CV19 doesn’t seem to be planning on leaving as quickly as I would like it to. Rates in Devon continue to rise and we are experiencing a scattering of cases across the school and sadly it seems to be hitting staff hard.
I am sure you will have heard on the news that trying to get supply cover for staff absence is a real challenge at the moment and due to this, staff still in school are needing to step up and continue to work above and beyond what they do already. I am incredibly grateful to the team for all they continue to do as we strive to keep the quality of teaching and learning at its highest level.
I am also so grateful to Miss White who at present is having to review timetables and cover on a daily basis, at times an hourly basis as the picture changes. It’s like a military operation and she deals with these charts and structures swiftly and ensures communication with staff is as good as it can be. The admin team are literally on the front line of this in our school and, on top of dealing with the day to day administration duties that go with an organisation like ours, they are keeping up to date records on CV19 cases and reporting to Public Health as needed. Thank you Mrs Edwards and Mrs Adesina.
So, this is a reminder that for us, as a school, CV19 continues to be part of our day to day life, as I know it continues to be part of all of yours and our best wishes to go to those parents and children in our community who are suffering with it at the moment. We wish you all a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing you when you are well.
The following is a reminder of some of the things we are doing to mitigate risk and what we need you to continue to do to help us.
What are we already doing?
Due to the number of cases before Christmas, the school had already implemented all identified mitigating measures and these measures remain in place.
These include:
· Regular hand washing and hand sanitising
· Ventilation of all areas of the school
· Children working and playing in their ‘bubbles’
· Staggered lunch times to mitigate risk in the hall
· Remote school assemblies
· The wearing of masks and/or face shields by staff
· Working with Devon Norse to ensure the school is deep cleaned in affected areas
All other mitigating provision is on the schools RA100 on our website.
What we need you to do
· Continue to wear face masks on site; we know these are no longer mandatory, but the government guidance given to us states they mitigate risk
· Drop off and collect your child swiftly and then leave the school site. Please do not stay on site chatting; social distancing remains a mitigating factor
· Ensure your child has everything they need for the school day; we currently have an increasing number of parents who are coming to school throughout the day to drop off PE kit, lunch boxes etc. Again, limiting the number of people on site mitigates risk.
· Order lunches online before the deadline; this supports us ensure your child has the dinner they want
· At present we have chosen not to return to staggered entry and exit times but if cases continue to rise, we may need to consider returning to this measure, including NO parents/adults on site other than school staff.
· If you child test positive, please can you include the date of the positive result when communicating with school office; please share this information via email to admin@topsham.devon.sch.uk
I have been in communication with Public Health and a longer letter in relation to CV19 was sent to all parents on Monday 31st January. That letter is lengthy and provides a great deal of information. Please read it.
Take care
Mrs Pipe
I am sure you will have heard on the news that trying to get supply cover for staff absence is a real challenge at the moment and due to this, staff still in school are needing to step up and continue to work above and beyond what they do already. I am incredibly grateful to the team for all they continue to do as we strive to keep the quality of teaching and learning at its highest level.
I am also so grateful to Miss White who at present is having to review timetables and cover on a daily basis, at times an hourly basis as the picture changes. It’s like a military operation and she deals with these charts and structures swiftly and ensures communication with staff is as good as it can be. The admin team are literally on the front line of this in our school and, on top of dealing with the day to day administration duties that go with an organisation like ours, they are keeping up to date records on CV19 cases and reporting to Public Health as needed. Thank you Mrs Edwards and Mrs Adesina.
So, this is a reminder that for us, as a school, CV19 continues to be part of our day to day life, as I know it continues to be part of all of yours and our best wishes to go to those parents and children in our community who are suffering with it at the moment. We wish you all a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing you when you are well.
The following is a reminder of some of the things we are doing to mitigate risk and what we need you to continue to do to help us.
What are we already doing?
Due to the number of cases before Christmas, the school had already implemented all identified mitigating measures and these measures remain in place.
These include:
· Regular hand washing and hand sanitising
· Ventilation of all areas of the school
· Children working and playing in their ‘bubbles’
· Staggered lunch times to mitigate risk in the hall
· Remote school assemblies
· The wearing of masks and/or face shields by staff
· Working with Devon Norse to ensure the school is deep cleaned in affected areas
All other mitigating provision is on the schools RA100 on our website.
What we need you to do
· Continue to wear face masks on site; we know these are no longer mandatory, but the government guidance given to us states they mitigate risk
· Drop off and collect your child swiftly and then leave the school site. Please do not stay on site chatting; social distancing remains a mitigating factor
· Ensure your child has everything they need for the school day; we currently have an increasing number of parents who are coming to school throughout the day to drop off PE kit, lunch boxes etc. Again, limiting the number of people on site mitigates risk.
· Order lunches online before the deadline; this supports us ensure your child has the dinner they want
· At present we have chosen not to return to staggered entry and exit times but if cases continue to rise, we may need to consider returning to this measure, including NO parents/adults on site other than school staff.
· If you child test positive, please can you include the date of the positive result when communicating with school office; please share this information via email to admin@topsham.devon.sch.uk
I have been in communication with Public Health and a longer letter in relation to CV19 was sent to all parents on Monday 31st January. That letter is lengthy and provides a great deal of information. Please read it.
Take care
Mrs Pipe