We are very much looking forward to welcoming everyone back to school in September, along with all our new starters in Reception and other years.

For parents of children starting in Reception there is a wealth of extra information in our 'Starting school in 2020' section. All Reception parents have also received a letter detailing the attendance routine for their child.

Thorough planning is required to make sure that we comply with Government guidelines and do our best to alleviate any fears that children or parents may be feeling. By the new school year, some children will have been away from the classroom for six months but we want to reassure them that, although different in some ways, school will still be a place where they will be cared for and have fun.

All parents have already received email from school confirming all the arrangements for their child, from Reception to Year 6. Please find copies of all these documents below. They contain full detail of procedures and expectations for September

Letter to parents with final plans:  Saltford Letter to parents re Sept plans_primary FINAL.pdf is a detailed overview covering information such as our induction day, reopening date and where to access our full risk assessment.  It addresses queries about organising siblings in different zones. It is essential that we reduce ‘traffic’ on our school site and that parents model social distancing to the children when accessing the school site.

Full operating procedures for coming back to school in September: Saltford Primary School Sept opening procedures FINAL.pdf has full details on staffing, behaviour, circulation around school, wrap-around care, clubs, play, uniform, home equipment, school resources, food & drink, hygiene arrangements, cleaning arrangements, first aid & sickness, use of PPE, attendance, parental contact, dropping off and picking up, the curriculum and pastoral support.

Welcome back to school e-booklet to share with your child: online at https://online.pubhtml5.com/qxmbh/pgrw/ or as a PDF file here.

Phase bubbles

In order to accommodate a full timetable, and to ensure minimal contact between groups, we will create four 'phase bubbles' of Reception / Year One &Two / Year Three & Four and Year Five & Six.  Classes will remain separate from each other for the majority of the day.  We will bring phases together for periods of time, for example, playtimes, lunchtimes, wrap around care etc.  We will mitigate this risk by practising social distancing and have high expectations for hand hygiene, respiratory hygiene and increased cleaning.

Induction sessions

We feel it is important to allow sufficient time to ensure that the children understand the new procedures and systems that will be in place for their safety, in line with the advice from Public Health. To this end, we will be providing one-day induction sessions for them over the first two days of term (Thursday 3rd and Friday 4th September) and then all children and staff will be in full time from Monday 7th September.

Over the induction days, Years 1 – 6 will be coming in for one full day with staggered times and entrances; Reception children will have separate arrangements. All parents are being kept fully informed of the arrangements for their child(ren). All arrangements are outlined in this letter from Mrs Sage of 9th July. Please read on for more details.

Tuesday 1st and Wednesday 2nd September

Tuesday 1st and Wednesday 2nd September are both INSET days which will be used for staff training and planning in preparation for the start of term

Thursday 3rd September, years R, 1, 3 and 5 only

Year 1 from 8:45am – 3pm, entering and exiting via the main field gate.
Year 3 from 8:45am – 3pm, entering and exiting via the Claverton Road entrance.
Year 5 from 9am  – 3:15pm, entering and exiting via the field gate adjacent to Tiddlers Nursery.

Reception parents have details about their child's arrangements.

Friday 4th September, years R, 2, 4 and 6 only

Year 2 from 9am  – 3:15pm, entering and exiting via the main field gate.
Year 4 from 9am  – 3:15pm, entering and exiting via the Claverton Road entrance.
Year 6 from 9am  – 3:15pm, entering and exiting via the field gate adjacent to Tiddlers Nursery.

Reception parents have details about their child's arrangements.

If you have children in different age groups please drop your youngest child at their entrance and then accompany your eldest child round to their entrance. Years 5 and 6 will be entering the gate adjacent to Tiddlers nursery unaccompanied. 

Maps

The following maps will help you visualise pick up and drop off points: Reception, Years 1 & 2, Years 3 & 4, Years 5 & 6.

School dinners

Due to distancing requirements it is not going to be possible to provide the usual cooked school meal service in September. However, our catering staff have already adapted while school was open during lockdown and can offer a full packed lunch for the usual school dinner price of £2.60. Please see the menu for September here.

The process for booking school dinners is unchanged: free school meals are available to Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 under the Universal Free School Meals scheme and to those eligible for benefits-related free school meals; Years 3 – 6 may purchase a lunch in the normal way through School Gateway. Please see the-office/#school-dinner-service for full details 

In case of illness in children or adults

Guidance has been issued to the entire school community. Here, anyone affected must stay at home if they (or their family members) have any of the following symptoms: a high temperature, a new continuous cough, a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste. OR they have tested positive for coronavirus in the last 7 days. Those affected must follow government stay at home guidance as follows https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance.

Temperature testing is not recommended on its own. Guidance states that it is not a reliable method for identifying coronavirus. Our procedure will be that If anyone in the school becomes unwell with a new, continuous cough or a high temperature, or has a loss of, or change in, their normal sense of taste or smell (anosmia), they will be sent home and advised to follow ‘stay at home: guidance for households with possible or confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) infection’, which sets out that they must self-isolate for at least 7 days and should arrange to have a test to see if they have coronavirus (COVID-19). Other members of their household (including any siblings) should self-isolate for 14 days from when the symptomatic person first had symptoms. 

Please see the operating procedures document here for further detail.

