Swansea Consistent 16 Principles for reopening schools

Letter from the Director regarding reopening 22 6 20

Swansea’s guiding principles on the return to education opportunities have been drawn up to help schools plan how best they can allow pupils who would like to return to check-in, catch-up and prepare for September. The principles are not prescriptive for all schools but allow as much consistency as possible in Swansea schools, at this time. It is accepted that every school is different and safe return will be based on the school’s own risk assessment.

Guiding principles

Principle 1

The local authority’s and schools’ primary focus must be the physical and emotional wellbeing of staff and learners.

Principle 2

Schools need to make provision available for vulnerable children (for check –in or respite) and the children of key workers (which now includes school staff) between 15 June and 24 July. Emergency childcare takes primacy.

Principle 3

Wherever possible, all pupils should have contact with their current and next school year’s class teachers/form teachers when they attend their school. The contact can be virtual.

Principle 4

All children should be offered a few visits to school in the four-week period between 29 June and 24 July. A school’s risk assessment will determine frequency. There will be no minimum number.

Principle 5

There will at least be a virtual opportunity for transition between primary and secondary schools.

Principle 6

Schools will be responsible for determining sessions for check-in, catch up and preparation for September to be conducted within normal school operational hours

Principle 7

The school-based emergency childcare settings will move to each school between 15 June and 29 June. Childcare will be offered by individual schools for their own pupils (who are vulnerable children or are the children of key workers) between 8.30 am and 3.30 pm during weekdays for the remainder of the summer term. Ensuring this provision will take priority for schools’ planning in terms of capacity.

Principle 8

Schools must not exceed 33.3% occupancy.

Principle 9

The last day of this school term for pupils in Swansea schools will be Friday 24 July. Schools are expected to be open for staff on Monday 27 July (if required).

Principle 10

A simple clear message to parents will be reinforced between 3 June and 29 June to state that schools can offer what is practical and safe. Continuity of learning plans will continue in parallel to ‘check-in and catch up’.

Principle 11

The local authority’s guidance and risk assessments to schools will align with national guidance.

Principle 12

All children to bring their own packed lunch to school unless a school offers half day sessions where no lunch at school is required.

Principle 13

Schools in Swansea will not be open for nursery and reception aged children between 29 June and 24 July. They will return in September.

Principle 14

A consistent corporate approach to staff in shielding households or who are shielding will be adopted so that leaders have a clear message for staff.

Principle 15

All pupils with ALN must have the same opportunity for the check-in, catch-up and preparation for September as other pupils. Individual needs, the child and their families’ voice must be considered and reasonable adjustments put in place to enable access to the check-in, catch-up and preparation facility.

Principle 16

Where possible, parents and carers should travel with their children to and from school, ideally on foot, by bike, scooter or any other means of active travel. Social distancing should be maintained on the journey to and from school.

The Transport Team will work with schools and settings to determine the demand for home to school transport for eligible pupils and will endeavour to meet these requirements.

In providing free home to school transport, priority will be given to those pupils who are unable to attend school without it.

In case parents have not yet filled in the LA questionnaire, here is the info you need:

 Regarding any possible reopening of the school, it is vital that parents take note of this paragraph from LA Director:

‘Capacity in schools will vary and many schools will need to introduce a phased re-integration. This
might affect the year groups that can attend and the days available.
Schools will work very differently, at least for the rest of this summer term. Class sizes
will be small and schools will implement social distancing. This means lessons may run
differently, break times and lunch times may be staggered, school start and finish times
may be different. We will be working closely with schools and governors to try to ensure
consistency in terms of principles and approach.’

School will NOT be open for all pupils all of the time. It will not be possible. We hope it will be in the future, of course.

1: Fill in this LA questionnaire

Please understand that it directly affects how we plan for reopening.

2. If you have any questions about this, the LA have provided a ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ Page.

 

Many Thanks,
Mr Davies

Houseparty is a live streaming app described as a face-to-face social network where people ‘drop in’ on each other to video chat, leave messages and hang out in groups. The app is available for iOS, Android, macOS and Google Chrome and has tens of millions of users worldwide. It’s important to note that children under the age of 13 must have a parent’s permission to access the services, however, no proof of age is required to create an account.

