SCHOOL UPDATE - 01/09/2020

Dear Parents/Carers,

I hope that this letter finds you and your families well. The last few months really have proven to be a very difficult and testing time for all of us, but I hope that during the Summer break you and your children managed to spend some quality and enjoyable time together.

As you will know, the Government have made it clear that they feel it is now safe enough for schools to reopen to all pupils in September. This means that education is once again compulsory and that parents and carers will be expected to send their children to school.

I wrote to you in July outlining our initial plans for September, including information about staggered start and finish times, plans for a 4 ½ day week, school dinners and uniform. (If you have not already done so, please read through the letter which is available on the school website, twitter and ClassDojo.) Throughout the Summer we have been working through the latest guidance from the Department for Education and we are now in a position to share further details with you about how we plan to ensure a safe return for your children.

1.  CLASS BUBBLES:

• The main change under the new guidance relates to how contact between individuals is to be limited in schools.
• Therefore, children will remain in consistent groups – their 'class bubbles'. We will not be mixing children from different classes, thereby minimising the number of contacts between different children to prevent the spread of any possible infection across groups.

2.  STAGGERED START AND FINISH TIMES:

• Start and finish times will be staggered to ensure that large groups do not congregate. Please do not arrive early or late:

 Up until October half term, school will be closed to all children on a Friday afternoon after lunch and registration – please refer to letter dated 15^th July for further details.

• Parents must leave the school premises as soon as your child is dropped off or picked up.
• Parents are to always maintain a 2m distance between other families.
• Only one adult is permitted to drop off and pick up your child.
• As per guidance, parents are not permitted to enter the school building unless there is an urgent, prearranged need. If you wish to speak to a member of staff, please telephone the school. A member of the office team will be available to take phone calls.

3.  BREAK TIMES AND LUNCH TIMES

• Break times and lunch times will be staggered for different bubbles.
• Playgrounds will be divided into zones and there will be restrictions on the types of equipment children can use and the games they can play, following hygiene and social distancing guidance.
• For the first 2 weeks in September, unfortunately there will not be the capacity to provide any hot meals at lunchtime. Instead, a packed lunch will be offered until the kitchen is up and running and we all get used to new changes to the school day (Further details of arrangements, parent pay and Free School Meal entitlement will follow separately).
• Children will eat their packed lunch in their classroom with an allocated member of dinner supervisory team who will join their bubble.
• Children should bring a named water bottle each day that returns home each day to be thoroughly washed.
• Where possible, the use of toilet facilities will be restricted to certain times to avoid children using the toilet at the same time

4.  LEARNING

• The Department for Education has recognised that strict social distancing will not always be possible, especially with primary-aged pupils.
• However, every classroom will be organised to try to ensure children are kept socially distanced.
• Where possible and appropriate, children will sit in rows facing the front of the classroom.
• We will avoid any large gatherings of different groups together so whole-school assemblies will not take place. They will be replaced by smaller class assemblies within their own classroom.
• Older pupils will be encouraged to respect 1m+ distance guidelines.
• Learning activities will be carefully planned to allow for distancing both inside your child’s classroom and outside.
• Children will be given their own stationery, and resources and classroom equipment will be cleaned by staff during the day and again thoroughly at the end of the day by the cleaning team.
• Children should try and limit the amount of equipment they bring into school each day to essentials, such as lunch boxes, hats, coats and books.
• Strict hygiene measures will be adhered to throughout the day, including regular hand washing/sanitising.

All of the above measures are being taken to ensure the safest possible environment for your child. We will of course work very hard to continue to provide a happy, comforting and secure environment to limit any anxiety and fears you or your child may be having. To help us do that we would really appreciate it if you were able to explain to your child that school will be running differently but all the staff will be there to take good care of them.

Thank you for your cooperation, understanding and support at this time. We are all really excited about seeing all of our children and welcoming them back to school once again. If you do have any questions or concerns please contact the school office.

Yours sincerely,

Andrew Fowler

Headteacher

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SEPTEMBER ARRANGEMENTS - 15/07/2020

Dear Parents/carers,

We hope that this letter finds you and your families well. It has certainly been a strange, and at times, difficult few months for all of us. We would like to express our thanks for your messages of support, as we have worked hard to ensure that your child’s learning has continued to be catered for throughout the pandemic.

