Covid-19 School Communication & Arrangements

Covid-19 Guidance from September 2021

 

As has previously been communicated, schools are no longer expected to trace close contacts.  As with positive cases in any other setting, NHS Test and Trace will work with the positive case to identify close contacts.  This means if a positive Covid case is identified – school will no longer be responsible for alerting close/direct contacts and closing classes.

 

I have outlined below some advice for you for different situations:

 

 

This means we will not automatically close a class if there is a confirmed positive case.  However, we will inform parents/carers in the classes where there is a confirmed positive case.  Children under the age of 18 years old will no longer be required to self-isolate unless they are contacted by NHS Test and Trace. However, identified close contacts are eligible for a PCR test and the NHS Test and Trace service will advise you if this is the case for your child.  We would encourage all individuals to take a PCR test if advised to do so.

 

If your child receives a positive PCR test please forward the evidence to the school office by text or e-mail so that we can record your child's absence accurately.

 

Please contact the School Office if you require any further information.

 

Letter from Ms Sheppard

17/05/2021

 

Dear Parent/Carer

 

You will be aware through media reports that a coronavirus variant of concern has been identified as becoming more widespread in parts of the country, including Nottingham.  We have been informed that this variant has been identified at Henry Whipple Primary School which obviously is in close proximity to Glade Hill and our community.  I have been reassured by Nottingham City’s Public Health Team that they are working closely with our colleagues at Henry Whipple and their school community.

 

I am writing to all Glade Hill parents to reassure you that we are all remaining vigilant in school and I would ask you to do the same in the community.  Our staff and children are working hard to remember good hygiene practice as well as staff undertaking regular testing.  Please can we remind you of the ongoing government advice regarding ‘Hands, Face, Space’ and ask you to remain socially distanced when picking up your children from school.

 

Please remember that if your child has any symptoms of coronavirus – a high temperature, a new continuous cough or a loss of taste or smell – they must not attend school until you have evidence of a negative PCR test.  If anyone in your household has any of the above symptoms then everyone in the household must self-isolate until a negative PCR test has been obtained.  Please inform school of any absence and we will advise you if you need support with testing.  Schools are required to report positive cases to Public Health England and the Local Authority.

 

Please note that the Lateral Flow tests that are freely available can be used regularly by all families.  However, they should only be used when you do not have symptoms as an indication that you are not asymptomatic.  If your child is displaying any of the symptoms above you must book at a test centre for a full PCR test and inform school of the result.

 

Further advice regarding the different types of test can be obtained from https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/testing/get-tested-for-coronavirus/

 

We hope that you will support us fully in ensuring that we do all we can to prevent this virus spreading and keep our families safe.

 

Kind Regards

 

Ms Sheppard

Head Teacher

All parents should have received a copy of the above letter by e-mail.  The general details apply to all children but please note that some of the arrangements will be slightly different for part-time EYFS children and some other children.  These details will be in your individual e-mails.

UPDATED 

Please open the document attached above which sets out the plan for remote education provision in a variety of scenarios. Inside the document you will find all the information you need to understand how we will be delivering remote education and how we can support families with this.

 

Further update:

As of May 17th, we will be making the following changes to our Remote Education Policy:

- Scenario 1: we will no longer be providing Remote Education each week on our class web pages for those self-isolating. If your children are having to self-isolate, please inform the school office and teachers will be in contact with you to provide Remote Education if your child is well enough to learn from home. 

We will keep you updated with any further changes to our Remote Education policy as and when Government guidelines change. 

Please note that this Remote Learning Strategy Plan will be reviewed if Government guidance changes, and if the situation evolves. We will inform parents if we make any changes to the routines and practices of remote learning. 

Please note that this risk assessment is constantly under review and may be subject to change as the situation evolves.  We will keep parents and carers fully informed of any major changes to our school routines and practices.

24 July 2020

 

School has now broken up for the Summer Holidays.  We hope that all parents, carers and pupils have a great Summer Break and are refreshed and ready to come back to school on Thursday 3 September 2020.

 

You should have received information about the arrangements for September for your child, by e-mail in the last week.  If you have not received this information, all the letters can be found under 'Children-Class Pages-September 2020 Arrangements'.  There are also some powerpoint presentations there to explain the new routines.

 

If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact the School Office by e-mail through the Contact Us page on this website or directly at admin@gladehill.nottingham.sch.uk.

These e-mails will be responded to from w/c 24 August 2020.

 

Enjoy your Summer and see you in September

 

 

 

1 July 2020

 

From 6 July we will be welcoming back our EYFS pupils for the last 3 weeks of term.  It has been really lovely to see our Yr 1 pupils back at school and our 'pod' set-up is working well.

 

We are now working through the Government guidelines for the re-opening of school in September 2020 and will be in touch with all parents over the next few weeks to let you know the arrangements for transition and what school will look like in September.

 

Thank you for your continued support

 

Loretta Sheppard

17 June 2020

 

Dear Parents

 

We were given the go ahead to welcome back Yr 6 pupils from Monday 15 June and I am very pleased to see that over half of the year group have returned to school.  They are being taught in their smaller 'pods' and making use of the outdoor space throughout the day.

 

The Local Authority have now agreed that we can continue with the wider opening of school to identified year groups (see letter below).  Our plan at Glade Hill is to open to Yr 1 pupils from Monday 22 June and then our EYFS pupils will follow at a later date.  We are confident that we have put in all necessary measures to ensure that the children are as safe as possible in school within the government guidelines.  We hope that as more children return to school, parents will support us in reinforcing the messages on social distancing and good hand hygiene.

 

As I have stated in previous correspondence this has been a very difficult time for us all and we appreciate all of the hard work that you have put in to support your child with their online learning.  For all of the children that are not able to return to school yet the teachers will still be providing online learning and we would encourage you to keep going with this.  We will be in touch over the coming weeks about how we can support transition for all children ready for September.

 

Kind Regards

 

Loretta Sheppard

 

1 June 2020

 

1 June 2020

 

Dear Parents/Carers

 

On behalf of the Governing Body, I am writing to apologise for the short notice that the School would not reopen to Year 6 today.

 

The letter from Nottingham City Council and the email from Ms Sheppard set out the circumstances for this decision.

 

Ms Sheppard and her staff had worked incredibly hard to prepare a plan for the phased reintroduction of pupils to the school. The Governing Body fully supported this plan and unanimously approved it earlier last week, subject to the overarching approval by the City Council that the reopening could proceed.

 

I do not believe any of us doubt that the Council took this difficult decision with everyone’s best interest at heart but the timing of it was very unhelpful to all concerned.

 

The Governors remain hugely grateful for the commitment and professionalism of the teachers throughout this lockdown period and I know they share everybody’s disappointment that we have been unable to start the phased re-opening today.

 

I will today write to the City Council to express our frustration at the timing of this decision and to request that the future go/no-go decisions are made with greater notice to all parties.

 

We very much look forward to safely welcoming back the children to Gladehill. In the meantime, I hope that you and your families remain safe and well.

 

Mr Boddington

Chair of Governors