Blaise Primary School And Nursery - COVID-19 Information

Please click here for Guidance for parents/carers on supporting young people's mental health & well being during the Corona Virus outbreak 31st March 2020.

Please click here for a document from Family in Focus - Information & Services families, Parents, Carers & Young People Part detailing many resources available for you to access and covering a wide range of subjects, including helpful websites and contact details.

Please see below for previous communications from the home page, with the more recent communications at the top.

Final decisions regarding the wider opening of school

Dear Parents/Carers,

Last week, a Senior Safety Adviser from the Local Authority carried out a COVID-19 Assurance Visit at school.

The visit confirmed the measures in our risk assessment, and the high number of staff it requires, are correct for our setting and that we are COVID-19 secure.

Thank you to the parents/carers of children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 who shared their views with us last week.

On Monday 15th June, we welcomed some of our youngest pupils back to Nursery, and our provision for the children of key workers has grown. We have opened four new classes since the 1st June; this is impacting significantly on our capacity to open more widely.

All this information, alongside staff availability, led us to make the very difficult decision that we will be opening further classrooms to Year 6 only, from Monday 22nd June, in addition to the existing provision for the children of essential workers and the vulnerable.

Once these classrooms are open, we will be at full capacity while adhering to the school's COVID risk assessment and current guidance.

While we look forward to inviting our Year 6 children back, we are saddened to let the parents/carers of children in Reception and years 1 to 5 know that we will not be able to open safely for their children this academic year.

Although a higher percentage of Year 6 parents/carers favoured a return to school, we know that there will be disappointment amongst parents/carers and children in other year groups.

Work is already under way on how we can best support children with this potentially challenging transition. Phases and year groups will be contacted directly. We will be sharing information with parents/carers about the kinds of activities we will plan for autumn, in order to support a smooth, supportive and speedy return to enjoyment and learning in school. We also look forward to letting parents/carers and children know who their class teachers will be next year. This information will be shared with you shortly.

We await further guidance on how we can open more widely in September and will work with the government towards meeting their aim of having all children back in school in September. We will be in touch with parents/carer as soon as we have this information.

Thank you again for your continued support and understanding.

Yours sincerely,

Mr M Bonaddio

(Head Teacher)

The wider opening of Blaise Primary and Nursery School

Dear Parents/Carers,

Firstly, please can I say thank you, on behalf of all the staff at Blaise, to all parents and carers for your continued support, understanding and patience as we cautiously work towards welcoming more children in school.

As you know, we opened two new classes for the children of key workers on Monday 1^st June. We are very grateful to all the parents/carers who have worked with us as we introduced a number of safety measures in order to manage the increase in pupils and staff as safely as possible and in line with our risk assessments.

We are now ready to plan the next phase of wider opening:

On Monday 8^th June, we are opening a sixth classroom for the children of key workers. We will then have established enough provision for all the children of essential workers that have requested a place at this moment in time.

Many thanks to the parents and carers of our Nursery children for taking the time to answer our questions last week. The information has supported our planning and we are now looking forward to welcoming back some Nursery children from Monday 15^th June.

Further information regarding key worker children and Nursery children will be shared with parents/carers in a separate communication.

Opening to more children no earlier than Monday 22^nd June

We will be contacting the parents and carers of other eligible pupils (initially years Reception, Yrs 1 and 6) over the coming days so that we can make sure your views inform our planning.

Following this, decisions will be made regarding the next phase of wider opening at Blaise Primary and Nursery School.

In the meantime, we ask that if you or your child/children are displaying any symptoms of Covid-19 you do not come on to the school site.

Please click the following links to read the recent letter about Safety Measures and the letter from myself and the Chair of Governors.

Yours sincerely,

Mr M Bonaddio

(Head Teacher)

Changes to the reduced provision (key worker children) from Monday 1st June

Dear Parents/Carers,

We would like to start this letter by thanking our families for their kind comments and support during this very difficult period. As we are sure you are aware, the safety of our school community remains our upmost priority and we will all need to bear in mind that the arrangements made below are to protect us all, even though they may seem to be inconvenient.

The number of children accessing the reduced provision is increasing, and we look forward to opening additional classrooms on June 1st for these children. Due to the increase in number of people onsite, we have reviewed our procedures and risk assessments.

We have worked closely with the Local Authority and reviewed their guidance in order to inform our risk assessment, taking into consideration what is safe and feasible at Blaise Primary and Nursery School and considering the number of changes we must make to our provision to keep everyone safe as the number of children of key workers continues to increase.

This situation is ever-changing and plans may need to be adapted at short notice as the guidance we are given changes or if the situation in school changes.

We are aware that there is a lot of information in the Safety Measures guide and that communicating to you in this way is not ideal. However, the short timescale within which we are working means that this is the only way to deliver this essential information to you.

We would urge you to read this guide carefully and thoroughly and share necessary information with your children.

Please click here for the letter regarding wider opening for year groups.

Thank you for your continued support at this time,

Yours sincerely,

Massimo Bonaddio

(Head Teacher)

The Phased Opening of Blaise Primary and Nursery School

Dear Parents/Carers,

As you know from previous communications, there are provisional plans to begin to welcome more children back to school from 1st June.

Many thanks for responding to our latest questionnaire. This has informed our planning for a wider reopening of the school.

The results tell us clearly that you are concerned foremost about the safety of your children and the wider community.

We recently sent out a letter from Alison Hurley (Director of Education and Skills, Bristol City Council). The letter informed all parents/carers in Bristol that in order to prepare for reopening, each school will undertake a very thorough risk assessment to ensure they are keeping children, staff and the wider community as safe as they possibly can.