Having now received and been able to reflect upon the latest government guidance for the wider re-opening of schools from September, we are very happy to be able to inform you that we will be able to move to the next phase in our reopening strategy. As such, school will reopen to all children on Thursday 3^rd September. However, initially this will be for 4 ½ days each week. Up until October half term, school will be closed to all children on a Friday afternoon after lunch and registration, in line with some other Sandwell schools.

This will enable us to do two things, both of which will ensure greater protection for your child and help to minimise the risk of spreading the infection. Firstly, we will be able to reduce the movement of staff between classes thereby restricting the number of adults that your child will come into contact with. Secondly, it will enable us to ensure school is cleaned thoroughly before the weekend ready for children to return the following week.

We appreciate that you may have to make arrangements for the care of your child on a Friday afternoon, albeit on a temporary basis, hence the reason we are letting you know now before the summer break. We would ask any family for whom this will present an unsurmountable difficulty to contact the school office.

After October half term, we hope to be able to move to the final stage in our reopening strategy whereby we will be able to welcome all children back in to school on a fulltime basis. That said, Friday afternoons may look a little different at Lyng as we move forward! We are very excited about a number of new initiatives that we hope to be able to share with you in September. These will enable us to pick up where we left off in March following our successful Ofsted inspection and will be the next step in our plans to continue to provide exciting and engaging learning for all our children.

Following government guidelines there will also be staggered start and end times to the school day for different Year Groups. This is to ensure that large groups do not congregate on the school grounds. Please familiarise yourselves with the table below and how this will affect your child: 

The KS1 Hall will be made available from 8.30am onwards. If required, older siblings can be dropped off, and will be supervised at a socially acceptable distance from any children not in their class. This will solve the problem of parents having to wait around for long periods of time. However, it will be safer for parents to adhere to the start times as closely as possible. Similarly, the Hall will be available at the end of the day from 2.30pm, for younger siblings to wait for older siblings to be collected.

Breakfast Club will still be available from 8.00am – 8.30am.

We understand that children may have grown out of their school uniform over the last few months and due to the pandemic, some parents may have been furloughed or been made redundant.  This potentially will have put increased financial pressures on families.  We are sympathetic to this and as such there will not be an expectation for children to wear a uniform containing the school logo. We are aware that Asda supply an affordable school uniform range - Black Trouser for £6 pack of 2, Girls skirts pack of 2 £7, Pinafores £5, Polo shirts pack of 5 £6, Blue Sweatshirts pack of 2 £4.  Failing that, all we ask is that parents do their very best to send their child to school in appropriate clothing that mirrors the school colours. However, if any family is having difficulty, please do contact school and speak to a member of staff at any time.

For the first 2 weeks in September, unfortunately there will not be the capacity to provide any hot meals at lunchtime. Instead, a packed lunch will be offered until the kitchen is up and running and we all get used to new changes to the school day.  Children will eat their packed lunch, either brought from home or provided from the school kitchen, in their class room with an allocated member of dinner staff who will be in their bubble.

We anticipate that government guidance will be updated throughout the Summer. Therefore, we will write to you at the start of September, prior to the children’s return, to explain how we will be operating bubbles of children and any other special adjustments which are designed to keep your child safe.

We look forward to working with you over the next academic year as we rebuild our school from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and reconnect with you, our wider school community. We wish you a happy and healthy summer.

 Yours sincerely,

Andrew Fowler                                       Lynn Howard

       Head teacher                                   Chair of Governors

Welcome

A very warm welcome to all website users!

At Lyng Primary School our vision is to provide a nurturing, happy and safe environment. Surrounded by caring adults children will be provided with opportunities to become the best that they can be. We will strive to ensure that every child leaves Lyng Primary feeling confident, self-motivated and independent so that they are ready for the next stage in their lives.

Both in and outside the classroom a Lyng child should:

- Be engaged, excited and inspired & love to learn

- Be challenged

- Learn to use their imagination and develop curiosity

- Learn to take risks, try new experiences & not give up

- Learn to work alongside each other

- Celebrate their uniqueness and embrace each other's differences

- Not be afraid to make mistakes

- Be successful

- Achieve

- Have fun!  

On behalf of the governors and staff we look forward to working in partnership with yourselves and your children to ensure they reach their full potential.

Mr A.Fowler

For information on our new Reception starters 2020-2021 please CLICK HERE