Dear Parents/Carers,

I hope that you are all well and that all of the children have had a lovely summer break. I also really hope that the parents and carers have also managed to have some enjoyable family time as well as an opportunity to rest!

With the reopening of school soon upon us (Monday September 6th), I wanted to write to you to share our plans for the children’s return. We have all been busy preparing for this, including writing plans to further develop the school and creating vibrant and welcoming classrooms. We are so excited to welcome everybody back into our school community, including our new Reception children as well as some new families.

As I know you will appreciate, this is one of many letters I have drafted to send out to you, but, with an ever-changing situation, I needed to be patient and wait until the most up to date guidance was available to me -thank you for your understanding with this.

Please find, below, our plans for the children’s return to school on Monday September 6th:

Bubbles
The use of bubbles is no longer a requirement for schools and will, therefore, no longer be in place. The children will be taught within their classrooms and will have opportunities to mix with other children outside at break and lunch times.
We will, of course, be vigilant of any developing situations (such as a change in guidance or a local outbreak) and we will adapt accordingly, communicating this immediately with the families.

School Timings

The school day for all children will begin at 8.55am and will finish at 3.25pm.

Dropping off.
I am really mindful that many parents will be keen to have the opportunity to re-enter the school grounds, after such a long time not being able to. It is also important, however, to limit the risk of infection and to facilitate the children being able to begin swiftly their school day. Consequently, much thought has gone into trying to accommodate all of these things.

The school gates will be opened by a member of the school team at 8.40am and children can be dropped off in the playground at this time. The bell will go at 8.50am and the children will line up in front of a member of their class team (teacher or TA) in their designated place on the school playground. At 8.55am the classes will be led into their classrooms and parents/carers will be required to vacate the playground, for security purposes and to allow the school day to begin promptly. The school gates will be closed by 9.05am. Any children arriving after 9.00am, will be required to enter their classroom via the school office.

Collection
The school gates will be opened at 3.20pm and parents/carers will be asked to wait outside their child’s classroom to collect their child. The end of the day bell will be rung at 3.25pm. If you need to collect siblings from other classes, please can we ask that the youngest sibling is collected first. The school gates will then be closed at 3.30pm to reduce the risk of infection.

Breakfast Club
Breakfast Club will resume on Monday September 6th. For Health and Safety purposes, spaces will be limited and booking is essential. Please book through the office email address (office@beaminsterstmarys.dsat.org.uk) from Thursday September 2nd at 9.00am. Breakfast Club will run from 7.30-8.40)

PE Kits
All children will be required to wear their PE kits to school, for the duration of the day, on their designated PE days. Class teachers will be sharing letters with you next week, outlining PE days. There will not be any PE for the first week back to school.

Ventilation
All classrooms and communal spaces will be well ventilated to reduce the risk of infection. We will ensure that all children are comfortable and do not become cold.

Worship
Worship will resume in the school hall, and will be in key stages to begin with, developing into whole school worships, as a phased approach.

Face Masks
We advise that face masks should still be worn whilst entering the school playground, because we really want to keep everyone as safe as possible and reduce the risk of infection.

Positive Covid Cases in School and within the local Community.

I will write to you to share the latest guidance and procedures on this, in a separate letter, later this week, in an attempt to prevent too much information at once.

Thank you in advance for your support and understanding of the contents of this letter, it is very much appreciated.

I am really looking forward to seeing you all on Monday September 6th.

With very best wishes

Mrs C Barnett
Headteacher