Welcome back to Crosfields School

Welcome back to Crosfields School!

We are very much looking forward to seeing everyone again and welcoming to their new school all the pupils, parents and staff joining us in September.

This booklet is designed to give parents, pupils and staff as much clarity and reassurance about the steps we have taken to do our best to make Crosfields both a Covid-secure environment and a happy, busy place where our 600 pupils can enjoy being at school and are able to thrive in as many senses of the word as possible.

Our key principles are both the promotion and practice of good hygiene and reducing the risks of spreading Covid-19 (and other illnesses). To do this the following measures are in place: • • • •

• • • •

Our extensive Risk Assessments have been reviewed and will be available on our website before the start of term.

Enhanced cleaning schedules are in place throughout the day.

Social distancing measures are in place as much as is practical in a school.

Year groups from Nursery to Year 6 are designated self-contained “pods”.

Children will be kept in class groups as much as possible but grouped in these pods for certain activities, e.g. games, break times, Collects across the year group will be possible.

Years 7 & 8 will begin the term as separate pods with the aim of forming a single pod if we feel this is appropriate and safe.

Teachers are permitted to move from year group to year group; peripatetic staff are permitted to move from school to school.

Sports fixtures against other schools will not be taking place in the first half of term.

Parents and other visitors cannot enter the school buildings and have restricted access to the site itself. If parents need to visit the school office this must be arranged in advance.

Welcome back to Crosfields, 20th August 2020 1

Contents

1. Routines Clothing and Equipment Timings Map

Page 3 Page 5 Page 7

2. Wraparound Care Before the school day After the end of the school day

Page 8 Page 9

3. Co-curricular

Page 11

4. Food

Page 12

5. School Transport

Page 13

6. Teaching and Learning

Page 14

7. Instrumental lessons

Page 15

8. Conduct

Page 16

9. Parents

Page 17

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1.

Routines The Government is clear that all children of compulsory school age (other than those been home educated or with specific medical conditions) are required to be in school from the beginning of the new academic year.

Before returning to school in September, parents will be asked to complete an online Returning to School Questionnaire on behalf of their children. A link to this will be emailed to you within the next two weeks.

You must not send your child to school if they are showing any of the signs or symptoms of Covid-19 or if they should be quarantining following contact with anyone with a confirmed case or having returned to the UK in the last 14 days as per the latest Government guidance. Nurse Sue is always happy to offer advice. She may be contacted SueNicholas@crosfields.com or via the school office (0118 987 1810).

For children in Reception to Year 8 who have appointments (e.g. medical) during the school you must collect them from, and return them to, the White Building.

Clothing and equipment Face coverings At the time of compiling this booklet, Government advice is that children and staff in schools do not need to wear face coverings. However, we understand that some may feel reassured by wearing them. Children must be able to fit and remove their own face coverings if they choose to wear them. Face coverings must be stored in the pupil’s school bag or pocket when not in use in a plastic bag. Small sandwich bags would be ideal.

Uniform and sports kits School uniform must be worn. Beyond the normal laundry cycles, the Government has said there are no special requirements. We take pride in our pupils’ appearance and they are expected to be clean, neat and tidy each day anyway!

Earrings/studs are not permitted in school with the exception of Senior School girls who must remove them for PE and Games.

To minimise use of the changing rooms by different pods, on Wednesdays pupils in Years 5, 6, 7 and 8 must come to school in their games kit, wearing trainers. They will need to bring shin pads, football or hockey boots according to their sport. Years 7 and 8 begin term on Wednesday 9th September and should come in games kit on this, their first day.

On Fridays children in Years 3 and 4 should wear their games kit with trainers to school.

They will need to bring shin pads, football or hockey boots according to their sport.

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In order to assist with enhanced cleaning routines, pupils in Years 5, 6, 7 & 8 cannot store their games kit (a bulky item!) in the changing rooms. Kit will need to be brought to school each day it is required and taken home again the same day.

For pupils in the Nursery, Reception, Year 1, 2, 3 and 4, Swimming kits should be brought to school and taken home again on the days needed. PE kits may remain in school.

Pupils in Years 5, 6, 7 and 8 should bring their PE and swimming kits on a Monday and take them home on a Friday. These will need to be stored in year group areas or classrooms.

Pupils are not permitted to share one another’s personal items.

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Timings Timings for drop off and collection for the core school day Staggered starts to the beginning and end of the day are in place. These are there to minimise the contact children have with others outside their pods. Pupils in Years 3, 5 and 6 have their normal day shortened for the moment by a few minutes because of this.

