Latest News
Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
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Bags 2 Schools
Thu 08 Oct 2020We are pleased to announce that Ripley Nursery School has organised a clothes & shoe collection with Bag2School in order to raise funds to enhance our outdoor areas.
Bag2School is the UK’s leading textile recycler and fundraiser working with schools and since its inception in 2001 it has now paid out over £36 million.
As well as raising vitally needed funds for Ripley Nursery School it also helps the environment by helping to divert unwanted textiles away from landfill. A recent DEFRA report has shown that textile collection schemes are helping to reduce the volume of textiles discarded as municipal solid waste. However it is a fact that as a nation we still send 350,000 tonnes of textiles to landfill every year.
By getting involved in our Bag2School collection, you have an opportunity to sort through your cupboards and wardrobes and donate unwanted textiles in the bag provided – this can include adults’ and children’s clothes, shoes (tied together please), hats, belts, handbags and soft toys, (please refer to http://uk.bag2school.com/ for full details). In addition to raising much needed funds it will also raise awareness amongst the children of the benefits of recycling and reuse.
You can use any bag to donate your items and don’t forget to ask grandparents, friends and neighbours to have a sort out as well!
Bag2School will be collecting from Ripley Nursery School on Tuesday 24th November at 9am. Please bring your bag (or bags!) to the main office either any time on Monday 23rd November or Tuesday 24th November before 9am and help us have a really good collection.
Many thanks indeed for helping us with this unique fundraising opportunity.
Yours faithfully
Ripley Nursery School
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Allotment News
Fri 02 Oct 2020Today we went to harvest the pumpkins from our allotment. They have been growing for nearly seven months!!
Mr. Flude, who helps to look after our allotment, reminded us to pick the pumpkins before the weather gets too cold – a quick frost would damage our crop.
We were amazed to find;
one enormous pumpkin,
one large pumpkin,
one knobbly pumpkin and
three small pumpkins.
We needed help to pick up the biggest pumpkins.
We picked some lovely green and red apples from our apple tree, put all our produce in the wheel barrow and wheeled it back to school.
Our friends at school were very excited to see our wheel barrow full of pumpkins and apples.
We are thinking about what we can do with our pumpkins next week, any ideas?
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Pumpkin Raffle
Tue 29 Sep 2020Pumpkin Raffle!
Get Halloween ready!
We are raffling off one of our HUGE Nursery grown pumpkins from our allotment this year to raise money to improve our outdoor learning space.
A 50p ticket charge will be added to your parent pay account; if you wish to buy a ticket please pay using the option on parent pay and your name will be added to the draw.
The raffle will be drawn on Friday 16th October and the lucky winner will be able to collect the pumpkin from Nursery.
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Autumn 2020 - Letter to Parents
Wed 02 Sep 2020Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome to Ripley Nursery School
We are currently due to reopen school on Thursday 3rd September, following the summer holidays. We understand that for some families returning to school this may be a worrying time. As a school we worked throughout the past academic year, including the spring and summer terms with clear guidelines to keep all staff and children safe.
We have planned for staff and children to continue to work within ‘bubbles’ as we understood that small children cannot socially distance and may need comfort and support from their keyworker during the school day.
We understand that the best way to keep safe is for staff and families to work together with clear routines and rules and to keep clear lines of communication open and well used.
Health & Safety measures in response to covid 19
Within school we have adapted our environment to allow for more frequent cleaning and have restricted the numbers of children and staff in contact with each other by dividing the school learning spaces, including the outside areas, into two distinct bubbles. We also support children to practise good hand hygiene throughout the school day.
To ensure a safe and smooth entry and exit into school we have staggered start/finish times and increased number of entrances. We understand that all local schools have taken the same approach to support social distancing, if you are struggling with the allotted timings please speak to myself; Kerry Hartwell or your keyworker and we will do our best to accommodate changes. We ask families to arrive on time, to keep a social distance of 2 m apart from other families and to leave the school site promptly following the clearly marked out routes.
