Skip to content ↓
Askern Littlemoor Infant Academy

Askern Littlemoor Infant Academy

29.08.20 - The Full Reopening of Littlemoor on Thursday 3rd September

Dear Parents & Carers

We hope that you are keeping safe and well in these unprecedented times. The team at Littlemoor are looking forward to welcoming all children back to school on Thursday 3rd September with a return to the new ‘normal’ being as smooth as possible for everyone.

Following the release of further government advice and guidance regarding the full reopening plans for September 2020, we wish to update you about the plans in place to ensure a safe and full return to school for all our children.

Car Park 

Under no circumstances, will parents be allowed to drive into the car park. This is a health and safety issue due to the one way system in operation for our families when accessing and leaving the site.

In special circumstances, where parents have a disability badge, special arrangements will be made around pick up and drop off times.

Arriving and Leaving School

One adult only should bring and collect their child for school. Parents must leave the school grounds immediately after drop off and pick up. The children will use their usual entry points. Markers will be placed on the floor around entrances/exits and pinch points o ensure social distancing is taking place.

A one-way system will be in operation with children and parents walking down the driveway and around the building; they will walk up a demarcated area of the car park. Everyone must adhere to this route around school.

Parents must bring children to school on time, no earlier or later, the same goes for collection times which must be strictly adhered to, to prevent too many people being on the school premises at once.

We would encourage all families to walk to school wherever possible in order to ease congestion around the school. It’s much healthier too!

Class Bubbles

The children will be kept in their class groups for the majority of the time and these groups are described as ‘bubbles’. Nursery children will operate as one bubble and F2 children will operate as a large bubble during the day, allowing access to all areas of provision both indoors and outdoors.

KS1 children will operate within their 3 class bubbles as far as is possible.

Staggered Starting and Finishing Times

 

Year Group/
Class Name

Teacher

Start Time

Finish Time

F2  *   Dormice

Miss Mulvey

8:45am

3:15pm

F2  *  Hedgehogs

Miss Hartley

9:00am

3:30pm

Y1       Squirrels

Mrs Gravel &
Mrs Eades

8:45am

3:15pm

Y1&Y2 Rabbits

Miss Connor

9:00am

3:30pm

Y2       Badgers

Mrs Leigh

9:00am

3:30pm

Please note that our Reception (F2) children - Dormice & Hedgehogs will have a phased start.

Thursday 3rd and Friday 4th September- Dormice will leave at 1pm/Hedgehogs will leave at 1:15pm.

Monday 7th September- Friday 11 September- Dormice will leave at 2pm/Hedgehogs will leave at 2:15pm.

Nursery Children

All Nursery parents have received an information pack through the post, explaining the arrangements for their children starting Nursery. Our staff will be contacting you to confirm these arrangements; please feel free to contact us with any further queries you may have.

Classroom Layout

Adaptations will be made to the classrooms to support distancing where possible. This will include seating children side by side and our older children facing forwards, rather than face to face or side on. Unnecessary furniture will be moved out of classrooms to make more space.

In Early Years (Nursery and F2), the classroom layout will be very similar to before, with the main difference being a reduction in the equipment set out and the removal of soft furnishings. All equipment will be thoroughly cleaned at the end of each session.

We will share photos of classrooms with you on our website.

Learning

Staff are planning to deliver a curriculum which will focus on the essentials (phonics and reading, increasing vocabulary, writing and maths) but will also offer a breadth of subjects as well as focusing on the children’s mental well-being.

Equipment

Children will have their own equipment which is frequently used, such as pencils, and pens. Classroom-based resources, such as books and games, can be used and shared within the bubble; these will be cleaned regularly.

We would like all children to bring a water bottle to school each day; this is very important as we will not be providing the children with school bottles while restrictions are in pace.

We are asking that all children come to school with just their packed lunch (in a disposable bag), water bottle and coat. All packed lunches and water bottles will be stored in class with the children.

Cleaning

 

Daily deep cleans will take place at the end of each school day and a cleaning routine is in place throughout the day with classroom surfaces (handles, equipment, etc.) being cleaned at very regular intervals. Tables and chairs will be wiped between activities.

Uniform

 

The children will wear their uniform on return to school and KS1 children will bring their PE kit to school every Monday, taking it home to be washed on Fridays. Please contact school if you wish to order uniform.

Hygiene

 

Children and staff will be required to wash their hands as soon as they enter and just before they leave the building. They will follow the usual hygiene rules and wash their hands after the toilet, before they eat and if they cough or sneeze. Staff will also ensure every adult and child washes their hands at least every hour while they are at school. Hand sanitisers will also be available in all areas of school.

The rules of ‘Catch it, bin it, kill it!’ and coughing into elbows (rather than into the air) will be reinforced.

All hard surfaces such as tables, door handles, taps, backs of chairs, toilets and any other that staff and children come into contact with will be sprayed with cleaning products and wiped with a clean cloth at least four times during the school day.

Every classroom will be well-stocked with liquid soap, paper towels, cleaning products, clean cloths, tissues and hand sanitiser.

Children will only able to use the toilets and sink areas two at a time.

