The children in Early Years and Primary have had an exciting morning.  We have had a procession, sing, dancing and the burning of the galley the early years made.  Everybody loved being a viking for a morning.  A selection of pictures in no particular order is below:

Dear Parents and Carers
Information to all Parents and Carers: Shetland Schools to start Phased Return of Children and Young People later this Month
On Wednesday 06 January 2021, I wrote to you to confirm that there would be a period of remote learning in place for the month of January. Furthermore, since my last letter, the Scottish Government subsequently extended remote learning to Wednesday 17 February 2021.
I now write to inform you that the First Minister, on Tuesday 02 February 2021, has announced a planned phased return of schools and early learning and childcare settings later this month.
More specifically, in Shetland, Children’s Services are now planning for children in Early Learning and Childcare settings and all primary one to primary three children to return to their setting on a full-time basis, after the February long weekend, from Tuesday 23 February 2021.
There is also a planned part-time return, on a very limited basis, for senior phase, secondary four to secondary six pupils, from Tuesday 23 February 2021, to allow them to undertake work that is necessary for completion of essential practical work for national qualification courses. Further information about how this limited provision will be operated will follow from Children’s Services and secondary settings shortly.
Children in other year groups will continue to be at home, engaging in remote learning.
The Scottish Government has also committed to expanding testing provision for school and early learning and childcare staff, and for senior phase pupils. More detail will follow for parents and carers of children in secondary four to secondary six.
This proposed phased return will only be finalised by the Scottish Government around Tuesday 16 February 2021, and will be dependent on the on-going suppression of coronavirus in Scotland by then.
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Meanwhile, key worker provision will continue during the phased reopening of schools for eligible children from primary four to secondary three. Children of key workers will continue to access their remote learning in their setting. Your child’s school or early learning and childcare setting will shortly be in touch with you to ascertain your requirements from Tuesday 23 February 2021. New key worker applications will continue to be processed centrally in Children’s Services, following existing criteria and processes and the application form is available on the Covid-19 Updates webpage: https://www.shetland.gov.uk/schools/schools-covid-19-updates
Arrangements for children and young people requiring additional support that are currently in place from primary four to secondary six will also continue.
I understand that parents and carers will have a range of thoughts and views on these planned later this month. I include a link below to the Parent Club, the Scottish Government website for parents and carers, for more information: FAQs on Scottish childcare and nurseries reopening | Parent Club I would like to reassure you that health and safety will continue to be absolutely paramount to all of our planning for the phased return of some of our children and young people. There are already a range of measures and mitigations in place in all our school and early learning and childcare settings, which will be reviewed, and enhanced where appropriate, before children and young people return. You should continue to discuss any concerns or worries that you have around your child’s education more generally at this very challenging time with your school’s Head Teacher and/or their pupil support teacher in secondary. Children’s Services and your child’s school/early learning and childcare setting will also continue to update you over the coming weeks, and I would like to thank you again for all that you are doing supporting your children’s learning.
Yours sincerely
Helen Budge
Director of Children’s Services

It is great that we are starting school again and we look forward to welcoming the Primary pupils back from this Thursday 13^th August and the Nursery pupils starting to return from Monday 17^th August.

As you can imagine there is a lot of information still to share with you regarding our return, here is the most important information with more to follow in the coming weeks:

Drop off and Pick up arrangements

The school will be supervised from 8.45am each morning so primary pupils can be dropped off between 8.45 and the morning bell at 9.15.  There will be no breakfast club for the foreseeable future due to current restrictions.  School finishes at 3.15.

Please be aware that the car park will be even more crowded so it may be worthwhile for parents to park in the layby above the school in order to avoid manoeuvring among a lot of cars and people.

Please adhere to social distancing by staying in your car if there is a difficulty with social distancing at the front door. Primary pupils will enter the school through the front door and nursery pupils through the side door.  It is expected that parents will not enter the school building unless in exceptional circumstances.

If pupils are using school transport they are requested to sanitise their hands before entering the bus.  Please be aware the driver will be wearing a face covering.

Primary 1 pupils will finish school at 1pm until Friday 28^th August.  Parents are reminded that they will need to make arrangements for their collection at this time.

