Please find enclosed a press release  from the Mayor

Public Urged To Continue To Stay at Home To Reduce High Infection Rates in Bedford Borough
With figures showing that Bedford Borough has the highest rate of Coronavirus infection in the East of England, Bedford Borough Council is urging local people to continue to stay at home as much as possible to slow the spread of the virus and save lives.
Muriel Scott, Director of Public Health for Bedford Borough Council said “As we all know, coronavirus is highly contagious and can be spread even if someone doesn’t appear to have any symptoms.
 “With lockdown easing you might think that the virus has gone away. It hasn’t; the rate of infection in Bedford Borough is the highest in the East of England.
 “We are working with partners in the health sector to support the local rollout of test and trace and are calling on residents to continue the fight to slow the spread of the virus.
 “Please continue to stay at home as much as possible. If you do have to go out, try to limit contact with other people, wear a face covering – particularly indoors and on public transport and keep 2 metres apart from people. Regularly washing your hands with soap and water, or using a hand sanitiser when that’s not available, remains key in slowing the spread.
 “Bedford Borough has a spectacular community spirit, and we have seen so many examples of that over the recent weeks and months. We are asking everyone to continue to do their bit in helping to slow the spread of the virus and save lives.”
Anyone with symptoms, including a new persistent cough, high temperature or a change or loss of taste or smell should immediately self-isolate and arrange a test via nhs.uk/coronavirus or by calling 111.

Dear Parents and Carers,


I previously wrote to you on the 22nd May about how we propose to open the school whilst the risk of Covid-19 is still with us.  On the basis that there is no further changes to national or local guidance, we will re-open for the pupils who have previously registered with us for the 1 June opening.  If you have previously registered with us you will have received an email from Mrs Grove earlier today and do not need to do anything else to book your place.  We will email you again next week with details of drop off and collection times and which classroom your child will be in.  This will be with effect from Monday 15th June.

From Monday 15th June and following the Government guidance, we will run a series of small classes (called 'bubbles') across the two sites.  Running such small bubbles will use a significant amount of available staff and classrooms.  The demand for pupils to return to school in these bubbles is over 120 and as such, we now have very limited capacity to accommodate any more children.  As things stand we have the following places available and we will then be full until September:

• Reception - 5 places 
• Year 1 - 3 places
• Years 2/3/4 Critical Worker children - 3 places

If you have a child that fits into one of these categories and you changed your mind from the initial 1 June opening and would now like your child to attend, please complete the following form by 10am on Monday 8th June (see button below).  These remaining places will be prioritised for critical worker children and then on age (youngest first).   

A risk assessment to open to this larger group of children has been submitted to the Local Authority and we will publish this on the school website when we receive their approval.

I thank you for your ongoing patience and support in these very difficult circumstances.


Kind regards


Mr Chris Tavener
Head Teacher

Dear Parents and Carers,

In my letter on Friday with regard to opening I said I would continue to evaluate our position and I would keep you updated if things change.  Since this time the Independent Sage (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) report has been published and it has modelled that delaying opening until 15 June would reduce the chance a child would be exposed to a contagious classmate by over 50%.  This is a significant development.  We care dearly for your children and their safety has always been, and will continue to be, our main priority.  As a result, the Governing Body has therefore decided to delay opening until, at least, the week beginning 15 June.  This will also enable us to assess the impact of the Government’s easing of the lockdown restrictions which would take 2-3 weeks to come through.

Please accept my apology for any inconvenience this may cause but understand we have not taken the decision lightly and have done so in the best interest of your child's safety.  
The existing key worker and vulnerable children provision will continue (contact: lgrove@woottonlowerschool.co.uk).

A copy of the Independent Sage report is enclosed for your information.  

Kind regards
 
Mr Tavener                                                    
Head Teacher   

Helen O'Neal 
Chair of Governors                                                        

Dear Parents and Carers,

Opening School

May I take this opportunity to firstly thank all my staff who have provided the superb childcare provision to the eligible pupils since we were told to close the school because of the Covid-19.  Whilst they have created a happy environment for up to 50 pupils, they have also set up and run an online home learning community.  Additionally they have regularly phoned all the pupils in their classes to check in with them.  I am extremely proud to be part of this team and acknowledge many have achieved this whilst managing their own anxieties around Covid-19 and balancing their own childcare needs and home learning requirements.  I would also like to thank you, for your ongoing support of the school and for providing safe learning environments for your children.  I am sure they will look back with fond memories of when home became their school for a short period of time.

