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๐ Newsletter - 31.12.2021
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๐ฆ COVID-19 and Returning Next Week
Guest User
Dear Families
I hope everyone enjoyed Christmas and had the opportunity to connect with their loved ones. Sadly, I know of two staff members who had to self-isolate, which I am sure is the case for some of you too. To all those affected, thank you for your sacrifice and for protecting others, and I am very sorry that you didnโt have the Christmas you had planned.
I am sure many of you have been following the news regarding the Omicron variant of COVID-19 and seen that, as predicted, the cases have risen massively since we broke up for the holidays and continue to rise to record numbers. What appears to be great news, is that there is growing evidence that the vast, vast majority of people have no or mild symptoms, and that the number of people needing to go into hospital is much, much lower than it was for previous variants and for shorter periods too. Again, children are the least affected by Omicron in terms of serious illness - another huge positive.
So, keeping this positive and extremely important news in our minds, there is going to be a specific and significant challenge for us all in the next couple of months - ATTENDANCE! Below, I will add more to what I sent out to you all just before school closed for Christmas.
Up to this point, primary age children have had relatively low case rates compared with other age groups, That does not appear to be the case this time, and they are matching the extremely high rates of other age groups. You can see from the chart below, that primary age children in Manchester were up to around 1000 per 100,000 just before Christmas, or every 1 child in 100 tested positive on a daily basis. To put that into context, that would be around 14 children per week testing positive in our school (and the rates are still rising).
Rising case rates for primary age children in Manchester
As I write this message, the Newton Heath case rate is up to around 1500 per 100,000 and rising. This is far, far higher than it has ever been, which probably puts primary age children at a similar number (this would be around 22 children per week). This isnโt as much a health issue in school, but one about keeping school open. If we were to get to 2000 per 100,00 (or 2 in 100 people) for a number of weeks, then it could be the case that nearly the whole school would need to self-isolate by half-term.
Primary age children are not yet vaccinated, so without being too dramatic about the issue, we could be looking at a tornado of cases moving through schools in the next month. Sadly, I predict extreme disruption caused by high numbers amongst the children leading to:
Staff catching Omicron and needing to self-isolate.
Staff needing to cover different โbubblesโ.
Staff needing to look after their own children if they need to โself-isolateโ.
Potential temporary closure of โbubblesโ due to staff shortages.
Remote learning for individuals self-isolating, and for whole โbubblesโ if necessary.
Providing โfree school mealsโ to qualifying children self-isolating (not for infants on universal free school meals).
When the school was only open to the children of โkey workersโ and โvulnerable childrenโ from March 2020, the decision to close schools to most children, was in many ways caused by the difficulties school leaders had in keeping them open due to staff shortages. For different reasons, we could be heading into a similar challenge now.
So, within this challenge, these are the priorities for us:
Reducing transmission, protecting attendance as best we can and trying to keep โbubblesโ open.
Supporting child and staff wellbeing.
Being prepared for remote learning (individuals or bubbles).
Being realistic about what is achievable and recognising that we will all have different degrees of disruption this term.
The poster we have made below sets out how we intend to tackle the challenge and do our best to address our priorities.
How we will do our best to ride this wave
I really need the co-operation of everyone again. We have all been in a more relaxed mode last term, but this has to change immediately next week. We need to take this situation very seriously and try our very best to:
Keep COVID-19 out
Keep clean
Stop the spread
Work together
Remember the bigger picture
Take care of ourselves
Any one person who isnโt serious about the risks to school attendance, or tries to avoid personal inconvenience by sending a child into school with symptoms and no negative test result, could set off a chain-reaction of positive cases in school which could then lead to many, many more people going home, and ultimately the โbubble/sโ going home too. Any family with a child self-isolating now, or in the days leading up to the 4th January, please email the school at enquiries@allsaintsnh-pri.manchester.sch.uk. It is very important we know as soon as possible.
I also ask everyone to respect our decision to send children home if they are displaying any of the wider list of symptoms. We have had fantastic support from families in incredibly difficult times, but there have been occasions when we have been challenged about a child with symptoms being sent home. Without a negative PCR test result, there will be no debate about this Iโm afraid, and we wonโt be changing this policy. If anyone wishes to make a complaint about this issue, then please make an appointment to speak to me.
This term has the potential to be the most disruptive we have faced in nearly two years, and I want to be very honest with everyone that there could be some very difficult choices to be made soon. I want you to know that I will always listen to peopleโs views, and that all decisions regarding โbubbleโ closures will be made after consultation with Public Health, the Local Authority and the Governing Body. If you have any concerns or worries, please get in touch as soon as you can.
There hasnโt been any change of direction signalled by the Department for Education, and they are clear about their intention of keeping schools fully open, but I will always pass on any new guidance to families as quickly as I can.
It is a huge shame that we are entering another period of disruption, but I have been overwhelmed with pride at how well the children, staff, families, outside providers and the governors have performed since February 2020, and I know we can use what we have learned to do a fantastic job of riding this next wave.
