Dear Parents/Carers,

Please see below a link to a letter sent to the school by the Minister for Education this morning. As you can see from the letter, schools will not now reopen to pupils until Thursday 6th January. The first two days of term will be used by schools to plan for increased Covid safety measures.

As you can imagine, the reviewing of the risk assessment and possible changes to the operation of the school takes a significant amount of time and organisation so, at present, I am unable to share this with you. However, please be assured that as soon as we are able we will share information with parents and carers.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy and Healthy Christmas.

With best wishes,

Mrs Woodford

School operations – January 2022 – Letter to schools – English (1)

Please find below links to documents from the School Health Service. This information is for the parents of pupils in Miss Roberts Reception class and Miss Hawes class.

School Nurse letter

School Entry Health Review

Nurse today

Dear Parent/ Carer,

We are so pleased to be able to start to have visitors in school and trips for the children again this term. It will be so lovely for the children to have some normality.

As many of you will know, we ask for a termly donation to cover the costs of these trips and details of these can be found below. The school subsidises these as far as possible and we provide other treats when we can. PLEASE LET ME KNOW if you have any issues or problems with the donations – any discussions will be treated in confidence and sensitively.

For parents of children in the Lower School you will see that we are not asking for a donation this term but we are planning a ‘bigger’ trip to Folly Farm in March. This is likely to be around £16 per child and I wanted to provide you with sufficient warning so you are able to budget if needed.

The trip payments can be made via Parent Pay from tomorrow evening. We would be very grateful if you could make your donation by Friday 1^st October as the first trips are taking place in the following week.

Termly Contribution Breakdown

Year Group	Autumn
Lower School Miss Roberts Reception only, Miss Hawes, Mr Fitchett, Miss Evans, Mr Bridgman, Miss Morgan, Mr Parton	No cost as all trips and visitors are local The children will be making bread and meeting visitors from the Fire Service, nurse etc.
Year 4 Miss Todd and Mrs George   Please note: no payment is required from Year 4 pupils because the school is still holding £9 from pre Covid donations. This will cover this term’s trips and activities and the balance of £4 will be forwarded to next term.	Margam Park- Environmental Art Workshop £4.00 Craft activities £1.00   Contribution taken from balance school is holding: £5.00
Year 5 Mr Gillet and Miss Whiteway	Margam Park- Environmental Art Workshop £4.00 Craft activities £1.00 Drum workshop £1.00   Contribution requested: £6.00
Year 6 Miss Clemes and Mrs Neal	Cinema Trip (as part of film work) £2.00 Touch Rugby Festival £2.00 Cooking activities £1.00 Artist in school to work on sculpture project £5.00   Contribution requested: £10.00

 

 

 

 

Please find below the link to the updated risk assessment for Alert Level 0, High Risk.

Alert Level 0, Local Risk HIGH Sept 2021

 

Dear Parents/Carers,

It has been lovely to welcome the children back into school. They have been so well behaved and have settled beautifully into their new classes- they are a credit to you all and the school.

As mentioned in previous messages we are hoping for a more normal term and, as such, we have started to look at appropriate trips for the term as well as having limited visitors into school. This includes the school photographer who will be taking photographs on the 29^th September.

COVID Update:

Unfortunately, the number of COVID cases in the Neath area are very high and you will now know that that the decision has been made to move the whole of the Swansea Bay area to a ‘high risk’ category.

This will mean some further changes in school, which we hope will be temporary. These changes include:

• Forward facing seats in the junior classes with a fixed seating plan
• Masks to be worn by all people aged 12 or above (unless exempt) in communal areas of the school
• A one way system in the school building
• Outdoor activities as much as possible
• Windows open as much as possible
• Reducing interactions and maintaining social distancing e.g. no assemblies

At the moment there will be no change to the current two class/year group ‘bubbles’, although, if the area moves to a ‘very high risk’, we may be required to return to single class ‘bubbles’ temporarily.

How can parents/carers help?

• Please do not send your child to school if they have COVID symptoms. This includes a high temperature, loss of taste and smell or new continuous cough. However, we have a had a number of positive cases which have involved ‘cold symptoms’ such as sore throat, runny nose and being bunged up. If in doubt, please get your child tested. They should not be in school until they have a negative result but these are coming back very quickly at the moment.
• Please wear a mask if you need to come into the school building.
• We have a number of staff absent and there is some difficulty finding supply staff to cover them. Please bear with us if communication is slower than usual and contact the school directly with any issues.
• Please report any COVID results to the school office by phone during the school day and using the school COVID email address outside school hours. The email address is: crynalltprimary@npt.gov.uk
• Please contact the school office if your child is absent for any reason giving details of the illness, as we have to keep careful records. On occasion, the office staff are making 30-40 phone calls daily to establish why pupils are not in school.

 

PERMISSION FORMS

As most of you will know, every year we send out an overarching permission form for trips, internet use, media and emergency medical care. This form has not changed for many years but, I understand, there have been comments on Facebook about the possibility of us giving pupils vaccines without parental permission if parents sign the emergency medical consent form.

Consent for emergency medical treatment is exactly that. It is for emergencies only and does not include any routine treatment such as vaccines, weight and height checks or dental checks. It is difficult to give exact examples of the type of treatment that could constitute an emergency as it is mercifully very, very rare for us to need it. However, if your child had a medical emergency in school (seizure, heart issues, diabetic coma, serious broken bone, head injury to give some examples) we would always act to ensure the best outcome for them, especially if parents are a distance away or unavailable. This could include calling an ambulance and/or following the advice of medics when it comes to treatment that is needed immediately.

