Dear Parents,                                                                                                                           

I hope you had a good half term break with your family.  It is lovely to have the children back in school refreshed and ready for a new half term of learning.  We hope you enjoyed using the bag of activities and resources we sent home.  We will be sending a second one soon in the event of your child having to self-isolate for 14 days or in case of a bubble closure.  Over the next few weeks we will be holding parent telephone conversations to give feedback on your child’s progress and development.

IMPORTANT COVID-19 UPDATE

In the light of the new lockdown announced by Prime Minister, Mr Johnson, on Saturday, we have reviewed our COVID-19 Risk Assessment and brought in some additional protective measures.  We were really fortunate last half term not to have to close any group bubbles and want to ensure our measures continue to be effective.  It is essential that our pupils are in school as much as possible and we need the support of our whole school community to keep our pupils, parents, staff and our families safe.

Face coverings – Parents

Parents are respectfully asked to wear face coverings when bringing children to and collecting from school.  Whilst there are many pinch points in our school grounds that inevitably make it difficult, please continue wherever possible to maintain a social distance and at least 1 metre away from other parents including when having a conversation with another adult.  Parents are also asked to stand well back from the doors and to leave the school grounds promptly at the end of the school day.  Please continue to use our systems for entering and leaving the school grounds.

Face coverings - Staff

Nursery staff may now be wearing face coverings when moving around school and in communal areas such as the staffroom.  They are not wearing them in their bubbles or whilst they are teaching.  When working 1-1 or with small groups of pupils, staff may wear a face visor as well as on the door or gate at the beginning and end of the day.

Ventilation and Outside Play

We will continue to keep windows open to ensure good air flow around our classrooms and the children will be outside for fresh air and exercise as much as possible - even in light rain.  Please ensure that your child has warm clothes, suitable footwear and a waterproof coat with them every day and that these are named.

IMPORTANT REMINDER: Parent Contact Details

It is absolutely essential that we can contact parents and carers immediately if a child is unwell.  If you have changed your mobile phone number (or any other details such as address or email address) please could you email us with your updated details on enquiry@marshiln.bham.sch.uk or phone the school office.

We will be going paperless and sending out letters by email so it is vital we have a parent's correct email address.

COVID-19 Symptoms and Tests

A reminder that pupils are not permitted to attend school if they have any of the following symptoms.

• a high temperature (37.8 degrees+)
• a new, continuous cough - this means coughing a lot, for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours
• a loss or change to sense of smell or taste - this means they cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal.

To request a test for your child or a member of your household, please visit https://www.nhs.uk/ask-for-a-coronavirus-test

Please inform school immediately if your child has a positive test for Covid-19.

If your child has a negative result, please let us know and as soon as your child is well enough, they may return to school.

We continue to live through challenging times and really appreciate your support for the measures we have in place to protect our whole school community as much as possible, whilst still ensuring a high quality education and positive school experience for all of our children.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs.H.Masaun

Head Teacher