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Bushey Road
Liverpool
L4 9UA
0151 226 1929
Tuesday 23rd June 2020
An Update from the Governing Body and Senior Leadership Team
Covid-19 Welcome Back to School Pack for All Parents/Carers - 31/08/20 Page 1 of 25
Florence Melly Community Primary School
Bushey Road
Liverpool
L4 9UA
0151 226 1929
www.florencemelly.org
@flomellynews
Further arrangements for what we have put in place ready for the return of our pupils!
Dear parents/carers,
I hope that this update reaches you and your families safe and well and that you have managed to
relax and enjoy some quality family time over the holidays. I find myself writing this update from a
remote log cabin in the Brecon Beacons not far from where I grew up (with no internet connection
and my laptop being powered by a solar panel) - a much needed break with my family!
Before the summer holidays, I wrote to you all informing you of some of the arrangements we
planned to put in place for welcoming the children back for the 2020/21 academic year. In that
update, I promised you that we would update you further, nearer to the start of the academic year,
with comprehensive plans. Ideally, you would have received this update earlier than you are but
we wanted to be clear, concise and accurate when writing to you. We are receiving updated
guidance from the Department for Education and the Local Authority on a daily basis and we felt
that it was important that our plans reflect the most recent advice. Today, I am delighted that I
can now share further plans with you.
Our leadership team have spent considerable time formulating our plan for welcoming all children
back into school. Whilst we are extremely confident in the plans we have made, we must all be
flexible and reactive to any developing situations. That means that these plans may well be
changed. That doesn’t mean that what we planned was wrong, it means that we are vigilant,
reflective and always striving to improve - always wanting to get it right for your children! If that is
the case, we will contact you and inform you of any changes we make.
As I have said previously, the reopening of our school before the summer holidays was very
successful and that was down to the hard work of our amazing staff, the relentless planning we
conducted before every decision was made and because of your patience and support. This safe,
measured and calculated approach, that has served us well so far, will be continued as we move
forward.
Please see below, further information and measures we have put in place to ensure that all
children return safely to school. I, like all of our dedicated team, cannot wait to see them all in the
next few days! Take care and stay safe.
Mr Leach
Acting Headteacher
Covid-19 Welcome Back to School Pack for All Parents/Carers - 31/08/20 Page 2 of 25
Covid-19 Welcome Back to School Pack for All Parents/Carers - 31/08/20 Page 3 of 25
Please find below, information and measures we have put in place to ensure that all children return safely to school in September 2020. These plans, alongside our comprehensive risk assessments, will be reviewed and amended frequently. Returning to School in September 2020 All current pupils at Florence Melly Community Primary School will return to school on Wednesday 2nd September 2020. We will not be inviting our new nursery or reception starters back until the following week, the week commencing Monday 7th September 2020. For our new nursery and reception children, this will be a staggered return and this has already been communicated to the parents of these pupils, via email. Our Comprehensive Risk Assessment An exhaustive risk assessment has been carried out, covering as many scenarios as possible. This risk assessment is available on our school website. In addition to pupils being taught in ‘bubbles’ to limit their exposure to other children, extra cleaning and sanitisation measures will be in place, along with social distancing measures, where possible. We have been working closely with our colleagues in Public Health to put in place systems and measures to contain the spread of coronavirus if a positive case is identified. We will continue to follow the advice of our Public Health officials and our risk assessment will be a working document, changed and adapted to reflect updated advice and guidance. You can access our risk assessment by clicking the following link: https://florencemelly.org/parents/covid-19-updates/. Spending the First 3 Days with their Former Teacher We have decided that, where possible (and unfortunately this is not the case for every class), the children will spend the first three days of the new academic year with their former class teacher (the class teacher they had before lockdown). We firmly believe this is the right approach for our children. This is so they get the opportunity to say goodbye and alleviate any issues relating to abandonment, attachment and feelings of loss. I am delighted to announce that Mr Walsh, who retired this year, will be coming back into school to spend the first three days with his former class. I am sure that the children will be thrilled! Unfortunately neither Mrs Hourihan or Miss Burnett will be returning to school to spend the first three days with their former classes. This is because of national guidance around pregnant women beyond 28 weeks. Both Mrs Hourihan and Miss Burnett are extremely disappointed by this guidance. Whilst we appreciate that this news will be disappointing, it is vital that we protect our staff and their families. Children in these classes will not miss out completely and they will be taught by alternative members of staff (listed below) and accompanied by the teaching assistants they had last year. We are hoping that both Miss Burnett and Mrs Hourihan will be able to have a Zoom video chats with the children as well. For the first three days, the children will use the entrances designated to the year group they were in last year and then move to using the entrances for their new year group from Monday 7th September 2020. This is because they will be spending the first three days with their former class teacher before moving into their new year groups. A diagram of the entrances and exits can be found further into this document. Do not worry, we will have multiple staff members outside to help direct you to the correct entrances and exits. Covid-19 Welcome Back to School Pack for All Parents/Carers - 31/08/20 Page 4 of 25
Class
2019/20 Academic Year Entrance/Exit
(LAST YEAR)
Mrs Doyle - Nursery AM Nursery entrance, located on Bushey Road. This is represented
by the red arrow on the diagram. This is a shared entrance
Mrs Doyle - Nursery PM with pupils from Reception.
Miss Latta - Reception Nursery entrance, located on Bushey Road. This is represented
by the red arrow on the diagram. This is a shared entrance
Miss Doyle - Reception with pupils from Nursery.
Ms McCarrick - Year 1 Year 1 entrance, please use the side gate located on Bushey
Road. This is represented by the green arrow on the diagram.
Miss Hibbert- Year 1 This is a shared entrance with pupils from Year 3.
Mrs Dentith - Year 2 Year 2 entrance, please use the side gate, located on
Atheldene Road. This is represented by the pink arrow on the
Miss Bear - Year 2 diagram.
Mr Mullin - Year 3 Year 3 entrance, please use the side gate located on Bushey
Road. This is represented by the green arrow on the diagram.
