Admissions –  The admission window for parents to apply for Reception and Year 7 places for September 2021 is due to open on Monday 4^th October 2021 and will close on Friday 26^th November 2021.  Please check your inbox for an email from the school with an information letter which informs parents of the admission round process.

Non School Uniform Day – Next Friday we will be joining thousands of schools, offices and communities on Friday, 8 October by taking part in #HelloYellow and raising vital funds to young people’s mental health. Dig out your neon socks, custard scarf and banana hat – let’s show young people they’re not alone with their mental health!

If you would like to donate you can do so online via sQuid, and choosing the Charity Offer, just enter the amount you would like to donate. Thank you.

Y5/6 Parents – Just a reminder, as previously mentioned –  Parents of pupils in Upper Key Stage 2 may consider their child mature enough and ready to walk to and from school unaccompanied, with the safeguards that parent deem necessary. If this is the case, please contact your child’s class teacher in writing giving permission for your child to walk to and from school without adult supervision. This would also apply if you would like your child to leave school unaccompanied to meet you at a pre determined place. Please note, we would expect pupils under the age of 10 year old are collected by a responsible adult.

End of the day procedures – we would just like to thank parents for their patience with our end of the day procedures, and in the spirit of fairness request that all parents queue to collect their child(ren).

School Dinners – The menu is changing from Monday, please follow the link for more information and a copy of the latest menu.

Pokemon/Trading Cards – Unfortunately due to the problems they cause at Playtimes and Lunchtimes Pokemon & other trading cards are not allowed in school.

Parents of new children  – If you haven’t done so already please remember to provide proof of your child’s date of birth (passport or birth certificate) and proof of your address (driving licence, utility bill, council tax bill, or tenancy agreement). You can either email proof to brynmillprimaryschool@brynmill.swansea.sch.uk or bring them into school and we will photocopy them for you.

Fundraising – If you shop online you can help raise funds for the school by using Easy Fundraising which turns your everyday online shopping into free donations for your favourite cause.

School Photographer – Roz & Kirsty our school photographers will be with us on Monday 18th October to take individual and sibling photos of pupils attending our school. If you would like your child/ren to be included please give your consent via https://schools.rozandkirsty.co.uk and use the PIN 5825. You are under no obligation to buy the photos. (Please note they will not be photographing pre – school children or any siblings who are not in the same school, to minimise the amount of people coming in and out of the school.)

Contact Information Form – Thank you to everyone who has provided their up to date contact details so far, if you haven’t completed yours yet, please do so as soon as possible here (one form per family)

Parental Consent Form – We are updating the information we hold for school trips, photographs & videos, bumped head texts etc. Please complete the online form here (one form per family)

Activity Fund –  We welcome voluntary parental contributions to our Activity Fund, which allows us to purchase extra resources for the classes such as craft supplies, gardening supplies, cooking and food tasting activities etc. If you would like to donate via sQuid we would be very grateful. Thank you.

Half Term Holidays – The Autumn Half Term Holidays are Monday 25th October to Friday 29th October.

Christmas Holidays – the last day in school before the Christmas Holidays is Friday 17th December.

Glass Bottles – If your child is bringing in a reusable water bottle, please can you make sure that it is a plastic or metal water bottle, and not a glass bottle. Thank you

Welcome back to the new academic year which will hopefully feel a little more normal compared to the last 18 months. It has been so lovely to see the children return after the summer break with such enthusiasm and readiness to learn. We extend a warm Brynmill welcome to all of our new families joining our school community this term.

We continue to follow the safety measures outlined in Welsh Government’s Operation Guidance for Schools and are maintaining vigilance in the context of the rising number of Covid cases in Swansea.

As I understand it, Senior Officials and Public Health Wales will continue to monitor the situation and we are reminded that although restrictions have lifted, voluntary precautions such as social distancing do make a difference. On that note, could we politely ask that once parents/ carers have collected their child/ren, they move away from the fence/ gate. This will not only help with over crowding but it makes it easier for us to see who is next in the queue to collect their child.

