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Dear 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".
Dear 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;
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
Dear Parents and Carers,
We are currently waiting for more information from the government following the announcement on Sunday 10th May 2020 regarding the possible reopening of schools from 1st June 2020.
We do not yet know what this will mean for our school.
We do know that every decision we make will be based on maintaining the safety of our children and our staff.
We will continue to stay in touch with all our families through the School App,email, telephone calls and our Facebook page.
We continue to be open in a limited capacity for the children of critical workers.
Thank you all for your lovely comments, wonderful photographs of home learning and for following the social distancing and good hygiene rules to keep our community safe.
Cathy Bednal, Head Teacher of Ripley Nursery School & Childcare.