Ysgol Penmorfa, Prestatyn

On Thursday 9^th July 2020, the Education Minister, Kirsty Williams, published details of the next phase for schools in Wales, with an expectation for all children to return to school by Monday 14^th September. As a cluster of primary schools, we hope to be able to get all children back into school before that date with the majority of children attending school full time from Thursday 3^rd September. Please see the table below for details.

Your child’s safety and well-being are our priority and we have now received the guidance required to help us to plan and prepare for this next phase. We are delighted to have already agreed our initial plans and considerations prioritising the well-being of learners, staff and families to plan an approach that is right for our community.

We understand that you will have many questions and we are working closely with the Local Authority and governors so that we can provide you with the information you need to prepare for this return. We will be very busy between now and September working to complete our risk assessments and preparing the school site.  Some of the detail listed below may be subject to change as we receive more guidance or if the situation regarding Coronavirus changes over the coming weeks.

When we begin to open to more pupils from September it is likely that:

Teaching and Learning

The full curriculum will not initially be in operation but we will focus on well-being and learning skills.

We will continue to focus on teaching good hygiene and routines in the coronavirus world. This will include an induction on how all pupils must now operate and behave in school during these unprecedented times.

Our aim is to provide an education for all pupils and a sense of routine/normality.

There will also be pastoral and well-being sessions to foster good mental health within lessons.

Arrangements during the school day

Pupils will be split into contact groups (bubbles) within their year group.

Each contact group will have their own classroom space for the day they attend school and any mixing with other groups will be minimised.

Classrooms will be organised to maximise the distance between pupils.

We will insist on regular hand washing and hand sanitising throughout the day.

Uniform will be compulsory.

Behaviour

The normal school rules and expectations on behaviour and conduct will apply.

Any pupil not following the social distancing rules will be removed from school and parents will be contacted to collect their child.

Breaktime and lunch times

Breaktimes and lunchtimes will be staggered so that each contact group has their own space. Pupils from other contact groups will not mix during these times.

The school kitchen staff will provide meals for anyone who wants one (for the usual charge). Orders for food will be placed earlier in the day.

COVID -19

If your child, or any members of your household, display any symptoms of Covid-19 they MUST NOT attend school.

If a pupil does develop symptoms they will be isolated immediately and we will insist on them to be picked up as soon as possible.

We will not be taking pupil’s temperatures on arrival as the science shows that many children with coronavirus are asymptomatic.

PPE has not been advised in schools except when administering first aid and for our cleaners. It might be that some pupils and staff choose to wear facemasks.

It is important that the school holds up-to-date contact numbers for all children so please contact school with any new contact numbers before your child attends.

If a child soils themselves it may be necessary to contact a parent/carer to collect them to reduce the risk of infection.

Term Start Dates:

Please note that all children will have staggered start and finish times initially to keep everyone safe.  We will return to normal start and finish times as soon as we can.

 Thursday 3^rd September

Year 6 pupils will return to their previous classes (5F and 5W) through their external class room doors.

Friday 4th September

All pupils (apart from year 6) will return  to their previous class through the normal door including morning and afternoon nursery.  Nursery classes (going into Reception) will attend their AM and PM groups as they did last year. Year 6 will go into their new classes (6CH and 6CG)

Monday 7th September

All pupils will go into their new classes. New Nursery children will be contacted Monday and Tuesday this week and will be invited into school in small groups for a play and stay session.  New Nursery will then begin school on Monday 14th September 2020.

All areas will be clearly labelled from all entrances onto the school site.

Attendance

Attendance at school will be compulsory for all children unless they have a medical/health reason to do so. This will include learners who are still shielding, if the advice at the time is that they should attend school.

Pupils must not arrive at school any earlier or later than the time slot allocated.

All pupils will have a designated entry and exit point into and out of school.

No adults can accompany pupils into school. Only school staff and pupils will be allowed in the school building and parents and pupils must maintain social distancing when on the school site. Parents may be asked to leave the school site if they are unable to maintain appropriate social distancing.

Mrs Davies, Headteacher

Download

Table – Start and End times

Letter from Head of Education, Geraint Davies July 2020

We are very proud of our school and its ongoing achievements and we hope that you will very quickly feel part of our school community.

Ysgol Penmorfa, which opened in 1960, is a large Infant/Junior school catering for boys and girls between the ages of 3 and 11 years.

Ysgol Penmorfa has a tradition of fostering a happy and caring family atmosphere and we believe in encouraging every child to achieve their potential, making learning an enjoyable and exciting experience.

This website should provide a taste of our school, but if there is anything else you would like to know, please do not hesitate to contact us.

We firmly believe that parents and staff should work together and we look forward to developing our partnership for the benefit of the children in our school.