COVID-19
March to July 2020
Barwic Parade Community Primary School closed on Friday 20th March until Tuesday 2nd June 2020, following the Government's decision to declare a National Lockdown to stem the spread of Covid-19.
During the National lockdown Barwic Parade Community Primary School continued to provide emergency daily childcare to 18 Key Worker families. We also supported 90 families who qualified for Free School Meals on economic grounds by providing a daily grab bag meal. Miss Dixon, Headteacher and Mrs Morris, Parent Support Advisor, provided practical and emotional support and advice to our families in greatest need. On 2nd June, Barwic Parade Community Primary School were happy to reopen to children in Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6. On 29th June, Barwic Parade started to welcome back pupils from across all Year groups.
September to December 2020
When considering the schools reopening to all pupils a thorough risk assessment and review process was completed, taking on board all of our learning from our summer term. We were delighted to start the new academic year with all children returning to school on 9th September.
January to March 2021
In line with the Government's National Lockdown, Barwic Parade Community Primary School once again closed to the majority of students on 5th January 2021. We continued to support on average 40-50 pupils per day in school with the rest of our pupils learning from home with the support of their teachers and support staff.
School reopened to all children on Monday 8th March 2021.
A copy of our latest risk assessment can be found below. Our risk assessment is reviewed when any relevant Government guidance is updated.
Catch Up
Covid-19 has impacted on all our lives. There are many positive stories coming from lockdown and we need to celebrate these with our young children. We also need to be mindful that many pupils have not been in school since March and the impact that this will have had on their education, emotional wellbeing and readiness to learn. Many of the children received home schooling and the school provided lessons through paper packs (where needed) and google classroom. However, it is important to remember that children, due to home circumstances, will not have received the same quality of education, consistently and as thoroughly as if they had been in school being taught during this time. Barwic Parade is an area of high deprivation and some families have struggled to engage with the home learning especially as the weeks of lockdown continued. Anxieties about the virus are an on-going worry and supporting families remains our focus.
We know that due to the missed learning there will be challenges in supporting these children to ‘catch up’. We strive as always to ensure that “Every Child Matters and Every Moment Counts” We are committed to serving our community and working together to ensure that our children and families achieve success.
From 8th March 2021, Barwic Parade will be delivering a variety of additional learning sessions after school to strengthen key skills in Maths and English.
What is school like now?
We have/are
- staggered our start and finish times
- utilising different entrance points to minimise contact of adults and children
- working in phase bubbles so that we can track and trace if needed
- changed our lunchtime routines, allocating dedicated staff to each bubble, helping to ensure everyone gets a hot meal whilst protecting our bubbles
- strengthened our cleaning and hand hygiene routines
- do not have any unplanned visitors on site
- using technology to facilitate meetings where possible
- closed the School Office to parents
- introduced a new phone system so we can communicate with classes without having to enter classrooms
- maximising the use of our outdoor spaces for learning.
Visitors
School will only allow essential visitors into the school building. To learn more about our Essential Visitor Protocol please take look at our guide below.
PE
We encourage our team to have their PE lessons outdoors as much as possible, providing the environment is safe. From 2nd November 2020, we are asking children to come to school in their PE kit on the days that they would have PE. Our PE kit consists of:-
- An appropriate plain white, red or blue t-shirt (no printed t-shirts) - Barwic Parade PE T-shirts are available to buy from Classroom Clothing in Selby – available from ages 3 up to 14 years, with adult sizes available too. Prices from £6 each
- Black jogging or tracksuit bottoms – no shorts or leggings please
- Trainers
- Black sweatshirt or hoodie
The timetable of PE Lessons has been amended with effect from 8th March 2021.
Timekeeping is really important
It is critical that your child arrives at the right time for school. This is to ensure that high levels of safety are maintained for adults and children alike and that the integrity of bubbles is not broken. We also don't want them to miss out on any of their valuable learning time.
Home Learning
Since September 2020, home learning is no longer 'optional'. If your child is unable to attend school they must complete all learning that is set. Miss Dixon is keen to ensure that all children can continue to learn at home. To read more about our Home Learning please click on the link below.
Communication
During this uncertain period, we will use our Text Message service, MarvellousMe and Facebook for communication, so when you get an alert, please read the messages carefully. Please tell us immediately if you have a new mobile telephone number to ensure that we can keep you informed of any new developments and information.
What if there is a positive case in school?
We will very much work with North Yorkshire County Council and the local Public Health Team to assess the risk to others in school. Public Health will review our risk assessment and provide guidance about what steps are needed to protect others. We will at all times act in a transparent way with our whole school community.
What if things escalate in our community?
Barwic Parade Community Primary School will follow the guidance provided by North Yorkshire County Council and Central Government. Should the number of cases grow in our local community, which means Selby moves up the Government's 'tiers of intervention', here in school we would start to review and further consider things such as
- elongating our school day further
- reducing the size of our bubbles
- pausing non essential services
- consider taking lunches in classrooms
- amending our allocation of spaces
Face Coverings
From November 2020, we ask all parents/carers to wear a face covering when coming to drop off and collect your child. Staff also where face coverings when in communal areas of school such as corridors and the school hall.
Team Barwic is proud to belong
We'd like to thank you all for your continued support. The dedicated team at school hugely appreciates it. Whatever challenges we may face we will meet these together. Please stay safe.