Full day /morning drop off
Morning pick up
Afternoon drop off
Full day /afternoon Pick up
Where
Hedgehogs
8.30
11.15
12.30
3.15
Pram store door
Owls
8.45
11.30
12.45
3.30
Reception
Squirrels
8.30
11.15
12.30
3.15
Garden gate
Rabbits
8.45
11.30
12.45
3.30
Garden gate
Breakfast club starts
Afterschool club finishes
Garden gate
7.45
4.30
Most importantly we ask you not to bring children to school who are ill or displaying any symptoms of covid 19. If anyone in your family has any symptoms of covid 19 apply then for a test and do not bring your child to school unless you have a negative result.
If your child falls ill at school we will care for them, alert you to collect them and take their temperature. All children and adults have access to prompt testing and we will ask you to apply for and administer a test on behalf of your child if they display symptoms of covid 19.
We ask you to sign a home school agreement to signify you understand and agree with all the guidance and rules we have put in place.
Starting school
We have a range of cohorts attending Ripley Nursery School during Autumn 2020. The children already registered with an established school place, for example those children and parents who already know our school and their keyworkers will return to school on Thursday 3rd September (or the next day of their school placement).
We operate a gradual transition into school for any new starters in order to promote the wellbeing of all children. We appreciate that joining school is a huge step for children and their families and this year we have had to employ a different approach as we cannot invite parents into school. Therefore, all new parents and children, who have not visited school, will have a garden visit with their keyworker and an opportunity to find out about Ripley Nursery School. All families should now have a start date and a garden visit, where appropriate.
Staff in your child’s class are currently busy setting up the new exciting learning spaces and will be posting class videos to introduce themselves and show you what will be on offer for your child – please use these videos to help support your child before they start school.
Staff from your child’s class, their keyworkers, will be on the door to encourage children into school. Our staff are kind and caring and will work with you to support your child joining school. Your child can bring in a transitional object, for example their school mouse or other special toy, which will stay in their school bag. Please provide children with a spare change of clothes and a pair of slippers, labelled with their name, in a plastic bag or a fabric drawstring bag, which can stay in school.
We provide wet weather gear to allow children to work outside whatever the weather however, we often get wet socks from splashing in puddles - so please put extra socks and pants in their school bag too.
School Information
If your child is absent from school please telephone school by 9.15am /1.15pm and speak to Annabel Martin or Kerry Hartwell as we have a duty to record all absences. We ask you to attend school promptly to ensure the safety of all children and families and to ensure children receive full access to all the learning experiences available to them at Ripley Nursery School.
If your child has any medical requirements, including dietary, please notify your keyworkers or Kerry Hartwell prior to your child starting school.
You will have been sent a text message from ‘The School App’ which you will need to download to enable you to receive school messages and information including dates for your diary and school newsletters. If you have any problem or have not receive this message, please contact the school office.
On your garden visit you will be given a letter regarding parent pay. The letter will give you a username and password for your personal log in to parent pay. Please ensure you log into the system as this will enable you to pay for your parental contribution, lunches and any additional sessions or payments. The parental contribution is applicable to every child and is charged at £1.50 per week. This covers healthy snacks and drinks, baking ingredients and other provisions.
We look forward to working with you and your child over the next academic year. We send information out through our school app to your mobile phone so please keep us informed of any changes to your personal details. You can also find a wealth of information about Ripley Nursery School on our website, including details about our sister organisation – Ripley Nursery School Childcare.
Your keyworkers from your child’s class will share your child’s progress and achievement through online learning journals and more information will be coming out to you in the near future.
Kind regards,
C.L. Bednal
Cathy Bednal and all the staff of Ripley Nursery School
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Information for Parents - September 2020
Tue 14 Jul 2020Dear Parent and Carers,
We are busy planning to welcome all our families in school in September; old friends as well as new friends who have yet to meet us and visit our school.
In line with all the government guidance and the risk assessments provided by Derbyshire County Council we have made a few changes to the organisation of our school, detailed below;
Class Bubbles
We have taken the decision to divide the school into two halves; Rabbits and Squirrels will work together in one bubble and Owls and Hedgehogs will form another bubble. This reorganisation will allow your children more access to both indoor and outdoor learning spaces whilst reducing contact of children and staff across the whole school. Staff will remain in one of these two bubbles only, this will include meal supervisors and any SEND support staff.
