Reopening information for parents
Underlying Principles
- The school has a responsibility to make every effort to ensure the safety, health and well-being of all members of our school community – children, parents and staff. This plan has been formulated to better ensure that the school can exercise that duty of care.
- Assuming it is in keeping with public health advice and guidelines issued by the Department of Education and Skills, it is preferable for all children to return to school for all five days of the school week and for a full school day. This plan has been formulated to achieve that aim.
- It is not possible to eliminate the risk of infection. However, with the co-operation of all members of our school community, it is possible to minimise the risk of the virus being introduced to school and the consequent risk of its spread.
- As well as co-operation, the flexibility and goodwill of all will be required to ensure the plan can be implemented.
What’s happening?
School will be a bit different this year, especially at the beginning, but the children will get used to it very quickly. Explain to your child that things will be a bit different, but try not to create worry. We are looking forward to welcoming everyone back and we will be focusing on building relationships, routines and resilience during September.
You will have heard lots of talk of bubbles and pods in the media; our bubbles are our two classrooms; Bubble 1 is the junior room (infants-2nd), Bubble 2 is our senior room (3rd-6th). The senior room will also be divided into two pods (groups where they sit and work) 3rd and 4th class will be one pod, and 5th and 6th class will be another.
What You Can Do to Prepare:
- Practice washing hands properly, with soap, for 20 seconds. Make sure that your child also knows how to dry their hand thoroughly.
- Children should also know how to use hand-sanitiser correctly, and that it should not be ingested.
- Teach your child correct cough and sneeze etiquette. Cough or sneeze into a tissue, or into your elbow if you do not have a tissue. Put the tissue in the bin and wash or sanitise your hands.
- Make sure that your child can open and close their lunchbox and bottle, their coat, and their shoes. Shoes with laces are not recommended for younger children.
- Buy wipeable lunchboxes, bottles, pencil cases and schoolbags (if possible)
Drop-off and Collection
Schools must “limit interaction on arrival and departure from school.”
Protocols for Arrivals:
- At 8.30am the main gates will be opened for the children to enter the school grounds. (Pedestrian gates are not to be used). Children will proceed to their assigned line up zone. (Bubble 1 at junior room door, bubble 2 at senior room door) maintaining social distancing.
- Children arriving between 8.30 and 8.50am will enter the school via their designated door, hang up their coats on their designated hooks, and proceed directly to their seat where they will be supervised by their class teacher.
- Children arriving between 8.50 and 9.00am will proceed to their line up zone, Bubble 1 at junior room door, Bubble 2 at senior room door and stand on a dot until class teacher
- Parents will (where possible) not enter the school grounds, they will wait outside the school gate maintaining social distance or wait in their car. Parents utilising the early drop off facility, who are dropping off children between 8.30 and 8.50am must ensure that their child/children have safely entered the school before they pull away.
- Pupils and staff will sanitise their hands on entering the school building. On entering the classroom the children will take their assigned seats.
Protocols for Dismissals:
- Pupils from junior and senior infants will leave the school at 1.40pm as normal via the junior room door. They will sanitise their hands as they exit. Mrs. Stone will escort them to the main gate.
- Pupils from first and second class will leave at 2.40pm via the junior room door. Pupils from 3rd to 6th class will leave via the back door in the senior room. They will sanitise their hands as they exit. Ms. Ryan will escort them to the main gate.
- Children as always are encouraged to walk and cycle when possible.
Collection of Children during the School Day
If an adult has to collect a child during the course of the school day, the following arrangements will apply:
- When the adult arrives at the school, they should either phone the office or come to the main door of the school and buzz to alert the office that they have arrived.
- The child will be brought from their class to the adult by a member of staff.
- No adult should enter the school building, unless invited to do so
Cleaning
- There will be an enhanced cleaning regime in the school in line with HSE guidelines. Contract cleaners are going to give the school a deep clean before we return on the 27th.
- Hot water is being installed in both classrooms to facilitate cleaning.
- Each classroom will be cleaned daily by the school cleaner but will also be cleaned throughout the day by school staff (particular attention will be given to frequently touched surfaces). Older children will also help with cleaning their belongings and their desk.
- Resources will be provided for children individually where possible, or shared within their ‘pod’.
- All books and copies have been covered in wipeable covers; we ask that books and copies are wiped down regularly at home and in school.
- Books, toys and resources will be cleaned regularly or quarantined for 72 hours before being reused.
- Physical Distancing will be achieved in two ways by increasing separation (this will be achieved by re-configuring the classrooms to maximise physical distancing) and by decreasing interaction (this will be achieved by decreasing the potential for children from different rooms to interact)
- Children from Junior Infants to 2nd Class are not required to physical distance. Children from 3rd-6th class are expected to keep a distance of 1m where possible.
- Bubble 1 is our Junior Room and Bubble 2 our Senior Room; contact between bubbles will be limited as much as possible.
- Staff will try to maintain physical distance from children when they can, and will wear face coverings and other PPE when needed.
- Windows and doors will remain open where possible to create good ventilation.
- Children and staff will perform hand hygiene regularly during the school day.
- Hand sanitiser dispensers have been installed throughout the school along with pedal bins.
- Children are not required to supply hand sanitiser. They can bring in their own hand towel in a ziplock bag. (Paper hand towels will be provided) The senior room pupils will be given their own individual hand sanitiser to be kept on their desk.
