Welcoming Pupils Back to School Safely

• Educational progress
• Wellbeing
• Wider development.

This is why it is important that all pupils return to school in March. Missing out on more time in the classroom risks pupils falling further behind.

The opening of schools also allows those who are caring for children to resume their working lives.

The risk to children themselves of becoming severely ill from coronavirus is very low. The negative health impacts of being out of school are more likely to affect children. The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health has made clear that the overwhelming majority of children and young people still have no symptoms or very mild illness only.

Our schools have been planning and preparing for their reopening and have put detailed plans and comprehensive measures in place to enable pupils to continue their education and development while minimising the risk of spreading the virus. Although the majority of safety measures will be in place across all schools, some will differ to reflect the school site, layout, location and pupils’ ages. Your child’s school will provide you with details of the measures they have put in place to keep pupils and staff safe.

Schools will continue to use protective bubbles to help manage risk. A bubble is a group of pupils who spend their day together, away from other bubbles. Where they will help to reduce contact, schools will have staggered start and finish times to help reduce the number of pupils entering and leaving the school site at any one time.

We have also thought carefully about the curriculum and will be avoiding activities that bring children into very close contact with each other. Children will use individual resources rather than sharing materials with other pupils. Resources shared within bubbles or classes are cleaned regularly along with all frequently touched surfaces. Resources that are shared between bubbles or classes are cleaned between each use or left unused for 48 hours (72 hours for plastics).

We have enhanced cleaning procedures in our schools. Cleaning is being carried out more often in classrooms and all communal areas, such as toilets and corridors. Our cleaning staff will wipe down surfaces in the classroom, including tables and chairs, and frequently touched surfaces, such as door handles, regularly during the day.

Schools will also use the health and safety measures that have become familiar during the pandemic, including:

• Ensuring face coverings are used in recommended circumstances
• Regularly washing hands thoroughly
• Practising good respiratory hygiene (such as adopting the ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ approach with coughs and sneezes)
• Maintain enhanced cleaning, including cleaning frequently touched surfaces often
• Following social distancing measures, where these are possible
• Keeping occupied spaces well ventilated
• Strongly recommending that all pupils and staff engage in the asymptomatic testing programme
• Using contact tracing if there are positive cases.

In secondary schools, face coverings should be worn by pupils in classrooms and when moving around the school, such as in corridors and communal areas where social distancing is difficult to maintain. Adults in school will also be expected to wear face coverings when moving around school and in the classroom where social distancing is not possible.

This guidance will be adopted in all Star secondary schools. Secondary school pupils are advised to ensure they have a face covering in school with them at all times.

School attendance is mandatory from 8 March. This means that it is your legal duty as a parent to send your child to school regularly. The usual rules on school attendance will apply. Schools will take action to enforce attendance if a child misses school without a valid reason.

A small number of pupils will still be unable to attend school in line with public health advice because they are shielding or self-isolating and have had COVID-19 symptoms or a positive test result themselves, or because they are a close contact of someone who has COVID-19. You must let us know if this applies to your child.

As the schools reopen, we will focus on children’s wellbeing as well as their education to smooth their return to school. We are very aware that many children have been away from school for a long time and that the experience of coming back will be difficult for some pupils. If your child has found lockdown exceptionally difficult and you are worried about them settling back into school, please contact the school to discuss how we can support your child to return.

We understand that some parents and carers will have concerns about their children returning to school. If you consider that your child may have additional risk factors, you should discuss these with your school.

Primary aged pupils are not being asked to take part in the asymptomatic testing.

Secondary aged pupils (year 7 and above) should take part in asymptomatic testing upon their return in the week of 8 March. Pupils can return to school following their first negative test result.

Pupils not undergoing testing should attend school in line with the school’s phased return arrangements.

Testing is voluntary and your child will not be tested unless they (if they are aged over 18) or you (or another parent/carer) have given informed consent. We strongly encourage you and your child to take part, to help break chains of transmission and manage the virus. Your child will not be stopped from returning to school if you or they choose not to be tested or are not able to undertake a test, and will return to face-to-face education in line with your school’s arrangements.

1. Make sure your child attends
   • The government has made school attendance mandatory from 8 March.
   • Schools will record attendance and follow up on absences.
2. Know when your child is expected back in school
   • The day or time that your child is expected to start school may have changed, so please make sure you have carefully read the latest correspondence from the school.
   • Plan your routine to make sure your child gets to school on time.
3. Help your child to travel to school safely
   • Consider how your child can travel to and from school safely and, where possible, encourage them to walk or cycle.
   • There could be heavy traffic around schools if more pupils travel by car, so please take extra care and park courteously and safely in approved areas. You should avoid car sharing with anyone outside your household.
   • If using a school bus or public transport, children must follow the latest national safety guidance including wearing a face covering if they are aged 11 or older (unless exempt).
4. Encourage your child to behave well at school
   • It will be very helpful if you can talk gently to your child about their behaviour at school before they return. We expect children to be kind and fair and to do what their teachers ask them, straightaway. This includes washing their hands regularly and not standing or sitting too close to their friends.
5. Help reduce the spread of COVID-19
   • If your child has symptoms of COVID-19, has recently had a positive COVID-19 test result, is self-isolating or is a close contact of someone who has COVID-19 they should not attend school. If your child is unable to attend school for one of these reasons, please report it to the school immediately.
   • Children will be expected to clean their hands on entering and leaving school and regularly throughout the day. Please help by making sure that your child knows how to wash their hands thoroughly, using soap and water, for 20 seconds. You may wish to send them to school with their own small bottle of hand sanitizer.
   • If your child attends a secondary school, they should bring a face covering to wear in the classroom and communal areas when moving around the school.
   • If your child attends secondary school, we strongly encourage parents to consent to asymptomatic testing before your child returns. We also encourage pupils of secondary age to participate in home testing (following the initial 3 tests at the school site).

If someone tests positive, the school will take swift action and any close contacts in school will be identified. The Local Authority/ Local Authority Health Protection Team will be contacted. The school will contact parents if their child has been in close contact with someone who has tested positive, advising them to self-isolate for 10 days, including the last day of contact with the confirmed case and the next full 10 days.