Earlsheaton Infant School

Earlsheaton Infant School

"This is the start of the journey..."

Hello!

Welcome to our school and our website. We hope you will find the information here useful, whether you already have a child in school or are considering us for your child's first steps in education.

We are a friendly and nurturing school located in Earlsheaton; a small village near the centre of Dewsbury, West Yorkshire. Ofsted inspected us most recently in May 2016, where we were delighted to maintain our overall 'GOOD' rating. We cater for children aged 4 to 7 and currently have 120 places in 4 classes, some mixed-age. We are usually full in all year groups but if you are interested in a place then please contact our office to ask about the Kirklees Admissions procedure and how to apply to be added to the waiting list. 

We offer a broad and stimulating curriculum, an on-site breakfast club and a variety of after school activities through the year. We believe that the first few years in school are the most crucial in setting the tone for the rest of your child's education and we take this responsibility very seriously. We are committed to helping every child discover and unlock their potential and look forward to working in close partnership with parents and carers to give our children the best possible start in life. 

We are proud to hold the Leeds Carnegie Mental Health in Schools Award at Gold Level, the Arts Award at Gold Level, and The Eco Schools Bronze Award. All of these things enhance our excellent academic provision and help our children grow into resilient, curious, confident individuals. 

We are very proud of our little school and can't wait to tell you all about it! If you would like to find out more then go to the menu to explore our website. If you would like to vist school then please call the office to make an appointment and we would be delighted to show you around. 

We look forward to welcoming you into our family!

Mrs Wendy Kelly                                                                        

Head Teacher

• All children in Years One and Two will return on Tuesday 8^th September. To avoid rigid, staggered starts for each class, all children may come into school from 8.30 to 8.55am. If your child is in West class or North class, please drop them off at their fire doors, rather than their cloakrooms. If your child is in East class or South class, please drop them off at their cloakroom doors. Please do not linger and try to keep at least 1m away from other parents. If you wish to stop and chat to other parents we would be grateful if you would do this off the school premises, as we are trying to keep numbers of people on-site as low as possible. 

• Breakfast club will be running in the House, as normal, from 8^th September. We have a maximum of 15 places every day. Children will only be admitted between 8-8.10am. If you have booked a place but arrive later than this then your child will not be able to attend but you may still be charged. If you would like to book Breakfast club please email Mrs Hill on nicola.hill@kirkleeseducation.uk or speak to her on 01924 460969. 

• Our new Reception children will be spending half a day in school and staying for lunch, the first week of term. Mrs Grant will let you know which day your child will be visiting. All Reception children will then start, full time, on Monday 14^th September. 

• Monday to Thursday, children can be collected between 3.15 and 3.20pm. West, East and North classes will be sent out from their fire doors, South class will be sent out from their cloakroom. Again, please try to keep your distance from other parents. 

• On Fridays, up to Christmas, we will close to children at 2pm. This is to give our cleaning staff extra time for enhanced cleaning of the whole site, in preparation for the following week. Please be prompt in collecting your children at 2pm, from their usual pick up points. All children will be sent home with a home-learning task to complete and bring back the following Monday and we would appreciate you supporting them with this. We will review this situation towards the end of the Autumn term, taking into account infection transmission rates and current guidance at the time, before deciding whether this needs to continue in the Spring Term or whether we will be able to return to closing at the normal time. We appreciate your understanding with this, as it is a measure we are implementing along with other local schools to help our site remain as clean and safe as possible. 

• While in normal times, we have been more than happy for families to linger in the front playground and let their children use the play equipment, from September onwards we would ask that as soon as you have collected your child you leave the premises. Again, this is help with social distancing by reducing the number of people on-site to the bare minimum. We also have a comprehensive programme of cleaning in place through the day which includes the outdoor equipment being sanitized after playtimes. We would appreciate children not being allowed to use it before and after school to reduce the number of times staff have to clean it. 

• From September whole classes will function as enclosed pods. This means they will have as few adults as possible going in and out of their classroom and they will not interact at all with other class pods. Regular adults will include their teacher and teaching assistant/s, obviously, and Miss Trowsdale who is providing weekly PPA and Leadership release time for teachers. Aside from these individuals other school staff will not enter the pods unless absolutely necessary, and in this case, for the minimal amount of time. Again, this is not how our school normally operates and is- quite frankly- an extremely sad prospect for those of us who enjoy spending time in all classes chatting with your children. However, it is one measure that will help reduce possible virus transmission. 

• The government has decided that social distancing cannot realistically be enforced with young children. Therefore, whilst our children will be reminded to keep apart we have to accept that they won’t. Adults will also not be distancing themselves from your children. Staff will, however, continue to social distance from each other and only essential visitors will be allowed within the school premises. If you wish to speak to the office staff then please do it by phone or email unless it is unavoidably urgent. If you wish to speak to a member of school staff please call the office to arrange an appointment, as you will not be allowed to ‘pop in’ to the classroom. Again, these measures are not the usual ‘open door’ approach of which we are so proud, but are in place to protect your child, your family and our wider school community. 