If you chose not to give this permission, please ensure that we have at least three emergency numbers of contacts that are up to date and available at short notice. This is essential to ensure the safety of your child/ren in the event of an emergency.

 

OTHER NEWS:

• I am currently completing an up to date risk assessment for the current COVID situation. This will be put onto the school website, under the COVID tab, in the next couple of days.
• As part of the Upper School topic of Christo, we need paper of all kinds that is suitable for wrapping objects. This includes wrapping paper, brown paper, newspaper and thin wallpaper. If you have any in the house, it would be gratefully received.
• The Lower School has welcomed PC Harris and Rev Lynda into school to talk to the children about their jobs and roles in the community. It was lovely to see them back in school, albeit in a socially distanced way.
• The school website is being continually updated and has lots of information about activities and the curriculum in school. The link to the website is: https://crynallt-primary-school.j2bloggy.com/
• There will be an INSET Day on Monday 1^st November and the school will be closed to pupils
• The school photographer will be in school on Wednesday 29^th September to take INDIVIDUAL photographs only. This year, due to the need to reduce movement between classes, we will be unable to take sibling groups.

Many thanks for your continuing support.

Mrs Woodford

Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope that everyone has had a lovely summer, with lots of opportunities to relax and see family after such a difficult year.

We are all looking forward to seeing the children back in school on Monday 6^th September and we are hoping for a more ‘normal’ year! We have many things planned and hope that we can actually do them over the year! More details will follow after the start of the term.

The Welsh Assembly published guidelines on Friday for the return of pupils in school but these guidelines leave many decisions to Local Authorities. As such, we will be working with the local Authority to ensure pupils’ safe return to school and will, as always, follow their advice.   All Headteachers will be meeting with the Director of Education on Monday 6^th September to discuss what restrictions, if any, will be in place in schools so I will be in a much better position to provide information to you after this.

In the meantime the following arrangements are in place for the start of term:

Children will have a staggered entry and exit to and from school on Monday 6^th September only. Arrangements for the 6^th September are below and plenty of staff will be available in the morning to guide you to the right door: 

 

Class	Entry time/door	Collection time
Nursery Miss Williams/Miss Roberts	8.45AM/12.45PM Classroom door	11.15AM/3.15PM
Reception (Miss Roberts)	8.45am Classroom door	1.00PM
Reception (Miss Hawes)	8.45AM Classroom door	1.00PM
Year 1 (Mr Fitchett)	8.55AM Classroom door  – lower school	3.25PM
Years 1/2 (Miss Evans)	8.45AM Classroom door  – lower school	3.15PM
Year 2 (Mr Bridgman)	8.55AM Classroom door  – lower school	3.25PM
Year 2/3 Miss Morgan	8.45AM Classroom door – lower school	3.15PM
Year 3 Mr Parton	8.55AM Classroom door – lower school	3.25PM
Year 4 Miss Todd	8.45AM Bottom door in the Upper School (old Year 3 exit)	3.15PM
Year 4 Mrs George	8.55AM Bottom door in the Upper School (old Year 3 exit)	3.25PM
Year 5 Mrs Gittins	8.45AM (Main Junior Entrance- up ramp)	3.15PM
Year 5 Mr Gillett	8.55AM (Main Junior Entrance- up ramp)	3.25PM
Year 6 Mrs Neal	8.45AM (Upper Playground door – Year 6 area)	3.15PM
Year 6 Miss Clemes	8.55AM (Upper Playground door – Year 6 area)	3.25PM

 

From the 7^th September, school times will revert to normal, pre Covid times:

• Reception – Year 6: 8.50am- 3.20pm (Reception pupils will finish at 1pm on both the 6^th and 7^th of September) 
• Nursery am 8.45am-11.15am
• Nursery pm: 12.45pm-3.15pm

Breakfast Club will be open as usual but, initially, space will be limited as pupils will sit in their classes. If you want to send your child to Breakfast Club and they did NOT attend last year, please contact the school office and leave a message for Mrs Bridgman who can check if we have space; 

For the time being children will remain in class ‘bubbles’ although we hope this will be temporary. Again, this will be reviewed after the meeting with the LEA on the 6^th September;

Pupils can bring bags, pencil cases and lunchboxes to school. Pupils in the Upper School who are walking home alone can bring mobile phones but these must be left in Mrs Bridgman’s office and cannot be taken into class/left in the cloakroom;

Ventilation will remain highly important for the foreseeable future. This means windows will be open. We will try to balance this with the weather conditions but please provide your child with layers if the weather is chilly.

No child should attend school with Covid symptoms. If in doubt, please book a test. 

Masks are not now compulsory on the school site, although you are welcome to wear one. However, we will ask all visitors inside the building to wear a mask;

Parents are asked not to remain in the playgrounds for any longer than necessary once the children have entered school. This will help reduce congestion and improve social distancing. 

Other Information: 

• Please name all clothing as it is almost impossible for us to return unnamed school jumpers/polo shirts to the correct child!
• A reminder for parents of pupils starting Reception:  pupils will finish at 1pm on both Monday 6^th and Tuesday 7^th of September. They will start full time on Wednesday 8^th. PLEASE NOTE: although a Schoop message went out in July explaining this, it is a change to the previous paper letter sent home and I apologise for any inconvenience caused.
• The Autumn Term topics are: 
  Nursery and Reception (Early Years): Stories 
  Years 1, 2 and 3 (Lower School): Fire, Fire! 
• Years 4, 5 and 6 (Upper School): Christo and his sculpture 

I hope that you all enjoy the rest of your holiday and that the weather is kind to us all. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or suggestions.

Take care,

Mrs Woodford