This section of our web site aim is to provide you with the latest information about Covid-19, we will be adding details as they become available. Please check regularly - this is an unprecedented situation but we will be doing our best to update this section information for parents, it will change regularly.

These updates are valid from March 8th 2021

Arriving to School
 

We will continue to have a staggered start and finish to the day although we have altered the times at the end of the day very slightly to try to maximise learning time. Please try to stick to the times to ensure it does not get too crowded.

Our One Way School Site

A walking one-way system has been introduced for dropping off and collecting pupils. Pupils and parents will enter through the car park gate and parents can then exit via the pedestrian gate in front of the office observing social distancing rules. Any parents needing to escort pupils to the school door will be asked to follow the one-way system and leave via the side gate into the alley adjacent to Tesco.  We will encourage communication through phone calls and email but if it is essential to talk to office staff, please ensure only one person is in the office foyer and anyone waiting to stand on the bees outside the office doors. Adults are more likely to pass on and to catch the virus so we need to ensure we are all keeping a good distance from each other. Be alert.

We are very grateful that so many parents have worn masks and followed the one-way system
and we are asking that you continue to do this in order to help us to keep everyone safe.

Safety Measures in Place from March 2021

There will be additional measures of safety that we will be putting in place, these will include:

• Children continuing to stay in their bubble
•  All adults wearing face masks or visors when moving around the school and when teaching within the 2-metre space, particularly our Learning Support Assistants.
• When within the 2-metre teaching box at the front of the class, it will be down to the teacher’s preference if they remove the mask to teach. This will be based on how clearly they can communicate and their voice can be heard.
• Ventilation is now considered vital in slowing the likelihood of the spread of the virus so we will be opening all windows in spite of the weather. Please make sure that your children have sufficient clothing so they are not cold.
• Some children have begun to bring in bags and pencil cases but we are asking that they do not bring anything except their lunchboxes, water bottles and coats. We are grateful for your support with this.
• All parents and adults to wear face masks when onsite including drop offs and pick-ups
• arents and all children to use the one-way system when dropping or collecting the children.
• The children will continue to have set places in class and the teacher will need to teach more lessons from the front of the class.
• Assemblies will continue to be virtual.
• Handwashing will continue to be very important in reducing the risk of the spread of the virus and we will ensure we are vigilant in ensuring all children wash their hands regularly.
• Children will continue to eat in the classroom with the teachers cleaning the tables to ensure they are clean.
• We will continue to have extra cleaning during the day to ensure touch points are sanitised regularly.
• If any child leaves the classroom when they have not been given permission, we will contact parents to let them know because they run the risk of mixing in someone else’s bubble.
• We ask that parents do not collect other people’s children unless they are part of the childcare support bubble. In these cases, please ensure the office knows this information in advance and not just before or at pick up times because it is sometimes too late to get the message to the class teacher.

Staffing

There may be times where we find it difficult to staff classes if teachers test positive or they need to self- isolate. We will cover as much of this as we can to ensure classes stay open, but there may be times where we need to close classes or bubbles and move to remote learning for a short period of time. Work will be provided on Google Classrooms so children do not miss out on the work the children are doing in class. 

Breakfast and Afterschool Clubs
 

• Breakfast and After School Clubs will continue to operate for children of parents who need childcare whilst they are working or if they need to attend a medical appointment. Please book these sessions in advance

School Uniform

We are aware that some children will have grown out of their uniforms since January. If they do not have all the right uniform, we will not worry if children are not in quite the right clothes when they come back as we realise it is difficult to buy during Lockdown. There is a "pop up" free use uniform shop available in the community on the 4th March - of you can contact them direct - details here: Uniform News!

The advice regarding self-isolation remains the same. Pupils staff and other adults must not come into school if:

• They have one or more coronavirus symptoms
• A member of their household (including someone in their support bubble or childcare bubble if they have one) has coronavirus symptoms
• They are required to quarantine having recently visited countries outside the Common Travel Area
• They have had a positive test.

If any of these situations apply, they must not attend for at least 10 days after:

• The start of their symptoms
• The test date if they did not have any symptoms but have had a positive test

For the full guidance click on this link: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/self-isolation-and-treatment/

This is the lastest guidance from Hampshire County Council working in partnership with other councils
about what you need to do to help ensure your child and your family is safe.

We have created a Covid-19 Scenario Factsheet for parents to answer you questions about what to do if:

It goes through a variety of scenerios from having symptoms, to to someone in the household testing postive, to being contacted by NHS Test and Trace - to travelling outside the UK and Sheilding.

Your can read it here: Covid Scenerio FactSheet
 

Continued measures in school and a reminder of Symptoms

• To ensure children’s safety, social distancing measures will be in force in the school corridor, on the stairs and in the hall.
• Outdoor play will observe social distancing rules outside of the class bubble and any equipment that is used will be cleaned after use.
• School toilets will only accommodate one pupil at a time to ensure social distancing rules are observed
• Water fountains will be turned off so children cannot use these. 
• Cleaning of touch points and facilities has been increased across the school site.
• Children are encouraged to wash hands at regular intervals.

If your child falls ill at school, you will be contacted to collect them.

NON COVID-19 SYMPTOMS

If your child does not have any of the COVID-19 symptoms but does;

• Feel unwell but has a temperature of less than 37.8c,
• Vomit or has diarrhoea,
• Have a sore throat,
• Have a loss of appetite,
• Have a rash,
• Have fatigue / aches,
• or have any other general illnesses or is feeling unwell....  you are advised to monitor the child closely.

