Archive for category: Latest news

Dear Parents and Carers,

We hope you and your families are all well and keeping safe.

Last night the Government confirmed that schools will reopen for all pupils on Monday 8th March 2021.

So what does that mean for you?

• School will reopen to all year groups from Nursery to Year 6 on Monday 8th March.
• All children will be expected to attend. School will be compulsory again and families who don’t attend may face fines.
• We will be able to offer Breakfast Club and After School Club from Monday 8th March.
• There will be no school clubs after school.
• Many of the current protocols will remain; hygiene and hand washing, frequent cleaning.
• You must drop off your child between 8.45am and 9.00am. This will mean that we can continue to stagger the arrival of all our families.
• Pick up times will be as they were in the autumn term.
• All children will be brought to the playground at the end of the day.
• Only 1 parent is allowed to drop off/collect their child/ren and face masks should be worn
• Please make sure you are social distancing from other families and that you follow the instructions from school staff to ensure everyone’s safety.
• Visitors and parents/carers cannot enter the site and/or gather at school gates.
• Please continue to phone and email us if you need to share information or ask questions. You will not have the usual daily contact with the teaching staff. We will not be sending home letters etc. and minimising any face to face contact. We will call or email you instead (this includes if your child has an accident).
• All children must wear school uniform.
• All children can wear PE kits to school on their class PE days.
• The children will be allowed to bring in a water bottle and their book bags and bring books home again.
• Whole year group or Phase bubbles will be created as they were last term.
• Where possible children will sit in rows facing the front.
• Children don’t have to social distance in their bubbles
• Staff will maintain social distancing.
• Staff will continue to take lateral flow Covid tests twice weekly.
• We will be following our normal school timetable and curriculum.
• Lunchtimes will be staggered so only one bubble is in the hall at a time. Tables and benches will then be cleaned before the next bubble enters.
• Playtimes will be staggered and classes will be allocated an area of the playground to use.
• We will plan interventions to help children catch up on the learning they have missed this year.
• If you have been loaned a school Chromebook or router we will expect these to be returned on Monday 8th March. Any damages or lost items must be paid for. Please refer to your loan agreement for further information.
• Please return any other school resources on Monday 8th March.

Please call your child’s school if you have any questions. We are here to help.

Responding to a suspected case of Coronavirus

Please do not send your child to school if they are unwell. If they have a high temperature, loss of smell or taste or a new, continuous, dry cough, please let us know and book your child to be tested immediately. There are a list of other symptoms available on the NHS and Government website.

Anyone displaying Coronavirus symptoms in school will be sent home immediately and will need to follow the Government guidelines for self isolation.

• Child with symptoms will be sent home and must arrange a test
• Siblings will be sent home
• Other children in that group can continue to come to school until the test results are back
• If the test is positive, the symptomatic child must self- isolate for 10 days, siblings for 10 days and the same group children and staff for 10 days. We will also notify Public Health England in Southwark for further guidance
• If negative, the child can return when better
• If parents refuse to test their child, we will notify Public Health England in Southwark who will follow this up with the family, GP and complete a risk assessment. They will advise the school on our next steps.

Thank you all again for your continued support. I am sure you will also want to join me in thanking all the staff across our Federation who have continued to work throughout this pandemic and put the needs of our children and families first.

Kind regards,

Kate Wooder Executive Headteacher

Dear Parents

Many of you may have heard the Government announcement yesterday that primary schools, in some areas where the COVID infection rate is extremely high, will not be returning as originally planned on Tuesday 5^th January. This applies to all primary schools in Southwark.

We received this information at the same time as the general public, with no prior warning. Today we had an emergency Senior Leadership meeting to ensure we are fully prepared and to be able to share with you as quickly as possible the new plans for the start of the coming term.

Snowsfields, Tower Bridge and Robert Browning will now only be allowed to provide on site education to the children of key workers and vulnerable children.