Can I take the opportunity to thank parents for their patience and understanding this week whilst we have introduced our new drop off and collection arrangements following the removal of the staggered starts. As a result of our ongoing monitoring of this trial, we have already made some improvements to the way we manage our beginning and end of day procedures.

Changes to contact tracing and self-isolation from this September

As we return to school, there are some new arrangements in place when someone tests positive for COVID-19. These changes have been made possible by the vaccination programme and the significant reduction in numbers being hospitalised and suffering severe illness due to COVID-19 over recent months.

If your child tests positive for COVID-19 using a PCR test, NHS Test, Trace, Protect (TTP) will contact you, using the details provided when the PCR test was ordered. They will ask questions designed to identify recent close contacts of your child, and for contact details – if you know them – of the individual or their parent/guardian. TTP will then get in touch with these close contacts to provide instructions or advice.

Those who are under 18 or fully vaccinated are no longer required to self-isolate if they are identified as close contacts. But they will be contacted to let them know that they’ve been in close contact with someone who has tested positive. They will also be offered two PCR tests and provided with information and advice on how to minimise the risks of onward spread. If your child is identified as a close contact, they can still attend school unless they develop symptoms or are advised otherwise by TTP. Please continue to let us know if your child tests positive.

If a child tests positive, only a minority of their classmates will be identified as close contacts. But if there is a pattern of cases TTP may ask us to update you on the situation and remind you of key steps, including advising you to keep an eye out for new symptoms your child may develop, and to stay away from vulnerable family and friends in the short-term.

We do expect that there will be cases of COVID-19 across our community over the coming weeks, but this does not mean that COVID-19 is spreading within the school. Please continue to be vigilant for symptoms. If you are in any doubt, order a PCR test for your child at www.gov.uk/get‑coronavirus‑test or by calling 119.

Anyone with symptoms – a new continuous cough, fever or high temperature or loss of, or change in, sense of smell or taste – should remain in self-isolation until the test result is known. You can find the latest information on self-isolation arrangements at www.gov.wales/self‑isolation.

We recognise how difficult the past 18 months have been and the sacrifices that all families have had to make. Thank you for everything you have done to support your child and our school.

Cofion/Regards

Miss Simons

Fruit Tuckshop – We are reintroducing our Fruit Tuckshop, where children can enjoy a piece of fresh fruit everyday. This will be available to all classes apart from Rainbows and Super Stars, who are welcome to bring in their own healthy snack.  If you would like to opt in it will start on Monday 20th September, and cost a total of £5.00 for the first half term (5 weeks). Please pay on Squid by Thursday next week, so we can order the correct amount of fruit.

Breakfast Club – If you would like to be added to the Dojo Group for Breakfast Club, so you can access the booking form, please contact Miss Rees. Our Breakfast club runs from 8.00 am until school starts and costs £1.00 per child per day (unless you are entitled to Free School Meals).

ClassDojo – Please ensure you are able to access ClassDojo to have access to important messages from the school or class teacher, if you have lost access or need a joining code, please contact Mrs Morgans.

Contact Forms – A big thank you to everyone who has completed the contact forms, if you haven’t had the opportunity yet, please complete as soon as possible so that we have up to date information. Contact form

New pupils – If you haven’t already provide proof of your child’s date of birth and proof of address, please do so as soon as possible.

Change of address – If you have moved home in the last few months, please provide proof of your new address, such as a Council Tax Bill, Utility Bill, Driving Licence, or Tenancy agreement. Thank you

Dinner Monies – Just a little reminder that school dinners should be paid for in advance, please ensure that you have enough in your sQuid Account ( Dinner Money Purse) to pay for the week’s meals. You are able to set up an auto top up to ensure you never run out of funds. ( If you set up auto top up and you get a new debit card, please log in to your account to update your card details)

Free School Meals – if you think you may be eligible to free School meals, please go to the following link for more information https://swansea.gov.uk/freeschoolmeals 

Birthdays  – We are happy to help your child celebrate their birthday with their classmates. If you would like to send in cake, please make sure it is in the form of  small individual cakes such as fairy cakes or mini rolls etc. Unfortunately we are unable to accept any large cakes which have to be sliced into smaller portions, gift bags or party decorations. Please check with the class teacher before hand as there may be children with dietary requirements in the class to take into account.

