✝️ Weekly Message from Father Andrew

You're doing great! Don't worry. Be happy. If you fancy a bit of geography and map reading, check out St Paul's journeys around the Mediterranean Sea. Some of the country names are the same as today, some are different.

📋 Parent Survey about Reopening Plans

Dear Parents,

I think that The Prime Minister's announcement last Sunday regarding schools and a potential phased return of children in June has sparked some strong opinions. In order to gain your views on whether or not you would send your child back to school before the summer break if encouraged by the Government to do so, please fill in this short online questionnaire so we can plan and make decisions accordingly. I appreciate your time and continued support. Hope everyone is well.

Dear Parents, I think that The Prime Minister's announcement last Sunday regarding schools and a potential phased return of children in June has sparked some strong opinions. In order to gain your views on whether or not you would send your child back to school before the summer break if encouraged by the Government to do so, please fill in this short online questionnaire so we can plan and make decisions accordingly.

Mrs. Tennant

Head Teacher

Letter to Families from Mrs. Tennant re: Possible Reopening Preparations

Dear Parents,

You will be aware from the Prime Minister’s announcement on Sunday that the Government plans for schools across England to potentially open to more children with protective measures in place from Monday 1st June 2020 at the earliest. The Prime Minister said that progress will be monitored every day and If the virus stays on the downward slope with the R remaining below 1 then and only then will it become safe to go further, move to the second step and reopen schools.

Primary Schools have been asked to start preparing in order to welcome back initially children in Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6  with other year groups later in the month before the summer break. This will be kept under review and will only happen as planned if we receive confirmation based on scientific advise that it is safe to do so as the Government’s five key tests have been met. 

Groups of children including vulnerable children and children of critical workers who have been eligible to attend while school has been closed will continue to be able to do so under the same arrangements as they are currently. We are being asked to continue with this provision as before so will not be able to offer places to any children who do not fall into at least one of these categories before the next phase in a return of more children to school. There is no instruction from the Government to care for children of workers returning from this week in addition to those categorised as critical.

At the moment, as you can probably appreciate there is a lot to read, digest and think about in preparation for a possible reopening of our school to more children as early as next month.

I would imagine that many of you will be concerned about sending your children back to school. You may be wondering if it will be safe to do so regardless of any protective measures that we put into place. The Government will strongly encourage you to take up the offer of a place in our school again when the time is right unless your child or a family member is shielding or your child is particularly vulnerable due to an underlying condition but there will be no penalty for families who do not send their children back to school before the summer break.  

Some of the protective measures being thought about at the moment include:

• Producing a risk assessment regarding the threat to health posed by the virus in order to establish if and when it is deemed safe to bring back more children into school.

• Ensuring that staff, parents and children who have coronavirus symptoms, or who have someone in their household who does, do not attend school which may become problematic if we experience staff shortages due to those shielding and in high risk groups, displaying coronavirus symptoms or caring for others.

• Enabling all children eligible to return to school to have access to testing if they display symptoms as well as any symptomatic members of their household as all staff can do now.

• Making sure that if a positive test occurs within school the people with whom the individual who tested positive has mixed closely with will be sent home and told to self-isolate for 14 days.

• Practising strict social distancing measures including altering the school day such as staggering arrival, break, lunch and home times and reorganising classrooms so that everyone can stay 2 metres apart though how we do this with the youngest children is going to be challenging! Also, after measuring our classrooms, in order for everyone to be socially distanced, we can only accommodate 10 children and a member of staff per classroom which is inevitably going to be a problem more difficult to solve as numbers increase. Only one adult per child to drop off and collect their children.

• Removing unnecessary items from classrooms if storage space permits.

• Keeping small cohorts of children together at all times each day not mixing different groups during the day or on subsequent days, assigning the same staff members to each group and using the same classroom as much as possible.

• Utilising as much as possible outdoor space as weather permits.

• Not allowing large gatherings including assemblies and church services.

• No unnecessary visitors allowed to enter the school building.

• Insisting that everyone to thoroughly wash hands with soap under running water and more often than usual. 

• Promoting the ‘catch it, bin it, kill it' approach to coughs and sneezes.

• Liaising with the Cleaning Company in school to assist with more frequent cleaning of touched surfaces.

• Possibly using face masks and other PPE though this is not recommended in schools at the moment.

The above list in not exhaustive and poses more questions than answers at the moment which I hope we will receive further advice on in the coming days so more definite decisions and plans can be made soon. 

