Coronavirus
Whole School Risk Assessment - updated March 9th 2021
Covid Catch Up Strategy Statement
Dear Parents,
Following the Prime Ministers announcement at 8pm I must unfortunately confirm that Montrose School will be closed tomorrow until half term and learning will switch to online. This means we will only be able to receive into school tomorrow children who were previously on our 'vulnerable' list or those children of parents who are on our current key workers list. No other children will be allowed into school.
Please see Class Dojo for details of your child's online work tomorrow from 10am onwards.
Yours sincerely,
A. Owens
Monday 14th December
See link below for a useful reource about supporting your mental health during this difficut time.
Monday 23rd November
Unfortuanately there has been a positive case of Coronavirus in class 3L. This bubble is now closed and all children in 3L must self-isolate and not leave the house for the next 14 days. If this affects your child, please see the letter you have been sent for further infomation or contact the office with any questions.
Wednesday 9th September
Pick up and Drop off
Thank you for working with us and following the new pick up and drop off times at school. The arrangement seems to be working well and we are able to maintain good levels of social distancing.
Given the recent government announcement with regard to meetings of groups and the spike in cases both nationally and locally, it is now even more important to abide by the following guidelines as closely as possible.
- Make sure you arrive at the correct time and not any earlier
- Make sure you do not arrive late for your slot
- Only one adult per family to come into the school grounds
- Leave promptly when you have collected your child/children
- Do not allow children to play in the playground
- Do not stay and chat with other parents in the playground. Once you have collected your child please leave the area promptly
Roald Dahl Day
It is Roald Dahl Day on Friday of this week. Due to the circumstances we are restricting our activities to our ‘class bubbles’ and they will take place on Friday afternoon. However, children are welcome to dress up on Friday as a Roald Dahl character (providing that they do not have games on that day)
Friday 4th September
It’s the end of a busy week and I would like to thank both you and the children for working so well with us in following our new arrangements and timings and making everyone’s entry and exit to school as safe and as socially distanced as possible.
In order to further refine our current arrangements and reduce your waiting times we have changed the arrival/departure times as follows. PLEASE DO NOT ARRIVE EARLIER THAN YOUR SLOT OR WE MAY HAVE TO REVERT TO THE ORIGINAL TIMINGS. All other arrangements remain the same.
These revised timings start on MONDAY 14th September
Please remember that in order to reduce the number of people on site there should only be one adult per family collecting children
In the morning - drop off times
8.45 – 9.00 Years 1, 2 and 4
9-00 – 9.15 Years 3, 5 and 6
Children with siblings in an early/late group are to arrive at 8.55am
At the end of the day – collection times
2.50 – 3.00 Year 1
3.00 – 3.10 Years 2 and 4
3.10 - 3.20 Years 3, 5 and 6
Reception and Nursery children need to arrive at the times they were notified about previously as they are still on their ‘phased start’ to the year.
School Meals
We are still experiencing difficulties with our supplier and the sandwich choice for next week will be cheese or ham. We are hoping to introduce further choices the following week.
Fruit Juice Cheese or Ham sandwiches on white bread
Fruit Pot Shortbread Slice
The children will receive this in a paper bag complete with a paper napkin and a plastic spoon. Unfortunately, if this is not suitable for your child, you will need to send them with their own packed lunch in a lunchbox.
SCOPAY
As mentioned previously the school Office is now cashless and it is important that if you have not subscribed to SCOPAY yet you do so as soon as possible. This will also be the online system we use to order food in the near future. You will receive instructions from the Office next week to assist you in doing this if you have not done so already.
Class Dojo
As mentioned previously Class Dojo is the platform we use to communicate. If you have not joined yet it is essential you do so as soon as possible in order that you do not miss out on any vital information.
Yours sincerely,
A. Owens
School starts Tuesday 1st September
I must apologise, but due to circumstances beyond our control we will only be able to offer a limited sandwich option for the first week back at school. This is because our supplier has a number of issues to resolve which despite intervention by school remain outstanding. Consequently, the only sandwich choice will be as follows:-
Fruit Juice
Cheese Sandwiches – white bread, no mayo (like you would get in a supermarket)
a fruit pot and a shortbread slice
The children will receive this in a paper bag complete with a paper napkin and a plastic spoon.