Mrs Slade/Miss Smith - Year 3 This is a shared entrance with pupils from Year 1.
Miss Batt - Year 4 Year 4 entrance, please use the car park gate, located on
Atheldene Road. This is represented by the blue arrow on the
Mrs Matthews - Year 4 diagram. This is a shared entrance with pupils from Year 5.
Mr Derbyshire - Year 5 Year 5 entrance, please use the car park gate, located on
Atheldene Road. This is represented by the blue arrow on the
Mr Walsh - Year 5 diagram. This is a shared entrance with pupils from Year 4.
If you have more than one child in our school, please use the ‘Sibling Entrance’ to drop off and
pick up your children. This is represented by the yellow arrow on the diagram.
Your Child’s Class Teacher/Staff List for the 2020/21 Academic Year
We will not be allocating class teachers until we have returned to school, met the children and
assessed their lived experiences of the pandemic. Unlike in previous years, we will not be making a
decision about which class your child will be in (yet). We have a plan to bring the children back
into school and spend a week with both teachers allocated to the year group, before deciding what
the classes look like. This decision will be made by Friday 25th September 2020 and you will be
informed. This is very different to how we have operated previously but will allow us to make a
more informed decision - catering for the individual needs of each child. This decision will not be
made purely on academic ability and we will, of course, be using existing friendships as a key
factor when making any decisions. The choices we make will be based on an inherent
understanding of the needs of every child and we will consult with parents to ensure that we bring
about the best possible outcomes for the children. Please find below, our staffing arrangements for
next year. This will be the case from Monday 7th September onwards, after the children have
spent the first three days with their former class teacher (where possible).
Nursery - Mrs Doyle, Mrs Kane and Mrs Sainsbury.
Reception - Miss Latta, Miss Doyle, Mrs Fearnley, Mrs Harwood, Miss Taylor, Miss Ward,
Miss Yates and Mrs McInnes.
Year 1 - Miss Hibbert, Mrs Johnson (Maternity Cover), Miss Harris and Mrs Brown.
Year 2 - Mrs Dentith, Ms McCarrick, Miss Styles, Mrs Moses and Mrs Stokes.
Covid-19 Welcome Back to School Pack for All Parents/Carers - 31/08/20 Page 5 of 25Year 3 - Mr Mullin, Miss Smith, Miss Waters and Mrs Church.
Year 4 - Miss Batt, Mrs Matthews, Miss Trimm, Mr Bartley, Mr Moore and Mrs Tichy.
Year 5 - Mr Derbyshire, Mr Southern, Mrs Woodhouse, Ms Conlon, Mrs Spears, Mrs
Wilson and Miss Parry.
Year 6 - Miss Byott, Miss Foley, Mrs Hughes and Mrs Dean.
SEND Support - Mr Baillie, Mrs Findell, Mrs Dean and Mrs Campbell.
Every year group from Year 1 to Year 6 will also be allocated an additional, third class teacher for
one of the three terms next year. Miss Bear and Mr Williamson will be our ‘Recovery Teachers’ for
children in Years 1-6. We are delighted to have the capacity to put this approach in place.
Deep Cleaning of the School Site and A New Full-Time Cleaner
Even before any children or staff are welcomed back onto the school site - a comprehensive deep
clean will be completed. This includes using an external company, who are specialists in the
disinfection and decontamination markets. They use revolutionary and completely touch-less
disinfection technologies to ensure that all areas are clean. Such is our commitment to ensure that
our site is clean - our Governing Body have committed to instructing this specialist company to
continue to clean the site on a half-termly basis. We have also taken the decision to employ an
additional full-time cleaner who will provide cleaning hours for us throughout the day so that we
can follow government guidance on more regular cleaning of classrooms and ‘high touch points’
such as toilets, door handles and light switches.
Our New ‘Bubbles’
In accordance with the latest guidance, the children will be placed into groups which we will be
calling ‘bubbles’. As best as possible, these bubbles will not mix. They will be kept as separate as
possible including during break and lunchtimes. In September, we will have 8 ‘bubbles’:
Bubble N - All New Nursery Children (AM and PM children)
Bubble R - All New Reception Children
Bubble 1 - All Year 1 Children
Bubble 2 - All Year 2 Children
Bubble 3 - All Year 3 Children
Bubble 4 - All Year 4 Children
Bubble 5 - All Year 5 Children
Bubble 6 - All Year 6 Children
The bubbles will contain a maximum of 62 pupils (a full year group), divided over two classrooms
(apart from in the nursery where the children will continue to do either a morning or afternoon
session). It is important to note, that for the first three days, your child will be in one
bubble and then move into their new bubble for the rest of the academic year. For
example, if your child was in Mr Derbyshire’s class before lockdown, when they return
they would be in Bubble 5 for the first three days (with Mr Derbyshire) and then move
into Bubble 6 from Monday 7th September 2020. This will apply to all children.
Start Times and Drop Off Arrangements
All children will start school from 8:45am including our morning Nursery children (Bubble N). Each
bubble will have a specific entrance and exit point. Please see the image below for more details. If
you have more than one child in our school, please use the ‘Sibling Entrance’ to drop off and pick
up your children.
Covid-19 Welcome Back to School Pack for All Parents/Carers - 31/08/20 Page 6 of 25Do not worry, staff will be present on site to help guide you and the children. We ask that no
parent enters the school site in the morning at the drop off. Parents and pupils will be greeted by
staff members who will direct them to their classrooms. Parents will only be able to enter the
school grounds during pick up.
If you have more than one child in our school, please use the ‘Sibling Entrance’ to drop
off and pick up your children (unless all siblings can use the same entrance/exit - e.g.
you have two children, one in Year 4 and one in Year 5, they both allocated the same
entrance and exit). This is represented by the yellow arrow!
If you have a child in the nursery or reception, please use the current nursery entrance,
located on Bushey Road. This is represented by the red arrow.
If you have a child in Year 1 or Year 3, please use the side gate entrance, located on
Bushey Road. This is represented by the green arrow.
