It seems so long ago that we were all together inside of our wonderful school. We have missed all of the children and hope that during these strange times, you have still managed to make the most of Summer 2020 and are all keeping safe.
The team have been in school and behind the scenes, have been putting plans in place for the safe return of all pupils from Tuesday 8th September. We realise that many parents, carers and children will have questions about school and this page will hopefully address most of those. We can’t wait to welcome everyone back to #teamfrontstreet.
We have a full risk assessment in place, developed in conjunction with the local authority, which covers all aspects of the school day. Staff and governors have all been consulted and involved in the risk assessment process. Of course, this process is continuous and we may need to adapt and change procedures as time goes on. You can access the Local Authority Model Risk Assessment HERE.
As ever, we ask for your patience and co-operation and thank you for your support. Our priority is that school is a welcoming and safe environment for everyone.
Children will start school on Tuesday 8th September. Children new to Reception will have a specific transition period (separate information has been provided for these children).
HOME-SCHOOL AGREEMENT:
Because things are different now in school, we have had to make amendments to our behaviour policy and outline our expectations for pupils, parents and staff in a home-school agreement. These documents have been uploaded to the school website and need to be read and understood.
THE START OF THE SCHOOL DAY:
There will be a ‘soft-drop’ start to the day between 8:30am and 9:00am for all children in Reception to Year 6. (These are temporary timings and may change with ongoing reviews).
It is essential that parents/carers understand that we want a natural staggered drop-off. Please don’t all rush for 8:30am. Registration is 9:00am.
In a morning, children in KS2 should be encouraged to come on to the school site themselves – at the right time – so they can simply walk straight into school. The parents/carers of these children then do not have to come on site in the morning.
In order to reduce numbers on the site, only one adult should drop off or collect, daily.
Click here to watch a video of the drop off areas. It does run quite quickly so may need a few watches!
| Class | Where | Start | Parents waiting area at home time | Collect |
| Nursery | Nursery door | 8:30am | Nursery door | 3:20pm |
| Reception | Reception door | 8:30-9am | Reception door | 3:15pm
|
| Y1/2 | Classroom doors | 8:30-9am | Y1 beside the bike shed
Y2 onto the MUGA |
3:10pm |
| Y3/4 | Y3/4 stairwell door | 8:30-9am | Y3
Outside of the Y3/4 door Y4 onto the MUGA |
3:20pm |
| Y5/6 | Up the pedestrian steps from North View and through the hall doors | 8:30-9am | Out through the hall door and out down the pedestrian steps onto North View | 3:20pm |
PLEASE NOTE: We will operate a strict one-way system. We politely ask that only one adult per child drops off children at their drop-off point in Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. If parents enter the school grounds, exit will be via rear steps
There will be no entry to the school site via the rear steps beside Whickham Playzone
These images also identify the areas for crop-off and collection:
MORNING ACCESS POINTS:
AFTERNOON COLLECTION:
We appreciate that parents with siblings will have to wait in designated collection points until that year group exits school at their finish time.
INFORMATION ABOUT BUBBLES DURING THE SCHOOL DAY:
Children will be taught in ‘bubbles’. This means we have grouped children by phase together, so for example Years 1 and 2 are one bubble. This means that they are taught in their normal classroom and will have play time and lunch with children from the same year groups. They will not mix with children from other year groups. Classes have been set up so that children are seated in rows and are facing the front. There will be limited movement around the room, except to access toilets, drinks etc.
At Front Street our bubbles will be:
Nursery and Reception, Y1&2, Y3&4 and Y5&6.
LUNCHTIME SETUP:
Children will eat their lunches in the school canteen and within their bubble groups at the following times:
| Year Group | Lunchtime | Hall time
(30 mins) |
| R | 11.45-12.45 | 11.45 |
| Y1+Y2 | 12.00-1.00pm | 12.00 |
| Y3+Y4 | 12.15-1.15 | 12.15 |
| Y5+Y6 | 12.30-1.30 | 12.45 |
All groups have an allocated hall slot to allow us to keep bubbles separate and also to clean down surfaces etc. All children will finish their lunch within the half an hour and will then go out to play for the remainder of the time.
BREAK TIMES:
At first, to help children settle back in to school life, children will receive a number of wellbeing and rest breaks throughout the day. These will be in year group bubbles and areas will be sectioned off to prevent children mixing across bubbles.
HAND WASHING
We have devised a timetable to allow the children to wash their hands at numerous times across the school day. If you do wish your child to bring their own hygiene equipment (wipes/sanitiser) then this is also encouraged.
| Handwashing Timetable – | |
| On entry to the classroom | |
| After the first morning break | |
| After the second break | |
| Before lunch time | |
| After lunch time on entry to the classroom | |
| After mid-afternoon break time | |
| Before home time | |
UNIFORM GUIDANCE:
Children will return to school in normal uniform in September (no earrings). For PE days they will be allowed to come to school wearing their PE kit. Timetables will be issued in September. There is no need for children to bring a bag to school – other than their packed lunch. NO pencil cases, no notebooks, no stationery please.
THE CURRICULUM:
We know that the children have not been at school now for 6 months and will need time to adjust; therefore, at first we will concentrate on social and emotional well-being, basic skills, exercise, fine motor skills and have lots of breaks. We want the children to come back and have fun, feel safe and build up their confidence. This is our priority to begin with.
As the children have been through quite a traumatic time and have missed out on socialising, interacting with peers, being part of a class etc we will be focussing upon their Mental Wellbeing and Mental Health as well as ‘getting back to basics’. It is really important that we re-establish routines and rebuild relationships.
In September, school will not be about quickly “catching up” or “plugging the gaps” we will support children in getting back into the rhythm of school safely and identifying what are appropriate behaviours for learning.
TEACHER COMMUNICATION:
This will continue through Class Dojo. Watch out for messages coming soon!
HOMEWORK:
Until further notice, there will be no homework or home readers.
CLUBS/MUSIC LESSONS ETC.
Until further notice, these will not be happening.
We know that this is a lot of information to take in. Rest assured that we will be taking a calm, sensitive and measured approach to settling back into school life. This will take time, patience and co-operation. As for the above procedures, these are all subject to change; however, we will always try our best to keep you all informed and up to date.
We can’t wait to see you all very soon.
Thank you,
#teamfrontstreet