 
If any of the 3 main COVID-19 symptoms develop you must follow the government guidance on self-isolation and arrange a test for your child.

The school will contact you after 48 hours to check if your child has been COVID-19 symptom free.
 
If your child does not develop one of the three main COVID-19 symptoms, they can return to school 48 hours after the symptoms have stopped.
 
TESTING FOR COVID-19

All children and members of their households in England have access to testing if they display symptoms of coronavirus, including children under 5. A positive test will ensure rapid action to protect other children and staff in their setting. Tests can be accessed through the NHS website or by calling 119.

More Information was on our 1st newsletter of the school year or can be downloaded here: Covid -19 Advice and School Action Plan.

REGULAR TESTING

All families of school age children are able to access Rapid Tests  - and we would like all families to test at home twice a week, as this is a way to help ensure the virus does not spread within out school community.

• Free rapid laternal flow tests are available to anyone without symptoms, over 18 whome has not been told to self isolate, and whom has someone in your someone in your household, childcare or support bubble attends a primary school, a nursery, a secondary school, a sixth form, a college, or works at one and whom cannot get tests from a test site or your work - read more here: Rapid Lateral Flow Home Tests - https://www.gov.uk/order-coronavirus-rapid-lateral-flow-tests - you can get the test sent to your home or you can collect.
• The nearest rapid test collection centres can be found here: NHS Test Site Finder - where you can collect 14 tests per adult.
• The results of a Rapid Lateral flow test should be reported every 3 to 4 days and all the staff do them to help keep the classrooms safe.

• If a pupil / parent  or member of staff tests positive  from a LFT they should tell the school, nursery or college and make sure the person and their family self-isolates immediately and gets a PCR test (a different coronavirus test) to confirm the result - if the PCR is negative then the child can return to school.

Pennington Junior School has partnered with the COVID Symptom Study to help make sure our students are as safe as possible as we head back to the classroom, whilst doing our part in creating the world’s largest scientific dataset of COVID-19 in children.
 

What is the COVID Symptom Study app and why should you use it?

The COVID Symptom Study app is a not-for-profit initiative that was launched at the end of March 2020 to support vital COVID-19 research. The app was launched by health science company ZOE with scientific analysis provided by King’s College London. Now, with over 4 million contributors globally, the Study is the world’s largest ongoing study of COVID-19. The app also provides unique insight on asymptomatic and symptomatic information across the UK which builds into a larger picture for the government and captures information not covered by other means. The Government has been so impressed with the data and research being produced it is now funding ZOE to continue the great work.

We are asking all parents to join the COVID Symptom Study now, by downloading the free app and taking less than 1min a day to report how your child/children are feeling each day. With all parents reporting daily via the app, the app will provide a powerful tool for helping the school and parents understand COVID in the community and help keep our students safe. Importantly, the information you report will be invaluable to critical scientific research into COVID in children and for public health purposes - the Study will be sure to share any findings from their research with you.

You can read more in the newsletter that was sent to all parents - including how to connect with our school network - you can view a copy here:

COVID-19: GUIDELINES FOR VISITORS

As we continue to try to minimise the risk of COVID-19 in the Pennington community, we ask for the support and understanding of our visitors.

Please read our COVID-19 guidelines for visitors.

We are asking for the support and understanding of our visitors in helping us minimise the risk of COVID-19.

We continues to take guidance from Public Health England. Taking this into account, we are now limiting access to the site to essential visitors only.

If you are unsure as to whether your proposed visit is considered essential, please contact the school on adminoffice@pennington-jun.hants.sch.uk or ring on 01590 672104

If your visit to the school is an essential one, we would nevertheless ask that you refrain from visiting if:
 

• you have travelled from or transited through any of the countries or areas that are currently on ‘lockdown’ in the past 14 days.
• you have developed a fever (above 37.8C) or a new, continuous cough within the last seven days.

Along with all members of the PJS community, any visitors to the School should wash their hands with soap and water before leaving home and once they arrive at the school, and they may be asked to take a Lateral Flow Test.

For the avoidance of potential embarrassment, we would also like to advise you that the School is currently operating a ‘no handshake’ policy for all members of its community.

We apologise for not being able to give you our usual warm welcome, but we must take the current situation very seriously and look after the welfare of our pupils and staff. If you have any questions, please contact the member of staff you were due to visit.

Online Learning with Pennington Junior School in Google Classrooms

All children have been able to access learning through their "Google Classroom" since  November 2020. 

Your google classroom anytime here: My Pennington Junior School Classroom.

Google Classroom Help - FAQ from our families
 

See our dedicated Remote Learning Page

The School Library and Borrowing Books
 

It is very important that children are able to continue to borrow reading books from school.  Our new library system, which we will launch in September, will allow children to choose books virtually and we will then provide those books for children to take home.  When they return these, they will be left for 72 hours to ensure they are virus free before anyone else is allowed to borrow them.  

The same principle will apply to reading scheme books, we have invested in both KS1 and KS2 Rising Stars online library to ensure as many children as possible have access to the books that they need. If children do not have online access to books, they will still be able to borrow scheme books from school and we will quarantine these for 72 hours when they are returned.

Pastoral Care for all children

The past few months have been challenging for everyone and we are aware that some children may have struggled with this more than others.  We will offer ELSA support as well as whole class ‘circle times’ to give children time to discuss and share their experiences and help them to transition back to school happily.