There are moments in your life when the task you are being asked to take on and the responsibility attached to that task are overwhelming and seem too difficult to bear, and this has been such a time.
I have found this last week, following the Prime Minister’s announcement, almost impossible and I have found myself questioning every suggestion or possibility put forward as in school we have tried to make sense of what we are now being asked to implement. Government advice has changed over the week which has presented further barriers to the planning process. There have also been such varied reports in the news, many of which have been unhelpful.
Throughout this whole process I have been guided by one simple question, ‘What is the safest possible route to follow to begin to welcome more children into school?’
As the expansion of the school was initially to involve three year groups I felt it was very important to ask those groups of parents for their thoughts. I thank you all for your honest and kind comments. I appreciate that like us, your first concern is to keep everyone safe. Your concern for the staff as well as your children was humbling. Your responses have been critical in helping to shape our planning.
After much discussion, evaluation and intense risk assessments, governors and myself have eventually developed a plan to deliver what we consider to be the safest possible environment we can offer for the gradual increase in child numbers. We have thought carefully about the children returning and have produced four sets of guidance which can be accessed by the four buttons below.
Alongside these, we have also produced more specific risk assessments for all shared areas around the school which will impact predominantly on staff.
Please have a read of these documents so that you can begin to get an understanding of how the school will start to operate in June if we are able to open for pupils other than children of critical workers.
Proposed Plan
We already have a large number of Critical Worker children attending school which is currently increasing. We have therefore made the decision that we definitely need to begin any reintegration process very slowly and so we will be dividing these last six weeks into two.
From 15th June, we are hoping to invite our Year 1 class back to school for two days. The children will be taught in very small groups, which we are calling learning ‘bubbles’ (on a Monday and Tuesday). This will ensure that we can implement all our guidelines fully and can support the children as they get used to a different way of working. For the final week we are then hoping to invite only our Year 6 class to return. The same protocols will be in place during this time. You can help us with this by reading the children’s guidance to your child. Each learning bubble will be led by two members of staff who will be with them all day.
Children and staff from each of the bubbles will not be mixing.
Planning Survey
We now need to know possible numbers so that we can review if we can safely accommodate any further learning bubbles. Therefore, after you have read the documents please can you complete a very simple survey below by clicking on your Year Group button. This time you will only have two options.
I know this is not an easy decision for anyone but please know, whatever decision you make, I will support and understand.
I have put a comment box just in case anyone wishes to add anything extra. It would help us greatly if you could complete this straight away.
Critical Worker children.
As more children will be attending school our Critical Worker group will also be following the same guidelines and therefore their time in school will now feel slightly different too.
Please read the Critical Worker guidelines above.
In order to move to further reintegration it is imperative to keep the numbers of this group as consistent (& low) as possible.
In order to keep everyone safe, we would urge all critical workers to explore all other avenues of childcare before requesting this service.
The form to request Emergency Childcare for the first two weeks can be sent to you by contacting our school office.
Please complete the form and return to admin@our-lady.blackpool.sch.uk as soon as possible so that we can confirm numbers and evaluate whether or not we have enough staff to accommodate pupil numbers.
Texts to confirm places will be sent out by school before June 4th.
Please also be aware that we are unable to accommodate children moving around in ‘learning bubbles’. Therefore, if your child is part of the Critical Worker bubble they cannot also be part of their year group bubble. It is imperative that we reduce the risk of increasing the rate of transmission and take considered steps to ensure we are keeping the risk as low as we can.
Online Learning and shared activities
For all the other children who will not be attending school, online learning will continue; we miss you all! Please keep those lines of communication open and let us know if you do need support. We will try our very best to keep meeting the needs of our children from afar. Again we know how difficult it has been trying to work from home as well as supporting your child’s learning, but we truly thank you.
On Friday school will be closing for two weeks so that teachers can write reports and the school can be organised to hopefully welcome other children safely. This will be a complex task. During these two weeks you will be invited to share activities linked with the great Feast of Pentecost and on your class pages you will find a plethora of activities which will help you to explore these areas, (not forgetting Fr Jim’s children’s pages on our church website!) We hope you will find this helpful to keep your child engaged. These will also provide information and valuable RE materials for the whole family.
Conclusion
I am in no doubt that I want the whole school family back together and I have prayed and prayed that this would happen before the summer. However, in the current situation, I know that this is not possible at present as the safety of every person in the school building has to be prioritised. Please know that every decision has been made with the safety of everyone at the centre. However, all these plans will be constantly evaluated and monitored and may be subject to change depending on how the national and local situations change.
We know that whenever and however we begin to open school, there will be anxiety and indecision as you are all trying to consider what is best for your whole family. Your children are your precious gifts from God and you need to know that they will be safe. Whenever you choose to begin this process we will be here to support you at every turn; we are a community of Christ and together we will find a pathway which will eventually lead each one of us back to a thriving, exciting school where we can all learn and grow together in the safest way possible.
Thank you for your understanding, patience and support. Together we are, and will continue to be, stronger… We are Christ’s body in the world today.
God bless….
Miss Haggerty