Consequently, if this is not suitable for your child you will need to send them with their own packed lunch in a lunchbox.
Again, I can only apologise for this. Both myself and Governors are not at all happy with this situation and you can rest assured that we are trying to get it resolved as quickly as possible.
Yours sincerely,
A. Owens
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if we forget to put our child in their PE kit on their PE day?
Children will still participate in PE in their school uniform. We will not be keeping spare PE kits at school in order to prevent the potential spread of Covid-19. We want to avoid parents bringing PE kits in later in the day and dropping them off at the office.
What happens if my child is late to school or has an appointment?
Report to the office with your child to sign them in. I hope that as most children will be in school following staggered starts, there should not be a large number of adults and children in the office area at that time.
What happens if my child has a cough or a common cold?
If they have not been tested, keep your child off school (and any siblings) as we cannot be certain that the symptoms are not Covid-19 related. If your child has been tested (and their test is negative), bring them to school as normal as we can be confident that the cough or cold is not related to Covid-19 and that other children and staff are not at risk.
Do all my children have to stay off if one of them has a cough or a cold?
Yes. As a precaution, keep all children from the same household off until they’ve been tested for Covid-19 and bring them all back if the test is negative.
What happens if my child has a positive Covid-19 test?
Please inform us immediately. We will notify the staff and children within their bubble group and seek further advice from Public Health England in regards to potential closures for specific bubbles or year groups.
Will children who want a school packed lunch be able to order their preferences?
At this moment due to reasons beyond our control, the first week back will just be the cheese option available. We will have a discussion with our catering service in hopes of children being able to order their specific requests from week 2 onwards. We will confirm this when we know more.
My child is being brought to school by a child-minder who has several children to drop off. Does my child have to stay with the child minder in every line until they get to their drop off point?
Yes. We expect there not to be much of a queue as children will be being let in as soon as they arrive, so the traffic should flow fairly smoothly and quickly. As we cannot guarantee that children will be able to socially distance themselves from other children and parents, we ask that the children stay with the childminder and the other children until the childminder drops them off to their specific drop off point.
Can children be dropped off at the school gate and be allowed to join their lines independently?
No. As we cannot guarantee that children will be able to socially distance themselves from adults and other children, we ask that you take them to their drop off point until they have been handed over to a member of staff. We will review this at half term and notify you if this can change.
Will children get to mix with other classes at playtimes and lunchtimes?
No. Children from each class will have separate designated areas to enjoy their playtimes and lunchtimes.
Welcome back letters
| Nursery | Reception | 1BM | 1S |
| 2R | 2J | ||
| 4GM | 4R | ||
| 6O | 6D |
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We are currently busy preparing school for when the children return on Tuesday 1st September on the day following the Bank Holiday Monday. I am sure the children are excited about their imminent return to school and we have been working hard to make sure that they are returning to a safe environment. We are also really looking forward to seeing them again. We have a lot of information to pass on to you so the following outlines what information you will receive and when. It is therefore important that you keep a close eye on Class Dojo and on your emails.
Wednesday 26th August you will receive a letter from your child’s class teacher that will explain all of the procedures for that particular class, including for example, entrance and exits points, timings, information on meals etc.
Thursday 27th August you will receive a video (on Class Dojo) that shows you the route your child will take into school, the route to their classroom, what their classroom looks like and their route out of school at the end of the day. (There will also be a link here to invite you and your child to a short Zoom meeting on Friday)
Friday 28th August both you and your child will be able to take part in short Zoom Meeting where you will be able to ask your child’s class teacher any questions you still have unanswered.
Wednesday 9th we will hold our usual Meet and Greet meeting (although it will be via Zoom) as this will give you the opportunity to clear up any issues that have arisen during the first week back at school.
Please note the following
- Our prime means of communication will be through Class Dojo so it is really important that you check it regularly
- Unfortunately, parents will not be allowed into the school building other than in exceptional circumstances
- If you need to contact your child’s class teacher for any reason you can do so through Class Dojo and they will reply as soon as they are able
- The school is now ‘cashless’ which means all payments will need to be made online.
- If you have any specific questions you can email me at [email protected]
Return to school guidance from Leicester City Council
Attendance
It is vital that all children return to school on Tuesday 1st September. Children in Reception and Nursery will have a phased start to school which you have been informed about separately.