Whilst we have successfully met this initial challenge, the recent Prime Ministerial announcement that Reception and Year 1 would reopen from, at the earliest 1 June, has now provided us with a new and significant one.  The Senior Leadership Team have worked tirelessly to create a local solution to what has been asked and I am writing to outline how we will open our school.  We have decided to follow the guidelines provided by the Government last Friday and what is proposed here is non-negotiable.  I am sure by working together, and supporting one another, we can meet the requirements laid down by the Government to make the best of this situation.

We want to be honest about how the school will operate so you can make an informed choice about whether you want your child to attend.  I therefore apologise if you find the following frank.

The fundamental point to make is that, in line with Government guidelines provided for primary schools, we are not expected to make the children socially distance from one another in school.  Whilst we will do this where we can (e.g. arrange seating in the classroom to be 2m apart), invariably the children of primary school age have, and always will be, in contact and play with one another.  That is why childhood illnesses spread so easily in school.
In the absence of social distancing, l therefore want to share with you what we will do to mitigate the risk of the virus spreading across the school.  This follows the advice from the Government.

• Create small pupil / teacher ‘bubbles’ of up to 15 pupils that will operate in isolation from one another. 
• These bubbles will not be allowed to mix at any point during the day e.g. they will have separate playtimes.
• Each bubble will have their own toilet facilities. As some of the classrooms at Harris Way have communal toilets we have split the pupils across the 2 sites. Preschool and Reception will be accommodated at Harris Way and  Year 1 will be accommodated at Bedford Road in classrooms with toilets in them or next to a designated communal toilet that will be only used by that group of children.  Keyworker children will now be accommodated at Bedford Road under the same arrangements.
• There will be breakfast and afterschool clubs only for critical worker children.  Critical worker children in Reception and Year 1 will be with their year group and so these facilities will run across both sites.
• Children and staff will have to wash their hands on arrival, before and after eating, and regularly throughout the day.
• Children should bring in their own water bottle which should have a clip opening function and not one where they will pull open the mouth piece with their hand.
• Facemasks can accumulate the virus and so under Government advice, they will not be permitted in classrooms for adults or children.
• Members of staff will not travel between bubbles so it is possible your child will not see their normal class teacher.  Indeed some teaching staff and support staff are classified as ‘Clinically Extremely Vulnerable’ and will not be in school.
• There will be no hot dinners. A packed lunch will be provided by Caterlink  for Reception, Year 1 and those children entitled to free school meals. This will be eaten in the classroom. NB: Pupils can bring in their own packed lunch.
• Twins will be in the same bubble to reduce family connections to more than one group of pupils.
• It is likely that your child will be in a bubble that doesn’t include all of their friendship group.  They will therefore not see all their friends at school.
• The curriculum will be very different and will be based on the home learning (which will still be available on-line).
• We will adopt some new behaviour rules and sanctions (e.g. need for handwashing, appropriate play, what happens if a child is spitting).
• It is unlikely, but the school may close on Fridays from 1pm to enable staff to have their statutory non contact time.  Normally we would cover this in the working week with other staff teaching the class, but under the bubble system this would increase the risk of transferring the virus between bubble groups by using multiple staff.  We will know what the week will look like once we have closed the registers and we have created the structure.  We will confirm this next Thursday (28 May).
• Under Government guidance we will not operate a rota system so pupils will return full time.
• To reduce the transfer of the virus on objects:
  • Soft furnishings will be removed from the classrooms.
  • Reading books will not be used or sent home.
  • No book bags to be bought into school.
  • No PE kits in school
  • Pupils will have a designated place to sit and will have their own equipment (e.g. pencil and book).
  • We will have an intraday cleaning programme in each class. 
• To reduce the transfer of the virus between adults:
  • There will be a staggered start and end of the school day for each class.  Times will be allocated during the normal school day and must be adhered to.
  • Handover will be made at a safe distance. Therefore there will be no face to face contact with the class teacher at drop off or collection.  If there is anything that needs to be discussed, this should be done over the phone where possible.
  • Parents will not be allowed in the school buildings.
  • Only one adult will be allowed to drop off and collect.
  • We will not accept pupils from child minders as they will be already socially mixing with other children.
• To reduce the transfer of the virus in the school community:
  • Pupils should wear clean uniform everyday.
  • When a child or staff member develops symptoms compatible with coronavirus, they will be sent home and advised to self-isolate for 7 days. Their fellow household members should self-isolate for 14 days.
  • All staff and pupils who are attending an education or childcare setting will have access to a test if they display symptoms of coronavirus, and are encouraged to get tested in this scenario.
  • Where the child, young person or staff member tests negative, they can return to their setting and the fellow household members can end their self-isolation.
  • Where the child, young person or staff member tests positive, the rest of their class or group within their childcare or education setting should be sent home and advised to self-isolate for 14 days. The other household members of that wider class or group do not need to self-isolate unless the child, young person or staff member they live with in that group subsequently develops symptoms.
  • Pending on demand and whether we have any excess staff, if staff members become ill (not covid), we will close the bubble until they return to avoid any cross bubble contamination.
  • There will be no visitors in school.

