Over the past few years our school role has gradually increased.  As a result, we have more children entering and exiting the building.  Unfortunately, due to where our school is positioned and the flood works going on along the back lane, we don’t have a large enough waiting area for parents who are collecting younger children at the end of the day.  To avoid congestion and ultimately keep everyone safe near the road, we need to continue to use multiple entrance and exit points.  The playground is not an option for the entire school, as it was in the past, due to the amount of parents that would now be congregating.  Some of our children, for various reasons, would find that situation very overwhelming.

Last week we trialled using the carpark beside the softplay area (gates closed) as a potential waiting area for our infant classes.  On Friday afternoon this area was very congested.  As a result I would like to change the arrangements slightly at the end of the day only to ensure the safety of our children and parents. Morning drop off will remain as it was, as this worked well.

• From Monday all parents in P1, P1/2, P2 and P3, should enter the school at the softplay gate at the end of the day and walk around to the playground.  Please see the pictures below outlining where you should stand to collect your child. Whilst you wait for your child’s class to come out, please position yourselves around the perimeter of the playground so that the upper children can exit the playground safely.

• Your child’s class teacher will bring out your child’s class to this area when the bell goes and dismiss them in an orderly fashion.
• The children from P3/4 upwards will be released first on the bell.  This will allow older children to exit the playground safely before parents start to move, and will reduce the congestion at the gates.
• If you have a child in one of the upper classes they are free to meet you in the playground too.  This will save you walking to another exit point.
• Once you collect your child, please exit the playground via the softplay gate.

To support our plans please ensure one adult is involved in dropping off and collecting your child at school.  Also, once you have collected your child please clear the playground and boundary around the school as soon as possible.

We will continue to monitor the arrangements above over next week and make changes accordingly.

Can I take this opportunity to thank those parents I have liaised with directly over the past few days regarding the arrangements and also to the wider parent body for their support and patience.  I appreciate that this is a lengthy message with yet again more changes, however I’m sure you will understand this is not a straightforward operation.  Ultimately, the safety of our children and families is paramount.

As always, we value the views of our families and continue to ask that if you have any questions or queries around operations such as these, to contact us via email or ring the school to make an appointment to speak with a member of the management team and we will happy to discuss these with you.