Class ‘bubbles’
In order that we keep children and adults as safe as possible we will be working in what are called ‘bubbles’. This means that children will spend all day with their class. They will not mix with children from other bubbles and will have their breaks and lunchtimes in separate designated areas. Classrooms are likely to look a little different as there is a recommendation that all desks should face forward.
Arrival at and departure from school
We are currently making plans about the beginning and the end of the day for children in order that we minimise congestion and allow for social distancing. This is likely to mean we have a staggered start and end to the day. We will give you more details of this nearer the time. We will also inform you of which entrance you should be using.
Uniform
Students should start school in September wearing the correct uniform (details are available on the website). On days when children have PE we would like them to come to school in an appropriate PE kit for the weather on that day (therefore they do NOT need to wear uniform on their PE day).
Breakfast and After School Clubs
Unfortunately, these will not start until after October half term at the earliest.
Lunches
In order to keep bubbles separate, children will be eating their lunch with their class in their classrooms. The rooms will be cleaned before and after the children have eaten. This means that up until the October half term (in the first instance), children need to bring a packed lunch to school. If they are in Reception, Year 1 or Year 2, they are entitled to what is called a Universal Free School Meal which will be provided by the school and will be in the form of a packed lunch. Children in other year groups, who are entitled to a Free School Meal, will also receive sandwiches provided by school. Packed lunches are ordered on a daily basis and children may bring in their own packed lunch if they prefer.
Social Distancing
It is difficult to ensure that children socially distance, but we will encourage this wherever possible. We will also be asking all staff to maintain a 2-metre distance from students and from each other wherever possible.
Hygiene
We require that children and staff clean their hands regularly, including when they arrive at school, when they return from breaks, when they change rooms and before and after eating. We have hand sanitiser in school but children may bring their own if they wish.
Behaviour
Our usual high expectations of behaviour will continue. Any child who fails to follow the instructions of staff, particularly when it would put another person at risk will be removed from lessons and dealt with accordingly.
Visiting school
School will be closed to parents although you will be able to contact the Office via phone and email on 0116 2832328 or [email protected]
You will be able to contact teachers via Class Dojo. If you wish to speak to Donna McAteer, Family Support Worker, her number is 07378285273.
Parents should therefore not come to the school building without an agreed appointment as staff will not be able to meet you on an ad hoc basis.
The above arrangements will be reviewed before the October half-term.
Tuesday 30th June
Following the latest government announcement placing Leicester back into lockdown, schools will be closed on Thursday 2nd July, to all pupils apart from those with parents who are keyworkers.
Monday 22nd June
School is open to Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Keyworker children.
Monday 15th June
School is open to Nursery, Reception and Keyworker children.
Monday 8th June
School continues to be closed for the majority of pupils apart from those with parents who are keyworkers. School is considering wider opening to nursery and reception pupils from Monday 15th June. Further information will be sent to families in due course.
Friday 3rd April
School is closed to all families during the Easter half-term and will reopen to Keyworker children on Monday 20th April.
Please contact the Admissions team if you have evidence you are a key worker and need to find a placement for your child/ren during this period of closure.
The Admissions team can be contacted on 0116 454 6216 / 6217 and they will help you to find a suitable school which is open.
Thursday 2nd April
Dear Families,
Following discussions with parents, governors and the Local Authority I have made the decision that Montrose will be closed for the planned 2 weeks over Easter.
This is because the number of children of key workers due to attend, did not justify the amount of staff required to open and run the school.
We will be open in our present restricted form on the 20th April and will be emailing parents before then so we can book children in.
Yours sincerely,
Andy Owens
Tuesday 31st March
Work is primarily being set by teachers through class dojo. There will be 2 activities set each day, which children can complete and then you can upload their work to their "portfolios". Teachers will then be able to see the work and comment back to you.
Here is a guide of how to find the tasks and to upload a response. You can also upload other pictures of things you've been doing at home by clicking the + icon, teachers will love to see it.
Monday 30th March
If you are experiencing financial hardship then the council may be ale to help. Please follow the link below for further details.
Friday 27th March
Dear Families,
Please support your child in completing one Maths and one English task a day. These can be from their work packs or an activity set for them on dojo.
It would be great if you could upload these 2 tasks onto Dojo so your teacher can see them. If you are one of the few parents who have not signed up yet please do so asap
Lots of these tasks are quick to do so please do any work from the following as extra's if you wish.....
