St Bartholomews

Dear parent/carer,

I hope that you and your families continue to stay well in these very challenging times.
As you are all aware, learning and teaching will now take place on digital platforms from Monday 11th January until at least February. We will continue to update you with the latest information as and when it arrives.
In terms of our digital offering, we have a wide variety of activities and opportunities for all of our pupils to access. Firstly, I would ask you to access class DOJO where you will be able to register your child for the day and will be directed to OneNote, where all of your child’s learning activities will be found. In order to assist you and your child with access, Ms Allington has compiled a very useful instructional video about gaining access to the Virtual Classroom and One Note. This can be found on Class DOJO.

What you can expect

Please log in every morning by 9.15am through Class DOJO where you will be registered and directed to One Note through Glow. The class teacher will upload a welcome message with a summary of the day’s learning and children will be asked to engage with this learning and return completed tasks. Class teachers have worked extremely hard to create a wide variety of learning opportunities for your child to engage with. Children will receive ‘stars’ as a reward for their registration and the return of completed work. There will be a ‘Star of the Week’ in each class and a prize for a pupil in each class with the most stars at the end of the digital learning period.

Teachers will direct children to a ‘room’ in the virtual classroom where a variety of activities can be found. The appropriate colour of room will be shared with you and your child on DOJO and through Glow. The school have a number of subscription programmes such as Accelerated Reading and MYON that allow children to access a number of books and their corresponding assessments.
We have also placed instructions on how to access digital learning through Xbox and Play station on class Dojo, twitter, HT Blog and Glow should families not have access to laptops and/ or tablets.

Please be rest assured that class teacher will be able to support your child at all times and should technical issues or other barriers to learning arise, please make the class teacher aware and the Senior Management Team will be on hand to assist.

Kind regards,
Deirdre Bolland,
Head Teacher

Please see the latest information below from Derek Brown, our Executive Director, in relation to the recent statement from The First Minister:

Dear parent/carer,

Clarification of January arrangements

Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone the very best of health, success and happiness for 2021. In light of national events, I wanted to get in touch with you before schools, family learning centres and nurseries return this week.

It is important that we continue to provide quality learning and education for all our children and young people without widespread disruption to their learning but it is vital that we do this within appropriate environments and with hygiene and physical distancing guidance in place to reduce the risk of transmission of coronavirus.

You will be aware that the First Minister previously announced that there would be an extended Christmas holiday break for pupils until 11 January (the exception to that is the vulnerable and key worker children for whom schools are asked to provide childcare from 6 – 8 January).

Yesterday the First Minister clarified that in light of the rise in COVID-19 cases nationally, the arrangements previously announced for schools for the January have changed. All children and young people return to learning on Monday 11 January 2021 when online learning will be in place until 1 February 2021. There is a possibility that these arrangements could continue on for a longer period, subject to review on 18 January.

Under these arrangements, schools are closed for most pupils, who will instead be provided with a programme of remote learning, based on digital experiences and supplemented with other resources, where that is applicable.

The change in guidance from the Scottish Government will make care and support for our children and young people challenging, but keeping them as safe as possible is paramount while we work through this health emergency as well as ensuring continuity of education provision through online learning at home.

Government guidance also stipulates that childminders can stay open to all children and should operate in accordance with Level 4 guidance.

Teachers will be in direct contact with pupils who will be able to access online learning through GLOW and Teams. In addition, this will be supplemented by the council’s Digital School offering, which is currently available to primary and secondary schools. All content on the digital school will be regularly updated to ensure pupils have access to quality materials based on the curriculum. Further information will come directly from your school in relation to the digital offering before pupils return on the 11 January 2021.

In line with Scottish Government guidance, all schools, including primary, secondary, LCSC and additional support needs, as well as family learning centres and nurseries (local authority and partner providers), will be open from Wednesday 6 until Friday 8 January only for children of key workers and vulnerable families when childcare support will be provided.

If you are a key worker and are unable to work from home, all schools, family learning centres and nurseries will be open for children and young people during existing times, when they will receive in-class learning. Lunch will be provided.

This service is only available to children of key workers (in the list attached) and vulnerable families. If another parent/carer is able to work from home, then your child must stay at home. Key worker support should only be accessed where you have no other alternative. Parents/carers who are key workers only should complete the attached key worker support form and send to the dedicated mailbox:keyworkerschools@northlan.gov.uk
Further details will be provided nearer the time.