Children of Key workers – If you are a Key worker and would like your child to attend school from Tuesday 5^th January please contact us as soon as possible to confirm their place. You can email mowens@snowsfields.southwark.sch.uk . This email is for all 3 schools. Alternatively you can call the school office on Monday 4^th January. Breakfast Club and After School Club will be available in all 3 schools for children of key workers only.

Vulnerable children – we will be contacting these families on Monday 4^th January and these children will be able to return to school on Tuesday 5^th January.

If your circumstances have changed and you believe that your child is entitled to attend because they are in either of the 2 groups allowed to return (children of Key Workers or vulnerable children), then please contact us.

Please do not just turn up to school on Tuesday 5^th January if you have not spoken to a member of staff.

For all those children not able to return to school next week we will be providing remote learning through Google Classroom for children in Y1-6 and Google Sites for children in Early Years. Links to these sites can be found on the Home Learning page of our Federation website or on previous newsletters. If your child has forgotten their log in details or you have any questions please contact the school office.

Every morning there will be a video on Twitter introducing the learning for the day. Please encourage your child to log on every day and complete the work that is set. If your child no longer has access to a device to enable them to complete their learning online, please contact the school as soon as possible.

Monday 4th January remains an INSET day and remote learning will commence on Tuesday 5th January.

The Government will be reviewing the guidelines every two weeks. We are not sure how long this will last but are hoping to have all children back by Monday 18^th January.

I will be in touch again as soon as we get any further information.

Kind regards,

Kate Wooder

Executive Headteacher

Safe wearing and removal of face coverings

Due to the rise in COVID cases across London we are now asking all parents to wear a face covering when you drop off and collect your child from school.

If your child is wearing a face covering to and from school please make sure you follow this guidance:

Safe wearing of face coverings requires cleaning of hands before and after touching – including to remove or put them on – and the safe storage of them in individual, sealable plastic bags between use. Where a face covering becomes damp, it should not be worn and the face covering should be replaced carefully.

Pupils must not to touch the front of their face covering during use or when removing it and they must dispose of temporary face coverings in a ‘black bag’ waste bin (not recycling bin) or place reusable face coverings in a plastic bag they can take home with them, and then wash their hands again before heading to their classroom.

 

Drop off and pick up reminders

You must drop off your child between 8.45am and 9.15am. This will mean that we can continue to stagger the arrival of all our families. You must collect your child at the end of the day between 3pm and 3.30pm. Please do not be late.

Only 1 parent is allowed to drop off/collect their child/ren. Please make sure you are social distancing from other families. Once you have dropped off or collected your child please move away from the school gates.

 

