5ᵗʰ January 2021

Dear Parents,
Unfortunately, following my letter yesterday, we are now unable to open fully to all of our pupils.
Following  on  from  yesterday’s  Government  announcement,  staff  have  been  working  tirelessly 
 to ensure we can safely educate all children, be that from home or in school. Due to the short 
notice, we are aiming to give as much information as we can now,  and we will update you as 
necessary.
Guidance from the DFE states:
‘As a country, we all need to do what we can to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus. That is 
why the government has given clear guidance on self-isolation, household isolation and social 
distancing. And  the  most  recent  scientific  advice  on  how  to  further  limit  the  spread  
of  COVID-19  is  clear.  If children can stay safely at home, they should, to limit the chance of 
the virus spreading, especially with this new highly-transmissible variant.
That is why the government has asked parents to keep their children at home, wherever possible, and 
ask schools to remain open only for those children who ‘absolutely need to attend’ and whose parent 
is a Critical Worker.
The government has defined the sectors and key workers (please see attached document). The Local 
Authority has given further guidance on children who absolutely need to attend. Please, therefore, 
follow these key principles:
Principles
•      If it is at all possible for children to be at home, then they should be.
•      If  a  child  needs  specialist  support,  is  vulnerable  or  has  a  parent  who  is  a  
critical  worker,  then educational provision will be available for them (if required)
•      Parents  should  not  rely for  childcare  upon  those  who  are  advised  to  be  in  the  
stringent  social distancing category such as anybody with underlying health conditions and anyone 
who is over 70.
•      Parents should  also do everything  they can  to ensure children are not mixing  socially in 
a  way which can continue to spread the virus. They should observe the same social distancing 
principles as adults.

Current  government  guidance  regarding  eligibility  for  the  school  places  as  of  Tuesday  
5th  January 2021 (which is an emergency INSET day for Chetwynd, replacing that originally 
scheduled for Friday 19th March) is that children with at least one parent or carer who are 
identified as critical workers by the  government  can  potentially  send  their  children  to  
school  if  required.  However,  we  must

Warwickshire County Council

emphasise  that  the  government  guidance  also  states  that  “many  parents  working  in  these  
critical sectors may be able to ensure their child is kept at home. Every child who can be safely 
cared for at home should be.”

Unlike  last  year’s  national  lockdown,  education  settings  are  not  being  used  to  provide  
childcare provision for keyworkers and vulnerable children. School is delivering a full curriculum 
both onsite and remotely.  Those  children  who  come  into  school  on  days  their  parents  are  
on  shift  only,  should continue to access the remote learning on the days they are at home to 
ensure they keep up to date with the teaching taking place in school.
Children attending school will need to be in school uniform and teachers will be wearing 
professional dress so that the learning environment remains as normal as possible. Children can 
continue to come in  PE  kits  on  their  PE  days.  Children  who  are  accessing  lessons  at  
home  need  to  ensure  they  are dressed and ready for learning when joining lessons.
Key worker and vulnerable children will be able to attend school from Wednesday 6ᵗʰ January 2021. 
Home learning will commence from this date as well. Please do check your child’s MS Teams for this 
week’s work. From next week, the children will be invited to dial in to lessons taking place in 
school throughout the day. As this is new for our children we will send out more detailed 
information about how this works via MS Teams, later this week. We are not able to provide paper 
copies of work this time as the teachers are working full time in classrooms, teaching live lessons 
and providing remote learning. Therefore families must access MS Teams for the provision.
To continue to support home school communication, we have Year Group emails available for parents. 
Please mark in the subject which teacher the email is addressed to:
Year32581@welearn365.com

Year42581@welearn365.com

Year52581@welearn365.com

Year62581@welearn365.com

Please  do  follow  our  Facebook  page:  www.facebook.com/groups/ChetywndJuniorSchool  where  we 
will also be posting updates and information, as and when we receive it.
All letters are available on our website, www.chetwyndjuniorschool.co.uk

I have updated our provision for you in the table provided to help parents keep up to date with the 
current changes.

