Dear Parents/Carers
We are all prepared in readiness for children returning to school on Monday. We very much look forward to welcoming them back on site.
I know that teachers have had conversations with parents/carers during the week about the arrangements for Monday. All transport is arranged, although there may be some changes, such as the introduction of new white buses for some children instead of yellow ones. Unfortunately, we do not know which children this may affect so just wanted to share this with you as you may feel it necessary to prepare your child in case there is a change of colour. We have put a picture of this on our Facebook page here to help.
If you have not yet read our Risk Assessment, this can be found on the Oaklands website here. You are welcome to contact the school office or phone us at school next week if you have any questions about this. Despite having a range of new measures in place now, such as regular home testing of staff (twice weekly) and over 60% staff now being vaccinated to help reduce the risk of transmission of Covid-19, we remain extremely vigilant. Again, I ask for your continued support with this, so that we keep our Oaklands community safe. Please do not send your child in to school if they are at all unwell. We would rather you continue to err on the side of caution and keep them at home. Please call the school office if your child is not coming in to school.
Remember if your child or a member of your family show any of the symptoms of coronavirus you must all isolate and book a test.
The main symptoms are:
We have learnt this week that NHS Test and Trace have now announced that all adults in households with school and college age children without symptoms can access regular rapid coronavirus (COVID-19) testing. Further information is available about this on the Government website here: https://www.gov.uk/order-coronavirus-rapid-lateral-flow-tests Around 1 in 3 people with COVID-19 do not have symptoms. Rapid lateral flow tests help to find cases in people who may have no symptoms but are still infectious and can give the virus to others. The test usually involves taking a sample from your tonsils (or where they would have been) and from your nose, using a swab. You can get a result in 30 minutes. The tests can be ordered online or by phone. More information will be sent to you next week about this as it is rolled out more widely and the tests may also be available to collect from local Coronavirus test sites.
This weekend, please do talk to your child about their return to school on Monday. Remind them of the things, and/or people, they like at Oaklands; favourite activities, fun things they have done in the past. Please reassure them and acknowledge their feelings if they do indicate that they are anxious. This is a natural feeling and should not be dismissed but recognised- "It's completely fine to feel like that at the moment". Pictures and photos are a great way to support your child to remember school, so looking at the website, our Facebook page, You Tube channel or Twitter (@OaklandsSchool_), and talking about what & who you can see is a good way to do this.
We wish you all a very good weekend, and look forward to reconnecting with our Oaklands children again next week,
Regards
Sarah
Sarah Osborne
(Headteacher)