Dear Parent / Carer
INFORMATION FOR
AUGUST
Over the last few weeks, we have been working on organising
the school to allow for social distancing and to comply with all current
guidelines to reduce the risk and spread of infection. We have put into place new procedures to
support this and I have listed these below for you to read and become familiar
with.
Car Park and Entry to
the Playground
- No parents are allowed to drive into the school
car park unless they are in receipt of a blue disability badge or approved red car park badge.
- The school gates will be closed from 8.45 – 9.15
am and from 2.45 – 3.15 pm.
- To date there is no confirmation of what school
transport will look like, if there is any.
As further details are shared about school transport, I will update you.
- Our Traffic Management Plan includes the Bent
Recreation Ground car park for parents to park/ drop off children.
Pedestrian Entrance
and Exit
- A one-way system will be in operation. Entry is via the side gate at the Bent stairs
and exit is via the main gate on to Dixon Street. This one-way system will allow for adults and
children to social distance and adhere to the 2m guidelines.
- Parents can drop children off on foot at the
front of the school but must leave children at the side gate to the playground
beside the gym hall.
- There will be a soft start for pupils to be
dropped of in school from 8.55am- 9.15am to allow for social distancing and a
safe entry to the building. Children can be dropped off at the side gate
anytime within this 20-minute period. We ask that children are in school for
9.15am at the latest. School doors will be open at 8.55am and children will
filter into the building. There will be no lining up in the playground. The side
gate will be closed at 9.15am.
- No parents will be admitted to the playground
past the side gate.
- To stagger the amount of children leaving the
building at the same time children with siblings will meet together in the gym
hall at 2.55pm and will leave by the gym hall doors.
- Children without siblings will leave by the
usual exit point for their class at 3pm.
Uniform
- We want children to be comfortable and wear clothes,
which can be easily washed every night.
We suggest:
– school polo shirt / white shirt;
– grey skirt, joggers, shorts or trousers;
– red/green sweatshirt, cardigan, jumper;
– a heavy warm waterproof jacket.
We suggest school ties should be worn for special occasions only and need not
be worn on a daily basis.
Resources for school
Each child will be provided with a large plastic zipped
wallet, labelled with their name, which will hold jotters, pencils, rubber,
sharpener, ruler, coloured pencils.
Primary 1-3 will also have a whiteboard, whiteboard pen and
crayons. We ask that children do not
bring stationery materials from home as all will be provided within the school
and again this will reduce cross contamination.
Children do not need a schoolbag.
Lunches and snacks
Packed lunches can be provided from the school cafeteria.
There will be a selection of hot and cold foods, which will be delivered to
classrooms. Primary 1 – 3 are still entitled to a free meal. Anyone wishing to bring their own packed
lunch should bring it in a disposable polythene bag. We are unable to lend cutlery to
children. As with lunches, snacks should
be brought in disposable packaging. For P4-P7 children the cost of a school
lunch is £1.75 and can be paid in the usual way through Parentpay.
Water bottles
Children may bring full water bottles to school and take
them home at the end of each day to be cleaned. Water bottles must have children’s
names clearly marked.
PE Kit
Children will not require PE kit or a change of shoes but
please ensure that children’s footwear is appropriate for outdoor PE and active
learning, i.e. trainers.
Personal Possessions
We ask that children do not bring toys or valuable
possessions to school. Some staff are
making individual, age appropriate play boxes for children to use in school,
where appropriate.
Mobile Phones
We strongly discourage children from bringing mobile phones
to school, as it will be very difficult to keep the mobile phone safe. If a child brings a mobile phone they must turn
it off, keep it secure in a zipped pocket and must not take it out at any point
during the school day.
Classroom /
Playground Layout
Class and playground will be set out to encourage social
distancing. Each class will have a
designated area in the playground to allow children to play with the same group
of friends or ‘bubble’ every day. Please
see school website for more details.
Classes and Class Groupings
Classes have been organised by literacy groups. Every attempt has been made to ensure that
children have a familiar peer and are part of a working group. It is not
possible to change children’s classes / class group as this has been calculated
to fit with the school’s capacity audit.
Information about classes, teachers/ rooms will be emailed to
children’s Glow accounts on Friday 18 June and an alert will be placed on our
school app to encourage parents to check the Glow email as well.
Groupings
Children in group 1 will attend school on Monday and Tuesday and children in
group 2 will attend school on Thursday
and Friday.
School opens to children on Wednesday 12 August. For the first week only children in group 1
attend on Wednesday 12 August and children in group 2 attend on Thursday 13 and
Friday 14 August.
After this first week group 1 will revert to the pattern of
Monday and Tuesday.
ASN Classes
ASN classes will follow the same structure, with more specific information for parents of our supported class children following as it becomes available.
I understand that this is a lot to take in and you will have
many questions. As soon as I have further updates, I will share them with you. We
are all learning together and trying to make this a safe, secure and happy learning
environment for our children.
We are making a child friendly leaflet which will go on our
website to support children.
It is likely that some of the above procedures will change
or be adapted due as new guidance is issued.
We always wish to work with you to achieve the best for your child and
thank you all for your continued support and perseverance with these new
rules. We hope that all of the above
will ensure the safety of all children.
Yours faithfully
ALISON HOPE
Head Teacher