Please remember that at this moment in time these plans are conditional on a further decline in the transmission of the virus and schools may not be asked to welcome back more children as early as the beginning of June after all. It does pay to be prepared though and once everyone has managed to think about their own personal decision then I will be asking parents to indicate whether you will be sending your children back to school before the summer break if given the opportunity to do so from next month so we can plan according to numbers expected. I will respect and support whatever you believe is in the best interests of your child and current family situation. Please understand though that school will not be exactly like how you left it in March due to these unprecedented times and the unique circumstances we are living in at the moment. 

There are links on our school website which takes you to the guidance. Any concerns at the moment, please do not hesitate to send an enquiry email or telephone but I will be keeping you all fully informed along the way to a possible wider opening in June so you know exactly what is happening. This will begin with an online survey of your views which I will send out by the end of this week. Please return this form by next Wednesday 20th May 2020 so we can plan further.

My overriding message to you all is that I am determined not to feel pressured into doing anything that it is felt may pose even the slightest of risks to the health, safety and wellbeing of our children, staff and parents.  

Hope you and your families are all safe and well.

Mrs Tennant

Head Teacher

https://www.allsaintsnh-pri.manchester.sch.uk/

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DfE - Schools reopening Q&A

Yesterday, Monday 11 May, the Department for Education published guidance on the wider opening of nurseries, schools and colleges.

These guidance documents provide detail on a range of areas including what settings can do to help make sure they are safe, information on testing, and details for alternative provision and special schools.

There are a number of key issues which we know parents, sector staff and the media will be interested in. These include the rationale behind the year groups that will return in the first phase, guidance on what protective measures should be in place, and whether or not attendance at a child’s education setting will be compulsory. These issues are addressed below.

Why are certain year groups going back in the first phase?

The rate of infection remains too high to allow the full opening of schools for all pupils yet.

There are three key reasons why nurseries, Reception, Year 1, Year 6, Year 10 and Year 12 are being prioritised.

1.  The value that face to face interaction with teachers and education staff provides for young people:

• Children in Reception and Year 1 are at the very beginning of their school career and are mastering the essential basics, including counting and the fundamentals of reading and writing, and learning to socialise with their peers.

• Year 6 children are finishing Key Stage 2 and are preparing for the transition to secondary school, and will benefit immensely from time with their friends and teachers to ensure they are ready.

• Year 10 and 12 pupils have been prioritised because they are preparing for key examinations next year, and are most at risk of falling behind due to time out of school or college.

2. There is high scientific confidence that children of all ages have less severe symptoms than adults if they contract coronavirus and there is moderately high scientific confidence that younger children are less likely to become unwell if infected with coronavirus.

3. Older children are better able to continue learning at home. We know it’s hard for parents and children, but everyone is playing their part in the national effort to combat this virus. There are many innovative ways to learn outside the formal school or college setting, and those who aren’t being asked to return to school or college immediately will continue to be educated remotely.

Priority groups – vulnerable children (including children in need, those with an Education, Health and Care plan and those assessed as otherwise vulnerable by educational providers or local authorities) and the children of critical workers – are also encouraged to attend, if appropriate for them to do so.

Do you expect children to follow social distancing guidelines? If so, how?

We know that, unlike older children and adults, early years and primary age children cannot be expected to remain 2m apart from each other and staff. In deciding to bring more children back to early years and schools, we are taking this into account.

Class sizes will be smaller, creating more space for children and teachers, and children will only mix with their small group. Schools will implement protective measures designed to reduce the risk of transmission, including increasing cleaning and reducing ‘pinch points’ in the school day such as breaktimes, pick-up and drop-off.

We’ve followed the best scientific advice and looked at what other countries are doing when drawing up this guidance.

What protective measures are you asking education settings to take?

Full details of the protective measures schools should implement is available in the guidance, and examples include:

• Making sure children and young people are in the same small groups at all times each day, and different groups are not mixed during the day or on subsequent days;

• increasing the frequency of cleaning, reducing the used of shared items and utilising outdoor space; and

• ensuring all adults and children frequently wash their hands with soap and water, including on arrival at the setting, before and after eating and after sneezing or coughing.

We are working with the sector to provide further guidance to settings.

Do teachers and education staff require PPE?

Wearing a face covering or face mask in schools or other education settings is not recommended. Face coverings may be beneficial for short periods indoors where there is a risk of close social contact with people you do not usually meet and where social distancing and/or other measures cannot be maintained, for example on public transport or in some shops. This does not apply to schools or other education settings.

Information on the very limited instances in which education staff may require PPE is available here.

Will teachers, children and young people have access to testing?