Key workers are being contacted separately by members of our central team today to confirm receipt of their application and that their children can attend school on 6 January.

Schools have been given information about who key workers are and who to expect to attend. Those key workers who have not submitted the on-line form can still access the service, but need to make contact with their child’s/children’s school directly on Wednesday 6 January.

Children who were previously categorised as shielding must not attend, and under no circumstances should any child with symptoms of coronavirus present at a school or early years’ facility.

Access to Schools and Early Learning Centres for Vulnerable Children

Under the Scottish Government arrangements, vulnerable children are expected to attend school and Early Years settings. Prior to Christmas schools identified children and young people in that category. They will make arrangements for these children to attend from the 6 January onwards.

A full list of criteria for establishing vulnerable children is available on the Scottish Government website
https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-school-re-opening-arrangements-for-january-2021/pages/vulnerable-children-and-young-people/”>https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-school-re-opening-arrangements-for-january-2021/pages/vulnerable-children-and-young-people

Vulnerable family support

Direct contact by their lead professional (social worker, health worker or school link) will be made with families of vulnerable children.  If you are unable to contact your lead professional (social worker, health visitor, school link) to discuss attendance at school, please contact the Duty Officer – Education and Families on 01236 856326 (Monday to Friday, 8.45am-4.45pm) or social work emergency service on 0800 121 4114 (public holidays, weekends and out of office hours).

Transportation

If your child is attending school because you are a key worker or a vulnerable family, school transport will continue as normal from 6 – 8 January. You will be advised by your head teacher of any changes following this date, should there be any need to revise arrangements.

Additional Support Needs

I would like to thank ASN parent councils for working with us throughout this challenging time. Schools are planning for a bespoke learning package for individual children and young people. Head teachers/heads of centre or lead professionals will be in contact with parents/carers of children and young people with additional support needs to communicate arrangements and plans.

Free school meals

For all those who are eligible for free school meals, whether because of universal provision for P1-P3 or because you are otherwise entitled, Paypoint vouchers will be administered by SMS for the period 6 January – 1 February when children and young people are learning from home.

This is an unparalleled situation and one that is changing rapidly but the council is focused on providing all our children and young people with quality education until schools and ELC establishments can return to a more normal routine.

I appreciate that you will still have questions around schools, centres and nurseries and about ongoing practical considerations and I aim to provide a further update when children and young people return to learning on 11 January 2021. Information is available

https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/coronavirus/advice-parents-coronavirus/latest-school-updates/latest-school-updates

Yours,

Derek Brown

Executive Director

Education and Families

Dear parent/carer,

Please see below, a copy of a letter from Derek Brown, our Executive Director, outlining arrangements for January. It is worth noting that both parents must be key workers and unable to work from home in order to access in-class learning. Our digital offering is very robust and  children should all benefit from this, therefore it is important that children log in every morning to engage with their teacher. Thank you in advance for your continued support and from everyone in the St Bartholomew’s family, have a very happy and Holy Christmas. We look forward to seeing and hearing from you in the New Year.

Kind regards,

Deirdre Bolland,

Head Teacher

Dear parent/carer,
Clarification for January arrangements
You will be aware that the First Minister announced at the weekend that the school Christmas holiday will now be extended to Monday 11 January 2021 for all pupils. While we await further clarification from the Scottish Government, I wanted to get in touch with you before schools, family learning centres and nurseries finish for the festive break to outline our plans for the return in the new year.
The change in guidance from the Scottish Government will make care and support for our children and young people challenging, but keeping them as safe as possible is paramount while we work through this health emergency as well as ensuring continuity of education provision through online learning at home.
In line with Scottish Government guidance, all schools, including primary, secondary, LCSC and additional support needs, as well as family learning centres and nurseries (local authority and partner providers), will be open from Wednesday 6 until Friday 8 January only for children of key workers and vulnerable families when childcare support will be provided.
Government guidance also stipulates that childminders can stay open to all children and should operate in accordance with Level 4 guidance.
All children and young people return to learning on Monday 11 January 2021 when online learning will be in place at least until 18 January 2021.
Online learning
Teachers will be in direct contact with pupils who will be able to access online learning through GLOW and Teams. In addition, this will be supplemented by the council’s Digital School offering, which is currently available to primary and secondary schools. All content on the digital school will be regularly updated to ensure pupils have access to quality materials based on the curriculum. Further information will come directly from your school in relation to the digital offering before pupils return on the 11 January 2021.