If you have a child in Year 2 or Year 6, please use the side gate entrance, located on
Atheldene Road. This is represented by the pink arrow.
If you have a child in Year 4 or Year 5, please use the car park gate, located on
Atheldene Road. This is represented by the blue arrow.
Covid-19 Welcome Back to School Pack for All Parents/Carers - 31/08/20 Page 7 of 25Accompanying your Child at Drop Off All children must be accompanied by a responsible adult. They cannot walk to or from school on their own. This will be the case for the first three weeks so that everyone can become accustomed to the systems put in place. We will review this after three weeks and may allow our Year 5 and Year 6 children to do this alone (with parental permission). We appreciate that this is not ideal but the safety of our school community is of paramount importance. Should this be an issue, please do not hesitate to contact us to discuss alternative options. Morning Childcare Service (formally known as Breakfast Club) We will not be offering a breakfast club as such but will provide a childcare service for parents who require it. This service will start from 7:45am until 8:45am. There will be a £2 a day charge, per child, for this service - regardless of the time you drop your child/children off. This is so we can adequately staff this service. The children will not receive a breakfast as part of this arrangement but will have access to a range of activities to keep them entertained. They will receive a breakfast with the rest of the children from 8:45am, in their classroom. The children will only be allowed to mix with other children in their bubble. If you want to use this service, please bring your child to the school office via the main school entrance on Grandison Road. We are delighted to be able to bring this service to our parents and the initial feedback we have received about this approach has been overwhelmingly positive. We will continue to review the effectiveness of this and adapt accordingly. THIS SERVICE WILL START FROM MONDAY 7TH SEPTEMBER 2020! Replacing Breakfast Club We are delighted to announce that every child in the school will receive, if they would like one, a free breakfast. This will be served in the classrooms between 8:45am and 9:15am. We will provide toast and a drink for those who would like it. We want our children to get each day off to the best possible start. They will do this by having a delicious breakfast and a chat with their friends before they start their lessons at 9:30am. This will replace our old breakfast club arrangements for the time being. Pick Up Arrangements Parents will be able to collect their children from 3:00pm to 3:15pm. This is to prevent congestion at pick up time. Each bubble will have a specific exit point. This is the same point as used for the drop off in the morning. Parents will be allowed on site when collecting the children. We will have a system in place, coordinated by staff, to safely collect your child/children at the end of the day. Do not worry, it may all seem unusual and confusing now but we assure you that it will all make sense. It is important to note that organising the drop off and pick up arrangements this way takes much longer than usual. Please be patient. We do it like this to make sure that we keep everyone as safe as possible. Extended Playtimes Our pupils will have additional and extended playtimes. This is to encourage deep social interaction. Some of our children will not have seen their friends for almost six months when they return to school. They are going to need time to rebuild those friendships. Breaktimes To maintain the integrity of the bubbles and to provide more space for our children outside on the playground, we have staggered their playtimes. The class teachers and teaching assistants will be responsible for supervising the children during break times. This will be on a rota basis. Four staff members per break time, one per zone used. Break times in the EYFS (for Bubbles N and R) are Covid-19 Welcome Back to School Pack for All Parents/Carers - 31/08/20 Page 8 of 25
arranged differently. The children do not have allocated time slots and utilise the outdoor areas
continuously as part of their immersive curriculum.
Morning Break Afternoon Break
Bubbles 1 and 2 10:30 - 10:50 1:55 - 2:10
Bubbles 3 and 4 10:55 - 11:15 2:15 - 2:30
Bubbles 5 and 6 11:20 - 11:40 2:35 - 2:50
Afternoon Break and the Arrangements for PE
The afternoon break time will be organised by Mr Moore and will contribute towards the children’s
PE entitlement. The afternoon play will be a PE skills session and three additional staff will support
Mr Moore with the delivery. When the children first return to school, we will not be holding formal
PE lessons so do not worry about sending a PE kit into school - they will be fine in their uniform.
This is because we want to minimise the use of our ‘communal areas’, like the hall. This approach
will be reviewed before the October half-term and additional arrangements for the delivery of our
PE curriculum will be made. This is a short term solution but rest assured, the children will not
miss out!
Lunchtimes
Hall Outside
Bubble R 11:20 - 11:45 11:45 - 12:10
Bubbles 1 and 2 11:50 - 12:15 12:15 - 12:40
Bubbles 3 and 4 12:20 - 12:45 12:45 - 1:10
Bubbles 5 and 6 12:50 - 1:15 1:15 - 1:40
You will notice that the lunchtime has been reduced to 50 minutes. This is so that we can safely
get the children fed using a staggered lunchtime. We have purchased new dining tables which are
easier to clean and store, making the lunchtime arrangements even more effective and efficient.
School Uniform
We see school uniform as a ‘normal’ part of school life. It’s a symbol of belonging and something
that unites all children in Florence Melly Community Primary School. Therefore, we are asking all
children who attend our school to wear their school uniform. For further information about our
school uniform, please visit our school website: https://florencemelly.org/parents/school-uniform/.
We will be monitoring pupil’s school uniform regularly to ensure that they are wearing the correct
uniform.
Packed Lunches and School Bags
This has been a frequently asked question we have received on our social media platforms. Our
risk assessment indicates that the children can bring a lunchbox/lunch bag into school, should they
wish to do so. All that we ask is that this be cleaned and wiped down at the end of the school day.
