Dear Parents and Carers of children in Early Years Foundation and Years 1 and 6 (ONLY)
As you will be aware, the government have issued directives for schools to open as of June 1st, subject to appropriate conditions being met.
School will initially only be open to children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6.
What will happen next?
We await the ‘green light’ for opening closer to June 1st; however, we have put together action planning in order to open as stipulated.
This bulletin is an initial message to confirm how you will receive information around opening in relation to your child and give you a brief outline of what to expect. Further details will follow.
What will opening look like?
In order to meet the strictest of measures to keep children safe (as set out in the ‘Implementing protective measures in education and childcare settings: DfE May 2020’) school will be open to the year groups identified on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursday, Fridays.
School will be closed weekly on a Wednesday to allow for deep cleaning and for staff to continue supporting children who remain in lockdown.
Note – school will remain open on Wednesdays for those children previously accessing school as a key worker child or identified as vulnerable and every day for those in this category who are still in lockdown.
Access will be restricted to children to two days with staggered starting times. Without this, guidance on managing infection risks as provided by Gov UK would be impossible.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
How many children will be in class and what will infection prevention look like?
Guidance from Gov UK is 15 pupils maximum. Classes at Ashgate will be less than 10 in all cases, and in many cases smaller. This is achieved by establishing groups A and B across all year groups affected. It should be noted though that this is subject to alteration if Gov UK open the school to more pupils prior to the summer break.
Gov UK guidance recognises that keeping 2 meters apart will not be a realistic expectation for primary settings. We will however do all we can to maintain as much social distancing as possible. Again, grouping as planned enables as much distancing as can be reasonably expected.
Classes will be cleaned daily and as already stipulated, deep cleaning will take place on Wednesday and in addition extra cleaning on Friday’s as school closes. This will restrict risk of infection spreading between groups. Children will clean hands before and after changes in location and activities.
Please keep an eye out for more information on the school website, including more specific guidance for parents and carers regarding when your child can access school. This will include further FAQ answers.