Key worker and vulnerable family support
If you are a key worker and are unable to work from home, all schools, family learning centres and nurseries will be open for children and young people during existing times, when they will receive in-class learning. Lunch will be provided.
This service is only available to children of key workers (in the list attached) and vulnerable families. If another parent/carer is able to work from home, then your child must stay at home. Key worker support should only be accessed where you have no other alternative. Parents/carers who are key workers only should complete the attached key worker support form and send to the dedicated mailbox: keyworkerschools@northlan.gov.uk. Further details will be provided nearer the time.
Direct contact by their lead professional (social worker, health worker or school link) will be made with families of vulnerable children. If you are unable to contact your lead professional (social worker, health visitor, school link) to discuss attendance at school, please contact the Duty Officer – Education and Families on 01236 856326 (Monday to Friday, 8.45am-4.45pm) or social work emergency service on 0800 121 4114 (public holidays, weekends and out of office hours).
If you are using this service because you are a key worker or a vulnerable family, school transport will continue as normal week commencing Monday 11 January. You will be advised by your head teacher of any changes.
Additional Support Needs
I would like to thank ASN parent councils for working with us throughout this challenging time. Schools are planning for a bespoke learning package for individual children and young people. Head teachers/heads of centre or your lead professional will be in contact with parents/carers of children and young people with additional support needs to communicate arrangements and plans.
Free school meals
For all those who are eligible for free school meals, whether because of universal provision for P1-P3 or because you are otherwise entitled, Paypoint vouchers will be administered by SMS for the period 6 – 15 January when children and young people are learning from home.
This is an unparalleled situation and one that is changing rapidly but the council is focused on providing all our children and young people with quality education until schools and ELC establishments can return to a more normal routine.
I appreciate that you will still have questions around schools, centres and nurseries and about ongoing practical considerations and I aim to provide a further update when children and young people return to learning on 11 January 2021. More information will be available at northlanarkshire.gov.uk/schoolplans.
I would like to wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
Regards,

Derek Brown
Executive Director
Education and Families

Please see the additional photographs of the remaining hampers to be raffled on Friday. The very best of luck everyone! Huge thanks to all of our parents and carers who have very kindly donated items towards the hampers.

Please remember that we finish up for the Christmas holidays on Tuesday 22nd December at 2.30pm.

On behalf of all the St Bartholomew’s family, we wish you all a very happy and Holy Christmas.

Mrs Bolland

The photographs above display most of the fabulous Christmas hampers that our classes    our together over the past few weeks with the very generous support and donations from our fabulous families. The raffles will be drawn on Friday so get in quick for last minutes tickets!

The photographs above illustrate some of the wonderful examples of the increased skills and knowledge that our senior pupils have gained this session. Well done boys and girls and a huge thank you to their wonderful teachers.

The Parent Council met yesterday evening, albeit in a virtual setting and discussed a number of issues. The main points included the upcoming ‘Walking Bus’ pilot that we are undertaking, Halloween arrangements and ongoing congestion at the gates.  As you know the Walking Bus project starts on Monday 2nd November, all going well and no changes to government guidelines. Arrangements are in place for children who come to school in a car to be safely dropped off at a choice of 2 pick up points. These are the corner of Leven Road and Townhead Road, where the children will depart at 8.40am and Tantallon Drive at the corner of Belmont Street, where the children will depart at 8.50am. Please note that 2 parent volunteers will be placed at each pick up point with the addition of 4 Primary 7 House Captains at each point. Emma from NLC Active Schools will also be at the first pick up point to supervise the walk in it’s entirety.
The main reason for being involved in this project is to reduce the amount of cars on the road in the surrounding school area. Drivers have been parking with a lack of consideration for pedestrians, many of whom are children. This is a potential hazard. Other benefits that the project can achieve are a reduction in car emissions and the fac5 that children can increase their fitness levels through walking before school starts. It’s also great for health and wellbeing and helping to clear the head before getting down to work at school. We would like to thank the parents who have volunteered already and this is very much appreciated and would encourage more parents to volunteer so that it becomes less onerous and a rota can be created. Thank you in advance.

