COVID-19 STATEMENT:

The Trust recognises the impact of Covid-19 on our pupils, employees, families and other people affected by our activities. Each school has risk assessed the impact of Covid-19 and developed suitable arrangements in response to the risks, in accordance with government guidance. Our employees have been trained on the arrangements and we have sent communications to our families so that they understand the new arrangements. The risk assessments and arrangements are reviewed regularly, and we ensure that we keep up to date with the latest government guidance. If you would like a copy of this, please email fonthill.p@bristol-schools.uk.  Where appropriate, we are updating key policies affected by Covid-19. Key amendments are listed in the document here.

Coronavirus Updates

Update 23/02/2021

Dear Parent/ Carer,

School will be open to all children from Nursery to Y6 from Monday March 8^th. This is a short guide to some of the measures we have in place to keep everyone as safe as possible. Please review all of the information carefully and if you have any further questions please contact the school office by telephone: 0117 3772550 or email: Fonthill.p@bristol-schools.uk

Please try not to arrive before your arrival time and to collect promptly at collection time. This will reduce mixing and help us all stay safe. Only one drop-off and collection needs to be made for siblings. Please reduce interactions with staff as much as possible and use phone, email or Class Dojo for communication instead.

Y1-3 will come in through the KS1 corridor, Y4-6 will walk round the school to enter in the KS2 corridor. There are marks on the playground to show children where to line up. As previously, we will bring children to you in the playground at the end of the day.  There will be staff on the playground to supervise children coming in.

COVID symptoms (from NHS website)

• a high temperature
• a new, continuous cough
• a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste

If your child displays any of these symptoms, they need to get tested and to stay at home for 10 days from the day after symptoms start or until they have received a negative test result.  We may ask to see proof of the test result if they are returning before 10 days have passed.

The household must also self-isolate if anyone else in the house shows any of those symptoms. We will call you immediately if your child shows any of those symptoms while in school for you to come and collect them.

Staff are now being tested twice a week using lateral flow tests. If there are confirmed positive cases of children or staff within a class, the bubble will still be sent home for a period of self-isolation. The school still has supplies of home testing kits to support families getting tested quickly.

School will be providing a reduced lunch offer to support the kitchen staff. Children can choose a hot meal, jacket potato, vegetarian or Halal. Children will eat in the dining hall but will only sit with the children from their class. Payment should be made by Parentmail in advance or on the day.

There is extra cleaning in school and children will be doing lots of hand washing to reduce chance of infection. Extra hand sanitisers are all around the school and cleaners have increased cleaning duties around touch points such as door handles.

If your child is clingy or reluctant to come in, we will be able to support you by encouraging them and holding their hand but this will be a last resort. We are reducing physical contact as much as possible, but we recognise that it is not always possible. Cleaning of hands by children and adults is our main control measure.

We will be sending reading books home. A collection of age-appropriate books will be kept in every classroom for the children to choose from. Children will not have access to the library or shared reading areas at the moment.

Children will wear PE kit into school on their PE day. We want children to bring in as little as possible into school to reduce risk of transmission. Please send your child in with a labelled water bottle and ensure they have a hat and sun-cream applied before school in the case of hot weather.

We will be expecting high standards of behaviour at all times. To ensure we can keep everyone as safe as possible, we need to ensure children are following the rules. If children are finding it difficult to follow these expectations, we will be phoning home a lot sooner than before as safety needs to be our priority. Children will still be expected to wear school uniform.

We have adapted how we will deliver First Aid and administer medicines. Where possible, we will support children to do their own First Aid in an age-appropriate way. We will be calling home if we have any concerns at all about your child so please ensure your phone is with you at all times and we have your correct and current contact details. If your child needs medicine during the school day, please contact the school office.

Breakfast club is pre-booked and pre-paid. We recognise that breakfast club is very important to some families so we are keeping it but we need to track numbers very closely. It will cost 50p per day and will include toast or cereal and a drink. Payment should be made on Parentmail and we need to know one week in advance where possible who will be attending. During breakfast club, children will need to sit in their year groups. There will be no after-school clubs as it stands. There will be no tuck, so children can bring in their own healthy snack for breaktime.

We are reducing the risk of transmission by keeping children in their class bubbles wherever possible. This will mean reduced assemblies, no trips other than local walks and children will not be taught in mixed age groups. Breaktimes and lunchtimes will be staggered to keep class groups apart wherever possible. Resources will be kept in classrooms wherever possible to reduce risk across bubbles. Outdoor play equipment will be available for the children.

Adults wear face coverings in communal areas. All adults in school wear face coverings when travelling around school, in communal areas and in the playground at the start and end of the day. We are continuing to ask parents to do the same to keep everyone safe.

Attendance is compulsory. The government has made it clear that all children need to be in school. If you would like to discuss the safety measures we have in place, please contact the office to speak to Mr Reese.

We will be following government guidance at all times. If this changes, we will be in touch to update you.

Please talk to your child about expectations on their return to school. We will be doing our best to make Fonthill the warm and welcoming place that it has always has been as well as helping your child get back into the routine of school-life.

Thank you for all your support in what has been an incredibly challenging time. We can’t wait to see you all in two weeks.

Mr Reese