 

 

When will school start in September?

All pupils with the exception of Nursery will start back on Monday September 6th 2021. Nursery pupils will start with us on a staggered intake process by 15th September, and parents/ carers will receive confirmation of their child’s start date.

What are the Start and Finish times?

As all parents/carers and pupils will arrive and leave at the same time, it may seem to parents/carers that normal operations have resumed. However, there are still strict control measures within the school environment that need to be adhered to as set out by the Welsh Assembly Government Operational Guidance.

Schools will now revert to pre-pandemic start and finish times (8:50 to 3:20 with the exception for nursery, see below)

What if we are late and miss the class drop-off time?

We would appeal to parents/carers to avoid being late if possible. Please take your child/ren to Gate 1 a member of staff will admit your child/children through the main school entrance.  

Please note, with the exception of drop off and collection, all gates will be locked. Should parents/carers require access to the school building, please contact the school office on 01792 463019 

What if my child shows symptoms?

Pupils who show symptoms during the school day will be allocated an isolation room for their and others’ safety.   

Pupils who show one or more of the 3 cardinal symptoms of COVID-19 (new persistent cough, fever and/or loss of taste or smell) must not attend the school setting but must remain home and self-isolate, arrange a COVID-19 test and notify the school of this. 

Local Health Boards may make testing available for individuals who are experiencing a wider range of symptoms such as fatigue, myalgia (muscle ache or pain), a sore throat, a headache, a runny nose, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhoea. Individuals are asked to consider taking a test if they are experiencing any of these wider symptoms and they are new, persistent and/or unusual symptoms for them. 

Are there Contact groups / Track and Trace issues?

The Welsh Government advice is that contact groups are no longer necessary in schools.

Link for Track and Trace : Welsh Government Website 

Test, Trace, Protect teams will be responsible for contacting each positive case and collecting information about their close contacts both within and outside the school/setting. It is their role to identify which individuals meet the definition of a close contact and therefore need to self-isolate. They will work with the school to agree on communication with those who are required to self-isolate and those who may return to school.

Parents/carers and learners will continue to play an important role moving forward. This may include providing information to TTP teams on who is in a learners’ friendship group, or TTP teams having discussions with learners or a proxy to better understand who a learner may have had close interactions with.

How do I Drop off my child?

Our current drop off and collection arrangement have brought the advantage of being able to hand over children to parents and carers in a safe, calm and ordered manner. We would very much like this to continue in September so would like to trial the following arrangements

All parents/ carers (with exception of Nursery parents and those who have chosen to book their child/ren into Breakfast Club) will be asked to arrive between 8:40 am and 8:50 am.

We ask that parents/ carers continue to hand over their child to the member of staff supervising each gate. Duty staff will supervise the children on the playground from 8:40 am to 8:50 am.

We would like to trial the following arrangements for drop off and collection:

Gate 1: Mr Davies (5/6 D) & Mrs Evans (5/6 E)

Gate 2: Mrs Howard (3/4 H) & Mrs Timaeus (3/4 T)

Gate 3: Mrs Lewis (1/2 L) & Miss Maliphant (1/R M)

Gate 4: Mrs Jenkins (4/5 J) & Mrs Roach’s Reception

Gate 5: Miss Breeze (1/2 B) & Mrs Roach’s Nursery

Nursery drop off and collection times below:

Morning Nursery pupils: 9 am – 11:30 am

Afternoon Nursery pupils: 12:40 pm to 3:10 (?)

What do I need to know about Collection?

We ask that parents arrive to collect their child/ren between 3:15 pm to 3:20 pm. We again ask that parents wait by the gate allocated for their child’s class, children will continue to wait on the playground and be handed over directly to parents as they do now.

We understand that siblings in different classes will pose an issue for some parents/carers. Please do not worry, please collect your youngest child first safe in the knowledge that we will supervise your older child/ren until you can make you way around to the other gate/s to collect.

