Our Way Back to School
Nettlefield Covid-19 Plan 2020
STOP!
Before you read this document:
Do you currently have symptoms of Covid-19?
Are you currently requiring testing for Covid-19?
Have you been in close contact with someone who is showing symptoms or has tested positive for Covid-19 recently?
DO NOT COME TO SCHOOL THIS WEEK.
Please telephone school and inform them of your child’s absence and we will support you.
Government Guidance
At the outset we want families to have access to the Government Guidance on Covid-19.
It can be found at the following link (HERE)
The New Normal
Covid-19 has changed all of our lives in many different ways.
Most of all this has changed how school will be run for the months to come
Although there will be a lot of change, what will not change will be Nettlefield’s care and attention to your children
Our Three Aims
Our children are and feel safe
Our children feel good about school
Our children see school as a partnership between parents and teachers who want to give them the best education in life.
Our Three Methods
Prevent the disease entering the school building
Lessen the risk of the disease spreading
React to any children or adults becoming symptomatic
Prevention – What will Nettlefield do?
We will ensure minimised contact with individuals who are unwell by ensuring that those who have coronavirus symptoms, or who have someone in their household who does, do not attend school.
We will encourage pupils to clean hands more often than usual - washing hands thoroughly for 20 seconds with running water and soap and drying them thoroughly or using alcohol hand rub or sanitiser, ensuring that all parts of the hands are covered.
Prevention – What will Nettlefield do?
Ensure good respiratory hygiene by promoting the ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ approach.
Cleaning frequently touched surfaces often, using EA approved enhanced cleaning products.
Minimising contact and mixing by planning, the classroom layout a staggered timetable.
Prevention – What will Nettlefield do?
Nettlefield Primary School is being thoroughly cleaned every day.
The school will be cleaned every afternoon during the week and we will have additional cleaners on duty throughout the day.
Teachers will also have access to cleaning materials to wipe surfaces and equipment frequently.
All school resources used will be sanitised as well.
Prevention – How can families help?
At the risk of repeating ourselves……
Reduce contact with individuals who are unwell by ensuring that those who have coronavirus symptoms, or who have someone in their household who does, do not attend school
Cleaning hands more often than usual - washing hands thoroughly for 20 seconds with running water and soap and drying them thoroughly or using alcohol hand rub or sanitiser, ensuring that all parts of the hands are covered.
Uniform
P1
White polo shirt
Bottle green v-neck jumper
Boys: grey tailored trousers, black school shoes
Girls: grey school skirt / pinafore, black school shoes
Due to the risk of infection spread and to ensure the best hygiene, long hair is to be tied back and no jewellery (including earrings) should be worn. This is absolutely non-negotiable to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Jewellery will be sent safely home to families and asked not to be returned to school.
Uniform
P2 – P7
White shirt
School Tie (Elasticated Option Available)
Bottle Green / Grey v-neck jumper
Boys: grey tailored shorts / trousers, black shoes
Girls: grey school skirt, black school shoes
No PE Kit required at the moment
Due to the risk of infection spread and to ensure the best hygiene, long hair is to be tied back and no jewellery (including earrings) should be worn. This is absolutely non-negotiable to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Jewellery will be sent safely home to families and asked not to be returned to school.
Equipment
P2
Pencil case (labelled please)
Rubber
Pritt stick (labelled please)
Pack of Crayons (labelled please)
Whiteboard Pen (labelled please)
Child Friendly Scissors (rounded blade) (labelled please)
Box of tissues and a hand soap
These items must stay in school and be used by your child only. You will need to keep a duplicate set of pencils etc at home for home use due to Covid-19.
These items need to be replaced during the school year as and when required.
All items of school uniform and belongings must be clearly labelled with the pupil’s name.
Equipment
P3
Pencil case (labelled please)
Rubber
Pritt stick (labelled please)
Pack of Crayons (labelled please)
Whiteboard Pen (labelled please)
Child Friendly Scissors (rounded blade) (labelled please)
Box of tissues and a hand soap
These items must stay in school and be used by your child only. You will need to keep a duplicate set of pencils etc at home for home use due to Covid-19.