Warwickshire County Council

Chetwynd Junior School’s Teaching and Learning Provision

 January to February Half Term 2021

Classes

Wellbeing

The start of the school day.

The  government  has  now  imposed  a  national  lockdown.  This  has  meant  all  schools  are  to 
 close. Children of key workers and vulnerable children are still able to attend school.
Class Group bubbles will be in place for both children and staff in school. Within their bubble, we 
will aim to socially distance children as much as possible.
As before, hand sanitiser will be available in all classrooms and across the school building. There 
will be the class teacher and LSA on site for all classes.
Teachers from Class 5 and Class 10 are working at home and therefore the key worker and vulnerable 
children will work on site and join another class bubble within their year group during the 
lockdown. Mrs  Venables and  Miss  Yapp  will  be  supporting  online learning  and  communicating  
with  children  at home via MS Teams.
If Miss Ballard already works with your child, she will be in touch during this time. The wellbeing 
email address is wellbeing2581@welearn365.com should you wish to get in contact.
School gates will open at 8:40am to key worker and vulnerable children. Members of staff will be on 
the school gate and playgrounds.
We ask that children wash their hands before leaving for school. Children will also sanitise their 
hands on the way into class.
Unfortunately, as the guidance still recommends that school sites limit visitors to only those that 
have prearranged  a visit,  parents  will  need  to  remain  at  the  school  gate  whilst  the  
children  come  in  to school.
Years 3 and 4 children are to enter via the pedestrian gate and they will be directed to their year 
group doors inline with the current routine.
Years 5 and 6 will be directed via the carpark gate around to the 5/6 playground and enter the 
school via their year group doors on that side of the building.
Any  children  arriving  with  Stepping  Stones  will  follow  the  same  procedures  as  they  
have  done previously.  The  end  of  the day  hand  over  for  Stepping Stones will  remain  the  
same  as it was in  the Autumn also.

Online Learning

For those learning at home:
Work will be uploaded onto MS Teams, from Wednesday 6ᵗʰ January, for children to access at home. 
From Monday 11ᵗʰ January children will be able to access some live teaching throughout the school 
day to provide the teaching input for the lessons uploaded. More information will follow later this 
week.
Parents and children will be provided with a learning timetable that each class will follow in 
school and at home. Children will be able to ask questions via their class space on MS Teams which 
the teacher will respond to. We are going to keep a full timetable in place where possible.
Please note, if families only have one device at home, year groups have coordinated their 
timetables so teacher input doesn’t clash between year groups. This should allow siblings in 
different year groups to share a device.

Equipment

Classrooms will  continue  to  be  organised  so that children  will  sit facing the  front rather  
than  across from  each  other  on  a  table.  Where  possible,  children  will  be  spread  out  
across  the  classroom  to encourage social distancing.
We will be providing children with writing equipment and resources. Children are not allowed to 
bring in their own pencil cases from home as we would like to limit items from home in school. 
Children will need to bring in a water bottle. Please make sure their bottle is labelled. Water 
coolers will be in use, having been recently updated to be more efficient with water filtered to a 
higher level and installed with paddle taps meaning children do not need to touch the water 
coolers. There is no longer a cost for use of the water coolers.
Please  do  not  let  your  children  bring  any  equipment  into  school,  other  than  their  
coat,  a  bag  and a water bottle.