Yes. Staff, children and young people in all settings will be eligible for testing if they begin to display coronavirus symptoms, as will symptomatic members of their households. To access testing parents will be able to use the 111 online coronavirus service if their child is 5 or over. Parents will be able to call 111 if their child is aged under 5.

A negative test will enable children to get back to childcare or education, and their parents to get back to work. Where a setting has a positive case, the rest of their class or group within their childcare or education setting should be sent home and advised to self-isolate for 14 days. As part of the national test and trace programme, if other cases are detected Public Health England will work with settings advise on the appropriate course of action.

This could include a larger number of other children and young people may be asked to self-isolate at home as a precautionary measure – perhaps the whole class, site or year group. Where settings are observing guidance on infection prevention and control, which will reduce risk of transmission, closure of the whole setting will not generally be necessary.

Will parents be fined if they don’t send their children back to school?

No. While we are strongly encouraging children in eligible groups to attend, we will not penalise people for keeping their children at home. Parents will not be fined for non-attendance at this time, and schools and colleges will not be held to account for attendance levels.

✝️ Worship 2 Go - Week 3 'Perseverance'

DfE Press Release - Details on phased wider opening of schools, colleges and nurseries

Schools, colleges and nurseries to begin to prepare to open to more young people from 1 June at the earliest, with protective measures in place

Plans for schools, colleges and early years settings across England to potentially open to more children and young people have been set out today (11 May).

As the Prime Minister announced yesterday, by 1 June at the earliest primary schools in England may be able to welcome back children in key transition years – nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6.

Secondary schools, sixth forms and colleges will also work towards the possibility of providing some face-to-face contact with young people in Year 10 and Year 12 to help them prepare for exams next year.

However, as the PM has said, progress will be monitored every day. If the virus stays on the downward slope, and the R remains below 1, then – and only then – will it become safe to go further, move to the second step and reopen schools.

Early years settings may also be able to open for all children. The aim is for other primary years to return later in June, but this will be kept under review, and there are currently no plans to reopen secondary schools for other year groups before the summer holidays.

Priority groups, including vulnerable children and children of critical workers who have been eligible to attend throughout school closures, will continue to be able to attend schools, colleges and early years settings as they are currently.

The transmission rate has decreased, and the aim is that by 1 June at the earliest it will be safe for a greater number of children and young people to return to education and childcare. As a result, the Government is asking schools and childcare providers to plan on this basis, ahead of confirmation of the scientific advice.

This will only happen when the five key tests set by Government justify the changes at the time, including the rate of infection decreasing and the enabling programmes set out in the Roadmap operating effectively.

Guidance to the sector, published today (11 May), sets out a range of protective measures to ensure education settings remain safe places, including:

• reducing the size of classes and keeping children in small groups without mixing with others

• staggered break and lunch times, as well as drop offs and pick ups

• increasing the frequency of cleaning, reducing the used of shared items and utilising outdoor space

Preparation for the potential reopening of schools will be part of the second phase of modifications to social distancing measures which the Prime Minister set out yesterday – following more people returning to work in step one, and coming alongside the possible reopening of some non-essential retail in phase two.

The Government will continue to work closely with the sector in the build up to and following pupils’ return.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said:

I know how hard schools, colleges, early years settings and parents are working to make sure children and young people can continue to learn at home, and I cannot thank them enough for that.

But nothing can replace being in the classroom, which is why I want to get children back to school as soon as it is safe to do so. The latest scientific advice indicates it will be safe for more children to return to school from 1 June, but we will continue to limit the overall numbers in school and introduce protective measures to prevent transmission.

This marks the first step towards having all young people back where they belong – in nurseries, schools and colleges – but we will continue to be led by the scientific evidence and will only take further steps when the time is right.

Whilst there will be no penalty for families who do not send their children to school, families will be strongly encouraged to take up these places - unless the child or a family member is shielding or the child is particularly vulnerable due to an underlying condition.

The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies advising the Government has a high degree of confidence that the severity of the disease in children is lower than in adults and a moderately high degree of confidence that children aged up to 11 are less susceptible to it.

All staff are already eligible for testing, and staff in shielding and high-risk groups should remain at home.

From 1 June, all children and young people eligible to return to their settings will have access to testing, if they display symptoms, as will any symptomatic member(s) of their household.

This will enable children and staff to get back to school if they test negative, and if they test positive a test and trace approach can be taken. Where a setting has a positive case, Public Health England will advise on the appropriate course of action, and the relevant group of people with whom the individual has mixed closely, should be sent home and advised to self-isolate for 14 days.

Gavin Williamson

Secretary of State for Education