- the original links we sent
- any additional links we may have sent
- any challenges or activities set on the Montrose story
Please remember as Miss McTighe said to her class earlier in the week.....
'Parents, don't forget that not everything needs to be done in one day. Take you time and don't put too much pressure on yourselves. Take this time to enjoy your children's company and explore new things with them'.
Yours sincerely,
Andy Owens
Monday 23rd March
School is now closed to all pupils apart from those who have parents who are keyworkers and whom have supplied employment details.
Thursday 19th March
13:55
If you think you may fall into an eligible key worker group please complete the survey below:
http://montroseschool.surveys.schooljotter2.com/surveys/page/HKBPQC
The government are yet to announce who the keyworkers are but are expected to include:
National Health Service employees, armed forces, teachers and childcare staff, care home workers, social workers, police officers, community support/civilian staff, prison officer and other probation staff, firefighters, local authority planners, environmental health officers, highway agency traffic officers, supermarket workers, delivery drivers and infrastructure workers.
With thanks,
Mr Owens
13:00
Re: Coronavirus update – school closure to most pupils
Following on from my last update, I am writing to let you know that we have been instructed to close the school to almost all children after this Friday until further notice.
As advised by the government, we will do all we can to stay open for the children of key workers (e.g. NHS staff, police, others in frontline services) and children with certain needs.
We are waiting for the government to publish more detailed information on who these key workers are. A link will be sent to you later in the day (via text/Dojo etc.) that will take you to an online survey to allow you to pass on your details if you are a key worker.
All other children will need to stay at home from Monday so do not send them to school.
Please note that this is a national closure – as you may have heard in the news – so while it is a challenging situation, we are not alone. We will re-open fully as soon as we can and will let you know accordingly.
What we will continue doing while your child is at home
Your child’s learning is of course important to us, so we’ll continue to help your child to learn. Please see the following:
Children have passwords for Purple Mash, TT Rock Stars and Active Learn. This allows learning opportunities to be continued.
Families should ensure they are signed up to Class Dojo as this is where work will be set and where children will be able to record the work they have done.
If your child is in receipt of a Free School Meals voucher we will be in touch with more information about how we will continue to provide you with support from a scheme that the government has just announced as soon as we have more information.
What we won’t be able to go ahead with
School trips
Breakfast or after-school clubs
Events
Internal exams or tests
This is as much as we know right now and we appreciate your continued patience as we deal with this ever-changing situation. We understand that this latest news will have an impact on you and your family and it is far from ideal, but we will continue to keep in touch with any updates as the situation develops.
If you want to get in touch to share any concerns, please don’t hesitate to do so via email [email protected]
And remember, if you or your child feels ill and you want to know what to do next, please use NHS 111 online.
Thank you again for your continued support, and we will be in touch with more information when we can.
Yours sincerely,
Andy Owens
Wednesday 18th March
Update 20:45
As you may know school will be closed for the majority of families from Monday. Tomorrow, as we get better information on how things will look moving forward, we will let you know more. In the meantime, breakfast club, after school club and all other after school clubs will continue as normal for the remainder of this week. Mr Owens
In order to increase social distancing at the beginning and end of the school day we have decided to implement the following changes.
We are doing this in order to reduce the number of children and adults coming onto the playground and going through gates at any one time.
We are also trying to reduce the number adults entering school to a minimum so please ring or email if you have a query 01162832328 or [email protected] rather than waiting at the Office.
