September 2021 - Opening Information

Dear Parents,

I would like to update you on some arrangements for the start of our new school year.

September Plans:

Return

• Year 1 - 6 will return to school on Wednesday 1st September (start and finish times for each class are listed below).

• All Reception children will return to school on Monday 6th September (start and finish times for each class are listed below).

• Nursery children with siblings already in school will start school on Monday 6th September. Nursery children without a sibling already in out school will start school on Wednesday 8th September (start and finish times for each class are listed below).

• There will continue to be staggered start and finish times but we have tried to reduce these as much as possible.

• Children will continue to be collected from the yard by their teacher and brought into class together, as was the case last year. This also applies to the end of the school day, where the teachers will bring the children to the playgrounds. Please could KS2 families continue to wait at the top of the steps as this makes things safer and easier to manage.

Before and After School Clubs

• Breakfast Club will restart for those who have been informed they have a place.

• After School Club will continue to be provided by Windsor Road in our school.

Lunchtime

• Lunches will be served back in the school dining room and hall. We have moved to Orian to be our school meals provider and more information and the menu is below.

COVID-19 Headlines

Click here to find out more from the NHS and DfE

• There will continue to be enhanced hand washing, hand sanitising, other hygiene practices and additional cleaning through the day and after school.

• Any child or staff member displaying symptoms will need to go home immediately, arrange a test and follow the instructions from NHS Test and Trace.

• Children and Adults (who have received both vaccinations) will no longer need to isolate if in contact with a positive case. However, it is recommended that they have a PCR test following the contact. It would only be necessary to isolate if the your result came back positive.

• We will gradually welcome parents back into school but we want to do this safely, so please look out for opportunities throughout the year.

• Full school uniform is expected to be worn again in September, although the days in which the children are doing P.E. they can come and go in P.E. kit which is suitable for the weather.

Class Start and Finish Times

Uniform

Children will need to wear full school uniform in September, including school shoes. However, on days in which they have P.E. they can attend in their P.E. kit to reduce the amount of changing and to give families more time for frequent washing of clothes. We would advise that the children come in tracksuit bottoms/leggings on cooler days as they will wearing these clothes all day, including playtimes.

These are the items we would like the children to bring in to school each day:

• Small book bag and reading book.

• Filled water bottle (only water please) with a sports cap with their name on. Classes have water coolers but only adults will be allowed to use them. The staff will supervise the distribution of water where needed. If all children bring in a full water bottle it will significantly reduce disruption to learning.

Uniform 👕

We have updated our uniform page of the website to better show families what the correct uniform is.

Lunchtimes

Our lunchtimes are going to return to the Hall this September and hot meals are to return.

We have now the pleasure of working with Orian to provide our lunches for children. This will be called the ‘Lunch Shop’. All parents should have had an email with log on details and can choose and pay for your child’s meal before they come to school. This is to enable more choice and for parents to have a clearer idea of what your child is eating at school each day.

The management of this will not be done in school, so while we can try to help with any questions as always, you will be paying for your school dinners through Orian, so you must pay before it will let you choose your meal. If your child is entitled to Free School Meals then this will show and you will be able to access it to order your child’s meal choice.

SO REMEMBER

PAYMENT FOR MEALS, AND CHOOSING A MEAL WILL NOW BE DONE BEFOREHAND THROUGH ORIAN AND AT HOME

We know that sometimes we all forget, so don’t worry, if you forget, we will check in the morning and make sure that your child has made their meal choice.

We believe this will be a fantastic move for our school and look forward to working with Orian to make lunchtimes as delicious and stress free as possible. We know there will be anxieties during the settling in period but we cannot wait to get it up and running. If you have any questions at all just get in touch, we may not have the answers but we will do our best to find out for you.

Thank you

I know we all hope that this year will be smoother running than the last one, but there is still the possibility that our guidance could change. So while we have our fingers crossed, I would ask again for the fantastic support and cooperation you showed last year. We will always try and keep you informed as soon as we can, and certainly welcome all suggestions on how we can improve.

Thank you in advance.

Mr Sharp

Head Teacher

🗞 Final Newsletter of the Year - 21.07.2021

🗞 Newsletter - 16.07.2021

🗞 Newsletter - 09.07.2021

Monday 12th July - Changes to the start of the day

We are very aware that the majority of you will be watching the final on Sunday and know that the children are all very excited about it, as we are.

Due to the lateness of the match and possibilities of late nights, we have made the decision to extend the closures of Registers in classes on Monday.

Breakfast Club and all classes will be open from normal time but we will extend the time that you are able to bring your children until 10am if you would like to bring them in a little later.

We ask that you are understanding of the difficulties this may cause with bubbles still in force so ask for your patience along with not gathering or crowding near or on the yard. There will be members of staff on the entrance of the Junior Yard (next to Church) and the Infant Yard until 10am.

All children need to be in school by 10am to get their morning mark. The gates will be closed at 10am and those arriving after will need to come in the front entrance and will be marked in as late.

Thank you - enjoy the match!

Mrs Flatman

Deputy Head Teacher

💉 COVID Update - Relaxation of Guidance

Government News

• Step 4 will start on Monday 19th July.

• Sajid Javid says from 16 August, fully vaccinated adults in England will not have to self-isolate if they are close contact of a positive case. The health secretary also said those under 18 will no longer need to self-isolate after coming into contact with a case. Those who test positive themselves though, "will have to self-isolate whether they have had the jab or not". Close contacts will be advised to take a PCR test.