To ensure a safe and smooth entry and exit into school we have staggered start/finish times and increased the number of entrances;
Full day /morning drop off
Morning pick up
Afternoon drop off
Full day /afternoon Pick up
Where
Hedgehogs
8.30
11.15
12.30
3.15
Pram store door
Owls
8.45
11.30
12.30
3.30
Reception
Squirrels
8.30
11.15
12.30
3.15
Garden gate
Rabbits
8.45
11.30
12.30
3.30
Garden gate
Breakfast club starts
After school club finishes
Garden gate
7.45
4.30
We are asking all parents/carers to revisit and keep to these simple rules on drop off and collection:
1. Please be prompt and keep to your allocated times to arrive and pick up your child/children.
2. Ensure children have been to the toilet before they leave home.
3. Only one parent to accompany and pick up (where possible).
4. Keep yourself and your child 2 metres away from your neighbour as you queue.
5. Take any bikes or buggy’s home with you.
6. Please leave the site promptly as there will be other parents waiting to safely drop off or pick up.
7. After school please bathe your child and change their clothes. Children will need to arrive at school in a fresh set of clothes each day.
8. We cannot accept bags into the setting but can store plastic or drawstring bags containing belongings on trolleys outside each base.
Transition into school
To support an effective transition during this time of social distancing we have adapted our usual practice:
Easter starters
Class visits; although all children and parents will have visited our school in Spring we have had to make changes to our learning spaces so check out the videos of your classes on our website under the Children, Class Pages tab. Click on the class to view the video.
We will update our learning spaces during our staff training day in September and update the videos posts.
Mouse Club; on Tuesday 14th July I will be joining you for a quick door step visit to catch up and say ‘Hello’ and drop off Mouse and an information pack. We offer each new child a cuddy mouse to use as a transitional object to travel between home and school. Within the pack there are some activities for mouse and your child to try out with your help.
A quick and easy way to make an outfit for Mouse is to find an odd sock and ask your mum or dad to help you cut out holes for the head and arms to fit through. You can even trim the top of the sock and use the excess to make a headband.
Autumn starters
Class visits; currently parents cannot come into school however we are planning after school visits to our nursery garden in September to meet you and your child face to face. We will complete an ‘All about me’ to find out what your child likes doing, what they may need help with and how we can work together. We will have a little cuddly toy Mouse waiting for each of you to help the transition in to school.
We will still need to practise socially distancing with you, on entry you will need to use the hand sanitiser, and of course you can only attend if you and your child are well.
Additionally check out the class videos on our website under the Children, Class Pages tab for a little flavour of the fun activities waiting for you at Ripley Nursery School.
Communication
The school app runs through our website and is a quick and easy way of sending information directly to your mobile telephone; we will send you a link to download the app once your admission form is processed. If you change any contact numbers or emails please inform the school ASAP, we would hate you to miss out on all our school events and updates.
Practicalities
To keep our floorspace clean and hygienic no outdoor shoes are allowed in school. We use wellington boots for outdoor play and have a selection of fleeces and waterproof outfits for playing outside during all seasons. If you have spare children’s wellington boots to donate to school these will be gratefully received. Please bring a pair of slippers which will stay at the nursery and a plastic or a cloth drawstring bag containing a change of clothes, named suncream and nappy/changing creams if required.
What happens if a child or member of staff is ill?
You must not come to school if you, your child or anyone in your household presents with Covid -19 symptoms; cough, temperature, loss or taste/smell (Anosmia) or are feeling generally unwell.
If anyone becomes ill with symptoms of the virus and tests positive for Covid-19 in the setting then the whole class bubble of children, including the teaching staff will have to self-isolate for 14 days. Staff, children and their families will have access to Covid-19 testing if they present with symptoms. You must call 111 to request a testing kit for young children.