These items need to be replaced during the school year as and when required.
All items of school uniform and belongings must be clearly labelled with the pupil’s name.
Equipment
P4
3 HB pencils (to be sharpened at home)
Sharpener
Rubber
Pencil case
30cm ruler (no flexible rulers please)
A packet of Crayola Twistables
Pritt stick (labelled please)
Box of tissues, hand sanitiser and a hand soap
A pair of PE slippers.
These items must stay in school and be used by your child only. You will need to keep a duplicate set of pencils etc at home for home use due to Covid-19.
These items need to be replaced during the school year as and when required.
All items of school uniform and belongings must be clearly labelled with the pupil’s name.
Equipment
P5
HB pencils
Sharpener
Rubber
30cm ruler (no flexible rulers please)
Colouring pencils (no crayons or gel pens)
Glue Stick
Box of tissues, hand sanitiser and a hand soap
These items must stay in school and be used by your child only. You will need to keep a duplicate set of pencils etc at home for home use due to Covid-19.
These items need to be replaced during the school year as and when required.
All items of school uniform and belongings must be clearly labelled with the pupil’s name.
Equipment
P6
Pencil case
HB pencils *
Sharpener (with holder for sharpenings) *
Rubber *
30cm ruler (no flexible rulers please)
A highlighting pen *
A dictionary
Packet of colouring pencils *
Box of tissues, hand sanitiser and a hand soap
Pritt stick*
These items must stay in school and be used by your child only. You will need to keep a duplicate set of pencils etc at home for home use due to Covid-19.
These items need to be replaced during the school year as and when required.
All items of school uniform and belongings must be clearly labelled with the pupil’s name.
Equipment
P7
Pencil case
HB pencils *
Sharpener (with holder for sharpenings) *
Rubber *
30cm ruler (no flexible rulers please)
A highlighting pen *
A dictionary
Packet of colouring pencils *
Box of tissues, hand sanitiser and a hand soap
Pritt stick*
These items must stay in school and be used by your child only. You will need to keep a duplicate set of pencils etc at home for home use due to Covid-19.
These items need to be replaced during the school year as and when required.
All items of school uniform and belongings must be clearly labelled with the pupil’s name.
The First Days at School
School Times from Thursday 27th August
Entry Points
One Way System
Entry via Lawnmount Street / Cherryville Street
Exit via Radnor Street
Signage in place for both school and nursery
Pupil access and exit
P1 – P3 Doors to classrooms (playground)
P4 – P5 Doors to classrooms (assembly hall side)
P6 – P7 Reception Door
Gates will be opened 5 minutes before entry and exit sessions
Entry Points
Only One Exit Point
School and Nursery
Entry / Exit
What if my child attends Nettlefield PS and their little brother / sister is at Nursery?
We understand this could be a problem and advise that you say goodbye to your older child at the inner Cherryville gate and then enter the nursery via their usual gateway
Classroom Doors
Please send your child straight inside and collect them immediately in the afternoon.
Teachers have been instructed not to discuss issues at the door (to prevent infection spreading.)
Please telephone the school office or use Seesaw to contact your child’s teacher
Late Children
Families are asked to do their best to ensure that children arrive at the correct time.
Older children can arrive with younger children and go to their classroom.
Should a family be late. All of our street gates will be locked at 9.15am except Radnor Street.
We realise this could be problematic for children accessing their usual, known, route but in the interests of keeping our site Covid Secure from the general public, it is essential to lock our gates.
Access to School Office
There will be NO access to the school office due to Covid-19 regulations.
This includes delivering items that have been passed on or purchasing uniform.
We can have no exceptions bar collecting children who are unwell
Please contact the school office by telephone to make alternative arrangements on 02890 458237
Should you have to come to school for prebooked visits it is essential that face coverings are worn.
Alternative Ways to Contact School
Telephone the school office 02890 458237
Use Seesaw to contact your child’s teacher (messages must remain professional and polite.
