Welcome to our school's website

Dear Parents,

Arrangements for Opening in September

Anyone displaying any symptoms of coronavirus (a new continuous cough, a temperature above 37.8 or loss of taste or smell) should not enter the school site.

Our protective measures include:

Classroom organisation - The focus for all children will initially be on building relationships again between themselves and the adults, as well as their wellbeing. Children will remain with the same children and staff, including break times and lunchtime.

Drop-off and collection - Children can be accompanied by more than one adult to the school gate, however only one adult can enter the school site. Upon entering the site between 8:30 - 8.50, you will see Ms Irwin at the school gate who will direct you to a path to the left of the school building. There will be numerous staff on standby to direct you and your child to the correct class room. They will welcome you and take the children in. Please follow the one-way system which will be clearly sign posted for your exit. The procedures will be the same for pick up.

Uniform - All children are required to wear full school uniform. Please ensure all uniform is named. Shoes need to be comfortable, appropriate for school.

Hygiene and cleaning

Everyone should wash their hands before leaving home and when returning home.

At school, children and staff will wash their hands regularly, e.g. on arrival, before eating and drinking, after using the toilet, after PE/sports activities and after coughing or sneezing.

Hands will be washed with liquid soap and water for a minimum of 20 seconds. Alcohol based hand cleaners/gels will only be used if soap and water are not available and under close supervision. We have sufficent hand gel in school, therefore please do not supply your child with hand gel.

Disposable tissues and bins will be available in every classroom.

The ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ approach will be promoted and displayed in classrooms.

Surfaces will be cleaned more regularly than normal.

Children should only bring in essential items from home, e.g. lunch box, water bottle, coat, hat, no large ruck sacks please, this will reduce the possible spread of the virus.

First aid will be given where required and staff will wear PPE, as necessary for this.

Becoming unwell and developing symptoms

It is not necessary to take children’s temperatures every morning. If we suspect a child is developing a high temperature at school, we will check their temperature.

Children must not come into school if they are displaying symptoms (a new continuous cough, a high temperature or loss of smell and taste).

Parents must book a test if a child has symptoms.

If a child develops symptoms at school, they must be collected promptly and sent home to self-isolate and book a test immediately. Parents must inform the school immediately of the results of the test.

If a test is positive, or if asked by NHS Test and Trace, parents and carers must be ready and willing to provide details of anyone they have been in close contact with. Self-isolation must continue for at least 7 days from the onset of their symptoms before a return to school if they do not have symptoms other than a cough or loss of sense of smell/taste. Other members of the household should continue selfisolating for the full 14 days.

If a test is negative, self-isolation can end. However, it is best to avoid contact with other people until they are better.

Families must be ready and willing to self-isolate if they have been in close contact with someone who develops coronavirus symptoms or someone who tests positive for coronavirus.

If you have any questions then please e-mail admin@stanwayfiveways.essex.sch.uk or ring the school office between 9.00am and 3.30pm (01206 574849).

Thank you for your support. Keep well and safe everyone.

Kind regards

Jackie Irwin

Headteacher

22/10/20 15.32pm This is your daily email to keep you updated on the government’s response to coronavirus (COVID-19).

Updated guidance for schools

We have updated the guidance on actions for schools during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak to include:

additional information on the safe ventilation of schools
a link to the Health and Safety Executive guidance on air conditioning and ventilation during the coronavirus outbreak
a link to the Chartered Institution of Building Service Engineers coronavirus (COVID-19) advice

This guidance has also been updated to reflect the latest advice on shielding and local COVID alert levels.

Autumn series exams update: English and maths GCSEs

We are aware that schools and colleges may have questions about supporting large entry exams, particularly English and maths GCSEs in early November, given changes in the virus transmission rate, the new local COVID alert level framework and the recent introduction of the tiers of restriction for education and childcare, summarised in annex 3 of the contain framework.

It remains our expectation that schools and colleges in all tiers of restriction will run exams. School and college leaders and exams officers may find it useful to refer to our public health guidance to support autumn exams. This guidance sets out arrangements that schools and colleges should implement when delivering exams this autumn, to enable them to progress in a way which significantly reduces the risk of spreading coronavirus (COVID-19). It covers aspects such as planning for arrival and departure of students, desk spacing, face coverings and what to do if a student is unwell with coronavirus (COVID-19) symptoms.

Schools and colleges should also follow the Joint Council for Qualification’s instructions for conducting examinations for GCSE, AS and A level exams. This provides additional details on running exams, including information about staggering exam times which may be useful when planning exams for larger groups.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) home test kits webinars for schools and colleges

The Department of Health and Social Care are hosting a series of webinars to support schools and colleges in understanding how to use coronavirus (COVID-19) home test kits in education settings. The webinars will provide guidance on who should receive the kits, what they will look like and how parents and carers should use them.

Each webinar will last for 60 minutes and there will be an opportunity to ask questions. We strongly encourage schools and colleges to sign up to one of the webinars.

The webinars are being run on the following dates:

Friday 23 October at 3pm
Friday 30 October at 3pm

Full details on when the test kits should be provided, how to store them and the usual routes for accessing free coronavirus (COVID-19) testing can be found in our guidance on coronavirus (COVID-19) home testing kits.

Please note that you can continue to apply for additional coronavirus (COVID-19) home test kits through the portal, however these will not be delivered to your school or college during half-term. This is to minimise the risk of missed deliveries.

Department for Education coronavirus (COVID-19) helpline – extended weekend opening hours

The Department for Education coronavirus (COVID-19) helpline is available to answer questions about coronavirus (COVID-19) relating to education settings and children’s social care. To increase our support to staff, parents and students we are extending our weekend opening hours to 6pm on Saturday and Sunday.

Please listen carefully to all of the available options before selecting the most appropriate option for your nursery, school, college or university.

Please select option 1 or 2 if you require specific advice on the action to take to respond to a positive case of coronavirus (COVID-19) in your setting. This option will take you through to a dedicated team of NHS Business Services Authority advisors who will work through a risk assessment with you to identify close contacts and will inform you what action is needed based on the latest public health advice.

Please select option 3 or 4 for any other questions about coronavirus (COVID-19) relating to education settings and children’s social care.

Phone: 0800 046 8687
Opening hours: Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm
Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 6pm

The information below hasn’t changed since our last update

Look up your unique organisation number (UON)

If you have not received your unique organisation number (UON) for ordering new coronavirus (COVID-19) test kits you can can look it up using your unique reference number (URN) or your UK provider reference number (UKPRN) or by calling the Test and Trace helpdesk on 119

Department for Education guidance

Our guidance to support education providers, local authorities and parents during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak can be accessed using the links below:

Stanway Fiveways Primary School

Ready Steady Learn - to be the best we can be