WELCOME BACK ARRANGEMENTS

Please note this information as also been communicated to all parents/carers via text/email.

Dear Parents

I am delighted that we will be welcoming the children back to school next week for the start of the new term.  Following recent government and GCC advice we would like to update you with our latest plans for children returning to school on Wednesday 12th August 2020.

Health and Safety

Please be reassured we have a risk assessment in place and further health and safety precautions for recovery planning arebeing taken. It is vital that if your child is symptomatic and has a high temperature, persistent cough or loss of taste and smell then you should seek immediate advice through NHS inform Track Trace and Isolate procedures to get a test for Covid-19 and your child and others living with them should remain at home.

We have enhanced cleaning measures in place and there will be a ‘during the day’ cleaning allocation for touch points and higher traffic areas. We have set up a hand sanitiser station in every classroom and the classrooms will be well-ventilated and have the door left open when teaching. Children will regularly hand wash and these routines will be established by the class teacher. Personal Protective Equipment is also available to staff in the school. Our first aid area has moved from Room 8 to Room 7 to enable 2m social distancing.

Social Distancing

The government has advised that children of primary school age do not need to socially distance from their peers. Adults / staff should remain at a 2m social distance from others.Currently parents are not able to access the school building unless by prior arrangement.

All primary classes will return or start school on Wednesday 12th August 2020.

P2-7 children will start school at 8.55 and finish around 3pm.

P1 pupils will have slightly reduced hours for the first week to support them to settle in as they may have had an extended time away from nursery due to lockdown. Primary 1 pupilswill come in to school from 10am to 2pm. From Monday 17thAugust they will be in school all day 8.55-3pm.

Lunch, Breakfast club, Afterschool Care

Lunch and breaks

Arrangements will be made for staggered lunches in the dinner hall. Children will be asked to choose their lunch in class from 3 choices ( 2 options & special dietary requirement option) and given a sticker to indicate their choice when they arrive in the dinner hall to reduce waiting times and queuing. Playtime breaks will also be staggered.

Breakfast Club

Children can attend breakfast club from 8-8.45 as required. Glasgow City Council will shortly be issuing a parent letter to encourage parents whose children are not entitled to free school meals/ breakfast an option to pay for their breakfast/lunch through a BACS payment weekly to reduce the need for cash, although this will still be accepted.

Afterschool care

KoolKidz Afterschool care who are based in the school building are awaiting confirmation of their let and will share more information when they receive it.

Glasgow City Council have cancelled all lets in schools apart from afterschool care providers and sport’s clubs. Therefore many activities and events the school would normally participate in will not go ahead until further notice or any changes to policy. Assemblies/singing will not be allowable under current restrictions. We are also awaiting confirmation regarding our planned residential trip.

Equipment

Can we request that parents do not allow children to bring additional items from home such as toys to school? The school have organised and will provide children with the required pencils, rulers, erasers, sharpers, etc in a zipped wallet. Pencils cases and equipment you have already purchased can be used at home for homework. Children need to come to school with a school bag with minimum items, labelled clothing and a labelled water bottle filled with water from home.

Gym Kit

Children should bring a gym kit into school and we are looking for further opportunities to do outdoor curricular learning, for example, doing PE outdoors.

Trail arrangements for entering and exiting the school building

We would appreciate if children can arrive at school on time to allow arrangements to run smoothly and help children settle back to routines including extra hand washing. However, if your child is late please enter by the front door where they will be welcomed in. School starts at 8.55am.

It is essential that adults dropping off and collecting children from school adhere to the 2m social distancing in place. We usually use the two back gate entrances for children and as you may be aware particularly at 3pm this gets very crowded and does not allow for adult social distancing. We would like to request that parents do not crowd in gate areas and remain at a safe distance.

We will trial using additional entrances/exits to help alleviate this congestion and then following this are flexible and can change plans according to what works best for everyone.

Front Gate 3 (Disabled Ramp to left of front door) PrimaryOne should come in and out of the disabled access ramp to the front of the school. For Primary One in the first week, staffwill be there at 10am and to ensure that children come in and leave safely at 2pm.

For security all P2-7 will need to enter the school in the morning via the back gate entrances, however there will be more exits at 3pm to ease congestion at busy times.

Front Gate 3 (Disabled Ramp to left of front door) at 3pmPrimary 2a and P2b will exit (not enter)

Front Gate 4 (to the right of front door) at 3pm P6a andP5a will exit

Lower School Back Gate 2 at 2.57pm on first bell P5/4 andP4a then at 3pm Primary 3a and P3b will exit

Upper School Back Gate 1 at 3pm P7/6 and P7a will exit

Pupils and parents will be consulted as to which temporary arrangements are working for the majority and arrangements are flexible and will respond to needs, such as family groups, or with parental agreement older children may be able to choose their preferred exit front or back.

At 3pm staff will be unable to have the usual chats with parents face to face at the gates as this will cause congestion but are more than happy to call parents back to discuss any information or queries. Notes to teachers can be given to children to share information directly with teachers.

Parents should also be aware that the church refurbishments are also underway and the church car park is now closed.  To ensure the children’s safety we have requested that any construction traffic avoid the start / end of the school day. There will be additional cars parked in the street and limited spaces for parents. We would like to suggest that, where possible, parents walk to school to collect their children or arrange to collect at an agreed point to ease congestion and this will also allow parents with limited mobility to collect children too.

Individual Needs

Finally we are acutely aware that some children and staff may be understandably anxious about pupils returning to school. We have an enhanced health and well-being support programme in place through PATHS. We also have a new larger nurture base area for children who may need some time to settle out of class with Mrs Lawson or a member of support staff.  We would like parents of children with ASN to contact the school on Monday 10th August to arrange to speak to one of the depute head teachers to discuss your child’s well-being plan. It is also essential that parents telephone the school on Monday 10th August to arrange provision of medicines or inhalers which need to be in school as well as to discuss/sign any individual health plans before children start back on Wednesday 12th August.

I would like to thank you in advance for your support of these new procedures. The wellbeing of our school community is vital and we all play an essential part in keeping ourselves and others safe.

Kind Regards

J Gillies

Headteacher