Tuesday 23^rd February 2021

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Full opening of Fair Oak Junior School: 8^th March 2021

Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all parents and carers for your continued understanding and cooperation during this very challenging period. I know this has been a difficult time for all families, in particular those having to juggle work commitments and manage childcare.

This letter summarises the arrangements for the full opening of school on 8^th March 2021 and details how you can help us, by working together.

School will be open to all children in all year groups as of Monday 8^th March 2021.

1. The updated guidance states that all children are to return to school from 8^th March and in full school uniform including ties.
2. Breakfast club and after school club will run from 8^th March 2021.
3. ICON after school club will run from 8^th March 2021.
4. Following government guidance a staggered timetable will be in place for the start and end of school day:

Parents will need to be mindful of adhering to social distancing as much as possible when they are on school site especially as we are undergoing extensive building works on the site/campus. .

1. Bubbles – we will define bubbles as classes, overall, to reduce contact across year groups and reduce the number of children affected by any bubble closure. However, After School Club and ICON sports club will run as year group bubbles. By defining bubbles in this way, we are able to ensure the operational working of the school, including providing parents with Breakfast Club and After School Club allowing for wraparound care.
2. Breakfast club: Breakfast club will run from 7.45 am and children will need to arrive at the hall doors (via the main green gate). Parents/carers are not to enter the hall. When the children are in the hall, they will be split into their year group bubbles. No breakfast will be served and children will not be able to bring their own breakfast, as we haven’t got provision for the extra cleaning during this morning session.
3. After School club (ASC): ASC will take place in the hall and NOT the Music and Drama room. Parents will need to collect their child from the hall doors, which can be accessed via the main green gate. Parents must not enter the hall. Food will be provided at ASC.
4. ICON After School Clubs:  ICON will run their sports clubs as of 8^th March 2021. ICON intend to be running an outdoor after school club with this being reviewed throughout the rest of the year. ICON will be offering a football/multi sports club running from Monday through to Thursday.  This will operate on the new all-weather surface area on the school playing fields.

• Monday – Year 3 & Year 5 bubble pupils
• Tuesday – Year 4 & Year 3 bubble pupils
• Wednesday – Year 3 & Year 5 bubble pupils
• Thursday – Year 4 & Year 3 bubble pupils

1. Pencil cases: Please do not send your child into school with a pencil case. We have purchased pencil cases for all the children. Please note, that children will be able to share resources within their class (and within their bubbles).
2. Hygiene arrangements:
   1. Children will have opportunities throughout the day to wash their hands in their classrooms with soap. Please note that some children have found this difficult due to the frequency of washing. Please do speak to your child about drying their hands appropriately. You may wish to send in a small tube of hand cream.
   2. Hand Sanitisers: Each class will have hand sanitiser in it and there are a number of hand sanitiser stations around the school. Please note that our hand sanitiser has a 70/75% alcohol strength.
   3. Cleaning: We have recently purchased enhanced cleaning products which have both antibacterial properties as well as providing a coating to surfaces which will eliminate bacteria.
3. Full School uniform is required. Please do not send your child into school with a large school bag.
4. Face masks/coverings should be worn by parents/carers on the campus at drop off and collection time and at all times when on the school site.
5. School dinners: Hot school dinners are available for children to order. These will be delivered to the classrooms and children will eat in their rooms or outside if the weather is appropriate. The menu has been created and will be displayed on the school website. Please note that the menu is not the standard HC3S menu at present and that the price for lunch is £2.50.
6. Parents and visitors: Parents will not be granted access to the school site unless they have an appointment. Please contact the office (adminoffice@fairoak-jun.hants.sch.uk or 02380693195) if you wish to come onto site during the school day or to arrange for your child’s teacher to call you.
7. Parking: Only valid parking permits will enable vehicles to enter the Wyvern Campus. Due to building work on site, the gates will also be manned by Wates the main contractor on the site and if you do not have a permit you will not be allowed on site.
8. Break time snacks will not be sold at school, but your child will be able to bring in their own healthy snack.
9. PE kits will need to be worn on PE days.