You may prefer to send your child’s lunch into school in a disposable bag - that is your choice. If
your child does not have a packed lunch and has a school dinner instead, please do not send them
into school with a school bag - there is absolutely no need to. We will be discouraging all children
Covid-19 Welcome Back to School Pack for All Parents/Carers - 31/08/20 Page 9 of 25bringing unnecessary items into school and monitoring this. We will be providing every child with a free Florence Melly branded reading bag for all home/school based work. Stationery and Resources We politely ask that the children do not bring in their own stationery and pencil cases into school. We will be providing individual stationery packs for every child to help minimise the amount of contact between pupils. If you have already bought stationary for the new academic year, don’t worry, please use this for homework tasks instead. Sending Reading Books Home Once the children have settled back into school life, we will be making additional arrangements for them to take reading books home (using their new Florence Melly reading bags). We will update you when we finalise these arrangements. We are also looking into a new, online based reading system to help support our children with reading at home and minimise the number of items moving between school and home. After-School Clubs Regrettably, we will not be offering any extra-curricular after-school clubs. Our risk assessment indicates that it is not safe to do so. This is because we cannot ensure that children from different bubbles will not mix. This would jeopardise the integrity of the bubbles. These arrangements will be reviewed frequently and you will be informed if our arrangements change. School Dinner Costs, How to Pay and a New Online Payment System To help minimise the amount of people having to come onto the school site, we will be changing the way we collect money. We will be trialling an online system for payments for our new morning childcare service, with the intention of rolling this out for all payments in the future. To begin with, school dinner money will be paid to the school office. This should be placed in an envelope and given to your child to hand into their class teacher who will take it to the school office. We are hoping to have the new system in place before the October half-term. School dinners will be charged at £2.38 a day (£11.90 a week) for the 2020/21 academic year. Arrangements for Assemblies and Communal Gatherings Our risk assessment indicates that it is not safe to hold large gatherings where the children all come together, such as assemblies. However, we see these as important aspects of school life. We would normally hold two assemblies a week - one on a Monday where the children are introduced to the whole-school theme of the week and other national days and events and the second at the end of the week, with Mr Leach, as a celebration of achievements. We do not want the children to miss out so will be holding ‘virtual assemblies’ using Zoom instead. The children will be able to remotely connect to the assembly from the comfort of their own classrooms. How very exciting! Remote Learning in Unique Cases/Home Learning Tasks We recognise that a small number of children may require remote learning due to medical conditions preventing them from attending school. In this case, Miss Bear (our Lead Practitioner) and Mr Baillie (our Assistant Headteacher and Inclusion Lead) will coordinate our approach. This will be very specific to individual needs. If you think this may affect your child, please do contact us to discuss how we can best support you and your child. Face Coverings Covid-19 Welcome Back to School Pack for All Parents/Carers - 31/08/20 Page 10 of 25
The guidance around the use of face coverings has recently changed and now states that face
coverings (for pupils and staff) will be mandatory in communal areas of secondary schools where
lockdowns are in place due to higher COVID-19 transmission. The new guidance also states
that in areas that do not have higher transmission, Headteachers will have the flexibility to decide
whether face coverings are to be used. We have received guidance from Liverpool City Council,
who have clarified the following:
Liverpool is currently experiencing low community transmission and we are not currently
a local lockdown area, but changes could occur rapidly. If this changes, you will be made
aware of this and we will reinforce the requirement for the use of face coverings in
communal areas within secondary schools.
It is accepted that face coverings, when used correctly, can provide some additional
protection. However, social distancing, good hand/respiratory hygiene, keeping those
who are ill or who have symptoms away from school and working effectively with the
‘Track and Trace’ system remain the most important elements of school’s Covid-19
prevention activity.
Current guidance states that face coverings will not generally be necessary in the
classroom, even where social distancing is not possible. Face coverings can have a
negative impact on learning and teaching and so their use in the classroom should be
avoided.
Primary schools are not affected by this change in guidance. This is not only because
there is reasonable evidence that younger children are significantly less likely to catch
Covid-19, but also because the wearing of face coverings would not be practical, safe or
effective in this age group.
Our Leadership Team and Governing Body have been clear with what we think is right
moving forward and that is…if you would like your child to wear a face mask then we
will support you with that decision. Similarly, if any of our staff would like to wear a
face mask (or any other PPE), then they will be supported to do so.
Returning from Foreign Travel
Over the next few weeks there will be a number of families returning to Liverpool from overseas
with children hoping to start school in September. Further information can be found by clicking the
following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-how-to-self-
isolate-when-you-travel-to-the-uk/coronavirus-covid-19-how-to-self-isolate-when-you-travel-to-the-
uk. As you know there are restrictions in place regarding travel from some foreign countries and
some people returning to the UK may need to isolate for 14 days as soon as they arrive,
depending on where they have travelled from. Any pupils returning from countries that are
subject to restrictions should not return to school for 14 days and should isolate at
home. This is a vitally important measure to help control and contain COVID-19. The list of
countries requiring isolation for 14 days is constantly changing so please regularly check the latest
version here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-travel-corridors.
Some families have raised concerns that they may lose their school place as a result of this. Please
be reassured that you will not lose their place at our school because you are isolating and you will
not be fined.
How our Children will be Supported to Catch Up!
We have developed our very own, unique ‘Recovery Curriculum’ to help support our pupils. We
recognise that a huge amount of additional work and mental health support is going to be required
when our pupils return to school and we are certainly up for the challenge! Additionally, we have
created two full-time ‘Recovery Teachers’ to help support our children. We are very fortunate to
have the capacity to do this. Further details about our ‘Rainbow Recovery Curriculum' can be
accessed below.
Covid-19 Welcome Back to School Pack for All Parents/Carers - 31/08/20 Page 11 of 25What is a recovery curriculum? The 'Recovery Curriculum’ idea is underpinned by recent research by Barry Carpenter, Professor of Mental Health in Education at Oxford Brookes University. He claims that it would be naive of any school to think that the children will pick up the curriculum at exactly the same point at which they left it on the day their school closed and that too much has happened. We completely agree! Everyone in our school community will have had a different experience of lockdown; it has undeniably affected us all. Research shows that children who experienced quarantine or social isolation in previous pandemics were five times more likely to need mental health interventions than those who did not. We recognise that a huge amount of additional work and mental health support is going to be required when our pupils return to school - whenever that may be! We are certainly up for the challenge and have developed our very own ‘Recovery Curriculum’, specific to our school, our staff, our pupils and our community! Our ‘Rainbow’ Recovery Curriculum We have created the following piece of artwork to encapsulate our ‘Rainbow Recovery Curriculum’. Why are we calling our approach the ‘Rainbow’ Curriculum? There are two rationales for calling our ‘Recovery Curriculum’ the Florence Melly ‘Rainbow Curriculum’. These are: Covid-19 Welcome Back to School Pack for All Parents/Carers - 31/08/20 Page 12 of 25
1. Rainbows are used as a symbol of peace and hope, they serve to remind us that there is
hope and light after even the darkest of times!