 
I do apologise if this letter seems blunt, but I needed to communicate with you with clarity over how we intend to keep the school community safe.  We care dearly for your children and their safety has always been, and will continue to be, our main priority.  We want nothing more than everyone to return to the school we all loved to be part of but recognise this is not possible at this time.  For every child that comes back to school we will do our very best to make it an enjoyable experience.  There is a lot of debate about the mental wellbeing of our children and I have my own concerns how children will cope in coming back to our school in this new and twisted reality.  That said I have every confidence in my staff to make this the best it can be.  Please take some time to carefully consider whether you want to send your child back to school in this format. It is your decision and you have the option not to.

As a next step I would like you to complete an online registration form only if you would like your child to return to school and they are in Reception or Year 1 or on the approved Key Worker list.  (There are currently no places for Years 2,3 or 4 pupils who are not key worker children). To do this please click on the button below. Please do this by midday on Monday 25th May so we can plan groups and allocate drop off and collection times.  To ensure we plan the opening effectively, we will only accept the pupils booked in by this date for the next 4 weeks. We will not add to the list during June but will run a similar process for July.  NB: Key workers do not need to specify which days they want,  just that they need a place.

We propose to have the 1st June as training day for all staff covering these new procedures.  The 2nd  June will then be used to set up the revised school and pupils will be welcomed back on Wednesday 3rd June.  That said, the School will be open as normal for critical care worker children at Harris Way on the 1st and 2nd June.

The Government has a bigger ambition that all year groups should return before the Summer break, but pending the demand from these initial groups, this may not be possible.  I know that some Year 4 parents were also keen for a transition to Middle School, but speaking to the Middle School Head Teachers, this will only be virtual.

Following Government guidelines, priority will be given to allocate school places to key worker pupils and vulnerable pupils and then to pupils in Reception and Year 1 (in this order).  We will confirm whether your child has a place by midday on Thursday 28th May.

We will continue to evaluate our position and we will keep you updated if things change.  At the Full Governing Body last night we discussed the current risk assessment in detail and an updated one will be published on our website next week.

Thank you for your patience and understanding at this incredibly difficult time.
 
 Mr Chris Tavener
Head Teacher

Dear Parents and Carers,
 
As news continues to circulate about schools opening from 1 June I am writing to keep you advised of where we are:

• I am meeting the Senior Leadership Team this afternoon to discuss our risk assessment and draft plans.
• There is a Wootton cluster Head Teacher meeting tomorrow to discuss every school's response.
• I will present the risk assessment and plans to our Full Governing Body on Thursday evening for approval.
• I will share the way forward with you on Friday morning.

Thank you for your continued patience in this matter.

As an aside the Borough Council would like to survey parents on the support the schools have provided since our closure and the link is shared below:
 
Stay safe

​Mr T

Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to complete the questionnaire regarding sending your child back to school post 1 June.  Of those who have completed the form, 65% (c200) would consider sending their child to school.  I do appreciate you have made this choice without having a full information base and I will only use the results as a really useful start for me to plan what the school could look like after half term given the level of this demand. 

I have spoken to over 20 head teachers yesterday and all have significant concerns that need to be resolved before they open their schools.  The national picture is also ever changing and the teacher unions are firmly against reopening.  However, assuming the Government ambition stays as it is, my next steps are to complete a risk assessment specifically for our school and put together a plan for what the provision will look like.  I will then share these plans with staff, governors and you towards the end of next week and provide you all with an opportunity to book a place if you still want to proceed.   Given the take up at that time, we may then need to prioritise school places as we will have a limit on how many pupils we can safely accommodate.

The long lead time for sharing this information is that I need to get this right.  Also I have a meeting with the other schools in our cluster scheduled on Wednesday, so I can factor in any news on any Year 4 transition after that.