Contact school via our unique email address help@Nettlefield.co.uk
Our Facebook page is not consistently monitored and should not be used as a way of contacting school.
Extended Schools
At present there will be NO
Breakfast Club
After School Activities
Music Lessons
School Counselling
All of these services are often provided through our extended school service to provide some aspects of wraparound care.
We will be in contact in September as we seek to provide a safe way to reopen our services
Appointments
As pupils may need to attend appointments for dentists, doctor, etc - please try to attend appointments before entering school, or at the end of school to avoid entering and exiting protective bubbles.
Pupils leaving school during the school day should not return. Contact Mr McLean if you need to discuss this
Attendance
Due to the need for staggered times, please try to be on time. Any child remaining at home should be for health reasons.
If your child is unwell and unable to come to school, please call the school office and send a message to your child’s teacher through Seesaw.
Please message and phone by 8.30am each day.
All attendance is monitored daily. Mr McLean will be in touch with families who struggle with attendance daily
Other Drop Off / Pick Up Tips
It is important that pupils only arrive at their allocated time, to help maintain social distancing.
Our gates will be closed throughout the school day. They will only be opened at entry and exit times.
Parents must leave the playground as soon as their child is handed over to staff.
We must limit access to the site so only one adult should bring a child to school.
Please do not bring dogs to school, as is our current agreement.
You are, of course, welcome to wear a mask when collecting your child.
Other Drop Off / Pick Up Tips
If you are collecting siblings in different year groups we will enable you to collect them all at the same time if you wish. Please collect at the first scheduled time for your children. Please notify your child’s teacher if you need to change their exit time.
P5 to P7 pupils may arrive and leave school unaccompanied as long as parents have notified the class teacher through our agreement in September.
We strongly request that any child in P5 to P7 who can enter and exit our site without an adult - is allowed to do that. This will significantly cut down adult numbers in the playground / entry and exit gates.
Other Drop Off / Pick Up Tips
Parents and carers should wait in the area around the exit door of their child’s class. Please do not crowd around windows and doors. After meeting your child please head straight to an exit, using the same one way system.
Please ensure that anyone collecting your child on your behalf is aware of these arrangements and knows the name of your child’s teacher.
Teachers will wear face masks when bringing their class out to meet you. If you need to chat to a staff member, please use Seesaw or make a phone call, as they will be unable to engage in conversation with you at this point.
Schoolbags & Lunchboxes
To prevent the spread of infection, regularly touched items such as school bags are not required for school.
Lunchboxes will be stored in a separate area of the classroom and not touched until break / lunch. There is no rule on lunch box types.
Pupils are required to bring all essential stationery items (pencil case etc) in a disposable plastic bag that will not come home once in school.
An extra set of stationery will be required for home use.
Free School Meals
Free School Meals are unavailable until Tuesday 1st September.
A packed lunch is required for all pupils on Thursday 27th and Friday 28th August 2020
Paid School Dinners will not be available initially but we will inform families when they will return.
At present our breaktime Snack scheme is also unavailable but we will inform families when it will return also.
Helpful Snack / Lunch Tips
Please ensure that a good variety of healthy items are included in your child’s lunchbox.
Snack should be one small item whilst lunch can be a little bigger.
As Nettlefield is a Nut Free School, we insist families do not use any nut based products including chocolate nut spreads (e.g. Nutella)
Fizzy drinks are also not acceptable to be added to lunchboxes for pupils.
Find some useful tips (HERE)
Face Coverings and PPE
The Government has not recommended the use of face masks for young pupils. Pupils and staff are not required to wear face coverings all the time but staff will use them in close contact situations.
We will not object to anyone who chooses to wear their own. Staff will not be able to manage the usage of pupil PPE and if this becomes a behaviour problem we will approach parents for support and may ask for these to be removed and used outside school hours.
Medication in School - COVID 19 Protocol
School will administer only medication that is essential and is usually given on a regular daily basis in school. If that medication can be given outside school due to the changes in timing in our school day, then it must be done so.