2. Rainbows are child-friendly and familiar. Every child would’ve drawn, painted or saw a
rainbow during the pandemic. They understand what they signify. There is already an
assimilation.
Important Points to Consider…
It is important to note that we really don’t know what to expect when our children return to school
and THAT IS OK! We do not fully understand their lived experiences of this pandemic and as a
result, this plan must be fluid, transparent and flexible. We are very much living out a unique
situation, a unique moment in history!
What is important though is that we, as a school community, recover from this experience. This
recovery will be very different for each of us - pupils, parent and staff. What needs to be put in
place needs to be right for our whole school community. This is a non-statutory framework - it will
look different across the country, across the city - across our local schools. It must be personal to
Florence Melly Community Primary School.
Our Rainbow Curriculum.
We have a three-stage approach - with our DREAMS core values sitting at the very heart of this
new, innovative approach. You should be able to see that from this initial artwork that
accompanies this overview. Our DREAMS core values permeate all aspects of school life - they are
a consistent in a world full of anxiety and change! They are familiar! Our pupils need this. Our core
values are deeply embedded into the fabric of our school - it would be ludicrous not to use them
as the bedrock for further curriculum developments! Structure gives an inherent sense of security.
A security that our school community will crave.
Phase 1 - The Holistic Phase. This phase focusses on our whole-school and approaches that
will be offered to everyone! Strategies like:
Extended playtimes to encourage deep social interaction. Some of our children will not
have seen their friends for almost six months when they return to school. They are going
to need time to rebuild those friendships.
Staggered return dates, so that children can spend the first part of the academic year
with former class teacher - to address issues of abandonment, attachment and feelings
of loss.
Not allocating class teachers until we have returned to school, met the
children and assessed their lived experiences of the pandemic. Unlike in previous
years, we will not be making a decision about which class each child will be in (yet). We
have a plan to bring the children back into school and spend time with all teachers
allocated to the year group before deciding what the classes look like. This is very
different to how we have operated previously but will allow us to make a more informed
decision - catering for the individual needs of each child.
Whole-school philosophy for children lessons and workshops around understanding
the pandemic.
Three teachers in every year group - for a part of the year - to create smaller class
sizes to help address gaps in learning and provide even more space and time to
reconnect.
Enhanced Pastoral Support - providing additional capacity to our strong pastoral team
to help support the emotional well-being of our stakeholders.
These are just a few examples of what we will offer all of our pupils when they return. This is by
no means an exhaustive list! Some children will recover after this phase but many won’t!
Covid-19 Welcome Back to School Pack for All Parents/Carers - 31/08/20 Page 13 of 25Phase 2 - The Personalised Phase. This phase focusses on small groups of children, staff or
parents or even individual cases - where more focussed and personalised support and intervention
is needed. These will be children and adults who take longer to recover - they may be suffering a
profound sense of loss. They may be fragile and vulnerable and this must be addressed or they will
be forever tarnished. Strategies in this phase may include:
Intensive mental health and well being support. This may mean working with a
specialist counsellor or a member of our dedicated pastoral team as part of a focussed
support plan. We already have superb strategies in place in this area - like our Mental
Health Trailblazers Project, YPAS Seedlings initiative and weekly mental health resource,
produced by Mr Doyle (our Mental Health Lead). Approaches will be tailored to the needs
of the individuals who require them.
Attachment and trauma workshops . Many of our team have received training in this
area and have lots of experiences with Adverse Childhood Experiences.
Working with outside agencies like CAHMS and YPAS to help children reconnect
and make sense of their experiences.
Further enhancing the amazing pastoral support which was recognised by Ofsted
as a strength of our school, by creating extra capacity - a family support worker for
example.
Phase 3 - The final phase is about leaving a legacy. This focusses on the lasting impact of
our ‘Rainbow Recovery Curriculum’. Making sure that it has a positive impact on our school and our
stakeholders. We do not want this pandemic to define our children! We simply cannot let that
happen. Our current guiding principles are going to be key here: providing a safe place for our
stakeholders to return to, reassurance, trust, care, compassion, stability, familiarity - these are
vital! Our children need to return to an environment they feel safe in - this is of paramount
importance.
It is important to note that phase 3 will only be reached if we successfully execute both of the
previous two phases. We will never truly know the impact this pandemic will have on this
generation, so we must provide something for everyone!
The six pillars on which our ‘Rainbow Curriculum' is built.
1. Nimble Leadership and Stability. We are all going to have to be flexible in our approach.
We have to adapt to very new situations. Throughout this pandemic, our dedicated team have
demonstrated this in abundance. We have successfully guided our school through a very
difficult situation and done so with professionalism and expertise. Our staff and parents are
telling us that! Our parents have entrusted us to look after the most precious thing in their
lives - and we have all done an amazing job! This will need to continue long into the future.
We don’t know what this will all look like in a month? A year? We do not know but we must be
able to react!
2. Relationships, Togetherness and Community. This is all about familiarity and having a
deep understanding of our community. Our children need familiar faces. People who care about
them. Know their names, their pet’s name and their parents. Teachers who have taught their
siblings, what they like and what makes them tick! Staff who know how to get the best out of
them! All of them! Trust, rapport and a compassion amongst the chaos - that is what we think
they need. We must also stick together. Together we are stronger!
3. Reconnecting and rebuilding. Many of our stakeholders will be returning to school fragile
and vulnerable - they need compassion and care. They need to return to a safe place. They
need to reconnect with the school, with their friends, their teachers and with learning!