• Children must wear uniform. There is no requirement to wash it at the end of each day unless you choose to. Children in Years One and Two will need a PE kit in school from the first day back. As PE sessions will take place outside, our PE kit can include plain black, grey or navy jogging bottoms or leggings, as well as the navy shorts and plain white T-Shirt. Trainers or pumps will also be needed as school shoes are not always suitable for PE activities. This kit should be available in school every day. 

• Children should bring their bookbag every day, but it must only contain school items. Toys or other items from home must not be brought into school, as these would have to be sanitized and staff will be busy enough keeping the items in classrooms cleaned throughout the day. We will be strictly enforcing this rule, so please don’t give into your child and let them bring a toy from home-it will just cause problems when they have to give it back to you at the classroom door.

• As pods of children are not permitted to mix, there will be no daily assembly. Instead, classes will have a short daily session of collective worship in their classrooms. 

• Lunchtimes and playtimes will be staggered to ensure the minimal number of children are in the hall or playground at any time. We will be returning to our normal menu of hot meals from September. Your child may choose to bring a packed lunch instead- these can go back to being in a named lunchbox, rather than carrier bag.

• The guidance around large gatherings means it is unlikely our normal events such as Harvest Festival, the Autumn disco, our parent ‘Stay and…’ sessions and even our Nativity plays will go ahead. As the term progresses we will be considering different ways to do these special things and keep you informed as we go on. 

• Children who are self-isolating will be able to access our remote education materials, details of which we will release as needed. The government expectation is that education is disrupted as little as possible and that children will be learning whether they are at home or in the classroom. This model of ‘blended learning’ due to self-isolation may well be in place for the foreseeable future, in the same manner as ‘local lockdowns’ may well become common. Public Health current procedures are that if a school has 2+ confirmed cases within a 2 week period they will consider, on a case-by-case basis, if the entire school needs to close for a fortnight. Just because life is starting to feel slightly more normal than it did, we need to be mindful the virus is still present, there is not yet a vaccine and we all need to work together to minimize community transmission risks. 

• Our commitment to your child receiving a broad and balanced, fun and engaging curriculum remains. On returning in September there will be an emphasis on the core subjects of Phonics, Reading, Writing and Maths to ensure our children are confident to pick up where they left off and accelerate through the programmes of study. However, they will still cover Science, History, PE, Geography, RE, Music, Art/DT and Computing just as they would in any normal year. They will have access to the same resources, they will just be sanitized on a very frequent basis. Children will be given their own set of named essentials to use- pencil, crayons, glue stick, ruler etc which is used by them and them alone.

• Our school focus on Social, Emotional and Mental Health will remain high profile. We are proud of our children’s resilience and growth mindset skills and are confident these will help them to settle back in, quickly. If we feel any child needs any extra support we have Mrs Kirkham, who is a trained Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) who can do some one-to one or small group work with them. If you think your child is struggling with the return to school, let us know and we can help. We can also refer to Helen, our school mental health outreach worker who is based at Northorpe Hall and can offer more tailored and direct support to children and families. 

• Items in classrooms will be sanitized frequently by staff through the day. Children will be washing their hands with soap and hot water on a regular basis and each classroom will have plentiful stocks of hand sanitizer and tissues. We promote the ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ approach to sneezing and used tissues will be disposed of in lidded bins. 

• Children, Staff and any essential visitors will NOT be wearing face masks in classrooms. This is in-line with current guidance. If this guidance changes, we will let you know. Any adults entering school in a facemask will be required to remove and dispose of it in the main entrance, or store it in their bag, if it is not disposable. 

• If your child develops symptoms of covid at home please don't bring them to school. Phone us to let us know, arrange for a test by calling 119 and then let us know the outcome. If the test is negative your child can come straight back to school. If the test is positive then your child will need to isolate for 10 days and all the other people who live in your house must isolate for 14 days. We can send you some home learning to do with your child, if they are well enough. 
• If anyone in your house (but not your child) tests positive for covid then please let us know this straight away. Your child will need to isolate for 14 days. We can send you some home learning to do with your child. 
• If your child develops symptoms of covid at school we will take them out of their classroom and contact you to collect them straight away, so please make sure we have up to date phone numbers for you. You must arrange a test for them straight away and let us know the outcome. If the test is negative your child can return to school. If it is positive they must isolate for 10 days. We understand this is disruptive and frustrating but these are the safety rules under which schools have been allowed to fully re-open. We will be following these rules to the letter for everyone’s safety and wellbeing. 
• Our school ethos has not changed. We are here to nurture and care for your child, to help them learn and to reach their potential. We have done, and continue to do, everything in our power to minimise any risks. If you are anxious about anything to do with your child's education or time in school then please get in touch, and we will do what can to put your mind at rest.