Hopefully this information is helpful in supporting your return to school or in embarking on your journey with us. If there is any other information you need from us or that you need to share with us to support you and your child please contact Kerry Hartwell on the school number or through her email address.
Finally, we wish you all a sunny and relaxing summer holiday and look forward to seeing you all in September.
Kind regards,
C.L. Bednal
Cathy Bednal and all the staff of Ripley Nursery School
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Letter to Parents -SummerTerm
Fri 12 Jun 2020Organisation for the Summer Term and Holiday Club.
Dear Parents and Carers,
We understand that this is a very strange time in all of our lives and it is difficult to make plans for the future, however we have started to think about what might happen next given current government guidance. We have thought about the end of term and the practicalities of holiday club, with the proviso that the national picture could disrupt our plans.
Class Bubbles
Last week we started the process of opening school to additional children and to start our new system of working in four small class bubbles. In keeping with our school ethos of promoting high levels of wellbeing and in line with our understanding of child development we know that it is not possible or desirable to socially distance with our young children, therefore we will keep our class bubbles small for the remainder of this term. We will continue with our upgraded cleaning schedule and strong focus on hand hygiene for staff and children. All the children have been fantastic in settling into their new routines and it has been good to see many of our families back at school.
End of summer term
As you may be aware, this school has remained open for every bank holiday and working day apart from two days since lockdown started and we have had to made key decisions to support our own wellbeing in the weeks ahead. Working with the Childcare Company we have decided to close both school and childcare on Friday 17th July 2020. We are planning safe ways of saying goodbye to our leavers and handing over your wonderful learning journals and will be in contact with you shortly.
Autumn term
School and childcare will reopen on Thursday 3rd September for the January 2020 cohort and any children already attending, and therefore already settled in school, from the Summer 2020 cohort. We will be in touch with all parents who have not yet joined school with our plans for future opening.
We anticipate that in September we will continue to work in four class bubbles; staff and children will be limited to one bubble and this will impact on the extended provision we can offer. Please contact kerry.hartwell@ripley-nur.derbyshire.sch.uk if you require either before or after school club from September as availability is limited.
Holiday Club
Holiday club and childcare will open on Monday 3rd August for 4 weeks only until 28th August 2020. We will operate in two age related bubbles; under and over 3 year olds. These places are limited so please register your interest by contacting Stacey.bradshaw@ripley-nur.derbyshire.sch.uk by Friday 19th June 2020. Holiday club will be organised by the Childcare Company and will be dependent upton interest received from parents to ensure sustainability and safe working for staff. If you are using funded hours for the holiday club please discuss with Stacey Bradshaw when registering your interest.
Age phases
Operating times
Costs/day
Babies and toddlers
8am - 4.30pm
£49.30/ Babies
£47.60/Toddlers
Over 3 year olds
8.30am – 3.30pm
£39
Any 30 hour funding queries please contact ltimmons@ripley-nur.derbyshire.sch.uk
If you have any questions please contact either Stacey Bradshaw or Kerry Hartwell via telephone or email.
For those of you returning after summer we hope you have a fantastic time with your families and we look forward to seeing you all again on Thursday 3rd September 2020.
Kind regards,
C.L.Bednal
Cathy Bednal
Headteacher of Ripley Nursery School
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Home School Agreement
Mon 01 Jun 2020Home and School Agreement during the Current
Covid19 Pandemic
As a school we will:
- Ensure that all staff are fully aware of the School Risk Assessment and are adhering to the requirements stated within the document.
- Ensure that surfaces and resources are regularly sanitized.
- Ensure that staff regularly wash and sanitize their own hands during time in school
- Ensure that children regularly wash and sanitize their hands during their time in school
- Ensure children and staff are only exposed to the same children, adults and environments during their time in school (small bubbles), thus limiting potential cross contamination of the virus.
- Always adhere to the ethos of care and compassion which underpins our values and practice.
- Ensure that children spend as much time outside as is possible during all sessions.
- Maintain a social distance from each other whilst in school, ensuring that no cross contamination between working teams can occur.