Year 3: Tuesday and Wednesday (Britto on Monday and Wednesday)

Year 4: Monday and Thursday

Year 5: Wednesday and Friday

Year 6: Wednesday and Thursday

In addition to the information already shared:

• Government-recommended Posters have also been printed for each classroom
• Fire arrangements have been updated. Clear guidance for evacuation routes will be in each classroom
• New bins have been purchased for each classroom – after each use children are encouraged to wash hands or use hand sanitiser
• Children will have allocated playing zones for lunchtime and playtime
• Children will need to eat their lunches inside their classrooms, or outside in their designated playing space.
• The relationships policy (Behaviour) will be followed.
• The marking and feedback policy will be followed after a brief staggered process returning to pre COVID marking expectations after the Easter Holidays.

COVID19 Symptoms

• A new continuous cough
• A high temperature
• A loss, or change in, your normal sense of taste and smell

You MUST NOT send your child to school if they have any of the above symptoms, or if anyone in the household has the symptoms.

As per government guidance we will no longer be taking thermal temperature checks of all pupils on entrance to school. However, if children arrive at school with symptoms or develop symptoms during the course of the day, they will be isolated and parents will need to collect them. The school will also test the temperature of children returning from a period of isolation. If a child has symptoms, they (and the other members of the household) will have to follow the government’s guidance.

Please do not simply give your child Calpol and send them in.

What if my child becomes ill?

Whilst every effort will be made to prevent your child from getting ill, nothing can be guaranteed as schools often have other illnesses in addition to the current COVID19 pandemic. As much as possible, we will safeguard your child. However, if they develop symptoms at home, we ask for you to follow the COVID19 guidance. If your child (or a member of staff) exhibits COVID19 symptoms in school, they will be sent home and their household will have to begin the process of self-isolation. All staff and children who are attending school will have access to testing (through the NHS) if they display COVID19 symptoms. If the test is positive, the child’s learning group will be sent home and advised to self-isolate based on advice given to the school from the Health Protection Team. If this is the case, the other household members will not need to self-isolate unless they develop symptoms. To reiterate, if symptoms are in school, we will liaise closely with the Health Protection Team.

What will my child need to bring in with them?

• A named water bottle
• Named school uniform – remember that all children are expected to be in full school uniform
• Should you wish – your child can bring in their own hand gel, but there is no requirement to do so.
• Given the amount of hand washing your child will undertake, you may want to send him/her in with some hand cream, but also remind them to fully dry their hands.
• Lunch box if having packed lunch. Children will be able to order school dinners, but these will be Grab and Go (in food containers). For those bringing lunches into school, please remember that we are a nut free school.

What will PPA look like?

PPA will continue to take place albeit may be on a different day/time to usual. These sessions will not run in the normal rotation pattern as we need to reduce the movement of staff and crossing of bubbles. However, children will continue to receive a broad and balanced curriculum. Children will sit in rows in all class based lessons. PE where possible, will take place outside and when/if music is taught this will continue to take place in a socially distanced manner and/ or in forward facing rows. ICT will take place in the library area which has been converted into a larger ICT suite and is positioned in rows also.

Will my child be able to visit the library?

Children will not be able to access the library to borrow/share books. There will be books available within their class that they will be able to use to support reading at home.

Will there be assemblies?

Children will take part in class assemblies; and larger assemblies via TEAMS. However, there will be no mixed year group/ whole school assemblies in person until further notice.

If someone is poorly with symptoms in my child’s class, what will happen?

If a child (or a member of staff) exhibits COVID19 symptoms in school, they will be sent home and their household will have to begin the process of self-isolation. All staff and children who are attending school will have access to testing (through the NHS) if they display COVID19 symptoms. If the test is positive, the child’s learning group will be sent home and advised to self-isolate based on advice given to the school from the Health Protection Team.