Health and Safety Measures

The school has a full time day cleaner in addition to the evening clean.  This means that a very high level of hygiene will be maintained through the school building at all times. Pupils and staff will be washing their hands very regularly and practising good hygiene such as sneezing into the crook of the elbow – staff will support and explain these measures carefully to children.  Anyone who wishes to wear a face covering can do so.

Inside the school will be clearly signposted for moving about and teachers will explain the procedures to pupils.

Anyone who is feeling unwell should not come to school.  The most common Covid-19 symptoms are cough, fever/high temperature, loss of, or change in, sense of smell or taste.

Breaktime and Lunchtime Arrangements

Both primary classes will share the playground and follow the same timetable.  Pupils should take a bottle of water and a snack for breaktime to school each day.  Please note there is no tuckshop at the moment.  For this term, packed lunches will be provided (menu to follow on Facebook).  Pupils will have their lunch in the dining hall in a group with the rest of their class.  If it is a fine day we will be able to take lunch outside.

Possessions and Clothing

Outdoor learning will have high priority this year.  Could you make sure your child comes to school suitably dressed for being outside for longer durations.  The school has a supply of wellingtons and waterproofs for those that need them.  Please ensure that the possessions your child takes into school are kept to an absolute minimum.

PE lessons will take place outdoors initially so please ensure your child has suitable joggers, trainers etc for this activity.  It would be preferable if they had a pair of joggers they could leave at school as lessons may take place on any day of the week and wearing jeans will not be acceptable.  The Gym teacher will visit the school on some Fridays.

Staffing update

We are delighted that Alex Purbrick and Tegan Patterson are joining the Primary team as job share Learning Support Workers.  Robert Szocs will be working as day cleaner.

Communication

We will continue to communicate with you through a range of media, including our closed Facebook groups, our website, email, and paper (when necessary/on request), telephone and face-to-face.

Parentpay

Parent pay will operate the same as last year. The school will add on your child’s attendance so you can see how much you owe. School dinners cost £2.20 per day for P4 – 7.  P1-3 school dinners are free. Milk for Primary pupils costs 90p per week.

FREE School meals and Clothing Grant

Please see the SIC website for more information.

What’s On

A future newsletter will detail what’s on this term at a later date

Please remember support is available for children and young people and families where there are worries and concerns about returning.  If you have any concerns or anything else you would like to discuss please get in touch with Wendy Fraser to discuss these concerns.  Please remember that actual meetings in the school will be in exceptional circumstances.

We look forward to seeing the pupils on Thursday.

Kind Regards

Wendy Fraser

Head Teacher

School Transport Guidance for Parents and Carers – Shetland
3 August 2020
Instructions for All Pupils Entitled to School Transport
 Hand sanitisation is required prior to boarding all vehicles
o It is the responsibility of the parents/carers to ensure that pupils have access to hand sanitiser for
this purpose and particular consideration must be given to circumstances where changing vehicles is
necessary to complete a journey
 No food or drinks are to be consumed on any vehicle
 School pupils must not board dedicated school transport or public service vehicles if they or someone in
their household have symptoms of COVID-19
 If a pupil develops symptoms at school, that pupil must be sent home and must not travel on school or
public service transport
o It is the responsibility of the parents/carers to make appropriate and safe arrangements to collect
the pupil from school
o It is strongly advised that a face covering should be worn by the pupil during the arranged journey
home
 It is the responsibility of the parents/carers to ensure that they are clear on whether or not their
child/children travel on a public service bus during their journey to/from school. The services allocated to
each pupil are noted on their bus pass. Bus passes must be carried at all times to indicate eligibility for
service use. A fare is payable for all non-entitled journeys made on public service buses and will be required
if a bus pass is not shown to the driver on boarding. Fares can be paid in cash (exact fare only) or through
using a Local Bus Services card. These cards can be purchased and topped up as necessary on board the
buses. Young Scot cards must be carried as proof of age in order to access a child fare (for those under 16)
or to access a 1/3 discount (for those aged 16-18).