Again, our wonderful Parent Council have organised Halloween fun on Friday afternoon and there are prizes for bingo,fun activities and lots of treats! Thank you for organising this and we are all looking forward to seeing the wonderful ‘ Crazy  Halloween Hair’ that some of our children will be wearing on Friday. Could I please remind parents and carers that no Halloween costumes should be worn or any toys etc brought in from home.
Another suggestions at the Parent Council meeting was to ask parents to wait on the pavements on the opposite side of the road from the school gates. This will ensure that children can gather in an organised fashion prior to the bell without additional congestion. Teachers are then more able to identify their pupils clearly, thus ensuring their safety more readily.

Thank you to all of our parents and carers who have been very supportive in adhering to the 2 metre distancing guidelines at the school gates, this is very much appreciated to ensure the safety of our pupils and staff.

Mrs Bolland

The photographs above illustrate some of the fabulous work that takes place in St Bart’s every day. Well done boys and girls and thank you to your wonderful teachers for helping you create these wonderful pieces.
Thank you to our parents and carers who have supported their children with homework on Glow. It is very important that children access this portal at home as homework will be digitally based for the foreseeable future. Children are all familiar with their passwords and usernames as they regularly access this in ICT time in school.

We had our first virtual Parent Council meeting last night and I am delighted to report that it was a great success. Everyone managed to log on and contribute towards the meeting in order to support our pupils. Discussions took place on topics such as traffic around the school, congestion around the gates and future events in school. I have been in touch with NLC in respect of organising a ‘Walking Bus’ which would mean that children could gather at certain points and be walked to school by NLC’s Active Schools personnel in addition to parent volunteers. It was suggested that perhaps 3 different points in the surrounding area would be appropriate to ask parents to drop off their children so as to avoid traffic build up around the school. Should you wish to be  a volunteer, please contact Nicola Rae, our Chair of the Parent Council who will provide you with suitable details. Again, initiatives such as these rely on parent support and the more volunteers that we have, the less demanding this commitment will be. You may only have to volunteer once per week or ever other week, dependent on numbers. Please consider volunteering in order alleviate this potentially challenging situation.

Our Parent  Council will notify you via letter with respect to the ‘walking bus’ and other points that are relevant to supporting our pupils and their families. Thank you in advance to our Parent Council members who work hard to support our children. The minutes from our meetings will be uploaded on to our school website. Again, should you wish to join a meeting and contribute to the life of the school, please contact Nicola Rae.

Mrs Bolland

As you know our pupils have settled back in to school life at St Bartholomew’s very well and  I am sure that they will enjoy sharing their news with you on a daily basis.
Thank you in advance to all of our parents and carers who have been incredibly supportive of all of the government guidelines in relation to COVID. It is much appreciated and essential to everyone’s safety which is of course our number one priority.
Could I ask that all contact details are all up to date as access to our text service and app is based on this information. Please ensure that you have access to DOJO, our blog, Twitter, text service and app as most of our communication will be through email.
It is also worth a reminder to all of our parents and carers to be mindful of social distancing at the gates and clear the entrance to the gate so that children can enter and exit safely. Thank you in advance for your cooperation with this and will ensure that all of our pupils are safe.

Should a parent require to pick their child up from school, could you please wear a mask if you are entering our playground? In the event that your child is late for school, please phone the school office to make arrangements.

On another note,  we have scheduled a Parent Council meeting on Wednesday 30th September and this will be virtual due to current circumstances. This will very much be a trial meeting, hence the reason it’s only the committee that are invited at this time and we will open up the meetings next month. As always, all are welcome and we look forward to new members, especially our new parents in Primary 1.
Our whole school assemblies are also virtual at the moment and the children have been thoroughly enjoying them. ‘ Pupils of the week’ are announced and celebrated throughout the school, in addition to house points and ‘Cool Class Cup’. Points are always awarded for full school uniform and good manners. The children have been fantastic in respect to demonstrating good manners and respectful behaviour- they are a credit to their families and themselves!

Flu immunisation will take place in school for Primary 1 to Primary 7 on Thursday 8th October. Again Parent’s evening will be very different this year and we will keep you up to date with this shortly. Our annual book Fayre will still be available, albeit on a COVID safe basis. No monies will be taken in school. Books requested will be paid for through the same portal as school meals. Simply click on ‘shop’ – Book Fayre payment is just the same as paying school meal sample of books on sale will be sent via email leaflet. You can also look at books online Scholastic Book Fayre.
Government guidelines highlight that children should be outdoors for interval time and lunch time in all but extreme weather. Could I please ask that all children come appropriately dressed each day with a raincoat/ cagoule and sensible footwear? As you know, children love to be outdoors and the benefits to both their physical and mental health are incredibly positive.
We have been working on enhancing our digital learning offering and as such teaching staff have been working on their various  Glow pages. A new addition to our digital offering is the use of OneNote. This is basically a digital jotter and allows for children’s work to be corrected and feedback to be acted on. The Digital School is also an enhancement to digital learning and it is on pupil pages. Our teachers have also been working on updating virtual classrooms so that in the event of self isolation or any given situation that creates a given period of time away from school, children have access to quality learning. Instructions will be available to all of parents and carers to help support gaining access to these various tools.

