Public Health England (PHE) is clear that the risk of catching coronavirus (COVID-19) is low if schools apply a system of stringent controls to reduce the risk of spreading the virus. This includes regular handwashing and cleaning measures. At Mellor we are doing everything we can to make our school as safe as possible. A full risk assessment of the building has been made and all staff are being trained in a strict set of health and safety protocols. We ask that parents support us by following the new school procedures so we can continue to make the return to school as safe as possible for all involved.

We understand that young children find it hard to socially distance. To reduce risk, we will be operating in year group 'bubbles' of children, with no mixing between bubbles. This will mean that the school will need to operate in a different way from normal but we know that it will help to reduce risk by keeping groups as separate as possible in school.

Class teachers have a set of strict health and safety protocols to follow, these include socially distancing from both children and other adults in the school as far as practicable. There may be occasions when your child's class teacher is unable to socially distance from your child e.g. comforting them if they become distressed etc. In these circumstances they will ensure that that they remain in closer proximity for as short a time as possible and no longer than 15mins or wear PPE where applicable e.g. administering first aid, providing personal care etc.

This is a matter of personal preference, we are not asking children to wear masks at school currently, but are watching the guidance from the government on this issue closely. If guidance regarding the wearing of face coverings within school changes we will let you know as soon as possible and review our school risk assessment and protective measures. Many of our parents and children chose to wear masks during the collection and drop off periods during our phased reopening in June. We have a clear procedure for safe removal of both disposable and re-useable masks and if children do choose to come to school wearing them, school staff will support them with this process once in the classroom.

If your child is not feeling well, please do not send them to school. If they, or any member of your family living in your household, are displaying COVID-19 symptoms; a new persistent cough, high temperature/fever, loss of smell/taste, please do not send your child to school. This is very important so that we can limit the potential spread of infection to others. If you suspect your child has symptoms, please contact the school to let us know and we will direct you as to how you can obtain a test. If the test is negative, your child will be able to return to school as soon as they feel well enough to do so. Please inform us of any test results as soon as possible.

Yes, if your child is displaying symptoms, we recommend that they get tested as soon as possible. If they then receive a negative test result they will be able to return to school as soon as they are well enough to do so. We ask that you make us aware of the negative test result prior to your child's return.

No, if you or a member of your household tests positive for COVID-19 all other members of the household must self-isolate for a period of 14 days even if the household members receive a negative test result.

Yes, if you come into contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 you will be advised to self-isolate for a period of 14 days. The other members of your household are not required to self-isolate unless you begin to develop symptoms then the whole household should self-isolate for 14 days.

If there is a positive case in your child's year group bubble, local health protection teams will work with the school to agree what action is needed. Usually, the school will not need to close fully, but it may need to close for the children in that particular year group. If this is the case, your child's education will continue remotely with daily contact from school staff. For those children with no or limited access to the school's virtual learning platform we will be hoping to have a small number of digital devices that can be loaned out as needed.

Each year group bubble can have up to 90 pupils. This consists of three classes of 30 per year group. Desks have been arranged so that children no longer face each other and everyone faces the front of the classroom.  For most of the school day classes will remain separated, however year group bubbles will share spaces at break and lunch times.

The school will open fully on Monday 7^th September to all statutory aged children. However, we will also be providing a taster day for children in KS1/2 in the week prior. Children in Years 6, 4 and 2 will be invited to come to school on Thursday 3^rd September and children in Years 5, 3 and 1 will be welcomed on Friday 4^th September.

Returning to school is vital for children's education and we know how essential it is for their mental wellbeing to have social interactions with their peers and teachers. We also know that time out of school can have a negative impact on children's learning and academic development. For these reasons the government has made school attendance mandatory for children in England from the start of the Autumn term unless there is a COVID-19 related reason why they cannot come to school e.g. they are on the shielding patient list.