The risk assessment process is being finalised, as are plans for a gradual and carefully managed approach to increasing pupil numbers. In order to put in place the appropriate measures as identified in the risk assessment, there will be limits on the number of pupils we can support at any one time. If demand for key worker places continues to increase, it will impact our plans for wider reopening.

From the 1st June - Phase 1, welcome to more key worker children

Bookings received via our reduced provision email address indicate that, from 1st June, numbers are increasing significantly for children of key workers. Therefore, Phase 1 at Blaise will be the opening of additional classes for these children.

As a result of this increase in numbers, it will be necessary for us to both open additional classrooms and introduce new health and safety measures to ensure that this childcare offer can be managed as safely as possible. Measures include:

Small classes of children will remain with allocated teaching staff throughout the school day in the same classroom each week
Classes will have access to outdoors and additional space to increase opportunities for social distancing
Very limited contact between classes across the day and week
The removal of soft toys and furnishing and other items that are difficult to clean
Enhanced cleaning, including sterilising of appropriate resources at the end of the school day
Ensuring significant stock of PPE for the provision of first aid
Staggered break and lunch times
Dedicated entrances/exits for specific year groups

We are also asking that only one parent/carer drops off and collects, and that no adult, other than authorised staff members enter the school building.

More information about adult social distancing onsite, and details about more specific arrangements for this provision will be shared with parents and carers in a separate letter in due course.

Unfortunately, due to these new measures, as of 1st June, we are unable to safely open breakfast club.

Therefore, classes will run from: 8:40 am to 3.15pm. Entry to the classrooms will be from 8.40 to 8.50 am. If your child arrives after 8.50am, they will need to go the School Office to be signed in, ensuring that the social distancing rules are adhered to.

From the 8th June at the earliest - Phase 2, welcome to Nursery children

Phase 2 would be the opening to Nursery children from the 8th June at the very earliest. This will be dependent on risk assessment, government and public health guidance, and any increase in the number of children attending during Phase 1.

As demand for key worker places continues to increase, it will affect our plans for wider reopening.

Nursery parents and carers will be contacted directly as details are confirmed.

Other year groups

The government have asked schools to prioritise the children of key workers, our Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 in that order.

There will be limits on the number of pupils we can support at any one time; consequently, and in-line with government guidance, we will prioritise children returning in this order.

We will continue to assess and review our risk assessment in line with any developments in government, Department for Education and Public Health England guidance. This will inform any planning for the possible return for Reception children, followed by those in Year 1 and then Year 6 as we work towards the government plans for wider reopening.

Under our current assessment and with the measures that we are putting in place we are not able to welcome all eligible children back to school at this time.

This will be under regular review.

As detailed above, numbers for our provision for key workers are increasing significantly. To support us in ensuring that classes are appropriately staffed and prepared thank you for following our booking systems.

If you are a key worker and need to use our reduced provision, please email: reducedprovision@blaiseprimaryandnursery.co.uk as soon as possible, for more information and to secure a place.

Thank you again for your continued support and understanding.

Massimo Bonaddio

(Head Teacher)

Prime Minister's Announcement Sunday 10th May and School Re-opening

Dear Parents/Carers,

I know many of you will have been watching, eager to know and understand the government’s plans for re-opening schools.

Like everyone, we have only seen the television announcement and, at this stage, we are waiting to receive more information from the government about what this means for our school.

It is important to note that, in the short-term, nothing has changed.

We will provide further information as soon as we are able to do so.

While we still have no date or detail about opening our school to more children, we are, in liaison with the local authority and other Bristol schools, considering how best to approach any changes, and any need or opportunity for local coordination. Please be reassured that any increase in the number of staff and pupils at school would have to meet the national safety guidance.

We will contact you as soon as we have any more clarity about the re-opening of schools nationally, and in Bristol.

With many thanks for your fantastic and continued effort and support.

Massimo Bonaddio

(Head Teacher)

School Closure from Monday 23rd March and provision for critical workers

Dear Parents and Carers,

On Friday 20th March at 3.15pm, we closed our doors to most of our amazing children and we will miss them very much. I would like to thank everyone in the Blaise community for their continued support and understanding during these difficult, challenging and unprecedented times, and for your patience as we fine-tune this new way of working.

Please use the links above to access further information on Covid-19 and the home learning pages for each year group. From Monday 20th April onwards, we will be setting weekly learning projects rather than daily lessons.

Reduced Provision

In response to government guidance, we have been operating a reduced provision since Monday 23rd March for workers in critical sectors and vulnerable learners.

If you are a critical worker, please contact the school. We request that you share simple evidence, for example confirmation from your employer on what your job is and how it is critical to the COVID-19 response.

Please call the school office on 0117 377 2424,or email school@blaiseprimaryandnursery.co.uk for more information.

If you have already registered for this provision please make booking reservations for your child/ren by emailing reducedprovision@blaiseprimaryandnursery.co.uk

detailing the days you wish to book, your child/ren's name, year group and any medical condition. Please note all bookings must be made by 4pm the Thursday prior to the week you wish to book for so the school can plan staffing accordingly.

Bookings will close at 4:00pm on a Thursday. If there is a change in your circumstances after the deadline has closed, please email: reducedprovision@blaiseprimaryandnursery.co.uk as soon as possible.

If we are able to accommodate this request, you will receive a confirmation email.

Bookings made before the deadline has closed will not receive a confirmation email unless there is a query.

Massimo Bonaddio

(Head Teacher)