How will school catch up my child’s learning?

• We have re-stocked necessary resources
• We have looked at different intervention options
• Your child will be assessed through a variety of informal methods to ensure starting points for future learning are carefully tailored and planning is in line with the needs of the class/ individual children.

However, a key priority for the return to school will be to support children and their families with their mental health and well-being and re-establishing routines and expectations of behaviour.  

Will the start and end of school look different?

Yes. The days will need to be staggered so that I can keep your child and my staff as safe as possible reducing the number of people encouraged onto site at any one time.

Have you consulted with the Infant School and Wyvern as to start and finish times?

We liaised with both the Infant School, as well as Wyvern back before the September opening and at that time tried to keep our times as similar to the normal start and finish as much as possible and will continue with our same start and finish times that have been in place since September. The two timings are windows allowing further flexibility to allow for drop off and pick-ups at other sites too, so depending on the year group of the child they can enter between 8:30 - 8:45 or 8:45 - 9 and at the end of the day 3:15 finish or 3:30 finish. We do understand that this might cause some difficulty during the return to full opening of schools but we need to ensure that we are not encouraging large numbers on to our site at one time and at all times follow the guidance given to schools. We will also be offering breakfast club and after school club, to support parents further with drop off and pick up times and have secured a reduced provision for after school sports through ICON to hopefully help increase flexibility further. 

Will my child have to wear school uniform?

Yes. Your child will need to wear full school uniform. Please make sure that you get your child to try on their uniform, to make sure it fits. New uniform is available online at School Kit.

Am I able to drive onto site and drop off/collect my child?

Only cars with permits will be able to access the site.

What if my child’s bubble is sent home for isolation?

With the recent introduction of TEAMS, your child will be able to still receive daily contact with their class teacher, have access to work set on TEAMS and take part in the weekly TEAMS video call. This will replace the previous arrangement whereby the office team emailed work out to those isolating. If your child is individually isolating they will still have access to all of this provision.

Can you confirm that the school will not allow any children with any symptoms, however mild, to be allowed in school?

Parents should not send children into school if they have any COVID19 related symptoms. At the moment schools have been informed officially that these are:

• A high temperature
• A new, continuous cough
• A loss, change in, your normal sense of taste and smell

If a child feels unwell for any other reason (e.g. tummy aches), we will follow our current medical guidance and procedures (which were in place before COVID19 and haven’t been superseded with anything else due to the official symptoms of COVID19). These are:

1. Child informs an adult that they are not feeling well
2. Adult monitors the child. If the issue persists for a period, the child is sent to the office
3. The office checks the child’s conditions and, depending on the severity, may call parents for the child to be collected.

If a child is poorly at home with any non-COVID19 related symptoms, parents will need to decide (as they previously did) whether the child will be well enough to come into school.

Is attendance compulsory?

Yes, whilst we understand that these are unprecedented times, attendance is compulsory and all pre COVID 19 attendance procedures will be followed in line with government guidelines.

Can I trust the Government’s scientific advice?

Each individual parent will have an opinion on the scientific advice our country has followed. All I can factually state is:

• We have successfully looked after our Key Worker children and the children who were classified as vulnerable, It is important to note that we are used to having many children in school, so, whilst there will be even more in school, children will still be in controlled bubbles and will remain with that bubble throughout the duration of the school day.
• The Government have stated that all children are to be back in school on 8^th March. Of course, if a child or a member of staff displays said symptoms, they will be sent home.

If you wish to read the school’s risk assessment (which will continue to be updated in line with new February guidance), please click here.

It may be that you have more questions. If you do, please email into the office at the address above or call into school once term starts on 02380 693195. Some of your questions may be answered in the new prospectus and handbook. Please click on the hyperlinked documents.

Thank you all once again. This continues to be an unusual and ever-changing climate, but I am looking forward to seeing all of our children back in school on Monday 8^th March.  

Yours sincerely,

Katy Layley

Acting Head Teacher