Ribbleton Avenue Methodist Junior School
"Brighter futures built with Ambition, Courage and Respect; filled with Love, Hope and Faith"
Latest News
Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
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Guidance Changes for September 2021
Tue 31 Aug 2021Dear Parents/Guardian
We are writing in light of changes made to national policies on self-isolation and to provide information on how COVID-19 will be managed in the school this term.
CHANGES TO NATIONAL SELF-ISOLATION GUIDANCE
From 16 August, the Government has said that people aged under 18 years and 6 months or who are fully vaccinated will no longer be legally required to isolate if they are a close contact of someone with COVID-19. Instead, such people will be advised (but not legally required) to get a PCR test unless they have had a positive PCR test in the previous 90 days.
Regardless of age or vaccination status, anyone who develops any of the three main COVID-19 symptoms (see below) must get a PCR test as soon as possible and isolate until the result is available. People who get a positive PCR test must continue to isolate as usual.
Some likely scenarios are described below along with our advice:
What should I do if my child develops COVID-19 symptoms?
The main symptoms of COVID-19 are:
- new continuous cough and/or
- fever (temperature of 37.8°C or higher)
- loss of or change in, normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia)
If your child develops any of these symptoms, you must arrange for them to have a PCR test as soon as possible. A PCR test can be arranged via the NHS UK (www.nhs.uk) website or by contacting NHS 119 via telephone if you do not have internet access.
Your child should self-isolate immediately and they should not attend school.
Please contact the school by phone to inform us your child has COVID-19 symptoms and you are awaiting a COVID-19 test.
What should I do if my child has COVID-19 confirmed by PCR test?
Anyone with COVID-19 confirmed by PCR test should self-isolate until the latest of:
- 10 days after the onset of their symptoms, or
- 10 days after their test day if they are asymptomatic
Self-isolation means your child should not go to school, attend any out of school activities or visit a friend’s house. They should not visit any public places, use public transport or go out to exercise. You should not have vistors into the home except for those providing essential care.
Please contact the school by phone and inform us your child has COVID-19 confirmed by PCR test. It is really important you let us know if your child has confirmed COVID-19 so we can monitor the number of children with COVID-19 across the school.
What should I do if my child is a contact of someone with COVID-19 confirmed by PCR test?
If your child is aged under 18 years and 6 months and does not have any symptoms of COVID-19 (high temperature, new continuous cough, loss of or change in, normal sense of taste or smell) they do not have to self-isolate as a contact of COVID-19.
They are advised to have a PCR test unless they have had a positive PCR test in the last 90 days.
Children aged 5 and under are not advised to take a PCR test unless the confirmed case is someone in their own household.
What should I do if my child has a positive result on a lateral flow device test?
If your child has a positive result on a lateral flow device test, they should self-isolate immediately and you should arrange a PCR test as soon as possible.
Other members of the household do not need to self-isolate whilst you await the PCR test result if they do not have symptoms and are aged under 18 years and 6 months or are fully vaccinated.
What should I do if my child is unwell with signs of an infection but does not have symptoms of COVID-19
Your child should be excluded from school if they are unwell. If concerned you should seek advice from your GP or Pharmacist, they will be able to advise you how long your child should stay off school. Otherwise we would recommend exclusion for 48 hours or until the child is symptom free, whichever is longer. We are not currently advising that preschool children get a PCR test if they do not have the three main symptoms of COVID-19.
In school testing
Whilst Secondary Schools will be regularly testing pupils for Covid-19 as before the summer break, Nursery and primary school pupils are not asked to test at this time
ACCESSING COVID-19 testing in Lancashire County Council
Symptomatic testing and testing for close contacts
PCR tests can be booked at any of the DHSC run sites that operate Monday – Sunday 8am – 8pm on the gov.uk website https://www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test
https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/coronavirus/testing/
PCR tests for home delivery can also be ordered by calling 119.
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School Reopening Info
Tue 31 Aug 2021Return to School in September 2021
Government guidance now allows school to remove the bubble structure, other social distancing measures and control measures that have been in place for children. Our school will be doing this from September 2021. Government guidance also means we can also remove our staggered start/finish times and revert many aspects of school back to how school was working before the pandemic started.