Thank you

We would like thank families for their understanding and continuing support as we all get used to these changes. Throughout the planning process the safety of children and adults has been our overriding concern.

All our planning has been done in conjunction with the other primary schools in our trust and we have followed the trust’s risk assessment process in doing so. Our risk assessment has been reviewed and approved by the trust board and is available on the WMAT website.

Despite the unprecedented restrictions imposed with lockdown, we still wanted to celebrate with our Year sixes as they came to the end of their primary school lives at Saltford and prepared for their next steps.

Our Year 6 staff rose to the challenge and, with much support from our Year 6 families, came up with new and creative ways to celebrate. We hope you enjoy the videos below, featuring a socially-distanced dance, individual memories of school life and a special poem from staff to our leavers. 

The children have had their year book and leavers' t-shirts and will be having some treats on their last day. There will be a socially distanced disco on the school field followed by a packed lunch on the field, finishing with a socially distanced procession so that all the staff can clap them all out of the school gate.  

Year 6 have shown remarkable resilience this year, adapting to all the challenges that the current situation has thrown their way. We are so proud of them for the way they have seen out their time in primary school. They all have so many strengths and the schools they are moving to are very lucky to be receiving such amazing young people.

Thank you Year 6 and to all our parents who have been so supportive over the years.

Leavers' dance

Leavers' memories

Teachers' message to Year 6 leavers

We wish Neil Baker, our much-loved colleague, a very happy and fulfilling retirement as he leaves us at the end of this school year.

Neil joined the school 32 years ago and during this time he has inspired so many pupils, playing a huge role in their well-being and educational development. He led Saltford to outstanding in our SIAM inspections with the high standard of Religious Education and Collective Worship. Neil also founded many Saltford traditions such as school shows and camps.

He is held in the highest regard in the local community where many of his former pupils have gone on to become the parents of children taught by him. Neil’s commitment to the local community was recognised earlier this term with Saltford Parish Council awarding him with the Saltford Achievement Award 2020.

As a close-knit staff, we will miss the camaraderie and support that Neil has provided and wish him all the very best; we hope he will enjoy a happy, healthy and well-deserved retirement and keep in touch. Our teaching staff have adapted a poem as a special retirement video message for him and there is a selection of photos below.

As a school at the centre of our community, we rely heavily on the goodwill and support of many individuals and groups around us. This has been an exceptional year for everyone and we are pleased to have been able to play our part in supporting the community in turn.

As we look back over the school year, we would like to thank many of those who have made such a contribution to our school.

Year 6 leavers: we say goodbye and good luck to our Year 6 pupils as they leave Saltford Primary to begin the next stage of their journey.  Thank you to all the staff working with Year 6 who have made this unprecedented final year at Primary School so special and to our Year Six families who have been so supportive. This special time has been captured in videos which you can see here.

Mr Baker: Neil Baker, our much-loved colleague, has retired this year. Neil joined the school 32 years ago and during this time he has inspired so many pupils, playing a huge role in their well-being and educational development. As a close-knit staff, we will miss the camaraderie and support that Neil has provided and wish him all the very best; we hope he will enjoy a happy, healthy and well-deserved retirement. Please take a few moments to read more here.

Miss Hansford: we thank Miss Hansford for all her work and wish her all the very best as she starts her maternity leave.  We look forward to hearing her baby news towards the end of August.

WMAT: thank you to Andrea Arlidge and all our WMAT colleagues who have worked tirelessly to support our school before and during the Covid-19 pandemic.  We are very grateful for their hard work and support.

Our PTA committee: thanks to those who volunteer their time to organise events for our children. Well done to Sally Sneddon and her team for their pre-loved uniform sale at the weekend which raised the fantastic sum of £480.  A special thank you goes to our treasurer, Andy Butterworth, who has supported us for so many years, as his youngest child leaves Y6.

Our governors: we are fortunate to have a committed group of volunteers who give their time so freely to support the school and ensure we provide the best education possible for our children.  This year we say thank you to Richard May, who is stepping down as a governor after many years, for his time and wisdom as a governor.

Parents and volunteers: we regard you as essential partners in the life of the school and thank you for the variety of support you provide, enriching the childrens' experience in many ways.

We send particular thanks also to Emma King’s father who has generoursly donated £340 to the school, his entire profit from his plant sale at the Saltford Great Front Garden Sale. Thank you also to the keyworker parents who have clubbed together to buy a coffee machine and a coffee fund for the staff to say thank you for all we did during lockdown.

And finally, from Mrs Sage, a huge thank you to the whole of the Saltford team for all their hard work this year. We are so lucky to have such a dedicated team.

 

 

 

Extra discount

Due to anticipated delays on some product ranges caused by lockdowns in manufacturing, M&S has deferred its usual June school uniform promotion until July and extended it until September. They have also increased the discount from 20 to 25%.

Please see the M&S Your School Uniform leaflet here for product and ordering information.

The 25% off promotion will run between 2nd July and 30th September. Go straight to the Saltford section of the M&S uniform website here.

Improved website

The M&S uniform website has been undergoing some improvements recently. Some of the features of the new, mobile-friendly website are:

• a guest check out option
• an easier returns process
• an improved search function that allows you to search by size, colour, item or school.

Uniform guidelines

Please see our all our uniform information here in The office section of our site.