If your child has been prescribed an inhaler, please note that we require one to be kept in school for them. We already hold inhalers in school for a number of pupils. If this is the case, please ensure that the inhaler is in-date. This can be done either via a phone call/Seesaw message to the class teacher.
Medication in School - COVID 19 Protocol
If you require to leave any medication into school, please contact Mr McLean via a phone call to arrange drop off. All medication coming into school must be in a plastic see-through wallet/bag labelled with the child’s name and class.
All medication must be in the original box/ container as dispensed by the pharmacy.
Remember, only essential medication can be given in school. Calpol and Antibiotics will not be administered.
Illness in School
If your child is generally unwell, they must not attend school. They must remain off school for at least 48 hours and until their symptoms clear up. If they return to school before that period of quarantine, we will ask you to come to remove them.
We have made a short help sheet for illness in school that can be found (HERE)
Suspected Covid-19 related Illnesses
If you or a member of your household is displaying the following symptoms:
a high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature); OR
a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual); OR
a loss of or change in sense of smell or taste
Do not come to school. Everyone must stay at home.
Arrange for a test for COVID-19 or call 0300 303 2713
Suspected Covid-19 related Illnesses
While waiting for your test or if you receive a positive diagnosis for COVID-19:
you'll need to stay at home for at least 10 days from when your symptoms started;
after 10 days from when your symptoms started:
if you have not had a high temperature for 48 hours, you no longer need to self-isolate;
if you still have a high temperature, you need to self-isolate until your temperature has returned to normal for 48 hours.
you do not need to self-isolate if you only have a cough or loss of sense of smell/taste after 10 days, as these symptoms can last for several weeks after the infection has gone.
Suspected Covid-19 related Illnesses
If you live with someone who has symptoms, you'll need to stay at home and self-isolate also. If the person with symptoms tests positive for COVID-19, everyone in the household without symptoms will need to self-isolate for 14 days from the day the first person in the home started having symptoms;
However, if you develop symptoms during this 14-day period, you’ll need to stay at home for at least 10 days from the day your symptoms started (regardless of what day you are on in the original 14-day period). Follow the advice above on when to end self-isolation
Suspected Covid-19 related Illnesses
If you receive a negative diagnosis for COVID-19:
You can stop self-isolating if you have a negative test, as long as:
Everyone you live with who has symptoms of COVID-19 has tested negative – you need to keep self-isolating if someone in your household tests positive, or develops symptoms of COVID-19 and has not been tested;
You feel well enough, and have not had a raised temperature for more than 48 hours.
If you develop new or worsening symptoms, you should self-isolate and can arrange to be re-tested.
(Source: https://www.publichealth.hscni.net/covid-19-coronavirus/covid-19-information-public )
Important Testing Note:
Contact the Public Health Agency for the correct moment to take the test. Many people have taken the test early when symptoms appear and receive a negative result.
It is essential that all advice is understood and followed carefully.
Illness in School – When Going Home
If your child is unwell in school with Covid symptoms, they will be taken to an isolation area in the school where they will be supervised by a member of staff wearing PPE. We will contact you and ask you to attend school to take your child and any siblings home. It is also important that you contact and collect any other children at any other school.
You should come directly to the Side Entrance door in school and not the School Office. Again, they should remain at home for at least the 48-hour period and have testing results with a negative outcome before the child returns to school.
Covid-19 in School
If there is a confirmed case in the school, the school will follow the protocols laid down in the guidance issued to schools.
All attendance records, seating plans and contact details will need to be forwarded to Test, Trace and Protect teams for analysis.
The person becoming unwell / symptomatic will be moved to the ‘alarm room’ for supervision purposes. Adult supervision will be provided and the room ventilated through an open window.
PPE will only be needed by staff if they cannot adhere to social distancing regulations and / or have to provide direct personal care.
Covid-19 in School
A record will be kept of:
Action taken by school;
People in contact with individual person;
People who collected individual person (if a pupil).
If a pupil is suspected of being ill with Covid-19, the record should be signed by the person collecting the child.
