Important-All parents

Dear Families,

As you will know the Prime Minister announced a national lockdown I have provided a link for further information below.

National lockdown: Stay at Home - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

We have shared a questionnaire with families to provide us with numbers of pupils who need key worker and vulnerable pupil places. All other pupils will undertake online learning until half term or when the government says it is safe to do so.

At Drake and Little Pirates, we have worked over the holidays to make changes to our risk assessments. These now reflect the need for increased protective measures in the face of a new and more contagious strain of the virus. Keeping pupils and staff safe remains our priority.  These new arrangements will be reviewed weekly.

Our priority remains; to keep Drake and Little Pirates staff safe, in doing so we ensure we can continue to provide a full day at school for key workers and pupils identified as vulnerable, delivering the highest quality on line and face to face learning, curriculum opportunities and child care for our children and families.

There has been a great deal of thought and care put into planning for the new term and be prepared for further adaptations if we see infection rates in school rise.

To achieve this please ensure

• all families follow Tier 5 guidance
• times remain as published in the autumn term for those pupils who have been invited to school as key workers or are deemed vulnerable
• only one adult to accompany child/ren to school for drop off and collection each day
• use only one drop off point for all your children (please chose the gate with your youngest child)
• park and walk to school wherever possible to reduce traffic around school (NB there is a planned closure of Croxton Road from Monday 4th Jan)
• avoid using the path from Forest Gate to Fredrick’s gate to reduce congestion
• communication with teachers will only be through the office via Email/Teams for meetings (telephone in emergencies) there will be no talking with staff at the gate
• communication with the school office only via Email/Teams (telephone in emergencies)
• administrative team will not be able to meet parents at the gate – If your child has a medical appointment or has missed the half hour window when the gates are supervised, your child should remain at home for the whole/rest of the day
•  ensure your child has all they need as we will NOT collect any items during the day
•  at the end of the day all labelled items will be returned in a plastic bag, any unnamed items will be set aside until it is safe to return them
• pupils should bring (named) slippers to leave at school all week, there has been a great deal of wet weather and the school grounds are extremely muddy
• children are wrapped up warmly and have additional underclothes such as vests. We will ensure classes are well ventilated the weather is very cold at the moment.
• staff will be wearing face masks and clear face shields in classrooms as well as in communal spaces
• all meetings in school will be virtual
• wherever possible staff will work from home/flexibly
• class teachers will have non-contact time at home
• school site will close for deep clean at 4:40 each day
• 3 x cleaners will clean all touch points throughout the day
• all curriculum PE/Forest school will continue for children on site
• masks to be worn by all adults at drop-off or pick-up times at gates
• all pupils refrain from using the play park prior to the start of school day
• all swimming lessons will be cancelled until further notice

I thank you for your continued support at these difficult times. Please keep safe and I look forward to seeing you all again later in the term.

Best wishes

Louise Rosen

Headteacher