- Wear PPE when changing children in school and when working in one to one situations.
- Support children with any signs of anxiety and concern concerned with the present situation, or any other issue.
- Support parents and family members with the regulations and offer emotional support as appropriate
- Ensure that parents are aware of the fact that children displaying any symptoms of COVID 19 should be kept off school and that if symptoms manifest during a session, we will adhere to Public Health England advice.
- Ensure that all staff and child illnesses are reported to the Headteacher and Senior staff.
As Parents/Carers we will:
- Only have one adult from the family to enter the school grounds for pick up and drop off of your child.
- Keep a 2m distance from any other person/s at all times.
- Keep to the one way drop off and pick up system in place.
- Ensure my child is wearing sun cream – please supply named sun cream if it will need re-applying during the course of the session.
- Ring nursery to inform them if my child is not attending a designated session.
- Not send my child to school if they are feeling unwell in any form and/or have a temperature.
- Inform school if any members of the family have suspected or confirmed Covid19 symptoms.
- Work with the school and follow their guidance if there is an outbreak of Covid 19 within the school community.
- Maintain current social distance guidance at all times to keep yourselves and all of us safe.
Signed: C. L.Bednal Headteacher of Ripley Nursery School and Ripley Nursery School childcare
Signed __________________________________
Parent/Carer of ____________________________
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Letter to Parents 1 June 2020
Mon 01 Jun 2020Dear Parents and Carers,
This morning we introduced the new system of coming into school using two separate entrances and staggered start and end times of the day. We also opened our school up to a few more families in line with the current government guidance. The children, with staff support and encouragement, have all adapted brilliantly to a different working arrangement within school as they work within their class bubbles.
We have allocated spaces for other children to come back into school during this term and you and your children may begin to see some old friends as the weeks go by. As a remainder for children coming back into school; we are asking you to socially distance on arrival, to use allocated entrances and arrive on site promptly, to only attend school if you are well and to stay at home and seek medical advice if you or anyone within your household present with any symptoms of Covid 19. We will ask permission to take your temperature each day on arrival.
These are the new entrances, start times and greeters to help you and your child access our school;
Greeting staff
Class bubble
Entrance
Start time
Finsh time
Kerry Hartwell
Hedgehogs
Pram store door
8.30am
3.15pm
Cathy Bednal
Squirrels
Garden gate
8.30am
3.15pm
Annabel Martin
Rabbits
Reception
8.45am
3.30pm
Cathy Bednal
Owls
Garden gate
8.45am
3.30pm
Cathy Bednal
Breakfast Club/ASC
Garden gate
7.45am - 8am
4.30pm - 5.45pm
Breakfast club and after school club children will all join Squirrels base for the next 7 weeks
If you require any further information please call school on 01773 745014 or email kerry.hartwell@ripley-nur.derbyshire.sch.uk.
We have produced a Home-School agreement to use at this time to ensure school remains a safe place for staff and children. Please read through the before you attend school as we will ask you to sign a copy on arrival.
Many thanks,
Cathy Bednal
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Opening of Schools - Update
Fri 22 May 2020Dear Parents and Carers
Update on planning to reopen schools from June 1st 2020 in Derbyshire.
We have recently received noification from Derbyshire County Council (DCC) to say that whilst DCC supports the government in its ambition to open up school safely the guidance received from the Department of Education, “has not always been consistent or clear on key aspects and this has created some issues for schools and the council”.
The Department of Education has always stipulated that children of keyworkers and those who are vulnerable are key priority and this remains the case. From 1st June 2020 we have been directed to increase provision for those two groups of children.
So, what does this mean for us at Ripley Nursery School? We have already spoken to many parents about their need or wish for a school place from 1st June, however if you and your family do not fall into the keyworker or vulnerable categories then we are unable to offer you a place at this current time. We await further guidance from the Department of Education and DCC and will keep you up to date with any further changes ASAP.
Please see statement from Councillor Alex Dale below.
Kind regards,
C.L.Bednal
Cathy Bednal, Head Teacher and all the staff of Ripley Nursery School.
