COVID-19 Return to School Monday 8th March 2021

Friday 26th February 2021

Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope you all had a good half term break and I hope you have all enjoyed the beautiful weather we have had over the last few days.

Firstly, I want to say how incredibly proud I am of all of our children and families, on how you have all faced the challenges of remote learning over Lockdown 3. I know it has not been easy but you have all been incredible. Thank you for your patience, resilience and positivity through a challenging few months. The engagement with remote learning has been excellent and I really appreciate how much parents and children have had to learn and adapt to make this work. Thank you.

Well, we have certainly had a positive start back to this half of term with the wonderful news that all children are returning from the 8th March. There was a whoop of joy in school the next day after the announcement! We are all so excited and looking forward to everybody returning. I want to take this opportunity to thank all of the staff in school for their incredible hard work and dedication over the past few months. It has not been easy to manage dual learning in and out of school, striking this balance is very tricky, doubling their workload overnight and having to learn a completely new way of working to provide a blended learning approach, plus all of the COVID measures in school, including twice weekly COVID-19 LFD testing for all staff. They have all made this work because of the dedication to ensure the very best for our children. They are a wonderful team, who really cannot wait to have all the children back in school! (They have literally not stopped smiling this week!)

Preparations for the Return to School on Monday 8th March

Next week we will be preparing the school to ensure we are ready for all of the children returning on Monday 8th March. Therefore, there will be a reduced blended learning offer for next week. Teachers will still set remote learning next week but please expect a reduced amount of interacton with teachers online. There will be less assignments set requiring teacher feedback and a reduced amount of online google meets. This is so we have time to set the classrooms up ready for the return of all children on the 8th March.

Reduced Critical Worker/Vulnerable Children in on Friday 5th March

If possible, we would like to have a deep clean on Friday 5th March, to ensure we are ready for the full return of all children on the Monday 8th March. Therefore, we are asking that only essential critical worker children come into school this day to ensure we have time to prepare the school fully to welcome all children back on the Monday. Please only send your child into school on Friday 5th March if you really have to and you are an essential critical worker. We really appreciate your co-operation with this so that we have time to make sure the school is fully ready for a safe full return.

COVID-19 procedures and protective measures for the return to school 8th March

When the children return on Monday 8th March, we will be going back to the procedures which were in place last term. The staggered starts and finish times and the different bubbles for break and lunch times. All staff will be wearing face masks in and around the school and during drop off and pick up. We are also asking all parents to wear face masks at drop off and pick up and to ensure you keep the social distancing measures in place outside of the school gates at all times. An additional measure for staff this term is the twice weekly LFD tests. Staff are currently taking these tests twice weekly as another protective measure to ensure we stop the spread of this virus. It is wonderful that we now have a way forward and key dates to look forward to but these dates will only be a reality if we work together to ensure we stick to the COVID rules and procedures at all times in and out of school.

Please read the following COVID procedures carefully.

Combe Martin Return to School Procedures - 8.3.21

Please find below the arrival times and pick up times for each bubble/year group. 

R/KS1

Entry point - School gate with parent

Route - through normal gate and past classrooms to drop in

Exit by kitchen and through the school carpark if required or school gate if quiet.

KS2

Dropped off at the school gate - earliest in school for 8.40am.

Entry through the normal gate and then double back around the back of the KS2 block to the appropriate classroom.

Exit past kitchen and to be collected by parents at the school gate.

KS1 accompanied drop off and collection. Please do not expect your child to be released without handover to parent or designated childcare (which needs to be advised)

KS2 children to be encouraged to enter school premises independently. However, please inform the school if your child is authorised to be sent home independently so we know who is not being collected from school premises. 

Parents need to line up and wait patiently ensuring they are social distancing at 2m and wearing face coverings. Parents with multiple children must still follow the one way system.

Tiddlers Nursery entry via Rosea Bridge Lane as arranged with staff. 

School timetable for entry:

KS2 Child Only Fast Lane: 

To ensure good behaviour and minimise unsupervised contacts, children from KS2 will be allowed to proceed straight into their classrooms, passing by the KS1 parental line. Child fast lane. Parents lining up should do so to allow children to access the KS2 route.

Tiddlers Nursery exit via Rosea Bridge Lane as arranged.

School timetable for exit:

Parents with KS1 and KS2 children should pick up the younger child and then wait for the older child to be released.

Please note, as mentioned in the procedures, attendance from the 8th March, will be mandatory. All children will be expected to come to school. Remote learning will only be set for children who are self isolating or shielding.

We cannot wait to get all the children back into school safely on the 8th March. Please be assured that the safety of our children, families and staff is always our highest priority.

Thank you for your continued cooperation,

Yours faithfully,

Mrs Gail Holmes
Executive Headteacher