• On flu vaccines "our plan is to also simultaneously offer the flu vaccine which will mean that the take-up of the flu vaccine should be at record highs."

Click here for this news article

• ‘Bubbles’ will no longer be used in September, and there will no requirement for the wearing of masks or social distancing in school. Therefore, assemblies, lunches together, mixed class clubs and trips are all allowed to resume. Staggered starts will also not be compulsory, but schools are free to use them if they wish.

• Contact tracing will no longer be the responsibility of schools from 19th July, and this will pass to NHS Test and Trace.

• Public health authorities will work with schools in the case of outbreaks, and they may insist on schools reintroducing measures on a temporary basis.

• Hand washing, sanitising, frequent cleaning and ventilation of rooms all remain in place in the Autumn.

• Children with symptoms will need to stay off school and book a test, if the test result is positive, then they will need to self-isolate.

• Staff will be asked to take lateral flow tests at the beginning of term.

• Staff who are fully vaccinated, do not need to self isolate if they come into close contact with a confirmed case.

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Change in Mindset

This is certainly a significant change from what we have all lived through for 16 months, and although I am really pleased that most of the restrictions are being removed, it will also cause many people some anxiety.

This change reflects the government’s position that we are now going to have to live with COVID-19, and manage it without such harsh restrictions (as we do with other diseases). So now the measure of success will be the number of people in hospital and those who tragically die from COVID-19. Infections are going to increase, and by all accounts, very rapidly to levels we have not seen before. It looks as though there will be millions of new COVID-19 infections over the next few months. The key being that the vast majority will result in mild or no symptoms.

This adjustment won’t happen overnight, and the children, families and staff will all have different feelings about it.

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Vaccination

I know many of us are very much looking forward to life without the restrictions we have lived under for 16 months, and that vaccines have given the country the opportunity to return to ‘normal’ (if that is completely possible).

What I would like to say though, is that levels of vaccination in Manchester are some way behind the national average. In fact, if the levels of vaccination continue at the same rate, it will take until the end of September until Manchester reaches the point that the rest of the country is at now for people being fully vaccinated. There are more young people in cities, which does lower the average, but it is my view that it would be wise to remain very cautious until our area reaches the 70%+ for second doses.

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What will change and when? Our approach.

Given that the schools are not permitted to change how they operate until the 19th July, and the new rules on self-isolation don’t come in fully until 16th August, we are not changing our risk assessment this term. As we finish at 1.30pm on Wednesday 21st July, it is not sensible to produce a new risk assessment for 2.5 days.

We always think very carefully about our plans, and introduce them in a phased manner. There is not enough time to do that now with so little time left, and a number of bubbles self-isolating. I don’t have details for September now, but there are a few principles I can set out.

What we intend on keeping the same…

• Increased hygiene measures

• Ventilation in the building

• Collecting children from the playgrounds, and some level of staggered starts/finishes

• Lower number of children at playtimes

• Digital communication including Parent Portal

• Children attending in P.E. kits on the appropriate days

What we intend on changing…

• Children always sat in rows

• Quarantining resources

• Assemblies together again

• Mixed class playtimes, clubs and visits

• Visitors to the school

• Offering virtual support to children and families where needed

• Lunches together

Some of the changes this year have actually allowed us to think again about how we do things, and we have actually learned and improved some of our systems and processes. However, there are many changes that we haven’t liked, which are mainly related to the children and staff not being able to interact with as many people in school.

As before, we will be asking for your views on how we can best manage this next change.

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Blended Learning

‘Blended Learning’ (teaching children in class and at home) creates a lot of work for the teachers, which can stop them for doing the most important jobs of conducting thorough assessments, planning challenging lessons to meet the needs of the children and preparing resources that help the children move on.

In the Autumn term, there will be children and staff who need to self-isolate due to them having a positive test result. In these cases, children will have learning to complete at home, but we will set this out in more detail closer to September. We have invested in many quality online resources which the children can access in school and at home, so we know that we are starting from a strong position. There are also the devices we now have in school which we can lend to children who need them.

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Breakfast Club

I know that Breakfast Club is on the minds of many families, and this is now able to restart in September with the removal of bubbles. The letter below sets out more.

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Support for Staff

I want to say again how fantastic the staff are here at All Saints.

I am so lucky to have them working so hard, day in, day out, always putting the children first. They have all experienced their own low points in the last 16 months, and it is so sad that many of them have lost much loved relatives during this period. However, they haven’t complained, they have stuck together and been nothing short of completely professional, even when they have been suffering inside.

They too have had the inconvenience and stress of self-isolation, and had children needing to self-isolate. Please know that we understand the frustrations and stress caused by the COVID-19 restrictions. We really do.

Thank you to everyone for your patience and understanding, and I need to ask for more to come, as there will be challenges ahead. As always, please remember that government restrictions and rules are not made by the staff, but is our job to carry them out. I would ask that you consider the feelings of the person at the other end of the phone if you are upset, and if you have a complaint about how school operates, then please contact me or Mrs Flatman if I am not available. We will be happy to listen and explain more if you would like.

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Message to Families

The journey we have all been on together is one that none of us will ever forget. It has had many lows and put great strain on everyone, there is no denying that. However, through the tests and challenges, it has shown the All Saints family at its best. Patience, tolerance, selflessness, compassion, love, resilience, honesty and many other values that we wish the children to live by.

I don’t think the journey is quite over yet, but we have proven that our school can stand up to challenges and stick together. Children, staff, families, governors, our partners…

Well done and thank you very much.

Mr Sharp

Head Teacher