Melissa Eggleston
Melissa Eggleston, Chair of Governors of Ripley Nursery School
Statement from Councillor Alex Dale, Cabinet Member for Young people at Derbyshire County Council – 22 May 2020
“We support the Government in its ambition to see schools opened up to more pupils as soon as it is sufficiently safe to do. To do this we’ve been working flat out to support schools in interpreting the guidance and planning to admit the target year groups announced by the Prime Minister on 10 May.
“This is an incredibly complicated issue to work through. Unfortunately, the guidance so far issued by the Department for Education has not always been entirely consistent or clear on some key aspects and this has created some issues for schools and the council.
“Due to the challenges that we’re having to work through with schools, it is clear now that many primary schools in Derbyshire will not be able to admit the additional year groups (reception, year one and year six) that the Government had envisaged by 1 June. This is because the latest advice from the Government is that children need to be 2m apart in classrooms, and that it is not safe to rota children through the week and more time is needed to work through these issues.
“The Department for Education have been absolutely clear with us that the priority remains the children of key workers and those who are vulnerable. In turn we’ve made clear to all schools that from 1 June their first priority should be aiming to increase the number of children from these groups.
“Then we have advised that they should also continue to plan for how they might accommodate children from the other key year groups (reception, year one, year six, year 10 and year 12).
“Every school in Derbyshire is different and their approaches to offering more places back in classrooms for our children and young people will vary.
“If schools do admit children on 1 June from the key year groups they will need to make sure they have the room to do this safely.
“We hope that secondary schools will be able to offer some face to face learning for year 10 and year 12 students, due to the greater flexibility they have in terms of space.
“We will continue working with schools to identify when they will be able to admit whole-year groups in the coming weeks, although for many of our schools this will still be challenging.
“I want to thank headteachers, school employees and governors who have worked extremely hard over recent weeks as they plan for 1 June. I’d also like to thank parents and carers in advance for bearing with us and their local schools while we continue to work very hard to get more children back to school as soon as possible".
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Potential re opening of School
Thu 21 May 2020Dear Parents and Carers
Ripley Nursery School – Response to plan to reopen schools from June 1st 2020 following government guidance.
We are currently working with government guidance to extend our provision and implement safe learning environments for increased numbers of children and staff onsite. We have been contacting you to determine if you would like or need a place in school should we reopen from 1st June 2020.
There is no expectation that you must accept a place. Due to the continued necessity to put enhanced cleaning and social distancing measures in place we will not be able to open for all children following their normal attendance patterns. We understand that not all families will wish to return to school this term.
We plan to restrict social contact to a small number of children in order to protect them and the staff they work with. Please appreciate we cannot enforce social distancing with 0 – 4 year olds and therefore if you or a member of your household requires shielding or falls into the clinically extremely vulnerable category then your child must not come to school.
Organisation of school and learning
We plan to offer four class bubbles with up to ten children with two members of staff in each; these classes will not be able to mix with other groups of children and staff cannot work across classes.
The school will be divided into four distinct learning bubbles; children will only have access to their learning bubble during the summer term. We will ensure that within that learning bubble children will have access to both indoor and outdoor provision. If children are not able to work within their class bubble then we are currently unable to safely provide onsite education for them.
We will continue to provide online learning activities through our facebook page and school website for children remaining at home.
We will offer full day places only and these will be shared out according to demand however we have been directed to prioritise key groups in school, including the children of critical workers.
School meals
Children will have cooked lunches within their learning bubbles with a designated lunch supervisor, please telephone school to check your eligibility for free school meals. School lunches cost £2.10 per day. Annabel Martin will update your parentpay accounts.
Access to school.
Unfortunately parents will not be allowed to come into school. All the measures we are putting in place are concerned with keeping our school population of staff and children as safe as possible.
We will stagger opening and closing times for classes to support social distancing guidance and have three entry points into school.
Greeting staff will take children in at these three points; helping children to change shoes into slippers and clean their hands.