Routines, habits and systems will need to be re-embedded, practiced and perfected. We are
Covid-19 Welcome Back to School Pack for All Parents/Carers - 31/08/20 Page 14 of 25also going to be rebuilding our building - by providing additional classroom spaces for our
children and a well-being space for our staff. These will be vital on our road to recovery.
4. Supporting mental health and well-being of everyone! This will be a priority! Addressing
the anxiety as we all know that anxious children do not learn. This is already an absolute
strength of our school and we are going to need to use all of this expertise! Not just for our
children either. It is important to remember that you can’t pour from an empty cup, and that
you must take care of yourself first. The well-being of all of our stakeholders will be a priority.
We have started to transform a room in school into a well-being space for staff, complete with
coffee machines, chill-out zones and work spaces - we have to look after our most important
resource. It’ll provide a space where staff can reconnect - with the school, the children, their
colleagues. Only then, will they be prepared to look after the well-being of your children.
5. Developing emotional resilience. We need to develop stakeholder’s ability to adapt to
stressful situations. More resilient people are able to "roll with the punches" and adapt to
adversity without lasting difficulties; less resilient people have a harder time with stress and life
changes, both major and minor. They need to be prepared for the next step or steps - and
other challenges the future may hold. Challenges that the future will hold!
6. Building learning superpowers. Lastly, and you’ll notice - quite some way down the list of
priorities - is learning! Which would never usually be the case. But children need to learn how
to learn again. The gaps in learning will need addressing but so much work must take place
before we reach that final stage. To address this, we will be providing every year group with a
third ‘specialist’ teacher for a period of time next academic year. Our youngest children in Early
Years will be flooded with support, we all know that if the gaps are not addressed early on -
they widen as the children progress through school. Address the problem at the source.
Reception children will not only have a third class teacher but also two TAs in each class to
support them. A complete shift in approach and philosophy.
Our ‘Rainbow Recovery Curriculum’ is an essential construct for our thinking and our planning. We
must fill it with the content we believe is best for our children and our community - informed by
our understanding of our children, in our community.
Covid-19 Welcome Back to School Pack for All Parents/Carers - 31/08/20 Page 15 of 25What we will to do if a child or staff member is unable to attend school because they
have COVID-19 symptoms:
Anyone who develops symptoms of COVID-19, or whose household member develops
symptoms, should immediately self-isolate. They should not attend school and should
follow the steps below.
Parent/Carer or staff member should notify the school of their absence by phone.
We will record and keep minimum dataset including: reason for absence, date of onset of
symptoms, symptoms, class etc.
Parents will be directed to the Stay at Home guidance for isolation advice for child/staff
member and their households: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-
stay-at-home-guidance/stay-at-home-guidance-for-households-with-possible-coronavirus-
covid-19-infection. The person with symptoms should isolate for 10 days starting from
the first day of their symptoms and the rest of their household for 14 days.
Advise that the child/staff member should get tested via NHS UK: https://www.nhs.uk/
conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/testing-and-tracing/ or by contacting NHS 119 via
telephone, if they do not have internet access. This would also apply to any parent or
household member who develops symptoms. If any staff member develops symptoms
then they can apply for a test via https://www.gov.uk/apply-coronavirus-test-essential-
workers.
There is no further action required by the school at this time. If a school have a number
of absence or COVID-19 related illness this will be reported to the authority.
What we will do if someone becomes ill while at school:
If anyone becomes unwell with a new continuous cough, a high temperature or a loss
of or change in their normal sense of taste or smell they will be sent home as soon as
possible!
If a child is awaiting collection, we will move them to a room where they can be isolated
behind a closed door, depending on the age of the child and with appropriate adult
supervision if required. Ideally, a window should be opened for ventilation. If it is not
possible to isolate them, we will move them to an area which is at least 2 metres away
from other people.
If they need to go to the bathroom while waiting to be collected, they should use a
separate bathroom if possible. The bathroom will be cleaned and disinfected using
standard cleaning products before being used by anyone else.
PPE will be worn by staff caring for the child while they await collection ONLY if a
distance of 2 metres cannot be maintained (such as for a very young child or a child with
complex needs).
If a 2 metre distance cannot be maintained then PPE should be worn by the supervising
staff member:
If direct contact with the child is necessary, and there is significant risk of contact with
bodily fluids, then the following PPE will be worn by the supervising staff member:
Disposable gloves
Disposable plastic apron
Fluid-resistant surgical face mask
Covid-19 Welcome Back to School Pack for All Parents/Carers - 31/08/20 Page 16 of 25Eye protection (goggles, visor) will be worn ONLY if a risk assessment
determines that there is a risk of fluids entering the eye from, for example,
coughing, spitting or vomiting
The school will record and keep the details of the incident in case it is needed for future
case or outbreak management.
Covid-19 Welcome Back to School Pack for All Parents/Carers - 31/08/20 Page 17 of 25It is important that schools are aware of any positive COVID-19 cases at the earliest
opportunity. All parents will be issued with a letter, on the first day of the academic
year, outlining the expectations if your child is needing a COVID-19 test and what to
do if it is positive.
If a child or staff member tests positive for COVID-19 then the school will be contacted by a
contact tracer.
The Headteacher or appropriate member of the leadership team at the educational setting will be
asked to work with the contact tracer to identify direct and close contacts of the case during the
48 hours prior to the child or staff member falling ill. This is likely to be the classmates and teacher
of that class. The social distancing measures put in place by educational settings outside the
classroom should reduce the number of other direct/close contacts.
A ‘contact’ is a person who has been close to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19
anytime from 2 days before the person was symptomatic up to 10 days from onset of symptoms
(this is when they are infectious to others). Including:
people who spend significant time in the same household as a person who has tested
positive for COVID-19.
a person who has had face-to-face contact (within one metre), with someone who has
tested positive for COVID-19, including:
being coughed on
having a face-to-face conversation within one metre
having skin-to-skin physical contact, or
contact within 1 metre for 1 minute or longer without face-to-face contact
The above are referred to as having had direct contact.
a person who has been within 2 metres of someone who has tested positive for
COVID-19 for more than 15 minutes.
a person who has travelled in a small vehicle with someone who has tested positive for
COVID-19 or in a large vehicle or plane near someone who has tested positive for
COVID-19.