Year group Breakfast (R-Y8) Breakfast (N) Nursery Reception Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8

Drop off 0730 (once open) 0745 (once open) 0830 0845 0840 0830 0820 0810 0800 0800 0810 0820

Collection

1200; 1500 1500 1510 1520 1530 1540 1600 1610 1620 1625

Parking venue North car park North car park North car park South car park South car park South car park South car park South car park South car park North car park North car park North car park

Work has been taking place throughout the summer to develop our new parking and traffic management system. Further information will be sent to families ahead of the start of term.

Parents with children in the Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 should drop off and collect from the external doors of their child’s classroom. Reception parents should use the lychgate.

Other than Breakfast Club, there is no provision for children who are not dropped off at their specified times. If this creates logistical issues for siblings with different drop off times, parents should drop at the later time. Older children cannot leave early at the end of the day with younger siblings.

Children in Years 3 and above are expected to be dropped off by parents in their respective car parks and make their own way to their classrooms. Parents should not wait in the car parks as we are reliant upon the free flow of traffic to keep the system working. The new car parks have been designed with this in mind and it will be safe to allow your child to make their own way into school. Staff will be on duty to welcome, supervise and guide the children especially during the early days of term.

Children in Years 3 and above should be collected from the car park shown above. Staff will be on duty to supervise this. Older siblings should be collected from their younger sibling’s collection point, where applicable and appropriate.

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Parents must not enter the school site (including the Quad and outside the main entrance to Acorns). There are some exceptions: these are detailed in the Wraparound Care section (page 5) other than the areas prescribed above and shown below in the Wraparound Care section (page 7). The map on page 6 should be helpful.

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Map (ignore the numbers)

Netball Court collection area

Acorns area – limited entry

Quad No entry

Senior School construction

North car park

South (Sports Centre) car park

Shinfield Road

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2.

Wraparound Care Before the school day

Breakfast Club We will be phasing in Breakfast Club over the first few weeks of term, as shown below. A one way system will be in operation and each year group will have a separate table in the dining hall and the range of food items will be limited initially. Pupils will need to queue outside the dining hall.

Breakfast Club bookings must be made via SOCs. There is the option to make regular or recurring bookings as well as ad hoc ones. Ad hoc bookings must be made by 1600 the day before breakfast is required. Details of how to log in to SOCs will be sent to new Crosfields parents shortly.

The last breakfast serving is at 0800.

It is understood that parents of children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 will wish to take them to the dining hall for Breakfast Club and in order to do this they will need to enter the Quad. Please use the hand santizer station at the entrance when entering the Quad.

Breakfast Club start dates Year group Nursery Reception Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8

Start date Monday 14th September Monday 14th September Thursday 17th September Monday 21st September Wednesday 23rd September Wednesday 23rd September Monday 28th September Monday 28th September Wednesday 30th September Wednesday 30th September

Venue Nursery Dining Hall Dining Hall Dining Hall Dining Hall Dining Hall Dining Hall Dining Hall Dining Hall Dining Hall

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After the end of the school day

Initial Short/Long/Prep collection arrangements, September 2020 We will be offering a limited after school care facility for the pupils whose parents really need it for their work purposes. Pupils will be supervised in their year group pods. Slots must be booked using SOCs. This applies for all year groups. It will still be possible to book ad hoc sessions via email to your child’s class/form teacher in Nursery to Year 4 and in Years 5 to 8 the pupils will simply need to let their form teacher know at morning registration.

Please note that there are fixed collection times for this and that this initial offering differs from our usual.

Year group Nursery Reception Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

Year 6 Year 7 Year 8

Short Stay collection

Long Stay collection

By 1615 from Nursery

1710 from Chestnuts

By 1615 from Chestnuts

1710 from Chestnuts

By 1615 from external classroom doors By 1615 from external classroom doors 1620 from the Netball Court between Chestnuts and the old pool 1620 from the Netball Court between Chestnuts and the old pool

1710 from outside Acorns Hall fire exit 1710 from outside Acorns Hall fire exit 1710 from the Netball Court between Chestnuts and the old pool 1710 from the Netball Court between Chestnuts and the old pool

Prep and Co-curricular

1710 from the Netball Court between Chestnuts and the old pool 1710 from North car park (flag pole) 1720 from North car park (flag pole) 1720 from North car park (flag pole)

Children in Years 3 to 8 will be brought to their collection areas (above). Parents must not enter the Quad or school buildings.

Older siblings should be collected from their younger sibling’s collection point. Older siblings may not leave early with younger ones.

Children attending Performance Cricket and Swimming School must be collected from outside the Sports Centre.