Warwickshire County Council

Social Distancing

Hygiene

Cleaning

Breaks

Lunches and Lunchtimes

The End of the school Day

When  we  use  shared  resources  such  as  PE  equipment,  ICT  equipment  or  science  equipment, 
 for example, we will be cleaning it after a class has used it.
Children  will  be  given  regular  reminders  about  social  distancing,  but  this  cannot  be  
guaranteed  as children  are  children.  However  we  do  feel  the  measures  we  are  putting  in 
 place,  supports  social distancing as much as is possible and practicable. Staff will continue to 
ensure they adhere to social distancing guidance when they are in contact with each other, this 
includes staggered breaks and four staffrooms  to  support  Year  group  bubbles.  Adults  will  be 
 wearing  face  masks  around  school  in corridors if social distancing is not possible.
Assemblies will be held using Teams in the classrooms.
The  teaching  of  ICT  will  be  blocked  for  mornings  or  afternoon  for  classes  to  allow  
for  cleaning  of equipment  between  classes.  The  children  might  not  use  the  ICT  suite  
each  week  due  to  capacity however they will have access to the use of the school iPads in some 
lessons.
Children   will   be   given   regular   reminders   and   opportunities   for   handwashing.   
Children   will   be encouraged to wash their hands at regular intervals throughout the day. Hand 
sanitiser is available in classrooms and across the school. Children will sanitise their hands 
before eating, before going out for breaks, before coming back in and at the start and end of the 
day.
Our  cleaning  staff  continue  to  be  very  dedicated  and  are  working  continuously  to  
ensure  that  the school is a safe environment in which to learn and work. Daily thorough cleaning 
has been increased to include  the  middle  of  the  school  day.  This  means  the  ICT  suite  
and  hall  are  to  be  cleaned  between classes and the classrooms once the children have eaten. 
It also allows the toilets to be cleaned during the day. Touch points within school are also 
cleaned more regularly, such as door handles.
We will continue with our playtimes as they have been during the autumn term. This means all breaks 
will be at staggered times. Years 3 and 4 will use the front playground separately and Year 5 and 6 
will use  the  back  playground  separately.  The  times  are  around  the  normal  break  times  
with  slight alterations. This means we can allow for social distancing but also keep the school 
day familiar for the children to allow them to settle back into school life as quickly as possible.
When  school  receives  more  information  on  Free  school  meals  arrangements,  we  will  
communicate with parents as soon as possible.
The children will wash their hands before and after eating their lunches. Educaterers are providing 
hot lunches  for  any  children  who  wish  to  select  school  dinners  and  for  those  children  
in  receipt  of  free school meals, children who prefer their own packed lunches can still bring 
those in. The school meals will be delivered to the classroom for years 3 and 4. Years 5 and 6 will 
eat in the hall separately with class bubbles in place.
To continue to support the staggered lunchtimes, Year 3 and 6 will eat first whilst Year 4 and 5 
have the use of the playgrounds. Once Year 4 and 5 are eating their lunches Year 3 and 6 will have 
the use of the playgrounds. The classrooms and the hall will be cleaned before and after the 
children have eaten.
Year 3 will have a 45 minute, lunch break (12:00 – 12:45). Year 6 will have a 50 minute, lunch 
break (12:00 – 12:50). This allows the Year 4 and 5 classes to return to the playground after 
eating for the last 10 minutes of their break whilst their classrooms are cleaned after they have 
eaten.
This also allows Year 3 and 6 to have the use of the hall earlier than our normal timetable, in the 
afternoons for indoor P.E. This allows time for the hall and its equipment to be cleaned before a 
second class uses the hall.
It also continues to support a staggered end to the school day where Year 3 will leave school at 
3:05 and Year 6 and 3:10 due to their shortened lunch times. Years 4 and 5 will leave at 3:20 as is 
normal via separate gates.
As in the autumn term, please do not worry if you have children at Whitestone or other schools, 
where the collection time clashes with ours. Your children will be safe with their class teacher 
until you arrive. When  it  is  not  raining,  we  will  keep  them  at  the  front  of  the  
school,  socially  distanced  within  Year groups. If raining, they will wait inside the school 
Entrance Hall, again socially distanced in Year groups. Those children who will be using Stepping 
Stones after school, will be supervised in the lower courtyard where they are used to waiting and 
then they will be taken to the front gate and handed over to the staff from Stepping Stones.

