Summer reopening

The safety and wellbeing of all our pupils is all of our responsibilities. We will continue to work within our clear regimes  and rules to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the whole school community.

The essential measures we have had to take account of include:

• A requirement that people who are unwell and/or with symptoms of COVID-19 stay at home;

• Robust hand and respiratory hygiene including ventilation continue increased cleaning arrangements active engagement with Test, Trace, Protect (TTP); and, 

• Formal consideration of how to reduce contacts and maximise distancing between those in school wherever possible and minimise potential for contamination so far as is reasonably practicable. 

• Face coverings must be worn by all staff *adults and older children (year 7+) in all areas of the school site, unless they are eating, drinking , playing sport or can at all times maintain social distancing. 

• Lateral Flow Device Testing is offered to  all staff and older pupils o (currently year 10 and 11). This is testing for people without symptoms and is an important tool to support the fight against the spread of unknown infection. , 

*medical grade face masks are worn by staff at all times 

How we will reduce contacts in our school is different in each school area and we have looked carefully at:

• How we group children together

• Avoiding contact between groups as much as possible

• Arranging classroom with forward facing desks in Middle and Upper school

• Rearranging the layout and learning spaces in Lower School

• Ensuring additional measures in line with in the guidance in the Foundation Phase/Lower School

• Staff maintaining distance from learners and other staff as much as possible. 

• Staggering start and end times of the school, altering timetables and reducing movement around the school. 

• Making the most of our outdoor space

Summary of actions 

Considering our site and the relatively limited number of access points (3) along with the requirement for adults to socially distance at all points, it is essential that we implement a staggered start and end time to the school days.

All pupils will return to school on Monday 6th September.

Pupils and families are encouraged to walk or cycle to school. An area will be designated to store bikes and scooters and they will need to bring a chain to secure them. Leaving the bike or scooter for the day would be at your own risk and they would not be able to use these during the school day .

Public transport should be avoided and/or strict public health guidance must be followed. Children who travel on school or private transport must follow the clear instructions for the wearing of face coverings, special distancing (where appropriate) and behaviour.

Safety while driving on site  Parents must follow the instructions of duty staff when driving on school site. YN has a risk assessment in place to ensure access is safely controlled. Please refer to our Traffic management plan (TMP) which outlines access guidance and strict protocols which must be adhered to when in and around the site. Parents are politely encouraged to not arrive to site in the vehicles prior to their allocated slots and be mindful of our neighbours, other parked cars and the safety of others while entering the site a termly letter in this regard is sent to all parents Important Traffic Update.

Pupils based in year 7 and above should wear a 3 layer face covering in accordance with Welsh Government guidance. Please email ryan.evans@ysgolnantgwyn.co.uk if you have a medical exemption or if you have any queries in relation to face coverings. Pupils need to wear face coverings in all communal areas and within the classroom. Pupils receive an induction which outlines expectations. Pupils in year 6 and below do not need to wear a face covering.

Parents are able to escort their children to the gates of both Nant and Gwyn sites however walking parents are not able to enter the school yard or building in accordance with WG guidelines. Please can all parents ensure appropriate social distancing is implemented when around school site. Where parents are dropping-off pupils by car, they must remain within their vehicles. Should parents require a meeting with a member of staff, this will take place on an appointment only basis and likely be by phone rather than a face to face meeting on site. Please contact your son/daughter’s  head of school via email should the need arise.

Please remember to health check your child before leaving for school in the morning, taking their temperature if you are able to. Please keep them at home if they show any symptoms of being unwell, please see NHS guidance for further information. 

All adults on site must wear a face covering and maintain social distancing at all times. Adults must wear a mask even if they only leave a car for a few moments please.

In all of our actions our overarching principle is to reduce the number of contacts both pupil to pupil and pupil to staff by keeping contact groups the same (where possible), separate from others and maintaining distance between individuals where this is possible eg arriving and leaving school, communal areas and any social spaces  etc.  

In classrooms for our older children (Year 3 upwards) we have been grouped pupils  into normal size classes (around 30 per class) and maintaining social distancing is not possible. This is supported by the Welsh Government and local authority guidance and alternative measures will be in place in these classrooms to mitigate risks to pupils and social distancing will be observed outside classrooms.   

We have endeavored to minimise movement of teachers across schools where possible to support possible outbreaks or consequences from Test, Trace and Protect which could result in potential closure or partial closure, at the same time minimising the number of contacts staff have with groups of learners and other adults. 

Children across the school will largely remain in their base rooms at all time, they will not move out of their zones. They will be supervised at all times to ensure they minimise contact with other individuals to reduce their risk. 

