Dear Parents / Carers,
I would like to give you some more information and reminders, as we settle into the new term and our new ways of working. Please bear in mind that all of our new procedures are being set up to reduce the likelihood of transmission of the virus.
Illness
Please do not send your child into school if they appear to be ill before the start of the school day. Please keep them at home until they have fully recovered.
Covid-19 symptoms
No child or adult should enter the school if they have covid-19 symptoms. If an adult working in the school presents with symptoms, they will leave the school immediately. If a child presents with symptoms, we will move them to our designated, isolated space in the school with adult supervision and immediately contact their parents to come and collect them. We will then request that the parents arrange for their child to be tested for covid-19.
The test can be arranged at https://www.nhsinform.scot/self-help-guides/self-help-guide-access-to-testing-for-coronavirus , or by phoning 0800 028 2816, or 111.
The most common symptoms of covid-19 are described on the NHS Inform website as follows:
- continuous cough
- fever/high temperature (37.8C or greater)
- loss of, or change in, sense of smell or taste (anosmia)
A new continuous cough is where you:
- have a new cough that’s lasted for an hour
- have had 3 or more episodes of coughing in 24 hours
- are coughing more than usual
A high temperature is feeling hot to the touch on your chest or back (you don’t need to measure your temperature). You may feel warm, cold or shivery.
Key School Measures
We have put a number of new organisational measures in place, all in line with guidance to reduce the likelihood of transmission for all and to make it possible for adults to maintain 2m physical distancing from each other and from the children. The key ones are:
- Regular hand sanitising.
- Changing classroom layouts and removing soft furnishing.
- Operating a one-way movement system in the school building during busy times such as playtime and lunchtime.
- Adapting seating and food collection arrangements at lunch time.
- Limiting the numbers of adults in the lunch hall.
- Entering and exiting school via classroom doors, rather than the main entrance which causes congestion.
- Increased opportunities for outdoor learning.
- Cleaning touch points in the school more regularly and adopting a new cleaning schedule after school.
- Restricting the sharing of resources, where possible, to individuals, or to classes, and arranging cleaning of any shared resources at the end of every school day.
- Restricting the access of visitors to the school building.
- Adults aiming, where possible, to 2m physically distance from each other and children, and to be able to wear face coverings where they may be interacting within 2m for a sustained period.
- Any adult or child being able to wear a face covering.
Attendance Concerns / Health-related Risk Assessment
If you have any concerns, as we move forward, about your child attending school, please get in touch with me.
If your child has a medical condition, if they are clinically vulnerable or extremely vulnerable, or if they live in a household with a clinically extremely vulnerable household member, and you would like to consider an additional risk assessment for them, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Belongings
Parents and visitors should not be entering the school except for essential purposes. We would therefore be grateful if you could provide your child with everything they need for the school day, including their lunch bag (if they are having a packed lunch), their water bottle, their snacks and a waterproof coat. Please do not bring items into school later in the day to the school office.
As the children are more likely to do outdoor learning activities than previously, please ensure your child is wearing clothes (including the school sweatshirt) and footwear suitable for outdoor activities.
Lunches
We continue to have two methods available for paying for school lunches – submitting online payments or paying in cash. Where possible, we would like to encourage lunches to be paid for using our online system. This avoids unnecessary handling of cash for staff and pupils. In order for lunches to be processed correctly each week, it is important that payments are made on time. Can we please ask that lunches are paid for at the beginning of every week.
Each meal costs £2.20, milk is 10p. All P1-3 children are entitled to Free School Meals.
I would like to remind you of guidance for providing young children with grapes or other soft fruit in packed lunches or as snacks, that they should be cut in halves lengthways, or in quarters, to prevent the risk of choking.
In the interests of pupils who have nut allergies, I would be grateful if you could avoid choosing foods containing nuts when preparing packed lunches and snacks. We also have protocols in place for managing the risk to children who have allergies.
If you need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Kind Regards
Richard Long, Head Teacher