Test, Trace, Protect
First and foremost, Children and young people who exhibit any symptoms associated with COVID-19 should not attend school.
The Department of Health has implemented a contact tracing programme called Test, Trace and Protect designed to control the spread of COVID-19. All pupils are expected to follow the requirements of this programme: to self-isolate if they are identified as close contacts of cases and to obtain a test for COVID-19 if they develop symptoms. All members of their household should follow the appropriate isolation guidance as provided by the Public Health Agency. Where an individual has had a negative result, it is important to still apply caution.
Test, Trace, Protect
If everyone with symptoms who was tested in their household receives a negative result, they can return to school providing they are well enough and have not had a temperature for 48 hours.
Test, Trace, Protect
Anyone who tests positive will be contacted by the Contact Tracing Service in the Public Health Agency, and will need to share information about their recent interactions. This could include household members, people with whom you have been in direct contact, or been within 2 metres for more than 15 minutes.
All household members should follow PHA isolation guidance which currently requires everyone in the house to stay at home. Isolation guidance will then be provided that is context specific and may result in friendship groups, regular contacts and potentially an entire class or ‘bubble’ being instructed to self-isolate at home.
Test, Trace, Protect
The classroom area will be cleaned accordingly
Contact Tracing will make the necessary recommendations to the school in regards to what further action should be taken in respect of isolation of staff and pupils arising from a confirmed case.
Behaviour in School
In school, your child will have explained to them certain safety precautions we will be operating under. They will be expected to comply with these. Children will be reminded regularly about these rules.
In the unlikely event they fail to comply, they will be spoken to in the first instance, by the class teacher.
Continued non-compliance will result in them being spoken to by the Head of Key Stage/Vice Principal/Principal before you will be called to attend school to discuss this matter.
This may result in you being required to remove them from school for the safety of your child and others in the school community.
Homework / Seesaw
At present, staff are working on Homework routines for all pupils and plans will be released in September.
Seesaw will still be an important aspect to our home -> school link.
The use of Seesaw has been invaluable for teaching and learning during the period of school closure during the Covid 19 pandemic.
In the event of any future school closure, Seesaw will be used again as a tool to provide remote learning experiences for our children at home.
However, to facilitate the efficient and safe use of the platform certain rules must be adhered to by our pupils and parents. These are set out on the following pages.
Please ensure that you continue to use the Seesaw Family app to access all correspondence from school.
The Seesaw Class app is for pupils only and your child will be directed by their teacher to use it when required.
Pupil Use of Seesaw
Children should be fully dressed in all photos and videos posted. This means no pyjamas, sleep wear, swim wear or crop tops.
Pupils must not post photos/videos taken in bedrooms.
Any adult included in any photos/videos posted must have given their permission before posting.
Parental permission to include any child who is not a pupil (immediate family member) at Nettlefield Primary School in photos/videos, must have been sought and given, prior to posting.
Pupils will only use as a profile image on their personal Seesaw account, an appropriate image of themselves, a picture of a pet or the school logo.
All comments posted by pupils must be positive and avoid mention of issues that may be controversial or issues that might cause offence.
Photos and videos of teachers must never be saved or shared with anyone outside of Seesaw.
Any instances inappropriate usage of teacher’s image or likeness (including commenting) will be forwarded to the Board of Governors for further investigation.
Parent Use of Seesaw
Parents must not share any content from Seesaw, that is sent by the school, outside of Seesaw. It is a private communication tool between school and the parent/pupil alone. Sharing of content outside of Seesaw may result in the removal of access to the platform.
Communication between staff and parents will be within school opening hours. During the school teaching day, 8.30am – 3.00pm, teachers may not be able to reply to any Seesaw communication. These will be followed up later by the teacher.
It is the responsibility of the parent to ensure that their child adheres to the above rules.
All communication between parents and staff must remain professional and respectful.
FAQs
If you have any questions regarding any of this information please send them to your child’s class teacher through Seesaw or contact Help@Nettlefield.co.uk.
We will create a Frequently Asked Questions document as a follow up to this, where we will answer any more queries you may have.