However, we need to be clear that the pandemic has not gone away and as per government guidelines, we now need to learn to live with Coronavirus. As such some general measures will need to remain in place. From time to time, our arrangements may need to be reviewed in the event of any increase in infections or changes in government guidelines.
Below details some key changes to be aware of.
Please see Government guidance for latest information
The School Day
The school day will revert back to normal hours for all classes as of 2nd September 2021.
School registration will be at 8:50 am. Children will be met by staff 5 minutes prior to this at 8:45 am so children can come in, start learning and be ready for 8:50 am registration. We ask parents to be at the relevant entrance points promptly at 8:45 am to support the organisation of the school day. Ensuring your children are in school promptly has a huge impact on their learning.
Entrance and Exit Points
During Covid-19 pandemic we have used different ways of entering and leaving our school site. These have been successful in many ways and we will be continuing with different entrance and exit points next term. As with all school procedures, we will be evaluating this as we move through the autumn term. The information below details the entrance points for your child’s new class from 2nd September 2021.
In a morning, children should be left at the school gates (these will be manned by school staff) and children will enter school straight away.
(For Thursday 2nd September/Friday 3rd September Year 3 Parents will be allowed access to the site in the morning for Drop Off)
Morning Drop Off – 8.45 am UNTIL 8.50 am
Year 3– Class door entrance/exit. Children will enter and exit via the individual classroom doors.
Year 4M / 5M
Both these classrooms may enter/exit through the Community Building Gate (Breakfast Club Gate) via the Hall doors to their classrooms. Parent drop off and pick up via Community Building Gate on Emerson Road
Year 4R
Enter School via the Main School and into school via the main school corridor along the ICT suite and into their classroom.
5R and Year 6
Children enter via Main School gate and into school via the 5R Corridor.
Collecting children at the end of the day. School finishes at 3:10pm.
If you have multiple children to collect via different exits (E.g. 6R and 4M), please enter the site via the Main Gate through the playground, exiting via the Community Building Gate.
Year 3 Parents may enter the playground via the Main Gate on Emerson Road and wait outside the Y3 Classrooms before leaving the site via the Community Building Gate (Breakfast Club Gate) onto Emerson Road. This is to reduce congestion around the Main Gate.
Year 4M / 5M
Parents enter the site via Community Building Gate (Breakfast Club Gate) wait outside the hall for children to be handed over before leaving via the Community Building Gate (Breakfast Club Gate).
Year 4R / 5R / 6M / 6R
Parents may enter the site via the Main Gate on Emerson Road, wait on the playground (socially distanced) and once child arrives, leave via the Main Gate on Emerson Road.
Children will be handed over to the parents in an organised way and leave the school site promptly.
We are still unable to access the Infant side for drop off/collection so please do not cut across the field
Year 5 and Year 6 Pupils are allowed to bring themselves to school and walk home but school must have signed parental permission before this can happen.
P.E
On P.E. Days children will continue to come to school in the P.E. kits. This includes a school jumper/fleece, white t-shirt with grey/blue or black joggers and black trainers or pumps (Trainers must be black and whilst they can be branded e.g. Nike / Adidas / Sketchers the logo must be subtle/not brightly coloured otherwise black pumps will be provided).
Football Kits will not be allowed and your child will be provided with a standard school P.E. if they arrive in non P.E. kit items.
Lunchtimes and Break Times
Children will continue to eat as a year group and have separate play spaces.
Lunch time has been separate into Upper and Lower Key Stage time slots. This is to reduce the number of children eating/playing at any one time and provides a calmer, more enjoyable break time for the children. This decision has been based on feedback from the children and staff however it will remain under review.
Worship and Assembly
During the last 18th months whole school worship and any assemblies have been held on zoom. We know the importance of physically coming together as a whole school community however whilst school under goes significant work with the fitting of a new heating system, until October half term, school will continue to hold Worship and Assemblies via Zoom.
School Events and Clubs
School events have changed dramatically over the last 18 months with many meetings taking place virtually and many usual events being unable to take place in the normal way. As we move through the autumn term we will be keeping you fully informed of any school events and clubs we are able to hold. I hope everyone understands that at this point we are not in a position to outline any extracurricular clubs or key events and we will do this upon the return of school in September.