Most children should be coming off the shielded patient list, however if your child is on this list, they should continue to shield until you receive notification either that your child is no longer on the shielded patient list or that shielding guidance has paused in Leicester.

Trusts and GP practices are reviewing all children and young people on this list and are aiming to advise whether they should be removed, before the start of the school term in September.

Where a pupil is unable to attend school because they are complying with clinical and/or public health advice, we will offer them access to remote education. Where children are not able to attend school as parents are following clinical and/or public health advice, absence will be authorised. If you think your child is in this category please contact the school office. All children with existing health conditions who are not on the shielding patient list should be able to return safely to school.

You should not bring your child to school until shielding is paused in Leicester. Currently this is up for review on 7^th September. If your child can travel to school without requiring your support, i.e. with another family member/friend, they should do so, so long as they are able to understand, and stick to stringent social distancing while at school. This may not be possible for very young children and older children without the capacity to adhere to the instructions on social distancing. If stringent social distancing cannot be adhered to, we do not expect your child to attend school and we will support them to learn at home.

We will be operating a number of staggered starts and collection times. It is important that your child is dropped and collected at these times to help ensure social distancing for the safety of all. We therefore kindly ask that you drop and collect promptly at your given times each day.

To reduce risk, we will be keeping year group 'bubbles' separated. This means that each year group will have their own start and collection time. By giving year groups different times to arrive and leave the school, we can also support social distancing practices for the adults dropping off and collecting their children. We realise some siblings are likely to be in different bubbles. However, we know that it still helps to reduce risk by keeping groups as separate as possible in school.

We understand that this will be difficult for some parents but in order to maintain separation between year group bubbles we have no alternative but to operate staggered start and finish times. We ask that you contribute to the safety of all by dropping off and collecting your children at the specified times. If you have children in different year groups we ask you to consider the following;

·  If you have a child in Y6 think about whether they could safely walk to and from school independently

·  Drop off children in order - it is fine for you to bring your other children with you

By sticking to your child's drop off and collection times we are significantly reducing the number of parents entering the school site at any one time. All entrances are marked with a clear one way system and 2m social distancing. If everyone observes this we can reduce the risk of cross contamination to all.

Yes, staff will be on duty to help at the start and end of the school day to support during drop off and collection times. Markings are also on the paths around the school, which will help parents observe social distancing.

We understand that this will be difficult for parents. However to ensure that we maintain social distancing between year group bubbles and we have followed the protective measures as set out by the government we have no alternative but to operate staggered start and finish times. Whilst we know this may be difficult for parents to manage the safety of our school community will be put first.

Please enter the school via the Checketts Road entrances. Children in Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 will use the KS1/EYFS entrance (Loughborough Road end) and Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 will use the KS2 entrance (Melton Road end). Please use the one-way systems and stick to the markers to ensure you maintain a 2m distance from others. Your child will be collected and returned to you at the playground gates by school staff. We ask parents not to enter the playgrounds. Please note the Clarke Street entrance gate will remain locked.

If you can, we would advise you to either walk or cycle to school. If you live too far away to do this, you may wish to come by car. Wherever possible you should continue to avoid public transport and if you have to use public transport wear a face covering.

If you are confident that your Y6 child is able to walk to and from school by themselves safely, we would be happy for them to do so, as this helps to reduce the number of individuals around the school site. If you would like your child to walk by themselves, a risk assessment will need to be completed first and these can be requested via email to the school office office@mellor.leicester.sch.uk A member of school staff will then contact you to complete the risk assessment over the phone.

A crossing guide should be available to help children cross Checketts Road in the coming weeks. Please remind your child that they must not be tempted to run up to them, which they may be tempted to do with not having seen them for some time. School crossing guides will be keeping a 2 metre distance at all times which in some cases requires them to operate from one side of the road only (i.e. the opposite side to the children coming to and leaving school).

No, we are asking children not to bring in their own stationary from home, as this will be provided for them. Children only need to bring in a water bottle and packed lunch (unless they are staying for school dinners).

