CHS Covid Routines for January 2022

Covid Information from the Government

Please click here for the most recent Government updates for Parents and Carers.

Cams Hill School Covid Risk Assessment – January 2022

Please see our Covid Risk Assessment for more details about how Cams Hill School are structuring the return to school and implementing the Government recommendations.

Update to Face Masks in School

Please read the latest letter from Mrs Harrison-Jones regarding the use of face masks inside the school building. Please note that from Tuesday 4th January this will be compulsory in classrooms. We are aware that some pupils and staff will be exempt from wearing a face mask.  If your child is exempt, we ask that you print a copy of the Face Mask Exemption badge from the Government website. This can then be displayed discretely to staff members. A link can be found here.

Covid kit contents

We will continue to require pupils to sanitise their own hands on the way into classrooms. Please make sure they have an adequate supply of hand sanitiser along with, as previously mentioned, a mask and a spare, tissues, their named water bottle, their reading book and a small sandwich type bag in which to store their mask while they are eating.

Uniform

We have already enabled all pupils to wear their PE fleece at all times in school. Rooms are cold in order to be well ventilated. We hope that pupils will also wear a plain white t-shirt or under layer as appropriate as the weather gets colder. We appreciate that the PE fleece is not a cheap item to purchase and will require regular washing so would therefore like to increase the flexibility further within our uniform policy to introduce a unisex, navy, plain, round neck sweatshirt that can be worn by pupils with their uniform. These can be sourced online or in supermarkets and are relatively inexpensive. No logos, stripes, ’hoodies’ or other jumpers are allowed to be worn. Pupils will need also need a coat. This can be worn not only to and from school, at break and lunch times outside but also in the building between lessons. Coats will be removed in classrooms during learning time. Please make sure your child has a coat as we will be outside even in light drizzle as previously stated.

Staggered start times

CHS is running a staggered start for pupils. Please click here for the CHS information about returning in the September – including the staggered start times for different year groups.

School cleaning routines

It is vital to continue to focus on the ‘hands, face, space’ mantra and ensure good cleanliness routines at all times. The school has increased internal cleaning routines and also has an expectation that teachers and other staff will clean specific high touch point areas in addition to the cleaning team. Hand sanitiser is readily available throughout the school although we are requiring pupils to, in addition, carry their own for regular use.

Face coverings

Our stance on face coverings remains the same. We are actively encouraging pupils and staff to wear them in communal areas but this is not a requirement. Most pupils will decide not to wear them in classrooms although this is also optional. We strongly advise all pupils to have a face covering as part of the ‘covid kit’ that they come to school with each and every day. We have given all teaching staff a visor that they may choose to wear which we hope will still enable full communication. Our pupils may decide that they want to wear their face covering during break and lunch times but this is not currently a requirement. We actively encourage our families to look at guidance around appropriate use and disposal of face coverings and ensure that pupils follow these rules accordingly. Face coverings need to be appropriate for use in a school environment. They can be patterned or plain but ones with images displayed are discouraged.

Temperature checks

We are not checking temperatures of staff or pupils on entering the school site. Government guidance does not suggest that we are required to do so and there is little evidence of the reliability in such a measure at this stage.

Social distancing

We are working towards encouraging staff to remain 2m from each other and 1m+ from pupils. In line with guidance, it is impossible to enable a full return to school for all our pupils and maintain social distancing amongst them within their ‘bubbles’ as they will, for example, be sitting next to another individual at a desk in a classroom. Staff will have seating plans in place so we are able to track where pupils sit and who they sit next to. Staff will mainly teach from the front in classroom-based lessons.

Support for children who are anxious

Tutors will (re) establish relationships and connections with their tutor groups quickly at the start of term. Teachers will (re) establish relationships and connections with their teaching groups. We hope that this will enable them to gauge who is more anxious about a full return and support each and every individual accordingly. Members of our NEXUS Academy team are also available to provide support. Please do email your child’s tutor if you would like them to be supported further or to share any specific concerns that you may have.