Dedicated School Transport
 Where school pupils travel on a dedicated school transport vehicle to get to/from school:
o School pupils are not required to physically distance from other pupils on dedicated school transport
 Drivers must be socially distanced from the pupils and any support staff must also be socially
distanced from pupils that they are not required to support during the journey
o Face coverings are not required for pupils, however any pupil wishing to wear a face covering may
do so
 Due to the potential for cross-contamination, face coverings left on board will be disposed of
immediately and will not be treated as lost property
o Drivers and any support staff will be wearing face masks
 Parents are asked to ensure that pupils are aware of this
o School pupils are requested to sit in the furthest back seat possible upon boarding a dedicated
school transport vehicle
o Where possible, additional ventilation will be provided on board through the opening of windows or
the use of air conditioning where fitted
o Good respiratory hygiene must be observed and pupils are encouraged to carry tissues in case of
coughs or sneezes during the journey
 All tissues must be removed from the vehicle by pupils and disposed of in a bin at the
earliest opportunity
o Parents/carers are responsible for ensuring the thorough cleaning of any items of specialist
equipment that pupils take to school
Public Transport
 Where school pupils travel on a public service bus to get to/from school:
o All physical distancing guidance in place at the time of travel must be observed from other
passengers (currently 1m in Shetland)
o Where a zone has been marked out for use by school pupils, this area must be used. Physical
distancing will not be required between school pupils in these zones but face coverings must still be
worn due to the proximity to other passengers, following the points noted below:
o Face coverings must be worn in line with the guidance in place at the time of travel
 Temporary face coverings must be disposed of in a bin and not left on the vehicle
 Reusable face coverings must be kept in a plastic bag so that they can be taken home safely
 Pupils must wash or sanitise their hands after disposing of or bagging their face covering
 Due to the potential for cross-contamination, face coverings left on board will be disposed of
immediately and will not be treated as lost property
o Where possible, additional ventilation will be provided on board through the opening of windows or
the use of air conditioning where fitted
o Good respiratory hygiene must be observed and pupils are encouraged to carry tissues in case of
coughs or sneezes during the journey
 All tissues must be removed from the vehicle by pupils and disposed of in a covered bin at
the earliest opportunity
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Each year, I apply for the use of a vacant seat on school transport for my child to get to school as they are
attending a school outside of their catchment area. How can I apply?
Due to capacity constraints on school transport and the necessity to ensure that appropriate social distancing is
provided for the safety of the driver and any support staff on board, the application process for vacant seats is
currently suspended. Details as to how to apply will be provided when the guidance allows consideration to be given
to allocating vacant seats.
2. What cleaning regimes are in place on school transport and public bus service vehicles?
All vehicles are wiped down with an appropriate cleaning solution following every journey. This will include the
thorough cleaning of all common touch points on board. Vehicles are cleaned further at the end of each day.
3. My child is not entitled to school transport and uses the public bus to get to school. What do I need to be
aware of?
Public bus service capacities remain limited due to social distancing measures on board. Due to the number of public
bus passengers and non-entitled school children who may require to use these services, it may not always be possible
to socially distance.
ZetTrans are looking at ways to identify services which are at or are nearing the social distanced capacity and will
update their website in order to inform passenger choices. This website can be found at www.zettrans.org.uk and
the COVID-19 link is on the bar at the top of the page.
It should also be noted that public bus services are changing from Monday 17th August 2020. All new timetables will
be available on the ZetTrans website and on the ZetTrans App in the coming days.
4. My child is entitled to school transport and this is provided through use of the public service bus. I am
concerned about the capacity of the bus and whether or not my child will be able to distance appropriately
from other people. What is being done about this?
The capacities on public bus services utilised in the provision of school transport have been examined and assessed.
In cases where it is clear that social distancing will not be possible, additional dedicated school transport
arrangements will be made. Pick up times and locations will remain the same as previously advised. In cases where
passenger figures indicate that there will be sufficient capacity, pupils will remain on these services. Where possible,
pupil zones will be marked out in the vehicles. Continued monitoring will be carried out to ensure that any future
need for additional measures are identified and actioned quickly.
Any parent/carer whose child is in receipt of additional support needs transport will be contacted directly by staff in
the Transport Planning Service.