Key Control Measures
During the last 18th months, school has functioned incredibly successfully and is now confident and experienced in working in the pandemic. As school reopens in September 2021 we will continue to have key control measures in place to prevent transmission of the virus which are in line with Government guidance.
Key Government Advice on control measure
Key school control measures
1.Ensure good hygiene for everyone
Hand hygiene
Frequent and thorough hand cleaning should now be regular practice. You should continue to ensure that pupils clean their hands regularly. This can be done with soap and water or hand sanitiser.
All children to clean hands on entry to school and at key points during the day including break times and lunch times by washing with soap and water or using hand sanitiser.
School ensures adequate supplies of soap and hand sanitiser are available.
Hygiene rules to be discussed with children regularly and posters displayed around school.
Respiratory Hygiene
The ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ approach continues to be very important.
The ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ approach is promoted in school and discussed with children.
Tissues are available and all children are briefed on procedures for blowing noses and disposal of waste. Lidded bins are provided in each area for waste disposal.
Children are briefed on the importance of behaviour and school rules are revisited with all classes. School rules have been refreshed to reflect COVID – 19 and are discussed with all children daily and are evident around school. See behaviour policy.
Use of personal protective equipment (PPE)
Most staff in schools will not require PPE beyond what they would normally need for their work. The guidance on the use of PPE in education, childcare and children’s social care settings provides more information on the use of PPE for COVID-19.
All staff in school have access to PPE as required and will use in line with government guidance.
2. Maintain appropriate cleaning regimes, using standard products such as detergents
You should put in place and maintain an appropriate cleaning schedule. This should
include regular cleaning of areas and equipment (for example, twice per day), with a particular focus on frequently touched surfaces.
PHE has published guidance on the cleaning of non-healthcare settings.
Each classroom has its own cleaning materials. All surfaces are cleaned at the start of each day, during the day, after each lesson and at the end of each day.
Cleaning procedures are in place and monitored at start and end of the day and a daily evaluation of cleaning is carried out by SLT. Cleaning procedures include regular cleaning of touch points.
A daily health and safety check is done with (Headteacher), (Site Supervisor) and (School Health and Safety Officer). These are done before the start of school each day to check all aspects of cleaning.
Deep cleaning planned during school breaks and before wider reopening.
3. Keep occupied spaces well ventilated
When your school is in operation, it is important to ensure it is well ventilated and that a comfortable teaching environment is maintained.
Refer to Simple steps to Good Ventilation and the Ventilation Checklist
All rooms in the school have windows which are opened to create air flow and ventilation. Where possible windows will be left open during lessons, if this is not practical, windows will be fully opened when unoccupied to fully purge the air.
At key points in the day ventilation is also improved through opening doors. At these times, increased consideration will be given to security of the building. All doors and windows will be closed at the end of the day. Any areas of school where there is poor ventilation will be identified and concerns addressed with the building surveyor.
4. Follow public health advice on testing, self-isolation and
managing confirmed cases of COVID-19
Pupils, staff and other adults should follow public health advice on when to self-isolate and what to do. They should not come into school if they have symptoms, have had a positive test result or other reasons requiring them to stay at home due to the risk of them passing on COVID-19 (for example, they are required to quarantine). If anyone in your school develops COVID-19 symptoms, however mild, you should send them home and they should follow public health advice.
School will continue to work within Government guidance regarding Covid-19. In particular the following procedures are in place.
- Regular asymptomatic staff testing, to be reviewed at the end of September
- Isolation and testing of symptomatic members of the school community
- Regular updates and reminders to parents of Covid-19 symptoms and school and government procedures
- children do not attend school with Covid-19 symptoms
Outbreak Management Plan
In the case of a Covid-19 outbreak it may be necessary to revert to a different school organisation once again. These procedures would be similar to those we have worked in during the last 18 months so parents and children should feel confident and at ease with them. Any procedures within this aspect of our management plan would be adapted to meet the needs of our children following ongoing risk assessments and changes in government and DfE guidance.
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