The above are referred to as having had close contact.
All direct and close contacts will be excluded from school and advised to self-isolate for 14 days
starting from the day they were last in contact with the case. For example, if the case tests
positive on Thursday and was last in school on the previous Monday the first day of the 14 day
period is on the Monday.
Household members of contacts do not need to self-isolate unless the contact develops symptoms.
The contact tracer will provide a standard letter to the school containing the advice for contacts
and their families; we will send the letter to the identified contacts.
Contacts will not be tested unless they develop symptoms (the contract tracer may provide advice
on this). If a contact should develop symptoms, then the parent/carer should arrange for the child
to be tested via NHS UK: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/testing-and-tracing/
Covid-19 Welcome Back to School Pack for All Parents/Carers - 31/08/20 Page 18 of 25or by contacting NHS 119 via telephone if they do not have internet access. This would also apply
to any parent or household member who develops symptoms. If any staff contact develops
symptoms then they can apply for a test via https://www.gov.uk/apply-coronavirus-test-essential-
workers.
Implications for the Wider School Community
Should the school receive confirmation of a positive COVID-19 case, a ‘Warn and Inform’ letter will
be issued to the wider school community, aiming to reinforce universal prevention measures: hand
hygiene, respiratory hygiene, frequent cleaning and social distancing.
Clarifying the Key Points…
Anyone in a bubble with a confirmed positive case will be sent home to isolate for 14 days
including teaching staff. They get tested only if they develop symptoms.
If others from the bubble develop symptoms and test negative, they still continue to isolate for the
rest of the 14 days. If positive, they isolate for 10 days beginning from the start of symptoms.
Parents and families of members of the bubble do not need to isolate. They get tested only if they
develop symptoms.
Definitions of ‘Contact'
A ‘contact’ is a person who has been close to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19
anytime from 2 days before the person was symptomatic up to 10 days from onset of symptoms
(this is when they are infectious to others). Including:
Direct Contact
people who spend significant time in the same household as a person who has tested
positive for COVID-19.
a person who has had face-to-face contact (within one metre), with someone who has
tested positive for COVID-19, including:
being coughed on
having a face-to-face conversation within one metre
having skin-to-skin physical contact, or
contact within 1 metre for 1 minute or longer without face-to-face contact
Close Contact
a person who has been within 2 metres of someone who has tested positive for
COVID-19 for more than 15 minutes.
a person who has travelled in a small vehicle with someone who has tested positive for
COVID-19 or in a large vehicle or plane near someone who has tested positive for
COVID-19.
This does not include brief contact such as passing someone in a corridor.
The medical advice is clear: contacts of a person who has tested positive for coronavirus
(COVID-19) must self-isolate at home because they are at risk of developing symptoms themselves
in the next 14 days and could spread the virus to others before the symptoms begin.
Covid-19 Welcome Back to School Pack for All Parents/Carers - 31/08/20 Page 19 of 25If there are more confirmed cases linked to our school, the local Health Protection
Team will investigate and will advise the school on any other actions that may be
required.
If we have two or more confirmed cases within 14 days, or an overall rise in sickness absence
where coronavirus (COVID-19) is suspected, they may have an outbreak, and we will continue to
work with our local health protection team, who will be able to advise if additional action is
required.
However, it is probable that some outbreaks will be identified by either the local health protection
team or the local authority public health team and the school will then be contacted by one of
these teams.
If we have an outbreak, the whole school community will be informed via letter. This letter will
contain information relating to:
Symptoms of COVID 19
How to stop COVID-19 spreading
What to do if your child develops symptoms of COVID-19
Testing
Any further action required by the school and/or the whole-school community.
Covid-19 Welcome Back to School Pack for All Parents/Carers - 31/08/20 Page 20 of 25When will my child return to school?
This depends on whether or not they are a current or new pupil at Florence Melly Community
Primary School. All current pupils (that is pupils who attended our school last year) will return to
school on Wednesday 2nd September 2020. Our new nursery or reception starters will return the
following week, the week commencing Monday 7th September 2020. For our new nursery and
reception children, this will be a staggered return and this has already been communicated to the
parents of these pupils, via email.
Does my child have to attend school?
From September, parent/carers will return to being legally responsible for making sure that their
children of compulsory school age (5yrs-16yrs) receive a suitable full-time education. This can be
by regular attendance at school, at an alternative provision, or otherwise (e.g. the parent/carer
can choose to educate their child at home). If a pupil is registered at a school, parent/carers are
expected to perform their legal duty by ensuring their children of compulsory school age, attend
regularly and are punctual.
Parents must notify school if a child is unable to attend and the reason for the absence.
It is the school, not the parent, who decide if the absence should be authorised.
Do you have a risk assessment?
We have a very comprehensive risk assessment, covering as many scenarios as possible. This risk
assessment is available on our school website. We will continue to follow the advice of our Public
Health officials and our risk assessment will be a working document, changed and adapted to
reflect updated advice and guidance. You can access our risk assessment by clicking the following
link: https://florencemelly.org/parents/covid-19-updates/.
Is the school going to screen pupils and staff coming in to school?
All children and parents/carers will be told not to attend if they have symptoms (new continuous
cough and/or high temperature or loss of sense of smell or taste) in the last 10 days, or if they live
with anyone who has had symptoms in the last 14 days. We will continue to reiterate this to
parents, pupils and teachers. Research illustrates that routine daily testing of an individual’s
temperature is not a reliable method for identifying coronavirus and is not recommended.
Will the school screen other essential visitors to the school?
Other visitors to our school will be asked, before entering, if they currently have symptoms or have
had symptoms in the last 10 days or if anyone in their household has had symptoms in the last 14
days. If they have then they will not be permitted to enter. The school will actively seek all risk
assessments from organisations of visitors wishing to enter the school site e.g. external Spanish
teachers or social workers etc.
