Update 4.11.20

4th November 2020

Dear parents/carers,
COVID UPDATE 4/11/20
As you will be aware, the country will go into full National Lockdown from Thursday 5th November to try to get the virus under control. Schools will remain open as will supermarkets but contact with other households will be very limited and must be avoided where possible. We have revised our precautionary measures in order to accommodate the national changes and will continue to follow all statutory and non-statutory guidance from the Local Authority, the Department for Education and Public Health England.
All children and staff are expected to attend school during lockdown unless they are classed as clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV), if they are in this category then they will have had a letter from their GP to confirm this. Staff in this category will support online learning and children in this category will be expected to engage in online learning activities unless they are ill. We will continue to follow our attendance policy with regard to absences.
Latest guidance states that from Thursday, parents are allowed to form a bubble with ONE other family for childcare purposes only but will need to social distance from other families at all times. School will need to be informed of these bubbles so they can be monitored, please could you email either secretary@boskenwyn.cornwall.sch.uk or secretary@germoe.cornwall.sch.uk with the name of your support bubble if you have planned to create one. Once your bubble has been confirmed to us, you will be expected to only travel with those in the bubble disclosed for the full lockdown period.
Although our start and finish times are staggered, we have noticed that pick up and drop off times can be problematic with some families not/loosely adhering to the social distancing precautionary measures which we have previously outlined. We are really concerned about this and teamed with the National Lockdown beginning tomorrow, 5th November 2020, the following, revised precautionary measures will be in place:
· All parents/carers must wear a mask at pick up and drop off times and teaching staff will do the same.
· Parents/carers should stay in the car where possible or stand at a safe distance (2 metres +) if you can see a group is already gathered at the gate. Please be assured staff will not allow children to leave on their own. If possible and safe to do so, please allow older children to walk to the gate from the car to avoid congestion
· Rather than speaking to a staff member at the gate with a query and causing congestion, please ring the school either before or after drop off and a message will be passed on to the teacher who will give you a call.
· Staff will ask parents to leave if they see them gathering in small groups and blocking the entrance for other families, we do not have the power to police situations like these ourselves so to avoid further intervention, please do as requested by the staff member.
· In order to ensure the safeguarding of our staff and children, if we hear of any mixing of bubbles during the lockdown period, other than those specified via email to the secretaries, we will report them to the relevant authorities
We have not put markings on the floor intentionally, we want school to look as normal as possible for our children but we may have to reconsider if these revised precautionary measures are not adhered to. Please be respectful of one another’s space and anxieties at all times. It is a very difficult time for all involved, it can be very frustrating I know, but let’s try to work together to keep our schools as safe as possible for our children, staff and parents/carers.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Paula Blackburn