Greeting staff
Class bubble
Entrance
Start time
Finsh time
Annabel/Kerry
Hedgehogs
Pram Store
8.30am
3.15pm
Cathy
Squirrels
Garden gate
8.30am
3.15pm
Annabel/Kerry
Rabbits
Reception
8.45am
3.30pm
Cathy
Owls
Garden gate
8.45am
3.30pm
We ask parents to keep to these simple rules on drop off and collection;
- Please be prompt and keep to your allocated times to arrive and pick up your child/children.
- Ensure children have been to the toilet before they leave home.
- Only one parent to accompany and pick up.
- Keep yourself and your child 2 metres away from your neighbour as you queue.
- Take any prams or buggys home with you as all available storage is reserved for our youngest children within childcare.
- Ensure your child has a pair of slippers to wear in school.
- Please leave the site promptly as there will be other parents waiting to safely drop off or pick up.
- After leaving school please bathe your child and change their clothes. Children will need to arrive at school in a fresh set of clothes each day.
- We cannot accept bags into school but can store them on trolleys outside each base.
- If you have questions or queries for staff please call 01773 745014 or email kerry.hartwell@ripley-nur.derbyshire.sch.uk and she will answer your query. Apologies as we will be busy supporting children and will not have time to talk to you in person.
We have extremely limited before and afterschool club space only for children of our critical workers as we are unable to mix staff and children from different classes. We cannot guarantee that your child will be with their friends if you need to access this limited service.
Please ensure you have informed Kerry Hartwell, Annabel Martin or myself via telephone or email if your child requires any new medication.
Updated Administering Medicines Policy; if a child has been prescribed a new medication they must initially take it at home with you for the first 48 hours and if there are no side effects then we agree to administer the medication in school.
What happens if a child or member of staff is ill?
You must not come to school if you, your child or anyone in your household presents with covid 19 symptoms; cough, temperature or is feeling generally unwell.
If anyone becomes ill with symptoms of the virus and tests positive for covid 19 at school then the whole class bubble of children, including the teaching staff will have to self-isolate for 14 days. Staff, children and their families will have access to covid 19 testing if they present with symptoms.
Staff and pupil safety
We need parents to continue to follow the social distancing guidelines and do everything they can to ensure that children are not mixing socially outside school. This includes not mixing as you arrive and leave school.
If parents flout the social distance rules we will initially suspend the school place, if further instances occur we reserve the right to remove the school place. Our primary purpose is to keep our children and staff safe during this difficult time.
Good hygiene rules
Thorough handwashing is one of the easiest and most practical way to limit transmission of this virus so please help by reinforcing good hygiene rules at home; ensuring children wash their hands before and after eating, after using the toilet and after blowing or wiping their nose.
Please apply factor 50 sunscreen each morning before your child attends school. If your child needs their own sunscreen please label with child’s name and hand into greeting staff.
All of these measures may seem extreme to some, however for the past 8 weeks the majority of the staff have been working on a rota basis with key children in school and have adjusted to these systems of working to keep themselves, children and families safe. We have had no known cases of children or staff with covid 19 and we want to continue to stay safe as we move into this next phrase of lockdown.
Care and Nurture
Many of you will be anxious and worried about your child returning to school and I hope that our preparation and new ways of working will help allievate some of that anxiety. Whilst we need to do everything to remain practically safe, including increasing cleaning schedules throughout the school day, we have not lost sight of the age and stage of your children and their need for warm and positive relationships with friendly and welcoming staff.
We miss all of you very much and no one expected that we would end the summer term at Ripley Nursery School in this way. We are pleased that so many of you have shared your learning lockdown experiences either on our Facebook page or through sending emails and photographs to your keyworkers. Through our discussions with you regarding your child’s next steps in their learning we know how much wonderful support you have given your children during this difficult time. Our role is to continue to work with you all, either as you return to school under this new system or remotely at home, as educators together in your child’s learning journey.
Kind regards,
C.L.Bednal
Cathy Bednal, Head Teacher and all the staff of Ripley Nursery School.
Melissa Eggleston
Melissa Eggleston, Chair of Governors of Ripley Nursery School