As always, thank you for your continued support and please be rest assured that we are always here to help.

Mrs Bolland

Dear Parents/ Carers,

I am delighted to report that our Primary 1, Primary 2 and Primary 3 boys and girls have had a fabulous day! There were even a number of children who literally skipped up the stairs when entering the playground, it was a lovely sight! We have missed the children terribly and we are all delighted to have classrooms filled with children again. A point that school staff noticed today was that lunch boxes were difficult to manage safely as they cannot be collected in a box at the end of lunch time, as they would ordinarily, due to cross contamination. Could we ask all  parents  to now pack lunches in a disposable bag form now on? Thank you in advance for your much needed cooperation with this. I appreciate that some parents have recently bought new lunch boxes and may be disappointed, however they will certainly be used in the future. We look forward to welcoming our Primary 4- 7 children tomorrow!

As you know, we are happy to receive feedback from our parents and I know that many of you appreciate the hard work that has been put in to organising children’s safe return to school. A parent has recently ben in touch to voice concerns over parental social distancing outside of the school and the lack of consideration from some drivers, in addition to those parents who were not adhering to the time allocation that their child had been given. Could I respectfully ask that all parents adhered to the former points to ensure that all children, staff and parents are safe? Thank you in advance for your cooperation. It is worth pointing out that we are unable to use the playground prior to allocated times as per instructions from North Lanarkshire Council.

Could I also remind parents that Breakfast Club is up and running and starts at 8.15am  and we look forward to seeing our boys and girls who require this service.

Kind regards,

Mrs Bolland

Dear Parents/ Carers,

I am pleased to be able to provide you with  specific relevant details in order that your child is able to safely return to school from Wednesday 12th August. This information can be found below, in the form of a copy of a  letter that has also been posted and emailed to you.  I have included a general letter that outlines the time that your child will start and finish school and you will notice that there are staggered times so that pupils can enter and exit the building safely. Primary 1 parents will receive a separate letter and this is also listed below, in addition to being sent via our digital systems. Thank you in advance for your continued patience and support, as always, it is very much appreciated. We look forward to seeing you all next week!

Mrs Bolland

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Dear Parent / Carer

Revised Start/Finish Times

I have written to you previously regarding changes to school operating procedures for August in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. These included changes to how children enter and exit the school and specific start/finish times for each class.

As you will already be aware, in light of new guidance from the Scottish Government and from North Lanarkshire Council, it has been necessary to make changes to these operating procedures to accommodate the full return of all pupils next week.

To avoid congestion at school entry and exit points, and for everyone’s safety, it will still be necessary to allocate each class to a specific entry/exit gate and lining-up zone within the school. Access points and zones will still be colour-coded and signage will remain in place outside the school to direct parents/children to the correct entry/exit gate and zone. The table below outlines the access points, zones and times for each class:

(*please note that Primary 1 arrangements will be communicated to parents separately):

Class Entry/Exit Gate Lining-Up Zone Start Time Finish Time
Primary 1 Dunvegan Avenue Blue Zone 1
Primary 2 Dunvegan Avenue Blue Zone 1 9:00am 2:50pm
Primary 3 Dunvegan Avenue Blue Zone 1 9:05am 2:55pm
Primary 4 Rannoch Avenue Yellow Zone 2 9:00am 2:45pm
Primary 4/5 Rannoch Avenue Yellow Zone 2 9:05am 2:50pm
Primary 5 Rannoch Avenue Yellow Zone 2 9:05am 2:50pm
Primary 6 Rannoch Avenue Red Zone 3 9:10am 2:55pm
Primary 7a Rannoch Avenue Red Zone 3 9:15am 3:00pm
Primary 7b Rannoch Avenue Red Zone 3 9:15am 3:00pm

Please note that there will be strictly no access to the school grounds for any persons before 9am and there will be no adult supervision in place should children arrive before their designated time. It is therefore imperative that children arrive at the time stated and that the entry gate is kept clear at all times. Class teachers will collect classes at the times outlined above and children will line up in the school grounds in their allocated zones before accessing the school building. Similarly, at finishing time, it is imperative that parents collect children at the times specified and keep all exit gates clear until called forward to collect their child.