​Thank you for your patience in this matter.
Mr T

Dear Parents and Carers,

I know you will have many questions following the Prime Minister’s announcement that primary schools will partially reopen as early as 1 June by receiving Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 pupils back into school.  I too had many questions - and some still need to be answered.  Yesterday the  Government papers provided clarity on some issues but went on to say that there is an ambition for all primary school children to return to school before the summer for a month if feasible. 

Our Chief Education Officer at the Local Authority is due to speak to the DfE later today on specific points and will provide further answers later this week.

From my viewpoint today I think we will be left to undertake specific local risk assessments to ensure we keep pupils, parents and staff as safe as we can.  For me the message remains that at this time we are safer staying at home so we need to plan a robust response to potentially open in 3 weeks time.  This will be in class sizes of 15, but at this time I do not know what this will look like or how this will work.  However I will provide you with details as soon as possible.

To assist me in planning this provision can I please ask you to complete the online form to indicate if you will take up the offered school place.  My understanding is that you can opt out of sending your child in if you have concerns over safety.   Please complete this by Thursday lunchtime.  The link is below.

In addition to this provision I believe we will be expected to continue to provide critical care workers and vulnerable pupils with emergency childcare.  This should only be taken up if your child cannot stay at home (e.g. there is no other adult who can look after them during the day).  This provision is for children of critical workers and not for other parents returning to work.
 
Kind regards
 
Mr T

Dear Parents and Carers,

We recognise that this has been a challenging time for all of you and your children and we are looking forward to the school re-opening when this can happen safely.   

​There is a lot of media speculation about the announcement on Sunday and I know as much as you about what will be said.  The school will be following government guidance, as it is released, to enable Wootton Lower School to respond. Should the announcement include anything on education, there is likely to be some decision making and planning at a local level and the school will be working as quickly as possible to make the arrangements and to ensure compliance. To support the school in enabling this work, please do not to contact the school about reopening arrangements unless it is an urgent matter. Please be assured that, should there be any announcement, we will communicate with you as soon as we can.

Next week our emergency childcare provision will be open for the key worker children who have already booked places.

Stay safe and enjoy a sunny weekend.

Mr T

Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope this message finds you safe and well. 

Thank you - Today I should have been running in the MK Half Marathon and many thanks for those who sponsored me (link per button below).  A poignant event as today would have been my Sister-in-Law’s birthday and I was running for Willen Hospice who provided amazing care for her.  Whilst the event has been cancelled I have still been running (over 500k this year) and have completed my own half marathon in preparation.

Rain rain go away - Last week would have been a tough one for many of you because the weather was cold and wet.  A typical school day can be significantly impacted by the weather – sometimes it is lovely being in class when it is pouring with rain, but other times we wait for a gap in the clouds just to let the children get some fresh air for 5 minutes.  Please don’t stress if last week didn’t go to plan, I know you are doing best you can and better times do lie ahead.
​
On the positive, next week the sun is due to shine again and we should also find out a general plan of how schools will reopen.  I honestly know as much as you at this time, but we have started to think what it could look like and on Friday I had a meeting with head teachers of 12 other schools (predominately in MK) where reopening was discussed.   For us, this is not just about the practicalities of staying safe, but also ensuring we meet the emotional needs of your children alongside assessing where they are in terms of their academic standards and providing a decent transition into their next year group or school.
 
Pupil Email - From some of the calls home it has come to light that some friends have lost contact with each other as you hadn't exchanged phone numbers.  As such we are opening up the 2email function on PurpleMash for all pupils next week so that the pupils can email one another.  This is a 'safe' email exchange as the emails can only be sent/received by pupils and teachers in our school.  From Year 2 the pupils have had lessons on how to use the email programme and have been taught what appropriate behaviour is expected.  Teachers will monitor emails from time to time and Mrs Grove has written a Parent Guide on how you can check what is being said and this is available by clicking on the button below.  If you are happy for your child to use this email platform, can I please ask that you speak to your child about the safe use of email and ask them in turn to report anything that has upset them to you.  Please let us know and we will investigate further.  Any child acting inappropriately on 2email will be removed from the system. In addition if you do not want your child included in this email programme please email either the class teacher or Mrs Grove (lgrove@woottonlowerschool.co.uk) and we will remove their account from the system.  If your child is in Year 1 or Reception they will need some support in sending / receiving messages.
 
… and finally, many thanks for the positive comments regarding Mr T in the Kitchen.  I am so pleased it bought a smile to so many faces and some photos of the amazing home baked cookies are shown below.  Enjoy this week’s music video too and stay safe.

Mr T