School staff will wear gloves, face masks and plastic aprons when dealing with sick children or administering first aid. They will do the same if they are supporting a child who has had a toileting accident. If the toileting accident involves a child soiling themselves, staff will not attempt to change them; the parent will be called to change them and take them home.

Unwell children MUST NOT be brought to school in any circumstances, including but not limited to tummy ache, earache, sore throat, lethargy etc.

Lunches

 

Lunchtimes will be staggered, with our youngest children eating first at 12pm in the hall, all front facing.

Our older children (KS1) will be served lunch in their classrooms.

There will be a choice of lunch with our band system continuing to be in operation. The children will not queue for their lunch, instead the lunchtime staff will bring the food to the children at their tables.

Packed Lunches

Parents wishing to provide their child with a packed lunch are asked to follow these guidelines:

  • Drinks need to be in a re-fillable water bottle – children may have water or dilute Juice. 
  • NO FIZZY DRINKS, CANS, CARTONS ETC are permitted.
  • All packed lunch items need to come to school in a disposable bag – we cannot accommodate thermos/cool bags etc. The only non-disposable item should be a water bottle. This will mean that at the end of lunch everything can be disposed of except for the water bottle which will be returned home every day for cleaning.

Social Distancing

Social distancing will be taught and encouraged. Signage will be in place.

Children will receive regular reminders of this throughout every day from the staff. However it is acknowledged by all that children of this age will find social distancing extremely difficult and may even find it distressing.

Children of this age, returning to school after so much isolation will need to socially interact and it is indeed very important for their development and well-being that they are able to do so. Therefore it is our intention to ensure that children and staff stay with their designated class groups with reminders about social distancing and the hygiene measures outlined.

Playtimes

Playtimes will be staggered to ensure social distancing remains in place. Our KS1 children will use the KS1 playground and the Reception children will use their own Early Years’ play area.

Parents & Visitors entering the building

Parents will not be allowed into the school building unless by prior appointment.

Only one parent will be allowed into reception at a time and we request that a face covering is worn in order to protect our staff.

Visitors into school will not be permitted unless it is absolutely essential and strict social distancing rules must be followed. Face coverings have to be worn by all visitors and a Visitors’ Policy can be found on our website.

If you wish to pass on a message, please do so via:

email: admin @askernlittlemoor.doncaster.sch.uk 

or telephone: 01302 701353

Staff must do the same and contact parents by phone call, email or via text and not engage parents in conversation in person unless it is absolutely necessary.

Attendance

School attendance will be mandatory again from the beginning of the autumn term.  We understand that some parents may feel very anxious about their child returning to school and we are keen to support you, and to alleviate your concerns. 

However, it is important that your child attends school every day, to catch up as quickly as possible on every lost learning opportunity. In the event that your child is not in school, we will follow our Attendance Policy and work in conjunction with the Local Authority to support you and address the matter.

Mental health and anxiety support

We hope that you feel positive and reassured about your child returning to school but for some children, parents and staff members it will be a time of stress and anxiety.  As we all adjust to this new way of working, issues will arise. We want to work in close partnership with parents/carers and children and if you are anxious about anything in school please just ask.; we are only too happy to help and support.

  Home-School

  Agreement     

On the first day back all children will be issued with a new Home School Agreement – please complete this straight away and return it back to school as soon as possible.

Communication

 

It is so important that we are able to communicate with parents and carers via phone and email. Most of our correspondence with you will be carried out this way, together with the website; we will be as paperless as possible.

Clear two-way communication is key at any time but is even more important during these uncertain times.

Please ensure that school has your up to date mobile number, home number and email address.

Our contact details are

Email:

admin@askernlittlemoor.doncaster.sch.uk

Telephone:

01302 701353

Website

www.askernlittlemoor.com

Cases of Covid-19

 

We will be tracking very carefully all children, staff and visitors, so we can communicate effectively with everyone if a child becomes unwell in school. In this event, you will be contacted to arrange to collect your child and access a test. Whilst we await your arrival they will be taken to our special isolation room with a trained staff member until a parent/carer arrives. If your child is displaying Covid-19 symptoms then we will ask them to wear a mask and the adult will wear disposable PPE (mask, gloves, apron, goggles). You will then be asked to isolate your household for 14 days and arrange a test and inform us of the results.

We will contact the local health protection team. Based on the advice from the health protection team, we must send home those people who have been in close contact with the person who has tested positive, advising them to self-isolate for 14 days since they were last in close contact with that person when they were infectious.

The health protection team will provide definitive advice on who must be sent home. We will keep a record of students and staff in each group, and any close contact that takes places between children and staff in different groups.

Advice from     Public Health Doncaster

There is a range of information available to parents and carers on the Doncaster Council website with a specially created section on returning to school - www.doncaster.gov.uk/schoolopening.

This will be updated regularly. This link will also be shared on the council’s social media @MyDoncaster and @CovidDoncaster.

I hope that you have found this information reassuring and helpful, giving yourselves a clearer picture of how school will operate when we reopen.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

We look forward to welcoming you all back to Littlemoor on Thursday 3rd September.

Kind regards

 

 

Carol Ann Turner
Head Teacher

Please refer to the latest DFE guidance on the September Re-Opening of Schools.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools