Covid Update April 2022:

1 April

• Most of the COVID-19 specific guidance for education and childcare settings will now be withdrawn from GOV.​UK.

• Children and young people who are unwell and have a high temperature should stay at home and avoid contact with other people. They can go back to school, college or childcare when they no longer have a high temperature, and as soon as they are well enough to attend. 

• Children and young people aged 18 and under with a positive Covid-19 test result should try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for 3 days. 

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• No more free Universal testing.

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Changes to measures and guidance for managing Covid-19 from Friday 1 April:

On Tuesday 29 March, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Sajid Javid, set out the next steps for living with Covid-19 in England from Friday 1 April.

Free Covid-19 tests will no longer be available. They will only be offered for specific groups, including eligible patients and NHS staff, once the universal testing offer ends on Friday 1 April.

The population now has much stronger protection against Covid-19 than at any other point in the pandemic. This means we can begin to manage the virus like other respiratory infections, thanks to the success of the vaccination programme and access to antivirals, alongside natural immunity and increased scientific and public understanding about how to manage risk.

For education and childcare settings from Friday 1 April:

Covid Update February 2022:

24 February 

• You will not be legally required to self-isolate if you test positive for COVID-19.
• Stay at home if you can and avoid contact with other people.
• You will not have to take daily tests or be legally required to self-isolate following contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.
• The Test and Trace Support Payment Scheme will end.
• If you were told to self-isolate before 24 February you can still make a claim up to 6 April.

21 February

• The government has published its Plan for Living with Covid.
• Staff and students in most education and childcare settings no longer need to test twice a week.

11 February 

If you’re fully vaccinated, you no longer need to take a COVID-19 test either before or after you arrive in the UK. You still need to complete a passenger locator form.

If you are not fully vaccinated, you need to take a pre-departure test. After you arrive, you need to take a PCR test on or before day 2, but you only need to quarantine if it’s positive. You still need to complete a passenger locator form.

COVID UPDATE September 2021:

• From 19th July, the government has moved away from stringent restrictions on everyone’s day-to-day lives.
• As COVID-19 becomes a virus that we learn to live with, there is now an imperative to reduce the disruption to children’s education.

Using up to date guidance, below is an overview of the measures in place from September 2021 at St Nicholas CE Primary Academy:

More detailed Government Guidance for parents can be found on the following link: What parents need to know about schools 

Attendance

• Attendance is mandatory for all children 
• The school will no longer trace close contacts - close contacts will still be identified via NHS Test and Trace
• If your child has been identified as a close contact they should continue to attend school as normal unless they are displaying any of the 3 main Covid symptoms
• 
• If your child is unwell, please keep them at home, if they become unwell at school we will ask that they take a PCR test, but siblings can remain in school
• If your child is unable to attend due to self-isolation or Covid restrictions, the school will provide remote learning via the class pages of our school website 
• If the number of positive cases reaches a certain threshold at St Nicholas CE Primary Academy, we will have to consider extra precautions as advised by public health experts. Please see our Contingency Plan for Parents and our Outbreak Management Plan below for further details.

In School measures:

• Updated Risk Assessment is in place - see below
• Staff are no longer required to wear face coverings in school; however, if staff wish to wear them, they may. Staff will also be invited to test twice a week using the lateral flow tests.
• Children will continue to be supported to wash hands on a regular basis, cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue and dispose of it (Catch it, bin it, kill it) and refrain from touching their face with unwashed hands.
• 
• Face to face Collective Worship will resume on the first day of term along with singing - we can't wait to have our whole family back together again shining brightly!
• Children are no longer required to stay in bubbles and can mix freely on the playgrounds and in the lunch hall.
• It is expected that children will come to school in full school uniform unless it is a PE day, then they can come in their PE kits. Please send your child with a coat, the weather is unpredictable and we do like to be outside for play times as much as possible. Please name all uniform to avoid items getting lost.
• Indoor sport can take place but outdoor sport will continue to be prioritised, so please send your child in a warm tracksuit in colder weather in-line with our PE uniform expectations. Equipment will be cleaned in-between uses.
• 

Access​​​​​ Arrangements

The back gate is no longer in use. All access to the school site is via the Front Gate.

Attendance at school is mandatory for all children & the one-way system around the school site remains in operation.