- The government have not given any guidelines regarding these items but a common-sense approach should be followed.
- Ensure that your child does not have any unnecessary items such as toys in their schoolbag.
- Choose lunchboxes, bottles and pencil cases that are easy to clean, as they will need to be cleaned frequently (at home and in school)
- The school will provide individual stationery and resources for each child e.g. scissors, prittstick etc. It is important that your child has all the stationery that they need as they will not be able to share with their classmates. We recommend that children have two pencil cases, one which is left in school and one which is kept at home.
- Parents will not be permitted to enter the school building without an appointment. If a parent needs to enter the school we ask that they buzz at the main entrance, await further instruction, sanitise on entry and maintain 2m social distance at all times.
- Appointments may be made to visit the school for essential purposes. A contact tracing log will need to be filled out for each visit.
- This does not mean that you will be unable to communicate with your child’s teacher. You can communicate with them via the traditional methods such as homework diary, quick chat at the school gate, phone calls, email, SeeSaw etc.
- We will provide parents with our school bank account details and all monies due should be paid via sepa money transfer (where possible) to minimise money handling.
Symptoms of COVID-19
- High temperature
- Cough
- Shortness of Breath or Difficulty Breathing
- Loss of smell or taste, or distortion of taste
Children who should NOT attend school:
- Children who are generally unwell or if any members of their household are unwell with symptoms of Covid-19
- Children who have been diagnosed with Covid-19
- Children who have been in close contact with a person who has been diagnosed with Covid-19
- Children who have a suspected case of Covid-19 and the outcome of the test is pending
- Children who have been in contact with a person who has a suspected case of Covid-19 and the outcome of the test is pending
- Children with underlying health conditions who have been directed by a medical professional not to attend school
- Children who have returned home after travelling abroad and must self-isolate for a period of 14 days
- If any pupil becomes unwell while at school, they will be brought to an isolation area. Parents will be contacted immediately to collect the child as soon as possible.
- We have purchased a contactless thermometer and we will be asking parents to sign a permission slip for us to use it to check a child’s temperature if they become unwell.
- The HSE will inform any parents of children who have come into close contact with a diagnosed case.
- The HSE will inform any staff/parents who have come into close contact with a diagnosed case via the contact tracing process. The HSE will contact all relevant persons where a diagnosis of COVID-19 is made.
Supporting the Learning of Children who cannot attend school
If a child is not able to attend school for an extended period of time, the class teacher (and/or the SEN teacher) will communicate regularly with the parents and suggest activities to support the child’s learning at home via email and SeeSaw.
Uniforms
At the time of writing this we have received no guidance regarding school uniforms from the Department. We ask that children wear their school uniform to school and wear their school tracksuit the following day. Alternating days will allow for uniforms to be washed, steamed or ventilated. We also ask that children change out of their school clothes straight away when they get home and not to wear the uniform, school coat, school bag in other settings (e.g. to the shops, clubs) If anything about this changes we will let you know. Children will all be assigned a designated coat hook to hang their coat each day, these hooks will be spaced apart from other children’s hooks.
Shared Equipment
By necessity, some classroom equipment needs to be shared including I Pads, computers and the equipment used for structured activities and play in the junior room. Cleaning of such shared equipment with wipes or other cleaning products will take place at regular intervals to minimise the risk of the spread of infection.
Physical Education (PE)
Where possible, PE will take place outdoors. All pupils and teachers will sanitise hands before and after PE sessions. Equipment will be cleaned take after each use or equipment will be put aside for 72 hours.
We await guidance and directives on external coaching. Swimming lessons would normally take place during Term 1 but we have decided not to proceed with same, we will review this in Term 2.
Lunch Time and Break Time
All children will eat their lunch in their rooms at little break and big break (as normal). Class teachers will supervise.
Usual wet day supervision protocols will apply; children may read/play games in their seats while supervised by teacher on duty.
At break time Bubble 1: Junior Room pupils will remain on the lower basketball court and lower pitch, while Bubble 2: Senior Room pupils will remain on upper court and upper pitch. Each Bubble will exit and enter via the back door in each classroom.
Children and teachers will sanitise hands before and after yard. At the end of break time all pupils will line up on their designated lines.
Learning Support
In keeping with our Special Education policy, learning support will be provided by a blended approach of in-class support and withdrawal.
When Ms. Johnston is working alongside a class teacher in a classroom, both teachers will be mindful of maintaining social distance from one another.
- Where children from 3rd to 6th Class receive support in the SEN room, social distancing of 1 metre will be maintained between each child in the group and two metres with the SEN teacher. If social distancing is not possible the teacher may wear a mask/visor.
- The tables and chairs in SEN rooms will be wiped clean in between different groups attending.
This is very much a working document and it is only when we get back to school that we will know how it all works. This may lead to changes in the overall plan and we thank you for your support and cooperation.
One thing we know for sure is that we are all looking forward to welcoming everyone back on Thursday, 27th of August.
Thank you.
On Behalf of the Staff and Board of Management
The following websites provide further information on COVID-19 and on government advice and recommendations regarding the re-opening of schools: -
- https://www.education.ie/en/covid-19/
- https://www2.hse.ie/coronavirus/
- https://www.gov.ie/en/campaigns/a128d-back-to-school/?referrer=http://www.gov.ie/backtoschool/