Thank you to everyone for your support and understanding. It is a team effort at All Saints, with the goal of having Healthy, Happy and Confident children, and we will pull together even more this term, Iโm sure of it.
Mr J Sharp
Head Teacher
๐ฆ Returning in January
Guest User
Dear Families
I wanted to update you on our current plans for the return in January. As I am sure you know, Omicron cases are now increasing incredibly quickly and there are question marks about whether the government strategy of booster jabs, face masks, COVID passes and testing is going to be enough to stop the NHS being overwhelmed in January.
If you remember last January (I certainly do) there was a dispute between unions and the government about whether it was safe to open after Christmas, in which we did return for just 1 day, and then the lockdown was announced. The school and families coped brilliantly, but I donโt want us put under unnecessary pressure and stress if we can avoid or limit it. Therefore, when we return, we will be following these principles:
Reducing transmission of COVID between people in school and families.
Reducing child absence as much as possible.
Reducing staff absence. This is a major concern of mine. If we end up with a number of staff off at once, it may force us to send classes home due to a lack of safe staffing levels.
Preparation for the worst case scenario of the government limiting attendance in school to just vulnerable children, and providing remote learning for other children at home.
How we are planning on doing this:
Click the image to read the article.
We will be operating as class bubbles again when we return.
Staggered starts (not different from the current times)
Staggered playtimes for bubbles
Clubs for one bubble at a time
Preparation to limit Breakfast Club numbers if we have to
Limits on staff contacts
Virtual assemblies and services
Bubbles sat together in the dining room and hall at lunchtime, and a longer stagger of sittings
Being prepared to move lunches back into classrooms if needed
Health, hygiene and cleaning
Any child or staff member with symptoms will not be allowed in school and will need to book a PCR test. We have thermometers to check for a raised temperature, and staff will be checking very carefully for signs of infection.
Close contacts of a confirmed case will need to take daily lateral flow tests for 7 days. If these are negative, they can continue to attend school.
We continue to use hand sanitiser stations and regular hand washing.
We still have extra cleaning carried out in the middle of the day.
Staff are wearing masks when not in lessons or their own office.
Teachers are preparing plans that will allow learning to be accessed from home (for self-isolation or bubble closure)
Children all logged in to online platforms (Bug Club, myOn, etc)
Devices being distributed now to help with learning at home
Practise tasks prepared in paper form where appropriate
Why are we taking these measures?
Case numbers are already higher than the peak seen last January
It has been shown that 2 doses of the vaccine is not enough to stop people spreading and catching COVID-19, although thankfully it is believed that it does protect against serious illness for most people.
At the current rate, the booster programme wonโt hit itโs target until the beginning of February, which is a month later than the target of the end of this month.
Omicron is proving to be the fastest spreading variant, and the number of positive cases are going to be incredibly high in the next two weeks.
Even with the protection against serious illness from 2 doses and the good protection from 3 doses, it is very likely that the extremely high number of cases is going to lead to more people in hospital. Indeed, the numbers are already going up now.
January and February is already incredibly busy for the NHS in non-COVID years, so it is very likely that more restrictions will come in after Christmas to slow the spread of Omicron.
Child cases in Manchester are still rising quickly, and at very high levels
At this time, children are showing the highest rates of infection of any age group, and even with the reduction in mixing over the holidays, there is a real risk of even higher levels of absence amongst the children and the staff.
By reducing contacts, we believe that any spread of Omicron can be limited and therefore reduce the risk of bubble closures.
Message to everyone
There is no way that I would want to make these changes unless absolutely necessary, but I firmly believe that it is very likely that there will be significant challenges when we return, and we should be prepared as possible now.
I always try and avoid making comment on politics and the Department for Education, but Iโm afraid all of us in education believe that there have been too many last minute announcements, which has resulted in ridiculous levels of pressure and additional workload on staff, and this canโt continue. It also results in stress and anxiety amongst families, which is bound to transfer to the children, and that is the opposite of what we all want.
We have all learned a great deal in the last 22 months, and I am so proud of the children, families, governors, our school partners and especially the staff. I know we can cope with what may (not definite yet) come, so letโs put that knowledge into practice now while we have the time. That way, I hope everyone can have as relaxing a Christmas break as possible and be prepared for how we return.
Finally, I plead with you all to take every precaution you can to limit the spread of Omicron, and do your bit to stop it entering school, or spreading quickly if it does. I totally understand the inconvenience and pressures caused by keeping children at home, and it really is a worry for everyone. However, if we try and chance it by sending children in who symptoms (including sickness and diarrhoea), then all that does is make it more likely that everyone will be off, and for longer.
If anyone has any concerns, questions or suggestions, please get in touch. We really do welcome your input.
Thank you again for your amazing patience, support and understanding. It really is appreciated.
Mr J Sharp
Head Teacher