Dear Parents/Carers,

Hopefully everyone had an enjoyable weekend and bonfires/fireworks if you attended some. The Madley fireworks looked amazing. This week we look forward to welcoming parents/carers back into school, exciting times.

1. Parent's evenings (important)

- Entry and exit

Year 4 only = Year 4 parents/carers can come in via the wooden gate next to the front door (your child's normal entrance/exit).

Other classes = you enter and exit via the front door only. Please use the hand sanitiser by the door (foot pump and watch it squirts out !).

Our expectations of you

You will wear a mask unless you are medically exempt. Individual teachers will decide if mask can be removed once you are seated.

One parent/carer attends and no children.

Please arrive just before your appointment time and teachers will be very strict on the 10 minutes (not our normal approach but it is not normal times yet !).

Appointments will be in your child's classroom (as some of you will never have seen the inside of the school) and there will be a map as you come in to help you.

Toilets - if you are desperate then you can use the staff toilets (it happens).

You may take the books home to share BUT THEY MUST BE RETURNED THE NEXT DAY. It is a nice thing to share with your child and as a family.

Telephone conversations/can't make the dates - please e-mail the office and a mutually convenient time will be arranged with the class teacher in the next few weeks. We can also send books/Learning Journeys home (as long as they come back the next day).

Madley After School Club (MASC)

This will be in the Cabin and ICT room. Your child must be collected using the radio at the front door in the normal way and they will be brought to you. No parents/carers should be in the ICT room or the Cabin.

2. MASC (Madley After School Club)

Everyday will now be in the Cabin or ICT room (or outside sometimes) and collection will always be via the front door using the radio (Thursday is a front door collection as well please). Please make sure you tell anyone else who collects and remember to communicate if it is a different person collecting ('if we don't know they won't go !').

3. Covid and on-going issues

If numbers remain low and under control (only 1 confirmed case and one PCR test last week, but it was after half term) then we can start to mix children outside again at breaks/lunchtimes as well as assemblies and other opportunities (clubs in January etc) but it is very dependent on you !

As a school we keep people safe whilst keeping everything else going but we rely heavily on parents/carers to share that responsibility. We do what we feel is best and not what other schools do (in fact our school and its' approach has been praised by external agencies for it's care, safety and values).

It is cold ! We still need to ventilate and we go to forest school so please ensure your child is dressed correctly and layers are better on (then removed) than not at all ! Hats and gloves and a warm coat is needed for forest school, both on-site and off site. We don't always have hot chocolate as that is a treat not an expectation !

We are exploring a number of options, such as a marquee over the playground, to give us more scope for outdoor events before and after Christmas. This is obviously VERY dependent on cost (as our budgets are very tight and we do not get additional funding for on-going Covid expenses).

Roofing works - it may be a busy week as the contractors begin to move kit on-site and start work. There should be minimal disruption to parents/carers and the children.

This is going to be a very busy week and we look forward to welcoming many of you into the school building again.

Regards

Mr Batstone