Covid-19 related pupil absence

What do I do if………	What ACTION is needed?	When can I RETURN to school?
My child is ill with symptoms not linked to Covid-19: Sore throat, runny nose, headache, tummy ache, chicken pox, tonsillitis, sickness, diarrhoea	Follow the usual School Absence Policy	When the child is feeling better or 48 hours if the illness is sickness/diarrhoea
My child has possible Covid-related symptoms: ·          HIGH TEMPERATURE – this means feeling hot to the touch on the chest or back ·          A NEW CONTINUOUS COUGH – this means coughing for more than an hour, or having 3 or more episodes in 24 hours ·          A LOSS OR CHANGE TO SENSE OF SMELL OR TASTE – this means being unable to taste or smell as usual	DO NOT COME TO SCHOOL Contact school to inform us Self-isolate the whole household for 10 days Get a test for your child showing symptoms INFORM SCHOOL IMMEDIATELY ABOUT THE RESULT	…the test result is negative
My child tests positive for Covid-19	DO NOT COME TO SCHOOL INFORM SCHOOL IMMEDIATELY ABOUT THE RESULT Agree a date for earliest possible return – minimum of 10 days Bubble isolates and school provides remote learning	When they feel better (but must remain at home for 10 days) They can return after 10 days even if the cough and loss of taste/smell remains. This can last for weeks
My child tests negative for Covid-19	INFORM SCHOOL IMMEDIATELY ABOUT THE RESULT Discuss when your child can come back to school	…same day/next day
Someone in my house is ill with possible Covid-19 symptoms	DO NOT COME TO SCHOOL Contact school to inform us Self-isolate the whole household for 10 days OR until the test comes back negative Household member with symptoms to get tested INFORM SCHOOL IMMEDIATELY ABOUT THE RESULT	…the test result is negative
Someone in my house tests positive for Covid-19	DO NOT COME TO SCHOOL INFORM SCHOOL IMMEDIATELY ABOUT THE RESULT Agree a date for earliest possible return – minimum of 10 days	…the child has completed 10 days of isolation and hasn’t developed symptoms of Covid-19
NHS Test & Trace has identified my child as being in close contact of someone with symptoms confirmed as Covid-19	DO NOT COME TO SCHOOL Contact school to inform us Agree a date for earliest possible return – minimum of 10 days	…the child has completed 10 days of isolation
We/my child has travelled and needs to self-isolate as a period of quarantine   YOU MUST LET THE SCHOOL KNOW IF YOUR CHILD HAS TRAVELLED!	Do not take unauthorised leave in term-time Consider quarantine requirements and FCO advice when booking travel Return from a destination when quarantine is needed Agree an earliest possible date for return – minimum of 10 days Self-isolate the whole household	…the quarantine period of 10 days has been completed
We have received medical advice that my child must resume shielding	DO NOT COME TO SCHOOL Contact school to inform us Shield until you are informed that restrictions are lifting and shielding is paused again Send in communication stating that child must shield.	…evidence shown that restrictions have been lifted and your child can return
My child’s bubble is closed due to a Covid-19 outbreak at school	DO NOT COME TO SCHOOL Your child will need to isolate for 10 days	…school inform you that the bubble will be reopened
When will specific home learning NOT be provided for my child?
– If a household is self-isolating due to a positive test result – If a child is showing signs of COVID and is waiting for a test – If a child is quarantining	If your child is at home for any of these reasons you can find resources on Google Classrooms for Key Stage 2 and on Google Class Sites for Early Years and Key Stage 1 to help support their learning: Homework project sheet, Topic Web, Knowledge Organiser Your child also has access to the online learning platforms: Mathletics, Reading Eggs, Readiwriter and Purple Mash
When will home learning be provided for my child?
– If a class bubble is shut due to a confirmed case – If a local lock down is announced	Children will need to log in daily to their Google Classroom or Google Site to access the learning set by the teachers. Daily video introducing the learning (also posted on Twitter) Daily learning added (English, Maths, Other) including tasks on Mathletics, Reading Eggs, Readiwriter and Purple Mash. Feedback will be given

On the 25th May 2020 we watched in horror as George Floyd was unlawfully murdered in Minneapolis USA. This is not an isolated case and this is not just happening in America. People around the world have taken to the streets in protest and come together to speak out against the racism they have experienced – Black Lives Matter.​

We want to share the following points made by Shola Richards, an American author:

Having white privilege doesn’t mean that your life isn’t difficult, it simply means that your skin colour isn’t one of the things contributing to your life difficulties.

Responding to “Black Lives Matter” by saying “All Lives Matter” is insensitive.

All lives can’t matter until black lives matter.

Racism is very real; it isn’t just limited to the extremes.

In order for racism to get better, it’s important we all use our voices and speak up when we see racism.”

The Bridges Federation stands united in our commitment to tackle and challenge racism, injustice and inequality. To say nothing is not good enough, to do nothing is not good enough. Now is the time for careful reflection about what we think, what we say and what we teach, a time to ensure that our curriculum reflects the diversity of our school community, reflects the truth and encourages us to question and challenge. We need to listen more and live up to the values we promote across our federation; respect, empowering everyone, celebrating diversity.

We hope you are all staying safe during lockdown and we are missing you all very much.

Please go to our home learning page for access to our home learning pages for each year group.

You can also find all the Twitter handles too.