Dear Parents and Carers,

I am writing to communicate with you as much information as I can confirm for a full return to school for September. I thank you for your continued patience.

Our intention is very much to enable all children of statutory school age (Y1-6) to return to school full time from Wednesday 2^nd September and operate a phased start for our Nursery and Reception children similar to previous years. You will have received separate communication regarding start times and dates for Nursery and Reception and the offer of wrap around care.

Our intention is also to be able to offer before and after school care at Greswold Greyhounds for all children from Monday 7^th September and again, you should have received a separate communication from Abby Hall, Extended Services Manager. If you need to contact Greswold Greyhounds, please email them directly on greyhounds@greswold.solihull.sch.uk  

At Greswold, all of our thinking, planning and decision making requires the appropriate balance of 3 principles which are:

• Our practical ability to welcome all children back to full-time education with mandatory attendance;
• The safety of all onsite and their families;
• Staff wellbeing in order to deliver care and sustainable education through a broad and balanced curriculum.

We believe that we will be able to meet our three principles from September and manage risk effectively by adopting the twin strategy of:

1. Limiting contact between pupils by ensuring pupils remain in consistent ‘bubbles’ and maintaining distance between individuals where possible (social distancing);
2. Implementing a system of controls including those already familiar at Greswold such as thorough and regular handwashing and good respiratory hygiene (the catch it, bin it, kill it approach).

We have carefully planned the school day, staffing and the school building to minimise contact through all children being in ‘class bubbles’ for the majority of their time in school and ‘year group bubbles’ when this is not possible e.g. arriving and departing school, at Greswold Greyhounds and outside at breaktimes and lunchtimes. Within bubbles, children will be expected to maintain distance from each other and 2m from staff wherever possible. We recognise that younger children will not be able to maintain social distancing at all times so learning outdoors, using individual resources, regular handwashing and good respiratory hygiene will be encouraged. There will also be regular cleaning of frequently touched surfaces and staggered break and lunchtimes.

In September you will be notified, via the app, of your child’s PE day(s) and we ask that your child comes to school wearing their outdoor PE kit on these days. Indoor PE kit will not be required initially, however, please provide your child with a pair of trainers to be kept in school at all times to be worn for ad hoc games and activities outside. At all other times, children should wear normal Greswold uniform. Details can be found on our website: https://www.greswold.solihull.sch.uk/greswold-uniform/  Outdoor learning will be particularly encouraged so please ensure your child wears a suitable coat to school each day.

I ask that all parents take time to read the updated Parental Protocol and the Behaviour addendum which can be found on our website as these will provide you with most answers to your questions and how you can help us to welcome your children back to school. In particular, I ask for your continued support in minimising contact and maintaining distance on drop off and collection of your children for school. We have tried to stagger the start times practically and not increase the wait times for siblings but with over 650 children arriving and departing with 20 minutes of each other, I do need parents to work with school staff to be punctual and closely supervise their children. Initially, Year 6 pupils must be accompanied by a parent to and from school which staff and governors will review during September. The Walking Bus will not resume for the first few weeks of term.

Parental protocol: https://primarysite-prod-sorted.s3.amazonaws.com/greswold-primary-school/UploadedDocument/62a7efe90f1549ce926263b5475bc25f/a1-parent-protocol-september.pdf

Behaviour addendum: https://primarysite-prod-sorted.s3.amazonaws.com/greswold-primary-school/UploadedDocument/5e51655789b944d9b7e62294c9986d9d/a16-behaviour-addendum-september.pdf

On Wednesday 2nd September, when you drop your child off in the morning, parent must place all permanent medication to be held in school in the collection boxes by the gates. This should be in a clear, sealed plastic bag marked with the child’s name, date of birth and class along with the completed medicine form and, where applicable, authorisation form for the emergency medication register. These forms are an appendix to the medication policy which should be downloaded and printed from the school website: https://primarysite-prod-sorted.s3.amazonaws.com/greswold-primary-school/UploadedDocument/37160dd6bbd343fe89079ea100368beb/2020-taking-medicines-in-school-policy-v2.pdf

Staff are unable to administer medicines to your child unless accompanied by a medicine form. Any medicines not placed in the boxes by the gates must be handed into the school office through a booked appointment.

Stay safe over the summer and I look forward to seeing everyone back at Greswold in September.

Yours sincerely

Karen Scott

Headteacher