Dear Parents/Carers,

I do hope you have been able to enjoy the festive period with your families! We are really excited to be welcoming your children back to school tomorrow and hearing about their celebrations and news.

However, I understand that many of you, like us, will be concerned about the Omicron variant and its potential impact on you and your child.

The Government is clear in their priority for face-to-face education and is balancing the difficulties that missed education brings against wider public health risks brought by COVID-19.

You already know how committed we are in our aim to provide the best possible quality of education for your child. However, with everyone’s well-being in mind and taking into account further national guidance published for schools in the last few days, we have therefore reviewed our measures and ask for your support in helping us to implement these.

You can view our updated Contingency Plan in full on our school website under: Key Information/Coronavirus Advice and Information/Contingency/Outbreak Management Plan

Here I have summarised for you some key points:

Precautionary Testing:

• All members of our staff and visitors are asked to carry out twice weekly LFD testing and have carried out tests prior to returning to our setting at the beginning of term.

• To support us in keeping everyone as safe as possible we are advising that it is helpful if families also carry out LFD testing prior to the return to school
•  

Updated Advice on Self Isolation for Confirmed Positive Cases

• If the result of an LFD test is positive even if the individual does not have symptoms a PCR test must be taken within 2 days of the lateral flow test. If the result of the PCR test is positive, the individual must stay at home and isolate for 7 clear days following the start of symptoms or the positive test result. Individuals testing positive may now take a LFD test on day 6 and day 7 of their self-isolation period. If two negative results are received and the individual no longer has a high temperature, their isolation period may end. The first test must be taken no earlier than day 6 of the self-isolation period and tests must be taken 24 hours apart. This also applies to children under 5, with LFD testing at parental discretion. The self-isolation period may end after the second negative test result which means that individuals can return to school from day 7.
• Anyone unable to take LFD tests will need to complete the full 10 day period of self-isolation

Further additional and continuing measures within our setting

• If you need to come into school to meet with us, we are requesting you to continue to wear a face-covering when entering our building and moving around school unless you are exempt.

• Please strictly adhere to our one-way system at drop-off time in the morning to avoid coming into direct contact with families walking in the opposite direction.

• At collection time from 3.05pm please select either route to exit the site as you should not come into contact with people walking in the opposite direction

• At present we are mainly keeping our children within their year groups and keeping larger gathering times such as assemblies as virtual experiences. The children will also not be mixing with other year groups at play and lunchtimes. This means that in the main we have the flexibility to deliver the provision to fully meet your child’s needs. However, we will update you and follow advice if further measures need to be introduced.

Reviewed Timetable for Meadow: (please note sessions commence from Monday 10^th January 2022)

Monday: Hedgehogs

Tuesday: Rabbits

Foxes (fortnightly beginning 11^th January)

Wednesday: Squirrels

Otters

Thursday: Owls

Badgers

Friday: Moles (fortnightly beginning 14^th January

Woodpeckers (fortnightly beginning 21^st January)

Our commitment to supporting your child

I know you are aware that we faced higher levels of absence within our staff team towards the later part of the Autumn Term and you will have probably heard that this is a challenge faced by many schools nationally.

Whilst we cannot always prepare you or your child for short-term absence or provide direct information relating to an individual’s absence please be assured that on a daily basis, we carefully consider the needs of the children and the class and find the next best possible solutions. Wherever possible this will mean that often other members of staff within the year team who your child also knows well will step in to teach or support the class. Alternatively, staff who work across the whole of the school such as senior leaders may also provide additional teaching or support.

We have invested in a rich, talented and knowledgeable team which means that only on very rare occasions do we need to reach beyond the school for further support and always work very closely with anyone newer to our setting and usually with those already known to us.

If you have any queries or concerns at any time please reach out to us and let us know. You can speak with a member of our team directly on the playground, or call, email or drop by at the school office and we will be happy to meet with you.

Kind regards

Lara Jelliff

Headteacher