Our Back to School Guide for March 8th

When does school return?

School will be open for all children on Monday 8^th March, 2021.

Does my child need to wear uniform?

• Yes. The government guidance is clear that where schools normally have a uniform then children should return to school wearing that uniform. 
• If you do want to purchase uniform with the logo on, Emblematic will still only take orders directly from you due to the pandemic.  This link will take you to the website:

Emblematic

• Please note the school uniform policy is as listed below:
  • • School uniform is grey or black skirt/trousers, white polo top and burgundy jumper/cardigan (these can be bought from any supermarket, you do not have to buy them from the uniform supplier). 
    • Wearing leggings is not permitted apart from in Nursery and pre-school
    • Footwear: trainers (trainers would be great for returning to school so children can enjoy physical activity daily)
    • No jewellery apart from a watch.  
    • No earrings for boys or girls for safety reasons.
    • Long hair must be tied back to help avoid the spread of head lice

What do I do if my child’s uniform doesn’t fit them anymore?

We do understand that some children may have grown out of their uniform so we will support in any way possible:

• we have donated uniform in school you can come and collect for your child (please ring us or email first so we can check we definitely do have the correct sizes)
• we are working with the Participation Team at North Tyneside Council and they can help with vouchers for new uniform (again email office@fordleyprimary.org.uk if you would like to be considered for this)
• we will have a donation bank delivered very soon and stationed on the KS2 yard so that spare uniforms can be sorted and accessible from the Community School Clothing Scheme (see photo below)

What can my child bring to school and take home?

• Children will be able to bring a water bottle, a coat and a bag (to carry their packed lunch if needed, their reading book and any letters).  They can also bring their own hand gel and hand cream if preferred.
• Children will take their water bottle home with them every day as this will stay on their tables during the day (we would recommend they are washed when they are brought home to prevent spread of the virus)
• Children will not need to bring pencil cases as we will provide individual stationery kits for all children 
• Nothing else must be brought to school (no toys or any extra items for any reason).  This includes no footballs as we already have ones in school the children can use at breaktimes.
• Birthdays - if it is your child's birthday coming up they can bring pre-packaged sweets in to share such as haribo but we would prefer no cakes (prevents worries about allergies too)

What about medication?

• If your child needs to take medication in school, please contact us directly on office@fordleyprimary.org.uk about this and we will advise you further 

Does my child need to wear a face mask?

• Public Health state that there is no need for children in primary schools to wear face masks
• Wearing of a face mask is only effective if the wearer can put it on and take it off correctly and this could be a challenge for younger children
• Should this advice change, we will inform you immediately

Do I, or the adult who drops off and picks up my child, need to wear a face mask?

• We would be grateful if as many adults as possible could wear a face covering on our school site to protect yourselves, our school staff and the rest of our amazing community – the pandemic is not over yet

When will my child do PE? 

• Next week we will send a reminder of PE days for each class and year group
• On the days children do PE we will be asking them to come to school in their PE kit (including tracksuit bottoms and school jumper for warmth) so that they do not need to get changed in school. 
• PE kit is white T-shirt and black shorts

Will my child have to attend school?

• The government are very clear that all children are expected to attend school from 8^th March

What will the start of the school day look like?

• All gates (apart from the main car park gates) will be open and children can come into the school yard from any of them.
• All children can arrive at school between 8:30 and 8:50am (this is to prevent any families and children waiting on the yard as children will not be lining up)
• Children will need to go to their allocated drop off points (same as in the Autumn Term)
  • • Reception will go to the Reception decking area
    • Y1 and Y2 will enter via the KS1 main door
    • Y3-Y6 will enter via the KS2 entrance
• Only use the path past Nursery and Reception if you need to, as this is still a one way path (due to the limited space)
• Adults will then need to leave the school premises promptly.  No parents must stay on the yard for a chat with each other or outside of the school gates as this will block other children and parents trying to come into school and will not support the continued need for social distancing where possible (I will be at the main front gate at the start and end of the school day)
• A limited morning snack of fruit (R/KS1 due to allergies, and toast in KS2) will be available for children, should they want it, between 8:30-8:45
• Calm activities will be available in classrooms until the official start of the school day at 8:50am
• Members of the school’s leadership team (myself, Mr Maule, Mrs Pringle and Mrs Watson) will be on the yard to support and guide you throughout this drop off time, along with other school adults to encourage your child into school if they are worried.  Please remember we are all looking forward to welcoming the children back again and helping them to feel as safe and settled as possible.

What will the end of the school day look like?

• All gates (apart from the main car park gates) will be open and parents/carers will need to come and collect their child from their allocated collection point (same as in the Autumn Term)
• Again we will be on the yard to support you
• NEW – STAGGERED COLLECTION TIMES – we have staggered the times to prevent too many families arriving before 3pm or having to wait on the yard for too long. 
  • Fordley Flyers and Nursery – Between 3-3:15pm at normal exit gates
  • Reception – 3:00pm-3:10pm
  • KS1 – 3:00-3:10pm
  • All of 3/4 – 3:10pm
  • All of 5/6 – 3:15pm
• If you have more than 1 child, please collect at the time for your oldest children (this is because the younger ones can wait in the classroom until collected from their door)
• DO NOT TURN UP EARLIER THAN YOUR COLLECTION TIME – this is to avoid families waiting around on the yard
• Once you have collected your child/children you will need to leave the yard straight away.  Please do not allow your child to go and play on the yard, or stand on the yard talking to other families.  I am sure you all want to play your part in making sure we can prevent any further lockdown, for the mental health and wellbeing of all of our community.