All classrooms for pupils in year 3 upwards will be arranged so that pupils will sit facing forward throughout all of their lessons. While this would not normally be our preference, the guidance gives advice that this should be the case to minimise the face to face contact between pupils. We have also made mid year alterations to the layout of classes in lower school in light of additional guidance we have received.

Pupils in years 7 to 11 have been offered the opportunity to opt in to the national testing programme where pupils test twice per week using Lateral flow device tests (LFD tests). 

Please see the important information above for lateral flow testing.

In order to minimise contact with other groups, within and across the school, we will continue with our  timetable as detailed for each year group.  

We have benefited from having a range of teachers working in the Gwyn building over the past two years, particularly in years 4 to 6,  to deliver across a wider range of curriculum areas. In order to reduce movement around the site and between different zones, this continues to temporarily stop and the Caru Dysgu teachers continue to deliver these areas. 

Children in most classes in lower school (Nursery to Year 2) will have no change to their curriculum and can work within normal Foundation Phase principles, but with additional key measures in place as detailed in the guidance and within our risk assessment

In Nant, children are grouped in years and then into contact groups. In line with the Welsh Government guidance, we changed how groups were set up to minimise the number of contacts that pupils have on any given day. The technical (scientific) advice recommends that teenagers do not have more than 20 close contacts in any 24 hour period. This includes school, home and social activities. A close contact in school will include the people that sit next to someone in class and hence we have minimised the number of children that your child will have as a close contact during the school day by the way that we have grouped, timetabled and reduced social interaction through staggering starts, ends, breaks and lunches.  

In Years 7, 8 and 9 children are taught in the same mixed ability class and largely remain in the same room throughout the week, only accessing specialist rooms where learning requires it and in line with guidance. Teachers are timetabled in double and triple sessions and  move to them for their lesson with staff supervising in the changeover. This means that the number of contacts pupils will have in a day will be minimised. 

Children in years 10 and 11 are banded and not set for any subjects, i.e they will be in the same group for core subjects and move to different groups only for their optional subjects. This movement is under very controlled conditions. 

This provision is run by the local authority and can be accessed via a successful application process.  Applications for pupils in Gwyn (N-Yr6) are made on a termly basis and during a small window.  This is normally towards the end of each term.

If successful, the provision will be available from 08:00 each morning and the school kitchen will serve breakfast shortly after arrival.  If you have any queries in relation to breakfast club, please contact Mr Davies (john.davies@ysgolnantgwyn.co.uk)

The school kitchen will be open to serve food at lunchtime which MUST be pre-ordered before 10.00am which will be one of the first tasks pupils do with the class teacher in the first lesson.

Please can you ensure meals are paid for in advance to avoid arrears.  We are working with the local authority to improve this system as we appreciate the systems in place are not ideal.  If you do have any queries regarding your child’s balance, please email finance@ysgolnantgwyn.co.uk and we will work to support you as much as we can.

Children are not allowed off site for lunch due to a significantly reduced lunch time.  There will be no exception to this.

It is recommended that children bring water and a snack to school with them every day.  Please note that  energy drinks are not permitted and will be disposed of if brought into school. 

Children will be served in designated areas and will minimise contact in this space.  They will have supervised outdoor access at break time and lunch time.

Equipment can be brought to school, but should be minimal and easily cleaned. This can include your child’s packed lunch, pencil case, calculator, water bottle, mobile phones (this must be switched  off and put away unless instructed to use it as a device by your child's teacher). Moving into inclement weather hats, coats, wet weather clothing will also be needed and be easily recognisable and easy to put on and take off for our younger pupils. 

We may request that pupils bring their own IT devices to school at a later date to support learning as we have given out nearly all of our IT equipment to support pupils’ learning during school closure. We are currently reviewing this and exploring options on how we can make this work. We have been able to place an order for some new devices via monies from the LA, but we are unsure how we will be able to fairly, safely and evenly distribute these currently. We have distributed all of the other portable devices and would be reluctant to call them back due to possible future home based learning/lockdown requirements.  

Please do not bring any other equipment with you, this includes balls and other play equipment.

We have relaxed the school uniform policy to support the requirements for clean school uniforms everyday. The school blazer is not compulsory and pupils in upper school can wear items from the middle school uniform menu. A badged item is also not compulsory to support the need for clean items everyday. Uniforms need to be freshly washed each time a pupil comes to school please to conform to Welsh Government and Local Authority Guidance.

