To all Parents and Carers, and particularly for those in Year 1 and Year 6 at Revoe Learning Academy

Tuesday, 19^th May 2020

Dear Parents and Carers,

RE: CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19). POSSIBLE REOPENING OF RLA, ONE OF THE SEA VIEW TRUST SCHOOLS

Firstly, I would like to thank you for your continued patience and support whilst we waited for further information from the Government about the reopening of schools.  Our Trust approach to this is summarised below:

Date for potential reopening to Year 1 and Year 6

Schools across the country have been asked to start reopening from 1^st June to Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 pupils, but only if the Government thinks it is safe.  In the case of our Trust, the potential phased opening date for primary schools will be Monday 8^th June at the earliest, after the 2 week half term break.                

In the first instance, our Trust will be prioritising the safe return of Year 1 and Year 6 pupils.

Nursery and Reception aged pupils

A decision has been made to delay opening for our Nursery and Reception children across the Trust primary schools.  This is led by our understanding that early year’s education is not currently designed to support infection control and be ‘coronavirus (Covid-19) unfriendly’. 

To reduce the risk for this age group, our Trust primary schools are working on a new early years’ curriculum and delivery style that reduces child-to-child, child-to-adult and child-to-shared resource contact. 

As soon as this work is completed, we will be able to prioritise the likely return of these age groups.

Precautionary Measures

Providing it is safe for us to start the phased reopening, our Headteachers have created detailed plans to make sure that we can, as safely as possible, welcome back some of our pupils. 

Each Trust school is developing a detailed plan to address their own unique building and staffing situations.  This will determine each Trust school’s ‘safe capacity.’  As a minimum, the precautions we will be taking include:                                            

• All school staff will be provided with appropriate training, guidance and support prior to pupils returning
• Limiting class sizes, typically to less than 50% of normal occupancy
• Increasing the number of entry and exit points to the building
• Staggering break times, and pick-up and drop-off times
• Supporting pupils in ‘bubbles’, with identified staff, classroom and hygiene spaces
• Providing dedicated resource packs for each child
• Increasing the cleaning routines
• Providing a specific ‘safe’ area, enabling anyone developing coronavirus symptoms in school to be isolated
• Ensuring that pupils and staff with coronavirus symptoms do not attend school

Children who may not be able to attend on medical grounds

If your child is clinically extremely vulnerable, or living with someone who is in this group, they should not come back to school and should continue with their home learning. If your child is clinically vulnerable (but not clinically extremely vulnerable), you should follow medical advice to decide if they should come back to school. Please refer to Government guidance for further details of these groups.

Expectations regarding safety when in school

As we seek to reopen our Trust schools, the ongoing safety of all (our pupils, our staff and our families) will remain of paramount concern. Therefore, I would like to draw your attention to the following key points:

• You must ensure that should your child, or anyone else in the household, display symptoms of coronavirus then they DO NOT attend school:
  • The school must be advised immediately so that they can take appropriate measures
  • The current government guidance regarding self-isolation must then be followed in your home setting
• When attending school, our children and their families must adhere to their School’s individual policies and arrangements that have been put in place.  This is particularly essential at pick-up and drop-off times as the measures have been designed to ensure that all members of that school community are protected
• It is particularly important that parents and carers reinforce their School’s new ‘coronavirus rules’; these will be shared with you prior to any return
• Families are reminded that social distancing guidance outside of school must also be followed; this is to protect our children, our school staff and the whole community.

Teaching groups

We are planning for the pupils to be divided into attendance groups and these will be further divided at school level into teaching groups, or ‘Bubbles’.  At the current time, we anticipate that pupils in the target age groups will be able to attend for a maximum of 2 full days per week, in the first instance. 

To ensure that the social distancing guidelines can be applied, we will need to ensure that the pupil numbers, at any one time, are manageable and are within the safe capacity for each school.

Children who are currently accessing school

Along with other plans being made to reopen our schools safely, existing children of key workers and vulnerable children will continue with their current arrangements.

Arrangements prior to week commencing 8^th June 2020

Remember, our schools are currently still only open for existing vulnerable pupils and the children of critical workers. Until additional arrangements have been made, we are unable to provide places for other children. Your child’s school will keep you updated when further information is available and appropriate plans have been made for wider reopening.  In the meantime, for pupils at home, we will continue to support you and your child with home learning on line and through work collections each Wednesday that RLA is open (NOT next week); and offer meal support for those who are eligible through the Government’s voucher scheme.

Supporting with school planning

We know that this is a concerning time for all. Each family is best placed to know what is best for their child’s health and wellbeing.  To reassure you: families will not be pressured into sending their children to school.  However, if it is safe to open week from 8^th June, schools will need to plan for those pupils who are likely to be returning.

RLA Staff have rung parents and carers in Years 1 and 6 today. If you have yet to be contacted, please contact your child’s school directly to advise them whether you would like your child to attend.  As previously mentioned, in the first instance, this would be for 2 days per week maximum.

Important note:  RLA will contact you again before 8^th June 2020 to confirm final arrangements.  So as to ensure the continued safety of the RLA community, please do not arrive at RLA without having first received this information.

All staff teams are very much looking forward to welcoming your child back to RLA as soon as it is safe to do so.

Kind regards,

Angela Holdsworth                        Dave Wallbank

CEO The Sea View Trust                Chair of Trustees (Interim)