services
• those responsible for the management of the deceased
• journalists and broadcasters who are providing public service broadcasting

Local and national government

This only includes those administrative occupations essential to the effective delivery of:

• the coronavirus (COVID-19) response, and the delivery of and response to EU transition
• essential public services, such as the payment of benefits and the certification or checking of goods for import and export (including animal products, animals, plants and food), including in government agencies and arms length bodies

Food and other necessary goods

This includes those involved in food:

• production
• processing
• distribution
• sale and delivery
• as well as those essential to the provision of other key goods (for example hygienic and veterinary medicines)

Public safety and national security

This includes:

• police and support staff
• Ministry of Defence civilians
• contractor and armed forces personnel (those critical to the delivery of key defence and national security outputs and essential to the response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and EU transition)
• fire and rescue service employees (including support staff)
• National Crime Agency staff
• those maintaining border security, prison and probation staff and other national security roles, including those overseas

Transport and border

This includes those who will keep the air, water, road and rail passenger and freight transport modes operating during the coronavirus (COVID-19) response and EU transition, including those working on transport systems through which supply chains pass and those constructing or supporting the operation of critical transport and border infrastructure through which supply chains pass.

Utilities, communication and financial services

This includes:

• staff needed for essential financial services provision (including but not limited to workers in banks, building societies and financial market infrastructure)
• the oil, gas, electricity and water sectors (including sewerage)
• information technology and data infrastructure sector and primary industry supplies to continue during the coronavirus (COVID-19) response
• key staff working in the civil nuclear, chemicals, telecommunications (including but not limited to network operations, field engineering, call centre staff, IT and data infrastructure, 999 and 111 critical services)
• postal services and delivery
• payments providers
• waste disposal sectors

Department for Education coronavirus helpline

The Department for Education coronavirus helpline is available to answer questions about COVID-19 relating to education and children’s social care. Staff, parents and young people can contact this helpline as follows:

Phone: 0800 046 8687
Opening hours:
8am to 6pm – Monday to Friday
10am to 4pm – Saturday and Sunday