The guidance also remains that children should be dressed for all weather, including extreme weather, when coming to school. This should include a waterproof jacket or coat with a hood and warm clothing/footwear, as the weather dictates. This is important as we anticipate that it will take longer than usual for children to enter and exit the school building due to the staggered entry/exit times we have outlined.

Children arriving late to school
Entry to the school yard and building for parents/carers will be by appointment only, as previously advised. There will be strictly no access to the school yard for parents/carers at any time, unless by prior arrangement. It is therefore important that children arrive at school at their designated time, on time, each day. Where children arrive late to school, they should enter through their designated gate and make their own way to the Main Reception door before reporting to the school office.

I continue to appreciate the challenges facing parents who have children entering and exiting different gates at different times and thank you once again in anticipation of your continuing support with our plans. Please be assured that the safety of our children, parents and staff remains a priority and that our plans continue to be developed in line with government advice. We are currently working very hard to finalise a number of other details including Breakfast Club arrangements, arrangements for P.E. and how we will manage break times. We will advise you further as soon as we are in a position to do so and thank you in advance for your patience and understanding.

Yours faithfully

Mrs Bolland

Dear Parent / Carer

Primary 1 Start/Finish Times

I have written to you previously regarding changes to school operating procedures for August in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. These included changes to how children enter and exit the school and specific start/finish times for each class. As you will already be aware, in light of new guidance from the Scottish Government and from North Lanarkshire Council, it has been necessary to make changes to these operating procedures to accommodate the full return of all pupils next week. I am sure you will appreciate that the arrangements for Primary 1 have required very specific consideration to ensure that your child’s first day at school is as enjoyable and stress-free as possible.

To this end, we have allocated all Primary 1 children into a temporary group for the purposes of ensuring their safe entry and exit to the school building. Please note that your child is in Group 1 and that the following arrangements will apply to next Wednesday, Thursday and Friday only:

Primary 1 Entry/Exit Gate Lining-Up Zone Start Time Finish Time
Group 1 Dunvegan Avenue Blue Zone 1 9:20am 12:15pm
Group 2 Dunvegan Avenue Blue Zone 1 9:30am 12:15pm
Group 3 Dunvegan Avenue Blue Zone 1 9:40am 12:15pm
Group 4 Dunvegan Avenue Blue Zone 1 9:50am 12:15pm

We will ensure that all Primary 1 children have lunch before leaving school at 12:15pm to familiarise them with the dinner hall routines. We would ask all parents/carers to be at the school gate at 12:55pm and to keep the gate clear, while observing physical distancing, until called forward to collect their child. Ample staff will be on hand to assist with this.

It is anticipated that the soft start outlined above for our Primary 1 pupils will allow them plenty of time to adjust to their new school routines and therefore, from Monday 17th August, the entry/exit arrangements will be as follows:

Class Entry/Exit Gate Lining-Up Zone Start Time Finish Time
Primary 1 Dunvegan Avenue Blue Zone 1 9:15am 3:00pm

The guidance remains that children should be dressed for all weather, including extreme weather, when coming to school. This should include a waterproof jacket or coat with a hood and warm clothing/footwear, as the weather dictates. This is important as we anticipate that it will take longer than usual for children to enter and exit the school building due to the staggered entry/exit times we have outlined.

Entry to the school yard and building for parents/carers will be by appointment only, as previously advised. There will be strictly no access to the school yard for parents/carers at any time, unless by prior arrangement. It is therefore important that children arrive at school at their designated time, on time, each day. Where children arrive late to school, they should enter through their designated gate and make their own way to the Main Reception door before reporting to the school office.

I continue to appreciate the challenges facing parents who have children entering and exiting different gates at different times and thank you once again in anticipation of your continuing support with our plans. Please be assured that the safety of our children, parents and staff remains a priority and that our plans continue to be developed in line with government advice. We are currently working very hard to finalise a number of other details including Breakfast Club arrangements, arrangements for P.E. and how we will manage break times. We will advise you further as soon as we are in a position to do so and thank you in advance for your patience and understanding.

Yours faithfully

Mrs Bolland