Drop-off: The FRONT GATE will be opened at 8:30am and closed at 8:40am so there is a 10-minute window in which to arrive. Arrivals after the gates have closed will be through the Main Reception and will be coded as ‘Late’ in the Register.

Collection: The FRONT GATE will be opened at 3pm and closed at 3:20pm so that all Key Stages can be collected promptly from their classrooms.

Please inform the Main Office before the start of the school day if your child is absent for any reason. The phone-lines are manned from 8:30am – 4pm and an answerphone service is available to leave messages.

• Just a reminder, children should dismount from their bikes/ scooters at the main entrance so everyone can walk safely into school and across the playgrounds on the one-way system. 
• Pick up and drop off times are busy so to ensure everyone’s safety, please keep your child with you until they enter school. Please do not let them play on the outdoor equipment or run around unsupervised as this is a Health and Safety risk.

This policy sets out clearly, what academies within the Infinity Academies Trust will offer in terms of 'remote learning' if and when the need should arise. Please read it carefully, alongside the school-specific offer, so that you are clear about what St Nicholas CE Primary Academy will provide in order to enable your child's education to remain as uninterrupted as possible during this challenging time. 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Mr Bell or Mrs Booth on 01205 363210.

Click here for : Learning at home guidance for parents 

A new service for parents was launched in July to offer information about supporting children of all age ranges and abilities to catch up on lost learning. 

Click here for : Covid advice for parents guidance

This guidance was updated about eligibility for financial support to care for a child who is self-isolating. It has advice about online safety and children’s wellbeing.

One-way system

The one-way system applies to all families accessing the school site. This reduces the amount of times anyone has to cross-paths with members of different households and therefore keeps everyone much safer. Both gates remain open as usual.

Risk Assessment Summary from Monday 8th March 2021 - return from National Lockdown 3

In addition to the steps outlined above, we will also:

• Limit visitors into the school to essential personnel only
• Ask all essential visitors into the school to wear a mask at all times whilst in the building
• Provide all MDSAs with facemasks and visors during lunch service
• Keep the windows and doors in the lunch hall open (where possible) during all sittings
• Hold all staff meetings electronically via Teams
• Offer additional training and information for parents and carers on the importance of the government 'Hands, Face, Space' campaign
• Encourage all adults to wear facemasks everywhere whilst in communal areas within the school building (excluding their own classroom), even when social distancing is possible.  

In school we:

• Ensure good ventilation throughout the day. The windows and external doors are opened at every break and lunch time, with no more than 1 hour between each ‘refresh’ of air.
• Tables and equipment will be cleaned at the end of each session throughout the day.
• Hand washing/ sanitizer routines are built into the timetable so that this takes place before and after each activity.
• Each child has their own personal set of stationary and equipment to limit shared resources.
• Lunch is eaten in smaller groups to ensure limited mixing of ‘bubbles’ (it is impossible to completely remove mixing so our aim is to minimize the occasions when this happens).

Risk Assessment Summary in Tier 4 (from January 4th 2021)

In addition to the steps outlined above, we will also:

• Limit visitors into the school to essential personnel only
• Ask all essential visitors into the school to wear a mask at all times whilst in the building
• Provide all MDSAs with facemasks and visors during lunch service
• Keep the windows and doors in the lunch hall open (where possible) during all sittings
• Hold all staff meetings electronically via Teams
• Offer additional training and information for parents and carers on the importance of the government 'Hands, Face, Space' campaign
• Encourage all adults to wear facemasks everywhere whilst in communal areas within the school building (excluding their own classroom)  

In school we:

• Ensure good ventilation throughout the day. The windows and external doors are opened at every break and lunch time, with no more than 1 hour between each ‘refresh’ of air.
• Tables and equipment will be cleaned at the end of each session throughout the day.
• Hand washing/ sanitizer routines are built into the timetable so that this takes place before and after each activity.
• Each child has their own personal set of stationary and equipment to limit shared resources.
• Lunch is eaten in smaller groups to ensure limited mixing of ‘bubbles’ (it is impossible to completely remove mixing so our aim is to minimize the occasions when this happens).

