Welcome to our school communications page; copies of key communications will be kept here. 

Sent on behalf of The Education COVID19 Cell

There are lots of respiratory infections that cause sore throats, colds and coughs circulating this time of year. All the infection control and prevention processes that you already have in place (e.g., good hygiene, ventilation and cleaning) will help reduce the spread of infection. Please see below updated information that will help you manage the spread of infection in your setting.

Back to school advice issued amid high levels of flu, COVID-19 and scarlet fever     

Flu and coronavirus (COVID-19) are currently circulating at high levels and are likely to continue to increase in coming weeks. High numbers of scarlet fever, which is caused by group A streptococcus, also continue to be reported.

It’s important to minimise the spread of infection in schools and other education and childcare settings as much as possible:

• If a child is unwell and has a fever, they should stay home from school or nursery until they feel better, and the fever has resolved.
• Teach children the importance of good hand hygiene, practice regular handwashing with soap and warm water.
• Catch coughs and sneezes in tissues then bin them is another simple way to help stop illness from spreading.
• Adults should also try to stay home when unwell and if they do have to go out, wear a face covering. When unwell don’t visit healthcare settings or visit vulnerable people unless urgent.
• Remember that flu vaccination is still available for all eligible groups and is the best protection against the virus.

UKHSA has also forwarded a link to translated letters to parents which are designed for those working in education settings from early years to secondary level. These have information about the symptoms of Group A Streptoccus (GAS), Scarlet Fever, and Invasive Group A Streptoccus (iGAS), and what action to take if cases are confirmed in settings Translated Information Packs | Group A Strep | Campaign Resource Centre (dhsc.gov.uk).

For further information about health protection in schools and settings please visit

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-protection-in-schools-and-other-childcare-facilities

Kind Regards

The Education COVID19 Cell.

Message from Ms Perring -  Covid19 Omicron variant and additional measures in school

Dear parents,  

I am sure that you have seen the news reports about the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 and the concern about the high number of mutations already identified on its spike protein. We know that for many families this is very worrying and we will do all we can to protect and support to ensure things appear as normal as possible for our children.  

At this stage, we will be continuing with our plans to hold our 4 nativity performances next week – Reception/ Y1 on 7^th December and Y2 and Y3 on 9^th December, and our Nursery performance on December 15^th. However, in order to do this and ensure we maintain our educational provision, we have had to put some additional measures in place. All measures are in line with the government guidelines published yesterday and have been added and amended in our Risk Assessment. This can be found here: https://www.wantageprimaryacademy.org.uk/risk-assessment/ 

Here are some of the main changes that we need to share and implement: 

• Staff will wear a face covering in communal areas but this will not be required in the classroom 
• We will ask parents and staff to maintain social distancing, even when outside. You do not need to wear a mask outside but can do so if you wish. Please do not get too close to staff or other children on the playground  
• Any parents/ visitors entering the school building or attending indoor school events such as assemblies, Nativity plays etc will be required to wear a face mask/ face covering and chairs/ benches will be spaced out to ensure family groups can socially distance. Any member of the public who is exempt from wearing a full face covering can be provided with a school visor 
• For the Christmas performances, we will ask parents and visitors to take a lateral flow test on the day of and ensure you have a negative lateral flow test result. Anyone who tests positive is not to attend. 
• Pupils, staff and other adults should follow public health advice on when to self-isolate and what to do. Children should not come into school if they have symptoms, have had a positive test result or other reasons requiring them to stay at home due to the risk of them passing on COVID-19 (for example, they are required to quarantine or they are a close contact of a suspected or confirmed case of the Omicron variant of COVID-19). 

We thank you for your ongoing support and look forward to continuing all the lovely things we have planned. Take care, 

Ms Perring 

Parents Evening

Parents’ Evening will be held on 15th and 16th November. We encourage every parent to attend where possible. The meetings will last for up to 10 minutes and, as these are online via Zoom or similar, you must be on time to attend the meeting. If you join the meeting late, your time will be shortened as the system will not allow any time to be added on. The teachers are looking forward to discussing your child’s progress with you and working on next steps.

We ask you to register your choice of parents’ evening times on our Google Forms. Please read the information carefully and select choices that would work for you and your family in terms of times. If you are very flexible, please select 'Any time'. We will then allocate slots and send you a time and link and further information as soon as we can. Please note: although we will try our best to accommodate, we cannot guarantee you will be able to have the exact times you want.

Parking front of school

Further to previous communications we reiterate that (other than for breakfast club and after school club) you please do not park in front of the school, including in the cycle lane on the opposite side of the road.

This is dangerous and obstructive to pedestrians and cyclists accessing the school as well as posing a genuine risk to our smallest children in nursery.

Earlier this week a local school was the site of a road traffic accident whereby a parent was struck by a vehicle attempting to park in a busy pedestrian area. We have provision in place to reduce this risk so we ask that you please use the parking provided.

Thank you for your understanding in this matter, please also ensure this message is passed on to any relevant family members who might collect or drop off children.

Drop Off and Collections

As we settle into the new school year, please see below a couple of important reminders regarding drop off and collections - including those for breakfast and after school club (for Reception children and older).

• Breakfast Club opens at 7:40am. Prior to this the team are prepping for the day so will not be able to admit children any earlier.
• After School Club is managed by Serious4Sport; please note that any messages left on the school answerphone regarding changes in or delayed collection will not get to the After School Team so please ensure that these are directed to James at Serious4Sport. Please also ensure that, while the after school team are getting to know children and their grown-ups, you have made a note of the collection password you submitted when booking. A member of the school team who can identify you may not always be available.
• Drop off and collections are always a busy time, as such we ask that any questions or updates that you have regarding your child are not addressed to staff at this time. Please always email the school Office at office@wantageprimaryacademy.org to ensure your enquiry can be sent to the right person and managed effectively.

Parking and coming into school.

• Please do not park in front of the school during morning drop off and afternoon pick up– this poses a health and safety risk as our Nursery children enter and exit the school the school here and a number of families arrive on foot. Nursery parking is allocated on the left hand side of the road leading up to the school.
• We now also have a designated car park – as you look at the school this is to the left-hand side of the building - the entrance is past the staff car park and you can access the main playground from here just before 8:40am and just before 3:30pm.
• We have disabled parking bays to the right of the school, for those arriving on foot or by bike, you can enter via the side pedestrian gate that is accessible through this carpark. This gate will be opened just before 8:40am.

We will shortly be updating the school website with a diagram indicating the key areas of the school, and we trust this will help.

Thank you for your co-operation in this.