Warwickshire County Council

Curriculum

As  previously  stated,  our  aim  is  to  provide  children’s education  as  normally  as  we  
possibly  can.  The expectation is that children are learning, be that at home or in school. Those 
working at home will be able to access learning via MS Teams.

Teacher’s PPA

This  will  continue  as  it  did  in  the  autumn  term,  being  taken  as  a  block  of  either  
a  morning  or  an afternoon to reduce the cover staff moving between multiple classes. The classes 
will be covered by one person, either Mrs Brotherhood, Miss Ballard, Mrs Aucott or Mr Richards (a 
regular supply teacher who is working with Chetwynd Junior School Monday to Wednesday each week). 
The cover teachers will  have  different  classes  each  week  in  order  to  ensure  the  children 
 have  access  to  the  ICT  suite. Classes 2 and 10 will have Mr Richards for an additional half 
day as Miss Ball and Miss Yapp have their additional Newly Qualified Teacher time.

Parents

Unfortunately parents are still not permitted onsite for the time being. We ask that parents 
collecting children  continue  to  wear  masks  at  the  school  gate  (unless  medically  exempt)  
and  maintain  social distancing.
We  will  be  communicating through  parent  mail,  our  website  and  through  our  Facebook  and  
Twitter accounts. If you have not already accessed these, then please do so as we are aware some 
parents are missing out on some of the school communications. We will send out regular Newsletters 
also to share as much of school life as we can during this very strange time.

Uniform

Access to school

Illness

Next Steps

Behaviour

Please send your child in full Chetwynd uniform as usual.
Children working from home will be expected to be dressed and presentable when joining their class 
virtually. They do not need to wear uniform.
Only staff, key worker children and vulnerable children will be allowed in school.
You  will  need  to  drop  your  child  off  at  the  gate  and  collect  them  from  the  same  
place.  This  will minimise the number of adults within the school grounds and keep our children 
safer. Staff will be at the school gates ready to support your children – please do not worry we 
will take care of them!
Should you need to chat to us, please either phone school or message us through email and we will 
phone or message you back.
As you know, year group emails are in place which will allow you to email your child’s teacher with 
any questions or queries throughout this time. If you prefer telephone communication, then please 
phone the school office and your child’s class teacher will phone you back.
Our Covid procedures will remain in place.
Any  child  complaining  of  feeling  ill  or  who  has  a  temperature  will  be  cared  for  
following  our  usual procedure  but will need  to self-isolate  in the  medical room  and  
parents/ carers will  be contacted  to pick up as soon as possible in order to minimise contact 
with others.
If your child or someone in your household is unwell or shows any of the symptoms of Coronavirus, 
then please do not send them to school under any circumstances in order to prevent the spread of 
the illness to other children and staff. In this instance, the child should be self-isolated 
wherever possible for 10 days (if this guidance changes, we will update parents) and all fellow 
household members should self-isolate for 14 days. Please let us know urgently if this is the case 
as ‘where a child tests positive, the  rest  of  the  class/group  should  be  sent  home  and  
advised  to  self-isolate  for  14  days.  The  other household members of that wider class/group 
do not need to self-isolate unless the child, young person or staff member they live within that 
group subsequently develops symptoms.’ (DfE Guidance).
We will  continually risk assess our procedures and communicate  to you  as they evolve.  We will 
also review  them  as  the  guidance  is  updated  from  the  Government.  Our  latest  Risk  
Assessment  was updated on 4ᵗʰ January 2021 and is available on our website.
For children in school: we will still have our usual behaviour policy in place.
For children at home: we expect children to engage fully in their learning and behave as they would 
in school.
We fully appreciate that learning from a home environment may have other distractions which are out 
of your control. Where possible, we would ask that children are sat at a table in a quiet space to 
allow as much participation as possible.

Warwickshire County Council

Kind regards

Miss Lawes Headteacher