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Morning |
Lunchtime |
End of the day |
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Nursery
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Parents may drop off at any time from 8.30 – 8.45am. There will be a member of staff on the door to receive the children. Parents are requested not to enter the building |
Children finishing at 11.30am may be collected between 11.15-11.30a.m. |
Parents may collect children at any time from 2.45 – 3pm. Please wait in the playground and the children will be sent out to you by the member of staff on the door |
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30 hours children who go home at 12.30a.m. on a Friday only may be collected between 12.15 – 12.30a.m. |
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Please wait in the playground and the children will be sent out to you by the member of staff on the door |
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Reception |
Children may be dropped off at any time from 8.30 -9am. There will be a member of staff at the door to receive the children. Parents are requested not to enter the building |
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Parents may collect children at any time from 2.45 – 3.15pm. Please wait in the playground and the children will be sent out to you by the member of staff on the door |
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Year 1 |
Children should be dropped off at their classroom door at any time from 8.30 - 9am. There will be a member of staff at the green gate receive the children. |
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Please collect children at 3.00pm. Please wait in the area outside the classroom and the children will be sent out to you by the member of staff on the door (if you have siblings in other years you can come at 3:10pm to allow time to collect them). |
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Year 2 |
Children should come in through the main entrance at any time from 8.30 - 9am. (like they do on a wet morning) There will be a member of staff there to receive them. |
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Please collect children at 3.15pm. Please wait in the area outside the classroom and the children will be sent out to you by the member of staff on the door. |
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Years 3-6 |
Children should come in through the main entrance at any time from 8.30 - 9am. (like they do on a wet morning) There will be a member of staff there to receive them. |
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Please collect children from the playground as normal. |
Tuesday 17th March
We are carrying on as usual at Montrose with adjustments to the school day as recommended by the Department of Health including regular hand washing and by reducing large group events such as assemblies and productions. In the meantime the Government have said that schools need to stay open.
The Government’s latest advice re the coronavirus is, if you have the following symptoms
- new continuous cough and/or
- high temperature
to do the following:
- if you live with others and you or one of them have symptoms of coronavirus, then all household members must stay at home and not leave the house for 14 days. The 14-day period starts from the day when the first person in the house became ill
- it is likely that people living within a household will infect each other or be infected already. Staying at home for 14 days will greatly reduce the overall amount of infection the household could pass on to others in the community
- for anyone in the household who starts displaying symptoms, they need to stay at home for 7 days from when the symptoms appeared, regardless of what day they are on in the original 14 day isolation period.
We will continue to update you as we know more. In the meantime, please keep us informed if you need to self-isolate as we need to pass this information on to the authority.
Also please keep checking Class Dojo /Twitter/Facebook/ email for updates.
Monday 16th March
Here is an update you on our current situation and approach regarding the outbreak of Coronavirus. I wish to reassure you that we are following all appropriate advice and are continuing to take protective measures to safeguard student and staff health, including around hygiene. Children are washing their hands often. f this causes them to have sore hands they are allowed to bring in an alternative soap and /or hand cream. Each day, the department for education issues up to date advice to schools, which we follow carefully.
The UK Government has now moved to the 'delay phase' of its Coronavirus action plan.
From Friday 13th March, people/pupils who show symptoms of the infection, however mild, are told to 'self-isolate’ for a period of 7 days. Symptoms to consider include:
- A new, continuous cough and/or
- High Temperature.
If this applies to your child please ring the Office and inform them that you are 'self isolating'. This will NOT have a negative effect on your child's attendance and will not result in any intervention by the school's Educational Welfare Officer.
The current advice for schools is to remain open. If this changes we will let you know via text/email/Dojo/the school website.
To minimise disruption to learning as much as possible, whilst also considering the health and safety of our students and staff, we will be putting the following action plan in place:
- Passwords
Children have passwords for Purple Mash, TT Rock Stars and Active Learn. This allows learning opportunities to be continued.
- Assemblies
We are currently not holding assemblies.
- Productions
POSTPONED until further notice but at least until after Easter.
- Swimming
Cancelled from tomorrow until further notice.
- Awards Presentations
POSTPONED until further notice but at least until after Easter.
- Reading Books
All children to have four books from today in their bags.
Useful websites
Twinkl is offering families a One Month Ultimate Membership free of charge. Families can access high quality resources during any periods of disruption. Setting this up is easy to do. Go to twinkl.co.uk/offer and enter the code UKTWINKLHELPS.
BBC Bitesize website has resources for KS1 and KS2. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/primary
Montrose Website – montrose.leicester.sch.uk
Click on the Teaching and Learning tab and then curriculum overviews, this will show you what topics your child is learning in Spring term 2.
The reason that we are taking the measures outlined above is to play our part in protecting the wider population as children pass on infections to others. I would urge you to ensure that your child has a sense of proportion over this issue, at the same time as being committed to the behaviour changes needed over hygiene.
Please see below for information on using Active Learn (bug club) to read books at home. Children have been given up-to-date log in details this week but if you have any queries about logging on please contact your class teacher through class dojo.