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School closes at 1730 and all pupils must be collected by then. The exception is for pupils attending our Swimming School whose collection times fall after 1730.

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3.

Co-curricular programme This will be phased in during the course of the term.

The following will be begin in the first half of term. All external providers have supplied risk assessments and will be following their Governing bodies’ guidelines for operating under Covid-19. These activities will be operating in year group pods and numbers of participants will need to be limited. These activities should be signed up for in the usual way via SOCs. • • • • •

Judo (non-contact) MTech LAMDA Performance Cricket Film Academy

In addition Dance lessons will be running from 21st September. Our Swimming School start dates and times are shown on SOCs. The Swimming Squads will train as usual, starting 10th September. Parents of pupils involved in the Swimming Squads will receive further communication from Mrs Dinsdale.

Peripatetic instrumental lessons will commence during week beginning 21 st September.

There will be further communication about these in due course.

We plan to begin the full range co-curricular activities offered by our own staff after half term and hope to have our full programme (typically over 90 activities) in place from January 2021.

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4.

Food

We will be providing a hot lunch for all pupils. Although the choice will be simplified to ensure we meet current food hygiene guidelines and speed up serving, we will continue to cater for individual dietary requirements. Pupils in the Pre-Prep will use all-in-one trays. Those in Year 3 and above will have takeaway puddings.

A one way system will be in operation in the dining hall with queuing outside. The dining hall will be divided in two by a glazed partition with a year group either side. Enhanced cleaning measures will be in place to clean down the tables after each year group has eaten.

We will continue to provide milk, water and fruit snacks for children in the Pre-Prep at morning break. Pupils in Years 7 and 8 enjoy “Tea and Toast� during their morning break.

This will be replaced with a takeaway-style drink and snack. We will be installing a longterm temporary marquee in the Quad which pupils in the Senior School will have use of and break times. All other year groups should continue to bring their own healthy snack to school, remembering to avoid anything containing nuts. Sweets and crisps are not permitted in school.

Lunch times Year group Nursery Reception Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8

Lunch serving time 1130 1140 1145 1205 1215 1230 1240 1255 1315 1320

Venue Delivered to classrooms Delivered to classrooms Dining Hall Dining Hall Dining Hall Dining Hall Dining Hall Dining Hall Dining Hall Dining Hall

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5.

School Transport

For pupils who make use of our school transport facility, the Transport Provider has given assurance that the following precautionary measures are in place for transporting pupils from September 2020. o o o o o

South Central Ambulance Service training for drivers in the use of PPE and PPE supplied to the fleet.

Masks, gloves and classrooms sanitiser are in every vehicle.

Drivers are also supplied with wipes to clean the door handles etc. after each journey. Those with fabric seats have a spray to disinfect the vehicle.

Every two days the vehicles are deep cleaned.

Drivers will be regular where possible.

Pupils are required to sanitize their hands prior entering the vehicle. Children may carry their own sanitizer. When arriving at school, children will be asked to sanitise their hands once again.

Children over the age of 11 are required to wear masks for the duration of the journey.

As the children will be in close contact, and from mixed year groups, we advise that all pupils wear a mask for the duration of their journey.

Pupils using public transport should follow Government guidance in respect of their journeys.

For the time being we are not using any other form of bus transport.

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6.

Teaching and Learning

We know that some children may be anxious about returning to school and that some may have missed a term of learning. We will support and guide children, and build into our teaching measures for recovery.

In terms of classrooms, the following safety measures will be in place from the first day of term: •

• • • • • • • •

Enhanced cleaning measures, with pupils from Year 2 and above taking responsibility as part of these by wiping down their tables when they leave their classrooms.

Minimising the number of children using multiple rooms, with specialist teaching staff going to the pupils rather than the other way around where possible.

Pupils will sit at the same seat in each room they use.

Pupils will be sat at tables facing the front of each classroom from Year 1 upwards and may sit next to one another.

Taped off teacher zones.

One way systems in corridors and on stair cases.

Provision of hand sanitizing points in classrooms and all other areas of the school.

Maximum ventilation by maintaining open windows and doors.

Signs reminding everyone to maintain a safe social distance where possible.

We have designated “clean rooms” in the event of a classroom being taken out of use for deep cleaning at short notice and a separate designated room for any one displaying symptoms of Covid-19 to wait in prior to being collected.

Should it be needed in the event of school closure, we have the facility to move to online teaching quickly. Parents of pupils in Years 7 and 8 have already received information regarding the provision of devices for their children.

SEND specialist lessons will continue on a group and 1-1 basis with all regulations being adhered to.