*Parents of pupils in Upper Key Stage 2 may consider their child mature enough and ready to walk to and from school unaccompanied, with the safeguards that parent deem necessary. If this is the case, please contact your child’s class teacher in writing giving permission for your child to walk to and from school without adult supervision.

Please note, we would expect pupils under the age of 10 year old are collected by a responsible adult.

What are Contacts?

Risk assessments will be updated to take account of the fact that, as there will no longer be contact groups, consequently schools will provide best endeavours intelligence to contact tracers on any close contacts.

What about Breakfast Club?

From September our Breakfast Club will be open to all pupils, via a weekly online booking system. Admittance is from 8.00am to 8.30am. Unfortunately we will not be able to admit anyone after 8.30am. Pupils have the opportunity to have a leisurely start to the day, enjoy a healthy breakfast, and socialise with their friends, whilst they are supervised until school starts. The Breakfast Club costs £1.00 per child per day, unless you are entitled to Free School Meals, in which case it is free. Payment is in advance via our online payment system sQuid. If you are interested in using the Breakfast Club, please speak to a member of the Admin Team, who will add you to the Breakfast Club group on ClassDojo.

Will there be Playworks After School Club?

We are hoping that the After School Club will restart in September. At the time of writing Playworks Childcare had appealed for parents to complete and submit registration forms form parents. Playworks Childcare are still waiting for registration forms from parents who have enquired.

Are there measures within the classroom?

WG guidance tells us that staff will continue to reduce the amount of time they are in face-to-face contact to lower the risk of transmission.

’Ideally, adults should maintain a two-metre distance from each other and from children, any additional space available where there are lower numbers of learners attending should be used, wherever possible, to maximise the distance between learners and between staff and others.

We know that this is not always possible when working with younger children in Foundation Phase, and our School Risk assessment identifies mitigating measures which may be needed, such as the use of well-ventilated space.

Schools are asked to include seating learners side by side and facing forwards, rather than face-to-face or side on. Foundation Phase learners will be more active in their play-based learning and seating and desk arrangements will not be required.

School Resources

We will aim to minimise risk of transmission, for example, by having different sets of equipment and resources for different groups of children.  A regular cleaning schedule is used to 

Can I Visit?

Where possible, visits should happen outside of school hours. A record is kept of all visitors as this may be needed at a future point to assist the Welsh Government’s TTP strategy.

Where possible, we would try to arrange consultation remotely either via a telephone call or video conferencing at the earliest convenience.

Please note, with the exception or drop off and collection, all gates will be locked. Should parents/carers require access to the school building, please contact the school office of 01792 463019

Class dojo messaging service should be used as a means of communication between school and home.

Do I need Uniform?

There is an expectation that pupils will wear uniform in line with the school policy.

What should I bring?

It is still recommended that learners limit the amount of equipment they bring into school each day, to essentials such as lunch boxes, bags, hats, coats, books, stationery. Learners can take books and other shared resources home, although unnecessary sharing should be avoided, especially where things are not for educational purposes. For individual and very frequently used equipment, such as pencils and pens, it is recommended that learners have their own items that are not shared.

What about Free School Meals?

The Welsh Government will continue to make funding available to local authorities so that they can make free school meal provision to eligible learners who are not required to attend school premises because they are self-isolating as a result of COVID-19.

A website which has resources and games for children new to and learning English as an Additional language

https://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/

At Brynmill we use a combination of Teacher Assessment and ongoing assessments to gain the best picture of how your child is performing and progressing. This year in light of the aftermath of the pandemic, statutory assessments for end of Phase Outcomes and Levels are suspended. However, the school will still keep you informed of your child’s progress through the usual Parents meetings and end of year report.

Here is what you should expect:

• An Autumn Term and early Summer Parent’s appointment offered over the Phone or Teams.
• An end of Year report detailing areas of progress and targets.

For pupils in Year 2-6, online Personalised Assessments will take place in the Autumn and Summer Term. In order to feedback the main areas of strength and possible next steps, the information is shared with you digitally. When these reports are available, we will notify parents and also share the feedback with pupils in school.

Here is an overview to explain what the report means:

Information_for_parents_final_billingual

 

Here is a tutorial how to view your child’s progress report from the Personalised Assessments.