All pupils should return to school unless they have a medical or health reason not to do so. Attendance is compulsory for all pupils. In the current climate, the Welsh Government has decided not to issue Fixed Penalty Notices however this is currently under review. Full attendance at school is vital to ensure we can support your child to make good progress, support their wellbeing and lay good foundations for what lays ahead.  

If a pupil is unable to attend the school setting, we will regularly engage remotely to ensure continuity in learning. This includes learners who are still shielding, if the medical advice at the time is that they should attend school. 

Under no circumstances should learners attend schools if they:

• feel unwell, have any of the three identified COVID-19 symptoms (a new continuous cough, or a high temperature or loss of or change to their sense of taste or smell)

•  or they have tested positive to COVID-19 in the past 10 days;

• live in a household or are part of an extended household with someone who has symptoms of COVID-19 or has tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 10 days.

Behaviour Children's behaviour when they return to school will need to be good at all times.  Some children (with ALN statements) will also have additional support in school. Rules and regimes, including social distancing and safety measures, must be adhered to and children who fail to comply with this, could ultimately result in receiving a fixed term exclusion being issued and parents could be asked for their child to be collected immediately and removed from site. We have identified children who may have some challenges conforming to rules and individual risk assessment and plans have been put in place to support them. Failure to comply with these supported plans will result in agreed consequences. It should be noted that parents will not be allowed on site and parents who are asked to collect pupils must wait at the school gate and children will be escorted to them. Our school rules have been adapted: 

‘Ready, Respectful and  Responsible’  

1. Sitting in the seating plan and remaining in your seat.

2. Remaining at the advised social distance from members of staff

3. Speaking and listening respectfully at all times.

4. Allowing others to learn. 

5. Working in silence when asked to.

6. Not eating or drinking in class (unless permitted by the teacher)

Points 3-6 are related to Lower School in line with the principles outlined in the learning guidance for Foundation phase learning 

If a pupil fails to follow the rules any of the following could be issued (depending on the severity of the action): a warning, reflection for a short period of time (immediately outside the door), a risk assessment to benefit from alternative support provision or fixed term exclusion.

The health and safety of pupils and staff is of our highest priority and any children acting in a way posing danger without exception will have sanctions applied as outlined above. 

If a pupil starts to feel unwell in school and/or demonstrates any of the symptoms associated with COVID 19, they will immediately be removed from their classroom and placed in a small, quiet room until they are collected or, for older children, you give your authorisation for them to walk home. There are very clear instructions from the local authority about what we will need to do in any such instances and it is likely that your child will be in a room alone but supervised by an adult outside the room. Should your child require closer support, it is likely that the member of staff that gives this support will don full PPE including a face mask, goggles, apron and gloves. Everything will be done to reassure your child and make them as comfortable as possible while they await your arrival. If your child is well enough they will be escorted to you at the most appropriate gate. 

The same procedure will be applied to any member of staff that feels unwell or shows symptoms. These measures are in place to minimise the risk to others on the school site. 

We have to emphasise that the more ordinary approach of sending a child to school when they are just feeling a little unwell no longer applies. If your child feels unwell and/or demonstrates any symptoms of COVID 19, they are to remain home and follow medical advice. 

We would also ask that should you receive any track and trace information that has implications for yourself and your family on any occasion that your child is in school, please notify us straight away so that we can make arrangements for your child/ren to join you for the specified period of self-isolation. 

Self Isolation 

• Identified close contacts (pupils and staff)  of a confirmed case self-isolate and do not attend school for a 10 day period. We will follow the normal communication protocols for this on return to school. 

• All contacts of a confirmed case will be offered PCR testing on day 2 and day 8 of the isolation period, however, the full 10 day self-isolation period still applies even if a negative PCR test result is received (close contacts must self-isolate and not attend school for a 10 day period).

It is important that LFTD tests can NOT be used to not display yourself from a self isolation situation more information on this can be found in the link on the school website. 

This is a helpful link

https://gov.wales/contact-tracing-if-you-are-confirmed-contact

NHS COVID-19 app

Staff and learners aged 16 and over are eligible to use the NHS COVID-19 app. 

Pupils will need to inform  a member of staff if they get an alert that they have had close contact with a person with symptoms.

If a pupil aged between 16 and 18 receives a notification during school hours that they have been in contact with a positive case, they should show the message to a trusted adult – usually a member of staff. Schools should tell app users to inform a member of staff if they get such an alert. 

Staff need to follow the school’s COVID-19 procedures if a pupil using the app is notified whilst at school that they have been in close contact with a positive case. The school should then follow its COVID-19 procedures as if that pupil had been present with another child in a class who had shown symptoms.