Q: How safe will it be when we return?
A: The school is looking forward to welcoming everyone back on Thursday 3rd September. We believe strongly that the school will present as a safe and secure place to learn in. We have implemented appropriate measures to ensure everyone’s safety is a top priority and the present risks of infection are extremely minimal. The school has made all its decisions in the belief they will be sufficient to protect the community.
Q: Is the school going to hold a meeting for parents to explain its precautions?
A: We would normally hold meetings for parents to share important changes to procedures, however in order to secure safety, we are not inviting any parents on site, to prevent the risk of infection. We are unable to hold a meeting as the requirements to keep 2m distancing would not be possible to undertake for the demand for spaces. We are not inviting anyone into the main school building at the moment.
Q: Are we following all the government advice?
A: Guidance from the government has been followed, though it is worth noting all schools are interpreting the details to suit their communities, we are no different in that respect. Most of the guidance is being followed, where it is not there are good reasons – either the guidance was felt to be insufficient to protect our children (educational visits) or the detail was contradictory to updates from PHE and from international research.
Q: Are year groups using shared spaces?
A: Classes are mostly being restricted to using their classrooms for learning. The only places they will use outside of this will be the halls, for PE lessons and lunch times, and the playgrounds. PE lessons will involve, initially, mostly individual skills and exercises. Use of apparatus is being limited. If any apparatus is used it will be cleaned in between lessons to reduce the risks of transmission. All tables, chairs and doors will be cleaned after a lunch sitting. Classes are allowed to mix with each other only within their specific year groups. The lunch halls will only have children from the same year group inside. When they swap over to a new year group the cleaning will be undertaken before the new year group enters. Any apparatus in the playground will be wiped down after break times and the lunch period. We have set up a new playtime and lunch time rota to accommodate these timetables.
Q: Will teachers keep 2m distance from children?
A: All members of staff have been instructed to keep 2m distance from other adults. In a classroom setting this is not possible to achieve with children as the rooms are not big enough to keep the distance. Guidance to members of staff is that if they get under 2m distance from the children, the time spent in that proximity should be kept to under 15 minutes. This is mostly achievable.
Q: Will children be seated in rows?
A: Teachers have been advised of the guidance however the decision on how to organise the classroom furniture is being left up to the class teachers. Some classes will be taught in rows, most won’t, and groups of desks will be arranged as usual in most classrooms. These decisions will be reviewed as the term progresses. In order to give children feedback on their learning, teachers will need to get relatively close to individuals, the organisation or rows of desks in our small classrooms will make it very difficult for teachers to move about the room.
Q: What circumstances have led to infections in schools around the county?
A: Latest research from Public Health England has shown that there have been very few infections in schools in England since the start of the pandemic in March. It is important to note that there have been no infections at Gearies Primary, and we have maintained a safe learning environment throughout this emergency. Where school infections have occurred, they have been related to high transmission rates in localities. At the moment Redbridge has a very low infection rate. If this were to change and the local authority were to experience a sharp spike in infection, we may well have to consider different options. All of our planning is reviewed daily and we have made many revisions to plans since March, in response to behaviours, perceived risks and government instructions. Current detail is expected to change in the coming months.
Q: Should children be wearing masks to school?
A: The government still do not currently advise wearing masks in lessons for children and teachers in primary schools. The latest U-turn on masks in schools relates to secondary schools and schools in areas with local lockdowns. Parents are advised to wear masks when bringing children to school and if travelling on public transport.
Here is a summary of the latest guidance from the local authority: “7 THINGS ABOUT FACE COVERINGS IN SCHOOLS (YEAR 7 AND ABOVE)”
1. The DfE published guidance last week on the use of face coverings in schools. Note that this only applies to pupils in year seven or above. For younger children the guidance is unchanged.
2. The general approach remains that face coverings are not recommended in schools, because the implementation of the system of controls set out in earlier guidance will provide sufficient mitigation against the risk of covid-19 transmission.
3. There are two exceptions to this general approach. The first of these is where a school is in an area of national government intervention, commonly referred to as a “local lockdown” (e.g. currently Leicester). If Redbridge were to be included in an area of national government intervention then there would be a requirement for pupils and adults to wear face coverings when moving around the school (corridors and communal areas). Redbridge is not at present in such an area.
4. The second exception is where the school decides to require face coverings in communal areas because of their particular circumstances, e.g. because of the physical layout of the school or because they judge that requiring the use of face coverings will make parents more confident to ensure their children attend.
5. Our view is that schools might wish to give staff or pupils the discretion to wear face coverings in communal areas, but in general we do not expect that schools would need to impose a requirement for face coverings.
6. The guidance provides some information about effective use of face coverings (e.g. about safe storage).
7. The full guidance can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/face-coverings-in-education/face-coverings-in-education
Q: Will class sizes be changed?
A: Class sizes remain at the usual maximum of 30. We are not reducing the sizes as we are not expected to keep the children socially distanced from each other.
Q: Will children use individual chairs in the classrooms?
A: Apart from the Early Years classes where children work in practical non table-based learning locations, children all have their own chair and desk to work at. They are not expected to share this will anyone else during the school day.
Q: Will there be any visitors allowed in the school?
A: We are not asking anyone to visit us, the only exceptions will be essential repairs and maintenance and key education partners, though these will be very rare and most communication will be handled by electronic means. We will be following advice issued about the Track and Trace procedures for all visitors to school. Anyone who needs to enter will need to complete a Track and Trace declaration for our records, including the declaration they do not have current symptoms and are not subject to travel quarantine restrictions.
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