Pupils will be able to play within their year group pods at break times. Items of play equipment will be cleaned regularly.

Each year group pod will have designated toilets. These will be cleaned after break, after lunch and at the end of the day ready for the following morning.

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7.

Instrumental lessons

Music Teachers will start their face to face teaching week beginning Monday 21 September. They will communicate the exact day and time of your child’s first lesson before this date. All lessons are now 30 minutes in length which is in line with the new academic schedule.

We will follow all the government guidelines in terms of social distancing, 2m and will be using the larger rooms (Theatre, Green Room and Drum Room) for woodwind, brass and singing lessons to ensure a safer working environment. The larger spaces will enable a 3m distance, which is currently needed for the instruments in bold.

All the music rooms will be well ventilated and cleaned between each pupil. Piano keyboards, music stands and chairs will be wiped down with disinfectant spray and hand sanitizer will also be necessary. Pupils will wait in the corridor for their lessons and will only enter the room once the teacher is ready. For the time being there will not be any duet or ensemble work happening in the music school.

To avoid congestion in confined places, please store music instruments in the following places: Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone, Brass: Green Room, downstairs in the Music School Guitars:

Room 2 as usual

Violins:

Green Room

Cello: Instrument Store Cupboard

We look forward to welcoming back face to face music lessons and the teachers are excited about their return to Crosfields too. Any questions? Please send them to our Director of Music: richardadams@crosfields.com.

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8.

Conduct

We expect high standards of conduct at all times. Below is an extract from our Covid Behaviour Policy addendum. The full policy is available on our website.

Behaviour Principles The impact of the pandemic in terms of schooling will be significant for all the community, especially children. When the school is re-opened (at whatever point in the academic year) the school environment and expectations will be hugely different to that of previous experiences.

Children, parents and staff will have to quickly learn a number of new systems, rules and expectations. Explicit teaching with children regarding these changes will be put in place as the children return to school.

The school will continue to use the full behaviour policy as a frame of reference however there will need to be case-by-case adjustments when dealing with behavioural incidents and when rewarding good behaviour, i.e. detentions would not be logistically possible or safe.

Additional expectations for behaviour at Crosfields from 1st June 2020: • •

Children (and parents) are expected to follow the altered routines for arrival or departure.

Children are expected to follow school hygiene procedures such as handwashing and the use of sanitizers.

•

Children are expected to follow expectations about sneezing, coughing, tissues and disposal (‘catch it, bin it, kill it’). Tissues are provided in each classroom but pupils should also bring their own.

•

Children are expected to follow (to the best of their ability and age dependent) instructions on social distancing.

•

Children are expected to only interact with others in their pod throughout the school day.

•

Children are expected to move around the school safely and sensibly following staff instructions (for example, one-way systems, out of bounds areas, queuing)

•

Children are expected to follow rules about sharing resources and equipment.

•

Children are expected to tell an adult if they are feeling unwell or worried.

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9.

Parents

We will not be holding face-to-face parents’ meetings for the foreseeable future. A number of virtual parents’ evenings are scheduled for this term and shown in the calendar.

These are challenging times for us all. If you have concerns or questions, do please feel free to communicate with your child’s teacher using email or arranging to speak on the phone. Other key contacts are:

Mrs Janey McDowell, Head of Pre-Prep

JaneyMcDowell@crosfields.com

Mr John Ireland, Head of Junior School

JohnIreland@crofields.com

Mr Tom Goodhew, Head of Middle School

TomGoodhew@crosfields.com

Mrs Charmaine Stewart, Head of Senior School

CharmaineStewart@crosfields.com

Mrs Karen O’Leary, Director of Studies

KarenOLeary@crosfields.com

Mr Adam Mallins, Deputy Head (Pastoral)

AdamMallins@crosfields.com

Mr Richard Ebbage, Deputy Head (Academic)

richardEbbage@crosfields.com

Mr Simon Dinsdale, Deputy Head

office@crosfields.com

The school working day is 0800 until 1730 (1800 in more normal times) and staff will respond to you as promptly as they can within these working hours. Please keep in mind that teachers are working with your children throughout the day and are not necessarily in the position to respond to an email or a phone call immediately.

The school shop will continue to offer a “Request and Collect” service but we cannot take any more items to sell for the time being.

Please remember that your access to the site is restricted and that you must not enter the school buildings. If you need to visit, please arrange this in advance with the school office. You may be asked to complete a health questionnaire and wear a face covering whilst in the building.

As always, your understanding and support helps to enable the best outcomes for the whole school community.

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