Yes, all children will be asked to attend school in school uniform, except on the days that they are scheduled to have PE and then we would ask that children come to school in outdoor PE kit. This means that children will not need to get changed at school and this in turn, helps us to keep year group bubbles separated. Public Health England's guidance is that uniforms do not need to be cleaned any more often than usual, nor do they need to be cleaned using methods which are different from normal. However, we suggest that you wash your child's uniform regularly and make sure it is clean before they come to school. For parents that are awaiting delivery of Mellor logo uniform from School Uniform Direct please ensure your child attends school in comfortable clothing in school colours in the meantime.

Yes we are asking all children to bring plimsolls for indoor use.

After school clubs will not be running in the first half of the Autumn term, this is because any provision we run will need to be year group specific. We will be working hard during this time to look at how we can best provide extra-curricular activities whilst also maintaining separation between year group bubbles.

We recognise that your child may be experiencing a variety of emotions in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, such as anxiety, stress or low mood. When children return to school, class teachers will be working hard to address these anxieties and considerable time will be dedicated to supporting children's positive mental wellbeing with plenty of opportunities for children to explore and discuss their feelings around the pandemic. Throughout the Autumn term we will be prioritising mental health and wellbeing, physical activity and catch up of core subjects.

We are developing a system for remote learning to support any child(ren) who are unable to attend school due to COVID-19 reasons. This will mean that children will receive daily contact from school staff and will have specific work to undertake each day they are off school. We will aim to support families who are unable to access remote learning through the loan of digital devices as far as possible. Please note as school attendance will be mandatory from the Autumn term, it is expected that all children who can attend, do attend, as such remote learning will not be provided to children where parents/carers choose to keep them at home.

It is important to stress here that all children have missed a significant amount of schooling and you should not be worried about your child 'falling behind' as we anticipate that all children will need some form of catch up work. Class teachers will be working hard, to firstly, find out where children are working and then will systematically focus teaching to address any gaps in learning. Much of the Autumn term will be targeted towards ensuring that children catch up on missed learning in the core subjects. Where children need more support your child may be invited to access small group tuition sessions if their class teacher thinks they would benefit from these.

If your child normally receives 1:1 support due to Special Educational Needs, this level of support will continue to be provided.  Teaching Assistants have been working hard to prepare resources for the children they will be working with this year and will also support them in learning the new school routines. Home School Communication books will not be used but a simple email will be sent once a week to highlight some activities they have been completing. Any concerns during the week please phone the school office to make a telephone appointment to speak to either the class teacher or SENCo.  

As far as possible, we will aim to do PE outside. If the weather is not suitable, alternate physical education will happen inside.

As we are now required to restrict entry to the school to those who are essential only, it is more difficult for us to have face to face conversations with parents/carers on a regular basis. If you need to speak to a member of school staff we ask that you consider the use of phone calls or emails in the first instance. Where a face to face meeting is required these will be conducted on an appointment basis only. Parents are asked to email office@mellor.leicester.sch.uk and a member of office staff will then contact them to arrange an appropriate time and date. A suitable room will then need to be booked where social distancing can be maintained, we ask that only one parent attend the meeting. Parents/carers will be asked to sanitise their hands on entry and exit to the building using the stations provided.

We will be working hard to provide hot meals, however this will be a limited vegetarian menu in the first instance. As year group bubbles need to be separated we will be staggering lunch times and the way that meals are served to children. This means that we are not able to let children queue up together and choose a meal from the serving hatch in the normal way. We will be reviewing our lunch provision after 3 weeks to make sure that it is manageable. If we find that it is not, we will ask all children to bring packed lunches to eat in their classroom bases. All children eligible for free school meals would be provided with a packed lunch. We hope that we will be able to maintain hot meal provision and will do everything we can to make this work.

Yes, once the menu has been finalised with the catering company, we will share the menu with you. As always, any ingredients linked to allergies will be noted.