Before School and Afterschool Childcare

• Please following the link here to the page on our website with information about this, as the provision offer hasn’t changed at this time and is only open to working families to limit numbers of children mixing

What will happen at lunchtime?

• As we did in the autumn term, Reception and KS1 will eat their lunch at different times in the hall, and KS2 will eat their lunch in the classrooms
• This worked well in the autumn term so will continue
• Children can bring their own packed lunch or they can have a hot school lunch – an up to date menu will be shared next week
• Please remember we are a ‘nut free’ school and there should be no items with nuts in packed lunches

‘Catching up’ on learning

• Firstly we feel very uncomfortable about the term that is used regularly in the media around children having to ‘catch up’ on their learning.  This suggests children are in a race to get to a finish line which doesn’t, at this time, exist.  It also puts unnecessary extra pressure on children, and will worry you as parents and carers. 
• We already know where children were in their learning at the end of the autumn term, we can see how children have done with their home learning and in school, and will be using the three weeks before the Easter holidays to work with children to make sure we know what their individual gaps are, their next learning steps and whether they will need any additional support as well as access to the high quality, enjoyable teaching and learning experiences they already receive.  We have high expectations of all of your children, we will make sure they can be successful in their learning and make excellent progress alongside a strong focus on their mental and physical health and well-being.
• On Monday 8^th March we will have ‘Marvellous Monday’ across school which will be a day to celebrate our Fordley Family coming back together.  More information will be shared about this next week.

Rewards and Celebrations

• Children will have the opportunity to earn Star of the Week and all the other achievements we normally do weekly, however we still won’t be able to have whole school assemblies for a while
• Myself or Mr Maule (our Deputy Headteacher) will visit classes weekly to celebrate their successes as this is very important to do, even more so to rebuild children’s confidence in themselves

Fordley Flyers and Nursery

• If you are a new starter this term and have not had a phone call from Miss Gilfillan or Mrs McArdle with your start date, please email school and they will contact you.  We must have an up to date phone number
• There will be staggered entries for new starters as normal as it is so important that we get to know your child very well and help them to settle in.

Communication with Parents and Carers

You know how much we value our Fordley Family and the relationships we have with you all as part of our school community.  At this present time the government is still telling us that parents and carers cannot be allowed into the school building.  Until we are told otherwise, we have to follow this guidance.

If you do need to speak to your child’s class teacher, or need a message passed to them, please email school at office@fordleyprimary.org.uk or ring the school office on our new number 0191 2502207

The message will be emailed to the class teacher and they will contact you that day if you need to speak to them directly.

We will share any key school letters, announcements and information via these methods:

• Our website (all of our announcements are posted on ‘Latest News’)
• Seesaw – many of you are now signed up to receive notifications
• Facebook and Twitter – we share links to our website and celebrate successes and good news on here
• On paper where necessary

How will you keep my child safe?

• We have a very detailed risk assessment which has been completed in line with health and safety expectations and the government guidance to schools (a summary copy of this will be shared on the school website)
• We have additional handwashing procedures and resources
• We have extra cleaning materials in every classroom
• Groups in school will not mix and resources will only be used by one consistent group at a time
• Children will be able to go to the toilet whenever they need to, but will be reminded to wash their hands
• Additional cleaning of toilets and all common surfaces will take place throughout the school day
• Should any child or adult display symptoms and have a positive test result, Public Health England will support school directly to manage this swiftly for everyone’s safety
• Fixed outdoor equipment is still out of bounds for all children during the school day and before and after the school day
• Staff may wear PPE to deal with any injuries or illness in school.  This is to keep both staff and your child safe.  School staff also wear PPE within the building if they need to move outside of their bubble (this prevents possible transmission of the virus between adults)

What happens if my child shows symptoms?

• AT HOME – if your child shows symptoms, please book a test and let us know.  We may need to prepare to close a bubble if the test is positive.  Your child and family will have to isolate until the test result comes back.  You were all amazing in the autumn term at keeping us informed (so just keep doing what you were doing).
• AT SCHOOL - If your child shows symptoms, we will take them to a quieter part of school (just as we would do with any poorly child) where they will be accompanied by a member of school staff
• We will contact you directly so we must have correct and up to date contact numbers
• We will ask you to come and collect your child and take them to be tested
• If your child has a positive test they will need to stay at home for 10 days and we will inform Public Health and they will advise us on the next steps to take.  This could involve closing part of the school to allow for any child or adult within the consistent group to isolate at home for 10 days.  However we will communicate with you immediately should this need to happen.
• We, like all establishments, have to follow test, track and trace procedures

How can you help us from March 8th?

You, our Fordley Family, are simply an amazing support to us and we love being at the heart of our fantastic community.  You can continue to help us by:

• Avoid parking on Dudley Drive where possible (North Tyneside Council are asking ALL SCHOOLS to avoid parking outside of school gates) – too many cars cause dangerous issues for children and families and will make social distancing impossible.  If you live within walking distance, please walk with your child to school as this is a much healthier option.  We are joining a new scheme to promote the physical health of our children and will give you the details about this very soon.
• Do not loiter on the yard or outside the school gates – again to help prevent possible spread of the virus
• Do not bring dogs onto the school yard, or tie them up next to school gates (as much as I love dogs, not everyone does and many people are scared of them)
• Packed lunches – as we will be working to help all children’s physical and mental health we ask that any packed lunches are as healthy as possible (e.g. do not just contain sweets or chocolate bars)

A Huge Thank You …

… to all of you who have kept your children at home this term and to all of you who have had your children in school!  Your support, resilience and communication with us is very much appreciated.  We know it has been a very challenging time for everyone, whatever your circumstances, and we look forward to continuing to work together as our Fordley Family for the happy and successful future of our children. 

Claire Withers

Headteacher