How clean is the school? Has it been deep cleaned?
Even before any children or staff are welcomed back onto the school site - a comprehensive deep
clean will be completed. This included using an external company, who are specialists in the
Covid-19 Welcome Back to School Pack for All Parents/Carers - 31/08/20 Page 21 of 25disinfection and decontamination markets. They use revolutionary and completely touch-less
disinfection technologies to ensure that all areas are clean. Such is our commitment to ensure that
our site is clean - our Governing Body have committed to instructing this specialist company to
continue to clean the site on a half-termly basis. We have also taken the decision to employ an
additional full-time cleaner who will provide cleaning hours for us throughout the day so that we
can follow government guidance on more regular cleaning of classrooms and ‘high touch points’
such as toilets, door handles and light switches.
What is a ‘bubble’?
A ‘bubble’ is a group of children and staff. Our bubbles will contain a maximum of 62 pupils (a full
year group), divided over two classrooms (apart from in the nursery where the children will
continue to do either a morning or afternoon session). The children are grouped into bubbles to
minimise the amount of contact between children and so that, if a positive case of COVID-19 was
confirmed, we can efficiently and effectively isolate those who have come into contact with the
person who tested positively.
It is important to note, that for the first three days, your child will be in one bubble
and then move into their new bubble for the rest of the academic year. For example, if
your child was in Mr Derbyshire’s class before lockdown, when they return they would
be in Bubble 5 for the first three days (with Mr Derbyshire) and then move into Bubble
6 from Monday 7th September 2020. This will apply to all children. Please see page 6 of
this pack for more information.
Will the children mix during break, lunch and play times?
To maintain the integrity of the bubbles and to provide more space for our children outside on the
playground, we have staggered their break, lunch and playtimes. See pages 8-9 of this document
for more details.
What additional hygiene measures have you put in place?
The school will continue to build on the success made when we reopened to children at the end of
the last academic year. For an overview of the additional measures we have put in place, please
see page 3 of this document. Some of these measures include:
Each teaching space has been equipped with a ‘cleaning toolkit’ which includes
appropriate PPE, anti-bacterial wipes and sprays.
We have purchased wall mounted hand sanitiser/moisturiser units which have been
installed right across the school site.
We have purchased mobile hand washing units which will be placed outside on the
school playground.
Frequent ‘Hand-washing Breaks’ will be added to the timetable and children will be
constantly reminded of good hand and respiratory hygiene practices. We are following
advice from Liverpool City Council and Public Health England, that children and staff
clean their hands more often than usual - washing them thoroughly for 20 seconds with
running water and soap and drying them thoroughly. We will also encourage the use of
alcohol hand rub or sanitiser, ensuring that all parts of the hands are covered.
The school has promotional materials to help remind staff and children about good hand
and respiratory hygiene and the ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ approach. These are displayed
prominently around the school building.
Minimise the amount of movement around school. The children will remain in their
classrooms for the vast majority of the school day - apart from during break, lunch and
play times.
Covid-19 Welcome Back to School Pack for All Parents/Carers - 31/08/20 Page 22 of 25We will provide all stationery that children need. Every child will have their own set of
stationary and they will not be able to share equipment - this includes toys and other
practical equipment.
Pupils and staff will be asked to wash and sanitise their hands on entrance to the
building.
What time does the school day start and finish?
The school day starts from 8:45am. This is the time we will open the school gates. The day
finishes at 3:15pm - the same as normal. However, you will be allowed to pick your child up from
3:00pm to try and avoid congestion at pick up time. We understand that the measures for drop off
and collection will take longer than normal but this is an important measure, designed to keep
everyone safe. We hope that you will support us with this! For a comprehensive overview of the
drop off and pick up arrangements, please see pages 6-8 of this document - which includes a very
informative diagram to help guide you through the procedures.
Do you have a breakfast club?
We will not be offering a breakfast club as such but will provide a childcare service for parents who
require it. This service will start from 7:45am until 8:45am. There will be a £2 a day charge, per
child, for this service - regardless of the time you drop your child/children off. This is so we can
adequately staff this service. The children will not receive a breakfast as part of this arrangement
but will have access to a range of activities to keep them entertained. They will receive a breakfast
with the rest of the children from 8:45am, in their classroom. The children will only be allowed to
mix with other children in their bubble. If you want to use this service, please bring your child to
the school office via the main school entrance on Grandison Road. We are delighted to be able to
bring this service to our parents and the initial feedback we have received about this approach has
been overwhelmingly positive. We will continue to review the effectiveness of this and adapt
accordingly. THIS SERVICE WILL START FROM MONDAY 7TH SEPTEMBER 2020!
Can my child bring in a lunchbox/lunch bag or school bag?
Our risk assessment indicates that the children can bring a lunchbox/lunch bag into school, should
they wish to do so. All that we ask is that this be cleaned and wiped down at the end of the school
day. You may prefer to send your child’s lunch into school in a disposable bag - that is your choice.
If your child does not have a packed lunch and has a school dinner instead, please do not send
them into school with a school bag - there is absolutely no need to. We will be discouraging all
children bringing unnecessary items into school and monitoring this. We will be providing every
child with a free Florence Melly branded reading bag for all home/school based work.
Can my child bring a pencil case and stationery into school?
We politely ask that the children do not bring in their own stationery and pencil cases into school.
We will be providing individual stationery packs for every child to help minimise the amount of
contact between pupils. If you have already bought stationary for the new academic year, don’t
worry, please use this for homework tasks instead.
Will the children be able to access after-school clubs?
Regrettably, we will not be offering any extra-curricular after-school clubs at the moment. Our risk
assessment indicates that it is not safe to do so. This is because we cannot ensure that children
from different bubbles will not mix. This would jeopardise the integrity of the bubbles. These
arrangements will be reviewed frequently and you will be informed if our arrangements change.
Covid-19 Welcome Back to School Pack for All Parents/Carers - 31/08/20 Page 23 of 25You can also read