Risk Assessment Summary in Tier 1:

We ask visitors to our site to:

• Arrive at school on time. The gates are open from 8:30am and they close promptly at 8:45am. If you are late, you put staff at increased risk due to handover taking place inside the Main Entrance rather than outside in the fresh air.
• Face coverings must be worn at all times on the school premises when bringing and collecting your children (unless medically exempt and after discussion with Mrs Booth).
• The one-way system must be followed by everyone. 
• Everyone attending the site must follow social distancing guidelines, even if you are wearing a face covering.
• When absolutely necessary, only one person to enter the Main Entrance to speak to a member of staff in the Main Office

6th April 2020- Emergency Childcare over Easter

Our Emergency Childcare provision continues to be in place over the Easter period across all our Trust schools for vulnerable children and those of critical workers. We are pleased to be able to continue to offer food boxes to our Free School Meal families (food vouchers at Spilsby Primary) throughout the Easter holidays. Please remember if you need to use our emergency childcare this should be an absolute last resort and you need to make school aware in advance. Also, if for any reason your circumstances change and your child will not be attending please do let your school know.

20th March 2020- Emergency Childcare

Message from Infinity Academies Trust- As you will have seen in the national news we have been instructed by the Government to keep our schools open but only for vulnerable children and the children of Key Workers. Please see below a letter detailing all our Emergency Childcare arrangements for these key groups. Wherever possible all children should be looked after at home to support the Government's Social Distancing plans to prevent the spread of Coronavirus. Please only use our Emergency childcare if you have absolutely no alternatives  and you meet the Government criteria. The schools are closed for the vast majority of pupils.

19th March- Infinity School Closures 

In line with the Government announcement yesterday all Infinity Academies Trust schools will be closing from Friday until directed to re-open by the Government. This is to support the national efforts to slow the spread of the Coronavirus. The schools will be offering some childcare provision for vulnerable children and those whose parents are key workers. We are awaiting final definitions of these terms and will contact families directly when we know more. For further information about our closures please read the letter above. We wish all our families and children well at this challenging time and please do contact your school's main office if you have any questions.

Sending you all our very best wishes

Gavin Booth

CEO

17th March 2020-11am

Message from Infinity Academies Trust: Following the announcements made by the Government yesterday we have instructed our schools to take further actions to support Social Distancing and reduce non-essential travel. We have asked our schools to cancel any non-essential travel including visits, sporting fixtures and training events. We are restricting visitor access to our schools and will not be holding any in-school events including Governor meetings and parent engagement events. Wherever possible we are limiting time spent in large groups and therefore will not be holding whole school Collective worship or assemblies. We are asking our staff to not attend any out of school training to ensure as many people as possible are available to support children and families in school. We are working closely with our staff to ensure that those who may be vulnerable are taking sensible precautions and will do our best to ensure that our schools continue to run as smoothly as possible for as long as possible. As always if you have any questions please contact the main office at your child's school.

17th March 2020

The Government have updated their guidance relating to self-isolation for those that are demonstrating coronavirus symptoms. If you or your child has a new continuous cough and/or high temperature the whole family/household should self-isolate for 14 days. Please be clear that this is a change in guidance and we require your cooperation to keep all of our children and families safe. As always please let school know if your child will not be attending school.

Please see the NHS link below for further information on Self-isolation.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/self-isolation-advice/

During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic we will be using this page to update you on our current position and post links to key Government Guidance.

As you will be aware the Government has now moved from the "Contain" to the "Delay" phase in its response to the Coronavirus. The advice to schools continues to remain the same but it may change in the coming days. 

The current advice is that schools are to remain open. The biggest focus for schools in terms of "delaying" the spread of the virus is to ensure that everyone is washing their hands regularly and following the "Catch it. Bin it. Kill it." guidance relating to sneezing and coughing. We are monitoring closely the Government advice through Public Health England and the Department for Education.

We are currently undertaking a review of all our work including upcoming trips and events; we want to ensure that if our schools are asked to close that we have systems in place to make work available to our pupils. In this circumstance, we will give parents/ carers as much notice as possible to make alternative childcare arrangements. 

Latest guidance suggests that if your child has a new continuous cough and/ or a high temperature (37.8 degrees or above) then they should self-isolate for 7 days.

If your child is not able to come to school for any reason,

you must contact the Main office as soon as possible to inform us of their absence and the reasons behind it.

We understand that these are worrying and unsettling times. The safety and well-being of your children is our number one priority which is why we will continue to follow Government advice over the coming weeks. We will keep you updated through information on this page, via Twitter @BostonStNic and with the TextAround service but if you do have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact the Main Office directly where we will endeavour to offer support and guidance to help in these unprecedented times.

Thank you for your continued patience and understanding in the face of this ever-changing situation.