What parents need to know about Houseparty: ( link + extract of information below)

Houseparty

Top Tips for Parents

TURN ON PRIVATE MODE

One additional tip is to use the app settings to turn on
‘Private Mode’ which automatically locks the room,
instead of doing it manually. Parents with questions can
always email us at hello@houseparty.com

SAFER CONVERSATIONS
With live streaming being such a popular feature on
apps, it is important that you are aware of the dangers
associated with it in order to protect your child
effectively. Have regular and honest conversations with
your child about what apps they are using and how they
are using them. It may be a good idea to have your child
show you how they use Houseparty and how to navigate
through the platform so you are aware of how it works.

CHECK COMMUNICATIONS

Also, it’s important to be aware of who is on their friends
list and who they are communicating with. Remind your
child to not communicate with people they do not know
and trust. If they experience something on the app that
makes them feel uncomfortable then they should tell a
trusted adult immediately. Remind your child that if
they get an invite to join a Houseparty room from
someone they don’t recognise, then they should ignore
the request.

‘LOCK’ ROOMS

In regards to communicating with users on the platform,
we advise that your child uses the ‘lock’ feature to make
their conversations private. This means that other users,
especially strangers, can’t join their conversations.

PROTECT THEIR PRIVACY

Your child may unknowingly give away personal
information during a live stream, including their
location. Talk to them about what constitutes ‘personal
information’ and make sure they do not disclose
anything to anyone during a live stream, even to their
friends. Advise them to remove any items in their live
stream (school uniform, street name, posters etc.) that
could potentially expose their location or personal
information. Check your child’s privacy settings
thoroughly. You have the option to opt out of certain uses
and disclosures of personal information, such as turning
of the app’s location sharing option.

PROTECTING YOUR CHILD’S
DIGITAL FOOTPRINT

As the videos are live, it may lead to the misconception that
whatever happens in the video will disappear once the live
stream ends. All content shared on the app can be recorded or
screenshotted and shared to a wider community. It is
important that your child knows that what they do now may
affect their future opportunities. In addition to this, the video
chats can’t be reviewed later which means unless a parent or
carer is sitting nearby during a call, they won’t know what has
been said. It’s worth bearing in mind that parents can see
when their child has last communicated with someone and for
how long for under the ‘We Time’ feature.

REPORTING AND BLOCKING

If your child faces a problem while using the app they can
report direct to the platform by shaking their phone. A
prompt will pop up allowing you to report issues
immediately by clicking on the ‘report now ’ button. They
also have the option to report and block users directly on
the user‘s profile.

BE PRESENT

A study conducted by the Internet Watch
Foundation (IWF) found that 96% of streams showed a child
on their own, often in their bedroom or bathroom. If your
child is going to conduct a live stream, ask them if you
could be present for it. This will give you a greater
understanding of what your child is doing during their live
streams and who they are streaming to.

REMOVE LINKS TO
OTHER APPS

Users can link their account to both Facebook and
Snapchat, or can simply share a link to their profile. We
advise that your remove these links and remind your child
not to publicly share access to their online profiles as
there is the potential for strangers to get hold of your
child’s information or communicate

Starts 23 February 2020!!

Really excited to promote this for all our pupils. You will need to register for a Parkrun Barcode. This will enable your child (and you if you want to do the main parkrun on a Saturday, which is already really popular!) to complete a timed, marshalled 2k run and get active on a Sunday morning.

For more information, follow this link, but below is an extract from their website.

What is Swansea Prom junior parkrun?

It is a 2k event for juniors only (4-14 year olds). If you are not a junior please try one of our weekly Saturday parkrun events instead.

When is it?

It is held every Sunday at 9:00am.

Where is it?

The event takes place at Swansea Promenade, Secret Beach Bar & Kitchen, Mumbles Road, Brynmill, Swansea, SA2 0AY. See Course page for more details.

What does it cost to join in?

Nothing – it’s free! but please register before your first visit. Only ever register with parkrun once. Don’t forget to bring a printed copy of your barcode (request a reminder).

How fast do I have to be?

The aim is to have fun. Please come along and join in whatever your pace!

We’re friendly!

Every week we grab a post parkrun coffee in The Secret Beach Bar & Kitchen – please come and join us!